A total of 24 simply supported composite beams were
tested under a two-point loading system. All beams are
designed to be minimally-reinforced. Details of the
beam specimens are summarized in Table 1. The beam
specimens are classified into two groups. Group (A1)
consists of a total of four beams: three composite beams
having 4, 6, and 8 layers of square mesh in the one inch
thick ferrocement layer, respectively, and one reinforced
concrete beam. Group (A2) consists of a total of four
beams: three are composite having 4, 6, and 8 layers of
hexagonal mesh in the one inch thick ferrocement layer,
respectively, and one reinforced concrete beam. Both
groups (B1) and (B2) are reinforced with one (No. 10)
rebar as the main reinforcement in the concrete layer.
On the other hand, Groups (B10 and (B2) beams have
different types of shear studs introduced to study the
composite behavior of both layers and the minimum
number of studs required to ensure flexural rather bond
type of failure.