Effects of non-uniform shrinkage on the long-term behaviour of composite steel-concrete slabs

摘要

This paper presents the results of a series of tests aimed at investigating the development of shrinkage gradient considering slab samples of different concrete thicknesses and exposed to different drying conditions. For this purpose, two types of solid concrete specimens and two types of composite specimens were considered. Stramit Condeck HPA (R) and PrimFormA (R) profiles were used for the profiled sheeting of the composite samples. A total of twelve specimens were prepared and monitored for a period of four months. The experimental data was then used to further validate a previously proposed theoretical model capable of incorporating the effects of non-uniform shrinkage inside a composite slab. A simplified approach was also proposed to account for the occurrence of non-uniform shrinkage in routine design.