Composite design can be carried out using either Bison Hollowcore or Bison Solid Plank.

If the precast unit type is Solid Plank, the beam can be designed compositely for any angle of beam to plank. The values of effective width of compression area, beff, and the shear stud capacity, Qp, are calculated regardless of orientation.

If the precast unit type is Hollowcore, the beam can only be designed compositely if the angle between beam and plank is greater than or equal to 30 degrees. If it is less than that angle, the beam is designed noncompositely.

If Hollowcore deck is perpendicular (greater than 30 degrees) to the beam on one side and parallel (less than 30 degrees) to the beam on the other, the beam is designed as for deck on one side only, with beff taken as one-half of the normally calculated beff plus six stud diameters.

If there is a regular composite deck on one side and Bison precast units on the other, the contribution of the Bison precast units to the effective section is ignored and the beam is designed as a regular composite beam with deck on one side only.

If the plastic neutral axis is in the concrete, the beam is rejected and a different size selected. Current research is not valid when the plastic neutral axis is in the concrete.

The program does not select the required precast unit; that must be done by the Engineer based on a number of criteria such as loading, fire resistance, etc. Contact Bison for information regarding the selection of precast units.