Poinçonnement symétrique des dalles en béton armé

Punching of reinforced concrete and prestressed slabs is usually a critical failure mode for the design and verification of structures such as flat slabs or bridge slabs. Although codes of practice propose several rules for common cases (usually with an empirical basis), they do not provide a general tool for studying the punching strength because they are not based on a physical model. Furthermore, a better accuracy in the determination of the punching strength is needed when investigating the ultimate load of existing structures. Recently, test results from a series of 10 concrete slabs without punching reinforcement (performed within this thesis) as well as different tests performed by other researchers allowed to check and validate the application limits of a failure criterion proposed by Professor Muttoni for slabs without punching reinforcement. This failure criterion defines the punching strength mainly as a function of the radial rotation of the slab in the vicinity of the column. Even if a punching failure is predominantly a shear failure, the vertical displacements and the plate rotations before failure are governed mainly by the flexural characteristics of the slab. A computational model for the flexural behavior of concrete slabs has been developed, considering the different material non linearities and allowing also to include the effect of prestressing. Finally, both the failure criterion and the computational model are merged into a physical model which is able to determine the punching strength of symmetrical slabs, with any flexural reinforcement layout (prestressed or not). The comparison between theoretical and experimental results shows good agreement, better than provided by current codes of practice. With this physical model, it is also possible to determine the punching strength for particular cases, not covered by building codes. For instance, in the case of an inner column at a flat slab, it is possible to compute the enhanced punching strength due to the restraint effect exerted by the rest of the slab. The model can also be used to determine the failure load of a foundation plate, considering the interaction between the soil pressure and the slab displacement. Furthermore, it is possible to include temperature effects on the punching strength evaluating the loss of resistance due to fire exposure of the slab. The proposed model is very flexible and can easily be adapted to the different cases which an engineer is confronted to. It revealed itself as a very helpful tool for determining the failure load of an existing structure as well as for designing the reinforcement layout for new projects. Within this thesis, only axisymmetrical cases have been studied. To analyse border or edge columns as well as other non symmetrical cases, the model should be adapted.

The mechanics of shear failures in RC slabs based on refined measurements

Raffaele Cantone

Reinforced concrete planar members, as slabs and shells, are structural elements commonly used in the construction technique, which are typically designed without the arrangement of shear reinforcement. Despite the fact that this solution allows for fast and economic construction, the absence of shear reinforcement can give rise to the potential localization of strains within a critical shear crack and eventually to the shear failure of the member. In the case of redundant systems, most research on the mechanics of shear failures has been devoted to the strength of the member, neglecting in many cases the development of shear deformations due to inclined cracking as well as the redistributions of internal forces, which are instrumental for the analysis of the response of these members. The contribution to the state-of-the-art includes a series of theoretical works explaining the observed responses for a series of experimental programmes. These experimental campaigns comprise tests in tension, shear tests in one- and two-way slabs as well as punching tests. For their instrumentation, in addition to classical measurement devices, Fibre-Optic Measurements and Digital Image Correlation were intensively used.This thesis starts by revisiting the basis of the interaction between reinforcement and concrete. A series of bond tests show the stress concentrations occurring near the ribs and its complex transfer of forces with the surrounding concrete. In addition, tests on beams failing in shear show a complex interaction between bond stresses and kinking on the reinforcement due to the development of dowel action. These phenomena are normally neglected for concrete design due to the ductile nature of reinforcement, but may be relevant for fatigue and negative tension-stiffening effects.An important step in the knowledge is performed on the understanding of the shear response with respect to the characterization of the deformations in concrete members. Based on a series of test results, a complete description of the deformation field (including shear strains) is presented. On that basis, a rational model is proposed, consistent with the mechanical model of the Critical Shear Crack Theory. This model allows for a precise description of the response and also to describe the through-thickness distribution of the shear deformation.A general frame for modelling of reinforced concrete slabs is thus presented accounting for the redistribution of internal forces during propagation of the shear crack. This approach is used to investigate a testing programme performed on three wide slabs, analysing in a scientific manner the influence of the width of the member on the shear resistance. The detailed experimental data allow to capture the crack propagation and internal forces redistributions. Clear conclusions and answers are obtained, showing the influence of the shape of the failure surface and of its propagation on the load-carrying capacity.The research ends with a final investigation on the dowelling action of compression reinforcement, with an application to slabs failing in punching. Based on a large testing programme including eleven axisymmetric punching tests, an analytical approach is developed to estimate the contribution of the dowel action on the load-carrying capacity. This approach is formulated within the frame of the Critical Shear Crack Theory, and is incorporated in a consistent and efficient manner for design purposes.

EPFL2021

Deformation capacity evaluation for flat slab seismic design

Lorenzo Martinelli, Aurelio Muttoni, António Manuel Pinho Ramos, Andri Setiawan

In flat-slab frames, which are typically designed as secondary seismic structures, the shear failure of the slab around the column (punching failure) is typically the governing failure mode which limits the deformation capacity and can potentially lead to a progressive collapse of the structure. Existing rules to predict the capacity of flat slab frames to resist imposed lateral displacements without losing the capability to bear gravity loads have been derived empirically from the results of cyclic tests on thin members. These rules account explicitly only for the ratio between acting gravity loads and resistance against concentric punching shear (so-called Gravity Shear Ratio). Recent rational models to estimate the deformation capacity of flat slabs show that other parameters can play a major role and predict a significant size effect (reduced deformation for thick slabs). In this paper, a closed-form expression to predict the deformation capacity of internal slab-column connections as a function of the main parameters is derived from the same model that has been used to develop the punching shear formulae for the second generation of Eurocode 2 for concrete structures. This expression is compared to an existing database of isolated internal slab-column connections showing fine accuracy and allowing to resolve the shortcomings of existing rules. In addition, the results of a testing programme on a full-scale flat-slab frame with two stories and 12 columns are described. The differences between measured interstorey drifts and local slab rotations influencing their capacity to resist shear forces are presented and discussed. With respect to the observed deformation capacities, similar values are obtained as in the isolated specimens and the predictions are confirmed for the internal columns, but significant differences are observed between internal, edge and corner slab-column connections. The effects of punching shear reinforcement and of integrity reinforcement (required according to Eurocode 2 to prevent progressive collapse after punching) are also discussed.

SPRINGER2022

Shear strength of reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs

Rui Vaz Rodrigues

Reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs without shear reinforcement can be subjected to concentrated or distributed loads of important magnitude. Under these loads their structural response is not always ductile. In particular under concentrated loads their deformation capacity can be limited by shear or punching shear failures, which prevent them from reaching the ultimate load predicted by pure flexural analysis. This problem has been studied in this research by means of an important experimental program and theoretical modeling. The limited ductility of bridge decks was investigated by means of full scale tests on bridge deck cantilevers under groups of concentrated loads. Six large scale laboratory tests were performed on two bridge deck cantilevers with a span of 2.8 m and a length of 10.0 m. All slabs failed in a brittle manner, in shear or punching shear. The theoretical flexural failure load estimated using the yield-line method was never attained. Despite the brittle failures, the results of tests on cantilevers have shown that some amount of yielding can occur before the shear failure and therefore reduce the shear strength. This effect was quantified on eleven full scale tests on slab strips without shear reinforcement with a length of 8.4 m. The results clearly show that the increase of plastic strains in the flexural reinforcement leads to a reduction of the shear strength. The measured rotation capacity of the plastic hinge was thus limited by a shear failure. A particular problem of bridge deck slabs is the introduction of concentrated loads applied by wheels with pneumatic pressure. Punching shear with these loads is usually treated in a manner similar to punching by a column. A punching shear test was performed with a concentrated load simulating a vehicle wheel with pneumatic pressure to investigate the differences. It appears that punching shear with a wheel with pneumatic pressure is less critical because curvatures tend to be distributed over the surface of the applied load rather than concentrated near the edges of the column. In order to investigate the experimental results on slab strips without shear reinforcement, a mechanical model is proposed to predict the shear strength and rotation capacity of plastic hinges. The shear strength is formulated as a function of the opening of the shear crack and of the strength of the concrete compression zone. The results of the mechanical model are in good agreement with the measured values, both for the shear strength and for the shear carried across the shear crack. Based on the mechanical model, a simplified equation is proposed. The model can also be used to predict the shear capacity of yield-lines. A non linear finite element model was implemented during this work and used to correctly predict the measured rotations and load-displacements curves of the tested cantilevers and other full scale tests performed by other researchers. The measured failure loads are accurately estimated by using the results of the non-linear model and the one-way shear and punching shear criteria proposed by Prof. A. Muttoni (Muttoni 2003).

EPFL2007