Title: Analytical Representation of Flat Plate Structures Under Vertical and Lateral Loads

Author(s): I. N. Robertson and C. J. Ambrose

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 161

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 51-74

Keywords: beams (supports); flat concrete plates; lateral pressure; loads (forces); models; moment distribution; slabs; stiffness; structural analysis; Structural Research

DOI: 10.14359/1439

Date: 4/1/1996

Abstract:
The effective beam width method is used extensively for two- and three-dimensional analysis of flat plate structures subjected to combined gravity and lateral loading. Typically, the member stiffnesses are assumed constant throughout each span. This approach is shown to produce unreliable estimates of lateral drift and slab bending moments when compared with the results of a previously reported experimental program performed by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. This paper presents a two-beam effective width model in which different section properties are used in negative and positive bending regions of the slab. Proposed slab stiffnesses for use in this model are based on a correlation between the experimental data and analytical analysis results. The application of the two-beam model using the proposed slab stiffness factors to a typical flat-plate structure is demonstrated in a worked example.