Design considerations on the influence of slab continuity on punching resistance of flat slabs

Abstract

This paper assesses the influence of slab continuity on the punching resistance of a realistically proportioned flat slab floor plate without shear reinforcement. The edge column punching resistance of a symmetric flat slab extending bays in each direction was assessed by means of NLFEA with TNO DIANA, MC2010 levels II, III, IV, Eurocode 2 and NBR 6118. Both Eurocode 2 and NBR 6118 are seen to give similar predictions for punching resistance, while MC2010, which is based on the Critical Shear Crack Theory and depends on how rotations are calculated and FE modelling assumptions, varies significantly with its levels of approximation with Level IV agreeing reasonably well with predictions from NLFEA. Direction for the critical rotations is shown to vary and can also be influenced by the reinforcement over the span. For EC2, NBR 6118 and MC2010 LoA II and III punching shear design are independent of span, unlike the results obtained with MC2010 LoA IV.