Elastic composite beams

In this paper, an application of the model of the analog-beam for the analysis of composite beams is presented for the case of a simply-supported beam with a uniformly distributed load. These beams are composed of an upper slab and a lower beam, connected at the interface by shear transmitting studs. The sixth-order differential equation of equilibrium for the vertical displacement is solved for two different sets of boundary conditions: (1) with rigid shear restraints at both the end sections of the beam and (2) with no shear restraints. The results (displacements, rotations, normal stresses and internal shear forces) are compared with those obtained using an equivalent classical Navier beam. The importance of the effectiveness of the interaction between the upper slab and the lower beam is emphasized. By imposing perfect bonding between the two subbeams, the analog-beam model presents the same behavior as the equivalent Navier beam.