Determination of shear stiffness for headed-stud shear connectors using energy balance approach

The shear stiffness of headed-stud shear connectors has no unified definition due to the nonlinear characteristics of its load-slip relationship. A unified framework was firstly adopted to develop a general expression of shear load-slip equation for headed-stud shear connectors varying in a large parameter range based on both force and energy balance. The pre-and post yield shear stiffness were then determined through bilinear idealization of proposed shear load-slip equation. An updated and carefully selected push-out test database of 157 stud shear connectors, conducting on studs 13 similar to 30mm in diameter and on concretes 30 similar to 180 MPa in cubic compressive strength, was used for model regression and sensitivity analysis of shear stiffness. An empirical calculation model was also established for the stud shear stiffness. Compared with the previous models through statistical analysis, the proposed model demonstrates a better performance to predict the shear load-slip response and stiffness of the stud shear connectors.

Automated summary

A unified framework was used to develop a general expression of shear load-slip equation for headed-stud shear connectors. Through regression analysis and sensitivity analysis using a push-out test database, an empirical calculation model for shear stiffness was established, which outperforms previous models in predicting shear load-slip response and stiffness of the connectors.