Closure to “Strength Analysis of Steel-Concrete Composite Beams in Combined Bending and Shear” by Qing Quan Liang, Brian Uy, Mark A. Bradford, and Hamid R. Ronagh

The writers wish to thank the discusser for his interest in the paper. The discusser raises four points. First, he asks how the shear connection stiffness in the finite-element model was derived, which should not be the stiffness in real beams. Second, he points out that the degree of shear connection should substantially decrease with a decrease in the span for the same section beam while keeping the ultimate longitudinal force resisted by shear connectors unchanged. Third, he argues that the threedimensional beam element used to model discrete stud shear connectors could simulate local stress distribution in concrete around the stud shear connectors, and then he demonstrates that the finite-element results presented in the discussed paper compare very well with experimental results given by others. Fourth, the discusser wants the writers to clarify the stress-strain curve used for steel in the finite-element model.