A finite element model for long-term analysis of timber-concrete composite beams

The paper presents a finite element model for studying timber-concrete composite beams under long-term loading. Both deformability of connection system and rheological behaviour of concrete, timber and connection are fully considered. The creep of component materials and the influence of moisture content on the creep of timber and connection, the so-called “mechano-sorptive” effect, are evaluated by means of accurate linear models. The solution is obtained by applying an effective step-by-step procedure in time, which does not require storing the whole stress history in some points in order to account for the creep behaviour. Hence the proposed method is suitable for analyses of composite beams subjected to complex loading and thermo-hygrometric histories. The possibility to accurately predict the long-term response is then shown by comparing numerical and experimental results for different tests.