WHERE STRUCTURAL STEEL AND CONCRETE MEET

摘要

Traditionally "steel structures" and "concrete structures" formed more or less two different worlds in structural engineering. However, fortunately this situation is changing rapidly. It is now recognised that each of the two materials have advantages and disadvantages and that often an optimal solution is found by combining both materials in for example a "Composite steel-concrete construction" or a "Mixed construction". It is important that the design rules for the two materials are consistent, especially for those components connecting both materials. However, in the past the design standards and recommendations for concrete and steel have been developed separately. So evidently at this moment there are still considerable differences in design assumptions and treatment of various aspects. During drafting of the Eurocodes and the conversion of the ENV's into EN's these inconsistencies became apparent. As the Eurocodes, additional to level national differences, also aim at harmonisation over the materials, it is now urgent to trace inconsistencies and find solutions for improvement. In this paper situations in modern buildings are described where steel and concrete meet. On the basis of an overview of the historic situation in education and practice, differences in approaches for concrete and steel design can be explained. Then for some aspects of steel-concrete-connections the present approaches will be discussed and compared with emphasis on inconsistencies, gaps and possibilities for harmonisation of design rules.