The Master's thesis of researcher Ali Habib Nouri was discussed at the College of Engineering, University of Basra, Department of Civil Engineering, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Abdul Nasser Mohammed Abbas. The thesis was titled "Theoretical study of the structural behavior of steel-concrete composite beams with openings

Composite steel-concrete beams are widely used in buildings and bridges due to their nature, ease of construction, low cost, and excellent structural performance. Ventilation ducts and pipes under beams in high-rise buildings restrict floor clearance. Composite steel-concrete beams with web openings can overcome the above-mentioned impediments but have lower flexural strength and load-carrying capacity. This thesis aimed to numerically investigate the structural behavior of the shear behavior of steel-concrete composite beams. In this study, steel-concrete composite beams were constructed with a welded steel I-section beam and concrete slab with different shear connections. One hundred fourteen simply supported composite beams subjected to two-point concentrated loads were numerically tested. Several parametric studies for various variables, such as the effect of shape opening, location of web opening, number of openings, types of shear connectors, dimensions of the opening, and present stiffener around the opening, were also examined numerically. A numerical analysis was also conducted to assess whether the beam behavior could be simulated in the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The study outcomes were the deflection at the mid-span of the beam, the cracking load, the bond slip, the crack pattern, the failure mode, and the slip mode. 
The main results indicate that the ultimate load capacity of Y-rib connection beams, increased by approximately 1.88%, 2.28%, and 3.215% for connection ratios of 50%, 70%, and 100%, respectively, compared to bolt stud beams. Conversely, the mid-span deflection of the Y-rib tested beams increased by approximately 104.33%, 94.25%, and 57.98%, respectively, compared to the reference beams. In comparison to the reference specimens, the connections ratio (shear connectors spacing) showed that the combined effect of prefabricated composite specimens reduces as the distance of the studs increases. Web opening influences the composite steel-concrete beams and reduces the stiffness and strength of simply supported composite steel-concrete beams. On the other hand, it’s been demonstrated that circular web openings perform effectively in all aspects, including keeping stress low at the web openings as well as rendering them easier to construct. Nevertheless, shear failure was the most common kind of failure in all of the all-composite beam samples.