HYLAND CONSULTANTS LTD April, 2008

38 Banyan Drive, Manukau City, NZ.

ABOUT COBENZ 97 2.0f

2.0f
INTRODUCTION
COBENZ 97 is an Excel XP based spreadsheet that allows for quick and efficient design of
composite steel beams with concrete floors. Composite steel beams offer a very competitive
and simple construction solution. However due to the many variables that must be considered in
the Limit State design of steel composite beams, computer software is an essential design tool.
Hyland Consultants Ltd have developed COBENZ 97 to make the Limit State design of
composite steel beams simple and accurate. By using COBENZ 97 the design engineer will
quickly determine the critical factors in a particular design and be able to optimise the design to
suit. A design can be produced within a few minutes and the engineer will rapidly grow in
confidence in composite design. Version 2.0f incorporates relevant changes to NZS3404:1997
due to the release of Amendment 2 in October 2007.

WORKSHEET DESCRIPTIONS
COBENZ 97 is made up of eight worksheets. A brief description of each is as follows:
1. COBSU: Composite Beam Spandrel (edge beam) Unpropped.
2. COBSP: Composite Beam Spandrel (edge beam) Propped.
3. COBIU: Composite Beam Internal Unpropped.
4. COBIP: Composite Beam Internal Propped.
5. COBIU CF210: Composite Beam Internal Unpropped: Comflor 210.
6. COBIP CF210: Composite Beam Internal Propped: Comflor 210.
7. LIBRARY: Library of steel beam and tray section properties & various data tables.
8. LICENCE: Licence statement and COBENZ 97 user information.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHEETS

COBENZ 97 is a design tool written for use only by qualified structural engineers. A good
understanding of the NZS3404:1997 Steel Structures Standard Amendment 2, AS/NZS 1170:2002
Loadings Standard, HERA Design Guides and Steel Construction Institute Design Guide SCI-P-
175 is necessary for sound composite beam design practice.
Each of the six beam design worksheets are set out in the same format. The first five or six
pages of the sheets contain the detailed calculations used in the design. The last page contains
all input data and a summary of the results. The designer enters data into the input areas by
overwriting the contents of a particular cell. All cells other than those used for data input are
write protected and cannot be altered. The font colour is also different to make this obvious.
Due to the ease of input and speed of calculation there is usually no need to save to file any
calculation. The full six or seven pages of calculation may be printed out or only the design
summary on the last page.

USER AND JOB IDENTIFICATION

The licence number of the licensed user is identified in the top left hand corner of the sheets.
Other job related data can be entered in the other cells provided.

29 April, 2008 1
 BEAM LAYOUT AND PROPERTIES
The worksheets assume a simply supported beam with a constant uniformly distributed loading.
Where a loading is not uniformly distributed the designer should convert the load into an
equivalent uniformly distributed load. This is similar to the approach used in the ASI Design
Capacity Tables. When converting point loads etc to UDLs care should be taken in assessing
which parts of the load are going to affect long term creep deflections.
Only the portion of concrete above any ribs is considered effective in strength and deflection
calculations.
The layout and beam mass are used in deriving the loads on the beam.

Beam Span: Simply supported span

Spacing: Adjacent beam centres

Overhang: Cantilevered overhang measured from beam centreline.

Stud Edge Distance: Proximity of stud to edge of concrete.

Beam Size: AISC C and I sections and Steltech I sections as tabulated in LIBRARY.
Asymmetric welded I sections with designations AN (Asymmetric
Narrow) and AW (Asymmetric Wide) are listed in the LIBRARY with
minimum gap between underside of Comflor 210 deck and the top of
the bottom flange to give nominal height of top flange above top of
decking of not more than 20mm.
Plated UC sections eg 200UC46SF12 allowing bottom flange seating of
decking units are included.
Three plate beams can also be user specified using LIBRARY.

Top Flange The distance from the tip of the top flange to the nearest face of the web
Outstand:
Bot. Flange The distance from the tip of the bottom flange plate to the nearest face
Outstand: of the web.

Stud Edge Distance: Proximity of stud to edge of concrete.

Yield Stress: User defined

top of steel

slab
thickness
topping
thickness
slab gap to deck
bottom bearing
length

web concrete
cover

Encastre beam layout definitions

29 April, 2008 2
 DECKING AND SLAB PROPERTIES
Deck Type: Should be selected from the list on LIBRARY. A customised decking
can also be selected.

Deck Span Type: Single, Double or Triple can be selected. This refers to whether the tray
is continuous over temporary or permanent supports and is used in
deriving ponding allowances within the slab dead load.

Deck Span: The deck span refers to the span of decking between temporary or
permanent supports. It is used in deriving slab ponding factors only.

Slab Thickness: The overall slab thickness from top of steel beam to top of slab.

Net Topping For W-profiles such as Hi-Bond and Comflor 80, the structural thickness
Thickness: of concrete above the top of the profile including ridges. For pan
profiles like Tray-Dec, the overall nominal slab thickness. This value is
used for calculating the structural concrete compression block depth.
For encastre situations it also allows the user to compare topping
thickness relative to top of steel for avoiding clashes of the decking
profile with the top flange.

T.O.C. to Top Flange The depth of concrete above the top of the beam flange and the top of
concrete slab. This allows for a partial encastre of steel section into the
slab topping and should not be less than 50 mm.. This may be used for
example with Comflor 210 decking seated below the top flange encastre
in combination with Asymmetric steel beams. With encastre composite
beams shear studs may be specified using COBIP and COBIU sheets
to develop composite action. However in many instances Comflor 210,
shear studs may not be necessary and reference should be made to
COBIU CF210 and COBIP CF210 which utilise the design method
developed by SCI to assess reliable performance of such beams.

Slab Gap to Bottom The gap between the underside of the decking and the top surface of
Flange: the bottom flange, as required for detailing deck packers for partially
encastre beams. The gap is typically set at a consistent value to match
steel or timber packing multiples and to avoid the top flange having less
than 50mm of concrete topping cover.

Nominal Slab Mass: The nominal mass of a concrete slab of the given thickness excluding
ponding allowances. This calculated using the concrete density and
manufacturer cross sectional data. This value is multiplied by a ponding
factor elsewhere in the sheet.

Concrete Strength: As specified.

Concrete Density: As specified. Used for calculating Ec in accordance with

NZS3101:1995. Also used in determining nominal slab mass and
ponding calculation.

Deck Support Tip: The distance from the nearest face of the beam web and the outer tip of
the ledge, packer or flange supporting the decking, when encastre
beams are designed.

Deck Bearing The distance from the outer tip of the ledge, packer or flange to the
Length: leading edge of the decking, when encastre beams are designed. A
minimum of 25mm bearing length on steel is required for Comflor 210.
Where packers of timber or other material are used the structural
engineer shall ensure an appropriate bearing length is specified.

Web Concrete Cover: The distance perpendicular from the nearest face of the steel beam and

29 April, 2008 3
 the free surface of the concrete encasement between ribs of an
encastre beam. A minimum of 90 mm is required where composite
action is desired without the use of shear studs.

Web Concrete Depth: The depth of concrete encasement down the web acting as passive fire
protection. Where the full depth of the web is encased in concrete then
one-sided ksm value is used to assess the fire rating. Where partial
depth or nil concrete encasement to the web occurs then a 3-sided ksm
value is used to assess passive fire rating.

SHEAR STUDS
Nelson headed studs are assumed.
No Studs: CF210 No studs are used for composite action of encastre beams designed
using COBIU CF210 and COBIP CF210. Composite action is
developed through bond stress between the steel and concrete in
accordance with recommendations of SCI-P-175 “Design of Asymmetric
Slimflor Beams Using Deep Composite Decking”. Bond stress used is
based on the characteristic post-bond break stress measured in push
through steel plate bond stress tests reported in HERA Report SSAS-
103, October 2003 for Steltech Structural Limited. A strength reduction
factor of 0.65 is applied to the characteristic stress in line with the SCI-
P-175 approach. The SCI-P-175 approach uses a partial composite
action method utilising a triangular distribution of bond stress over the
half length of the beam as determined by the shear flow diagram for a
uniformly distributed load.

Stud Diameter: They can be of any specified diameter. 12mm and 19mm are typically
available. A table of typical stud sizes can be found in the LIBRARY
sheet.

Welded Stud Height: The worksheet will display an error message if as welded stud heights
not complying with the code minima are specified.

No. of Studs per The total number of studs required over the length of the beam.
Beam: Percentage composite action is related directly to the number of studs
selected. For a UDL half of these studs will be located each side of the
beam centre line. Minimum stud spacing requirements of NZS3404
must also be considered. Where an equivalent UDL is used the
designer must ensure that the studs are suitably placed either side of
the point of maximum bending in accordance with the requirements of
NZS3404.

29 April, 2008 4
 Encastre Composite Beam Configurations

Case 1: Bottom flange mounted, no

studs

Case 2: Packer mounted, no studs

Case 3: Bottom flange mounted, with studs for composite

action

Case 4: Ledge mounted with studs for composite

action

Case 5: Ledge mounted, no studs

29 April, 2008 5
 LOADING
Loads are combined for Ultimate Limit State requirements using the load combinations of
AS/NZS 1170.0:2002.
Superimposed Dead Load: Dead load excluding beam and slab self weight. It is
important to differentiate between self and superimposed
dead loads for creep and deflection calculations. Areal
loads in KPa are used.

Other Superimposed Dead Other superimposed dead loads calculated as a line load.
Loads: This cell is often used to incorporate equivalent UDL’s
calculated for point or other loading arrangements.

Superimposed Live Load: Areal loads in KPa are used.

Other Superimposed Live Loads: Other superimposed live loads calculated as a line load.
This cell is often used to incorporate equivalent UDLs
calculated for point or other loading arrangements.

Out of Balance Torsion
Loadings are assessed for out of balanced conditions that
may occur during construction in unpropped construction
(COBIU and COBIU CF210) when the deck is not
considered to fully laterally restrain the top compression
flange of the steel section. For the design check concrete
and construction live loading is only placed on the longest
adjacent span of decking. Torsion is calculated using the
eccentricity of the centre of beck bearing on the deck
support, be that a flange, packer or ledge,and the nearet
face of the beam web.

DEFLECTIONS
Short Term & Long Term Live User defined. Refer to AS/NZS 1170.0:2002 for reference.
Load Factors: These affect creep calculations.

Shrinkage Strain: User defined. Refer to HERA Design Guides for

recommendations. 300 microns typical.

VIBRATION DUE TO WALKING

Walking vibration characteristics are calculated utilising the recommendations of The Applied
Technology Council publication ATC-1 “Minimising Floor Vibration” and AISC/CISC Design
Guide 11: “Floor Vibrations Due to Human Activity”, Murray, T.M.; Allen, D.E.; Ungar, E.E., 1997.
Dynamic second moment of inertias of composite slabs are calculated for the listed deck and
combinations of deck, slab thickness and concrete grade. When other decks are used the user
needs to insert equivalent geometrical deck values into the Decking Properties table in the
Library for vibration characteristics to be assessed.

Dynamic slab properties using BS 5950.4 1994 averaged cracked and uncracked sections of slabs
assessed using a dynamic modulus of 1.35Ec. Composite beam properties without cracking utilise
an elastic modulus of 1.35Ec in accordance with recommendations of sections 4.1.4 and 4.1.5 of
ATC-1.

Vibration Live Load: User defined for determination of vibration characteristics

only. This is the long term portion of live load expected to
be present during times when walking induced floor
vibration may be considered to be important. Measured
in KPa.

29 April, 2008 6
 Other Vibration Live Load:
Floor width: Trans. to Slab:
Floor width: Trans. to Beam:
Deck / Joist Continuity:
Effective Beam Continuity:
Edge Beam:
Constant Force Po
Damping Ratio:
ao/g: Acceleration Limit
29 April, 2008
Additional User defined long term portion of live load
expected to be present during times when walking induced
floor vibration may be considered to be important.
Measured in kN/m
Total floor width measured transverse to and both sides of
slab.
Total floor width measured transverse to and both sides of
beam.
Effective continuity of the slab over its supporting beams.
Typically metal deck slabs are considered to have
continuity for vibration purposes even if only nominal
topping reinforcement is in place. Joist supported slabs
such as Speedfloor are generally considered as not having
continuity for vibration purposes..
Effective continuity of the beams through supporting
girders or columns for vibration purposes can be utilised if
some nominal level of continuity reinforcing is provided in
the topping.
Edge beams without wall claddiing to dampen response
can be more lively than interior beams.
A constant force representing the walking force.
Recommended values from ATC-1 are 0.29kN for offices,
churches, residences, and shopping malls. A value of 0.41
is recommended for footbridges.
The damping ratio is affected by the presence of non-
structural components. ATC-1 recommends the following
values:
• 0.02 for floors with few non-structural components
and furnishings, as can occur in “electronic” or
“paperless” offices, open work areas and
churches.
• 0.03 for floors with non-structural components and
furnishings, but with only small demountable
partitions.
• 0.05 for floors with full-height partitions between
floors.
0.01 for footbridges.
Recommended permissible peak vibration acceleration
levels for human comfort in various environments vary
with the natural frequency of the floor concerned. Values
are derived as multiples on the ISO baseline curve of RMS
acceleration for human reaction.
7
 Permissble Peak Vibration Accelerations

10.00 10.00

5.00 5.00
3.00 3.30

1.50 1.50 1.20

Peak Acceleration %ao/g

1.00 1.00

0.60
0.50
0.50 0.50

0.25 0.25

0.12
0.10 0.10
ISO RMS

Operating theatres
0.05 0.05
Offices, residences, churches

Indoor footbridges, malls,

dining areas
0.01 Rhythmic activities, outdoor
0 4 8 12 16 20 footbridges

Frequency (Hz)

Ref : ATC-1

29 April, 2008 8
 % COMPOSITE ACTION
Partial or full composite action can be specified. Ensure the lower limits of partial composite
action of 50% for strength and 25% for deflection serviceability are maintained for studded
composite designs and 40% minimum for encastre beams developing composite action without
studs. For encastre bemas reliant on bond stress to develop composite action, the effective slab
width is limited to beam span/8 in accordance with SCI-P-175.

BENDING STRENGTH
Bending Strength Required: Calculated bending strength required based on input
loadings and simply supported uniformly loaded span.

Dependable Bending Strength: Calculated Bending strength of the composite section

specified.

For unpropped beams the user may select whether the top
flange is considered to be fully laterally restrained or
unrestrained. Bending strength is then calculated on that
basis with an allowance for torsion and twist using the
approach set out in SCI-P-175..
The composite bending strength of an encastre sections
without shear studs applies a strength reduction factor of
0.65 to the concrete effective width to assess composite
action and no further strength reduction factor is applied to
the composite flexural strength in accordance ith SCI-P-
175. This contrasts slightly with and is more conservative
than the NZS3404 approach for composite beams with
shear studs. In that case no strength reduction factor is
applied to the assessment of concrete flange strength
contribution to composite action but a factor of 0.85 is
applied to the calculation of composite flexural strength.

Where encastre beams are used as part of seismic

resisting frames shear studs must be used to develop
composite action and transfer diaphragm loads.

SHEAR STRENGTH
Shear Strength Required: Calculated shear strength required based on input loadings
and simply supported uniformly loaded span. Where an
equivalent UDL has been calculated for the input load the
distribution of shear at beam ends will be different from this
calculated value. In most cases the value calculated here
will be conservative in such instances.

Dependable Shear Strength: Calculated shear strength of the beam web ignoring
contribution of the slab.

DEFLECTIONS
Deflections are calculated for the immediate and short term live load cases. Es = 205,000 MPa
Immediate: The deflection apparent immediately upon removal of props
for propped construction or after concrete has been poured for
unpropped construction. For unpropped construction the top
of slab is assumed to be level screeded. Precamber may be
used to limit soffit deflection of unpropped beams.

Short Term Live Load Case:
The deflection that occurs after the props have been removed
for propped construction or after concrete has set for
unpropped beams. Allowance is made for shrinkage and
creep effects. The long term live load factor is used to
calculate creep effects and the short term live load factor is
used to calculate superimposed short term live load effects on

29 April, 2008 9
 the derived long term deflection.
Span/ Deflection Ratios: Ratios are calculated for the design engineer to assess in
terms of the project serviceability requirements. See AS/NZS
1170.0:2002 for guidelines.

VIBRATION DUE TO WALKING

Walking vibration characteristics are calculated utilising the recommendations of The Applied
Technology Council publication ATC-1 “Minimising Floor Vibration” and AISC/CISC Design
Guide 11: “Floor Vibrations Due to Human Activity”, Murray, T.M.; Allen, D.E.; Ungar, E.E., 1997.
Dynamic moment of inertias of composite slabs are included in the Library for commonly used
combinations of deck, slab thickness and concrete grade.
Slab / Joist Vibration Mode Response of the slab or metal Speedfloor joist supported
slab without beam effects considered..

Beam Vibration Mode Response of the composite beam ignoring response of the
slab itself. The beam is assumed to be supported on
vertically rigid supports such as a column. Girder mode
effects need to be considered for cases where the beam is
supported by a girder rather than a column.

Combined Slab / Joist & Beam Response of the combined slab and composite beam panel
Vibration system.

FRR: FIRE RESISTANCE RATING

The fire resistance rating is calculated assuming four sided exposure The time for the strength
of the composite section to reduce to the level required to sustain the G+Qu fire load
combination required by AS/NZS 1170.0:2002.

FRR ratings calculated assume three sided exposure for all beams with nil or partial concrete
encasement protection to the web. If full concrete encasement is provided to the web then a
one sided exposure ksm factor is used to assess fire rating.

COMPARATIVE COST
To compare economy of different combinations of beams and studs the designer must input
estimated material supply cost of steel/ kg and the installed cost of studs.

USER SPECIFIED SECTIONS

User specified sections can be called up using LIBRARY.
Trays: Properties of trays are entered in the lower line of the table. The tray
properties are used for ponding and topping thickness calculations only. For
insitu slabs make hr=1 and Ix high. Similarly for hollowcore decks refer to the
following notes. The name given to the user specified tray should be
preceeded by a “U” to ensure the properties are picked up correctly by the
worksheets.
Three-Plate A monosymetric I beam can be user specified. Enter the beam dimensions
Beams: into the lowest line of the Beam Table. The name given to the beam should
be preceeded by “UDB” to ensure the worksheets correctly identify it. The
worksheets check that the top flange and the web plate sizes comply with the
requirements of cl 13.4.3.1 NZS3404:1997 for low rotation ductility ratios
θp<=10 The section modulus properties derived by the worksheet are only
conservative if the section is a non-compact or compact monosymmetric I
section.
Web / Flange The minimum weld sizes required to attain the nominal shear capacity of the
Welds of Three three plate section are calculated for continuous single and double sided weld
Plate Beams: options. Where point loads occur the designer must also be satisfied that
flange plates are adequately developed to ensure the nominal section flexural
capacity required is achieved.
Weld size is calculated in accordance with NZS3404. This allows the ultimate
tensile strength of the weld metal to be used in assessing the weld size. The
calculation assumes an equal leg fillet weld is specified. If Fuw/Fup>1.4 an

29 April, 2008 10
 error message appears.
HOLLOWCORE DECKING
Hollowcore decking is a product commonly used with steel composite beams. The following
notes give some advice as to how to use COBENZ 97 to analyse steel composite beams using
hollowcore decking.

User Defined Refer to the DECKING PROPERTIES table in the LIBRARY sheet
Decking Properties

hr: Rib Height As a simplifying assumption, assume that the concrete compression
force acts only within the topping to the units. So set hr to the height
of the precast unit, eg 200 mm for 200 Hollowcore. The overall slab
thickness less hr defines the topping thickness.

wr: Trough wr needs to be set at such a value to ensure that αD becomes 1.0.
Width at Base wr refers to the rib width of profiled deckings and is used in
conjunction with the rib height hr, the stud height and the number of
studs per rib to determine a Deck Profile factor αD.
wrt: Trough αD is used to modify the shear stud nominal strength. In the case of
Width at Top typical hollowcore use αD should typically be unity similar to a solid
in situ slab case. Check αD on page one of the worksheets under
stud strength reduction factors. Wr and wrt are also used to
calculate geometrical properties of the slab for vibration assessment.
Therefore vibration calculations won’t be directly relevant to
hollowcore deck situations unless wr and wrt are adjusted
appropriately.

Wd: Decking Wd is used to determine ponding effects and the deck placement
Mass condition for unpropped beams. It is also used assess nominal slab
mass in conjunction with slab topping volumes calculated using wr,
wrt, hr and Ts. Use the value for bare unit mass recommended by
the manufacturer.

Id: Deck 2nd This is used to calculate ponding effects that amplify the nominal
Moment of slab mass. It is also used to calculate vibration properties. In the
Inertia case of prestressed hollowcore units it is normal to assume that
precamber in the units will compensate for deflection under wet
concrete loads. Therefore set Id to an equivalent value in steel
units.

Fys: Deck This is used in calculating the compression block size of the slab
Yield Strength cracked moment of inertia.

Input Data Refer to the Input data section on the last page of the worksheets.

hs: Stud The stud height is used to calculate the profile factor. As with wr, set
Height the stud height at a nominal value that will ensure αD is unity.
If the stud height hs used in the analysis is less than hr then αD will
become negative and error messages will appear.
The actual height of the stud to be used in construction, should be
determined on the basis of manual checks of longitudinal shear
transfer in accordance with NZS3404.

Other Comments

Gap Size for The gap between end to end butting hollow precast units should be
Studs sufficient that the stud can satisfy the concrete free edge distances
criteria in NZS3404. Otherwise the stud capacity must be down
rated in accordance with Chien and Ritchie’s recommendations.

29 April, 2008 11
 Deck The nominal capacity of the non composite beam at deck placement
Placement stage assumes no lateral restraint of the beam. This is unduly
Condition conservative for precast decks which, when placed progressively
from the beam supports and into the centre, will provide increasing
lateral restraint to the section. Refer to SCI and HERA publications
covering lateral stability of steel sections for further information. In
some cases beams may be fully restrained by the units.

Edge Beams Spandrel or edge beams need to be carefully considered to avoid

torsional effects due to unbalanced loading during construction. One
options is to centre the minimum bearing length of the unit about the
line of the beam web. To achieve composite action break out
portions of the cores in the units and weld studs through prior to
concreting.
Alternatively a welded beam with an offset web could be specified.
The precast units would again bear over the web and sufficient
flange outstand is left to locate studs for composite action.

COMFLOR
DECKING
Comflor decking produced by Corus New Zealand Limited may be used with this software. The
decking may be placed on the top surface of the top flange of the beam in the steel down-stand
position or the steel section may be partially encastre into the concrete wit the Comflor decking
seated below the top flange. The design sheets COBIU and COBIP allows the development of
composite action of encastre beams with Comflor or other decking profiles by means of shear
studs applied to the top flange. For Comflor 210 profiles only, composite action may be
developed in encastre beams by bond stress around the top flange and web of the section to
the level of the base of the decking. Design sheets COBIU CF210 and COBIP CF210 use a
bond stress only composite design procedure.

For the technical basis for the design of encastre composite beams without shear studs refer to
SCI-P-175 Design of Asymmetric Slimflor Beams using Deep Deck Composite Decking. In
many cases where encastre arrangements relying on bond stress alone are used, the steel
section alone will be strong enough to provide ultimate limit state strength without any
contribution from composite action. The development of composite action is therefore
necessary only to control deflection under serviceability conditions. In the case where shear
studs are required to develop composite action, only 25% composite action needs to be
developed by studs or other mechanical connectors fixed to the beam flange and embedded in
the concrete topping. (Refer NZS 3404). In the case where bond stress is relied on to develop
composite action SCI-P-175 requires partial composite action of not less than 40%.

When Comflor 210 is used seated on the top flange of a composite beam care shall be taken to
ensure studs are correctly positioned relative to trough centrelines and post-splitting
reinforcement of D16@600 centres minimum are placed in the troughs near the base of the
studs across the potential lines of concrete splitting along the line of the studs. Studs should
have a welded height of not less than 200mm . A concrete haunch of not less than 190 mm
width should be formed above the steel flange of the beam to encase the shear studs.

For further information on the use of Comflor 210 decking seated on the top flanges of
composite beams refer to the paper by Hyland, C., Clifton, G.C., Butterworth,J. W., Stickland,
S., “ Composite Down-stand Steel Beam Behaviour with a Profiled Deep-Deck Slab”,
Australasian Structural Engineering Conference, Gold Coast, 2001.

29 April, 2008 12