An Experimental Investigation on the Peel Behavior of the Embossed Steel–Concrete Interface

Embossed steel plates can be used in many composite construction applications. These applications include composite steel girders with pre-cast reinforced concrete slabs, embossed steel-encased concrete composite beams, and concrete-filled checkered steel tubes. Other applications can introduce embossed steel plates as an alternative to using shear studs such as double skin composite slabs and composite tanks. However, the research work conducted on the contact between embossed steel plates and concrete is limited. In this study, the peel behavior of this contact surface is studied through an experimental program. Pull-off tests were conducted on 18 different specimens using various parameters including the embossment pattern, the concrete strength, and the use of epoxy adhesive. These experiments give insight into the effect of different studied parameters, the peel capacity of this contact surface, and the different failure modes of the specimens. It is found that the embossment pattern has a great effect on the behavior of this interface. Moreover, the use of epoxy adhesion surface treatment leads to enhancing the bond strength between some patterns of embossed steel plates and the concrete. Finally, it is concluded that the peel behavior of the embossed steel–concrete interface can be satisfactory for many potential applications.