Punching shear strength of reinforced concrete slab.

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of punching shear tests performed on a 2 x 2 bay continuous slab with/and without supplementary supports. On the basis of these tests, the code method of calculating the ultimate strength of interior, edge and corner column connections of flat slab were investigated. The thickness of the specimen was 140 mm and the spans length were 2743 mm. The ACI 318-89, BS 8110-85 and CEB-FIP 90 Codes were critically reviewed by comparing with the experiment results and results from the literature. It was found that in general the Code predictions are reasonable but for corner column connections the ACI Code over-estimates the ultimate shear capacity of the slab and BS 8110-85 requirements for edge and corner column connections are simplistic. The experimental results show that the supplementary supports can increase the ultimate punching shear capacity when the supports are properly located.