Often, particularly in construction, it is the details and attention to specifications that make a project safe and within building regulations or creates an unsafe and out of compliance design or project.
One of those simple elements or materials that will have a very big impact on a project using steel combined with composite decking is the choice of shear studs. This is very common in any type of building project using this combination of materials and having the right studs to do the job is going to be an essential consideration and factor.
A Definition
By definition, shear studs are used to connect two materials, such as concrete and steel, to transfer the shear stress between the two materials. With this connection and transfer or sharing of the shear stress, the two different materials move as one.
Once the materials are connected through the studs, they are stronger than they would be as two separate and unconnected materials. This is referred to as composite action to prevent bending in the center of the beam that could occur if the two materials could slip past each other.
For Decking
Decking has a slightly different use of studs than on a bridge or in a building. In this application, the shear studs actually serve two purposes. They do act to create a composite beam and deck combination. At the same time, the thin surface of the decking allows the studs also to be used to fasten the deck.
It is possible to use the studs with the frame as a composite construction technique and continue using the studs with the decking as a fastener option. This allows for quick, easy installation without the need to change setups or to work with multiple types of fasteners on the same job.
