Formulation for shear force–relative displacement relationship of L-shape shear connector in steel–concrete composite structures

Abstract This paper presents the shear force–relative displacement relationship of L-shape shear connector subjected to strut compressive force in steel–concrete composite structures. The shear connectors were found to fail in two different failure modes, split failure mode and concrete crush or shear failure mode. Consequently, an equation for a critical strut angle representing the border between the two failure modes was developed and proposed. The formulas to predict the ultimate shear force and the shear force–relative displacement relationship of the shear connector were established. The shear force–relative displacement relationships can be represented by a unique enveloped curve by normalizing shear forces by the ultimate shear forces and relative displacements by the height of the shear connectors. According to the experimental results, the ultimate relative displacements of L-shape shear connector were approximately 0.02 times the height of the shear connector.