Composite beam
A structural member composed of two or more dissimilar materials joined together to act as a unit. An example in civil structures is the steel-concrete composite beam in which a steel wide-flange shape (I or W shape) is attached to a concrete floor slab (see illustration). The many other kinds of composite beam include steel-wood, wood-concrete, and plastic-concrete or advanced composite materials–concrete. Composite beams as defined here are different from beams made from fiber-reinforced polymeric materials. See Composite material
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There are two main benefits of composite action in structural members. First, by rigidly joining the two parts together, the resulting system is stronger than the sum of its parts. Second, composite action can better utilize the properties of each constituent material. In steel-concrete composite beams, for example, the concrete is assumed to take most or all of the compression while the steel takes all the tension.
Steel-concrete composite beams have long been recognized as one the most economical structural systems for both multistory steel buildings and steel bridges. Buildings and bridges require a floor slab to provide a surface for occupants and vehicles, respectively. Concrete is the material of choice for the slab because its mass and stiffness can be used to reduce deflections and vibrations of the floor system and to provide the required fire protection. The supporting system underneath the slab, however, is often steel because it offers superior strength-weight and stiffness-weight ratio, ease of handling, and rapid construction cycles. Since both the steel and concrete are already present in the structures, it is logical to connect them together to better utilize their strength and stiffness. See Concrete, Concrete slab
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