Bending Shear Studs - Composite Steel Construction

[pcronin]

I have a project that has a depressed area on elevated composite structural steel framing. We kept the same slab depth throughout and depressed the steel in the bay with the depressed slab. While the shear stud installer was going through the project, he switched out longer studs on the fly in the depressed area and now the studs will stick out above the proposed slab elevation.

My question is:
Can the contractor bend the studs over slightly so the top of the stud meets the clear cover requirements? If any break off during bending, he will install the proper length stud in its place. Based on composite design and shear flow requirements, I don't see how the orientation or bend in the shear stud would impact the stud capacity. Thoughts?

 

[grogannc]

When you have a stud where the flash weld is not continuous, you are typically required to bend the stud 30 degrees (if I remember correctly-check this) after manually fillet welding. If you are using a stud welding gun and you are finding they break off when bending, I would find all the studs installed by that person on that day suspect. You could also cut off the stud at its base and install the right height studs adjacent to the cut studs at the appropriate spacing(s).