Title: Test Set-Up for Testing Full Scale Continuous Reinforced Concrete Flat Slabs Under Vertical Loads

Author(s): A. G. Sherif and W. H. Dilger

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 211

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 293-314

Keywords: finite elements; flat concrete plates; flat concrete slabs; flexural behavior; punching shear; test set-up

DOI: 10.14359/12595

Date: 2/1/2003

Abstract:
A unique test set-up is described which facilitates the testing of full scale continuous reinforced concrete flat slabs with spans up to 6 m under vertical loading. In the past, tests were done either on full scale isolated slab-column connections or on reduced scale slab systems. Both test methods are not ideal to establish the shear behaviour of flat slabs. The test set-up which was designed and built at the University of Calgary avoids the major sources of error by providing realistic boundary conditions along lines of zero shear of part of a slab centered about an exterior column and the adjacent interior column. The boundary conditions are created by boundary frames which allow vertical displacement but no rotation along the lines of zero shear. By using this set-up the effect of moment redistribution as well as membrane action can be determined. In this paper the boundary frames and their effects on the behaviour of the tested slab were evalutated experimentally and theoretically by finite element analysis. Based on the results, modifications to the original boundary frames were made.