Development new push test Eurocode 4

The standard push test specimen in the current version of Eurocode 4 does not provide any information on what modifications should be made when profiled steel sheeting is introduced. Whilst the lack of information was intended to encourage innovation, this has sometimes lead to test results implying that stud connectors possess a lower resistance and ductility than assumed in current Standards. From full-scale beam and companion push tests in Europe, it has been shown that modifying the push test through the introduction of a normal force to the face of the test slabs provides comparable load-slip performance to that encountered within a beam. Within the work programme for developing the second generation of Eurocodes, this paper presents part of the background to Sub-task 1 of SC4.T3, whose aim is to develop an improved push test for Eurocode 4 when stud connectors are welded within profiled steel sheeting.