This paper presents a Generalised Beam Theory formulation to study the partial interaction behaviour of two-layered prismatic steel–concrete composite beams. The novelty of the proposed approach is in its capacity to handle the deformability of the shear connections at the interface between the slab and steel beam in both the longitudinal and transverse directions in the evaluation of the deformation modes. This method falls within a category of cross-sectional analyses available in the literature for which a suitable set of deformation modes, including conventional, extension and shear, is determined from dynamic analyses of discrete planar frame models representing the cross-section. In this context, the shear connections are modelled using shear deformable spring elements. As a result, the in-plane partial shear interaction behaviour is accounted for in the planar dynamic analysis during the evaluation of the conventional and extension modes, while the longitudinal partial interaction behaviour associated with the shear modes is included in the out-of-plane dynamic analyses. In the case of the conventional modes, the longitudinal slip is accounted for in the post-processing stage where the warping displacements are determined. A numerical example of a composite box girder beam is presented and its structural response investigated for different levels of shear connection stiffness in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. The accuracy of the numerical results is validated against those obtained with a shell finite element model implemented in ABAQUS/Standard software.
