Title no.

97-S11

Elimination of Flat plate punching Failure Mode

by Carl Erik Broms t?,,,i*. ..ool. --
lv!\" 6rn7'
A.design concept that eliminates the punchingfailure ntode offlat
bending of the catenar.y reinlorcement bars over rhe
?jates is ae.rtfld 4, and design reconiitndatiorc or, coh*
On\ ^tcsting', !i,rr. edge in combination *.ith d_r'namic cfibcts mav .".rf , i, .rl"T
is used,ihich is so easl,tofabricale and
.stan.datd yeirgforcement of the bars. Moreover, the systern is.not inienci".l ,;;;;,1
ra1>id to install tlmt the sorution srtourd be suitabre'as
siandan! prac- progressir.e collapse oftvpical nvo-s,a-\, 5lab structures
ticefor ordin.arl,.flat llates as utell aslfitr such e.rtrente appticitions rh31
ln
grossli' oi'erloadcd oi'er. a large poition ol rlre struc.1x.*"
as air.-raid s-lrchers. Tlrc yttem provides etcellent sa.fett against
lro_ Conse.quentiy, there is a need for a betterconcept tlrrn
gressiae yollafsl of flat platc buildings, a basic t.cquit:enent
that
if.;.L
described in Reference 5. One possible solution is A"r..'ihJJ
seents to be oaeilooked in nxan! cun.ent concrete cotles. The.provisions this paper.
of tlu, ACI Code StS-95 for hto-way shear capacttt, of slabs are
found uns-afe for critical sections outside shear'reittforiement and
presumably also around large colutnns. RESEARCH SIGNIF!CANCE
:
One aim ol'tlri.s.paper is, once again.; to dras.arrentiolr
, i0:i!
I(e,1t,ords: bent-up bars; building co.les; d.;lcction; chrctilit,r": "-hortcontings
olflat plates and to describs a reinlorcenrenr s1.
flat concrete tem that allorvs.a flat plate to form plastic hinges., rl.*i
plates; {lexural strength; punching shear; stirrups; structur:il
design; tcsts.
tuntns and in the midspans rvith no ter-rdenc-r, tbr
bririi
punclring lailure, ir hich is in corrrpliarrce s.ith rhe turi.."qu,*
INTRODUCTION rnent fbr struc^tural integrit_r.. So desiqned, flat plates
The flat piate is a very colnrnon ancl cornpctitir.e stngtLr.ral [q6s,
suitable er.en lor air-raid shelters ,,.,j *ui. also be suitablrr
systent for cast-in-place slabs in buildings sin^e no b"ant.l'c<rl__..
severe earthquake regions,in buildings *.ith separate I

umn capitals, or drop pan.ls are involr,erl, u.hich means that bracini I

t-he latter statement is. to be r.erilied'b;. furthei ."r"ur.h I

I
for'..nvork becomes extremelv sin'rple. The st,.uctural concept is ,o.
rentlv being conducted b-1' the author. I

at a flreat disadvantage, horn,ever, because ofthe risk ola brittle

punching lailure at the columns. Large research e{Iorts har.e
A slab system that displat's a brittle failure mode g.hen ors.
-loaded -
l

should nor be accepted in a trodern buiiding. .{,nor}xv

been made in the past-and are still being made-to tler.elop
aim o_f this paper is, therefore, to inspire researchers to
rncthods for a reliabie prediction ofthe punching shear capacity. fid
remedies against the punching failure mode instead of der .l-prr6
In this context, it should be remernbered that nrodern build_
refi ned capacity predictions.
ing codes require a structure to bc designed in such a n.a\.,,that
ir rvill not be d-amaged by cr.errrs like explosions. irnpact. or
consequences ofhuman errors, to an extent disproportionate to PUNCHING FAILURE MECHANISM
Ifa solution for preventing punching shear is to be found"rir
the originai cause."l In other rvords, a local failure shall not .basic ir4
lead to progressi'u'e collapse of the entire structure. Do fiat principles of the failure inechanism should be perceird -i

plates designed according to current structural concrete codes
(see belorv) really fulfill this basic requirement lcr structural
integrity'? In the opinion of this author the anss.er is ,.no,"
because
S1 llut", have a vcry limited rotation capacity at the
columns-e'3 Punching will occur if the rotation capacity is
e-rceeded. A punching failure at one column due to a gi,
sion, for example, rvill therefore rnost probably leacl to "*plo-
suLse_
quent punching at the ad.jacent colurnns due to large slab
rotations-thc risk of a proqressive collapse is impending. It is
therelbre surprising tlrat the Eurocode g,r for insiance,
requires a nrinimum shear reinforcement irr nrimary beams in
order tn prevent a brittle shear failure, but noductiliry require-
nrent is put on llat plates despite the lact that a punchirrg failure '") tressed by ttre high lmCgltlgl Jggg9,?llgdue to the global f'ler'
of a flat piate may lead to .rvorse consequences ihan a shear fail_
ure of a beam. A similar approach exists in the ACI Code 318_
954 lvliere a minimum area of shear reinforcement is required
in beams if the shear force exceeds one-haif the design shear
strength provided by concrete.
ACI Committee s52,5 Joints and Connect:ons in Monolithic
Concrete Structures, has recognizeri the described shortcorl_
ing of flat plates and has recommended a methocl u.ith concen_
trat€d bottom reinforcenrent from column to coluntn in order
to. create a catenary system in the event of a pun<:hing
failure.
l'he systen-r does not, horvever, prevent pun.i,ing from occur_
rin.q in the first place, and--due to the laige deflections_local
dr.:r3.g. u'ill result in global .epair need.. F-urthernrore, the
reliability of the systenr could be questioned since thc sharp
Most concrete codes define the punching capacity in termsri
[n re
nominal shear stress acting on a i'ertical ,r.fu." a certaindr;
l;:glr
tance away from the column. This approach is unfortunrrt
since.it incorr-ectly implies that the prnit.,ing capacitl. is gur.
erned by the diagonai tensile strengih of the'coicrete slai. h
V
fact,.diagonai cracks normallv develop at a load ler.el inS
order of t/g to e/s of the ultimate load.8 These cracks c*
completely surround the column- The slab is srill stable a#
can be unloaded and reloaded several times at that load ler.ti
r"'ithout any decrease of;he ultimate capacity.s
The punching failure occurs instead when the concr€te:r
compression at the bottom of the slab near the .--olumn isiF
ural curvature.''' At columns -ivith sm_all di.al:_e!_91!,_*
inclined compression stress in the radiiiT[iiio,i l.fo.i,i*
shear crack may gor.ern.s'P tl5
The-punching load can be derived from Fig. r by the con&
.
tion of equilibrium in the vertical direction for the concr*r
coni"al shell under the diagonal crack. The crack is assumed $ rhere
form a 3O degree angle to the horizontal, rvhich is a n prcal rzrd {rch a:
for normal strength concrete- The capacity of the c"onic.i ski .C,
,q
' f:-
ACI Structural Journal,Y.9i, n*o. I, Jmuan.-Februm 20tXl si
Rrceivcd September 23. 1998, and revieqed under institute ouhlicetion NLr
copynght O 2000. Amerjcan Concrere lnsdture. AII riglrs resned, lnclulq! 'c,
malinr of copies unless permission is obtained fro, rn.?oo*nii ,-*",,"t fd I,v ,
nent drscussion *ill be published in the Norember_Deceniber'lOCb ACt ga*
Jounn[ tl rcceived by July l, 2000. {Pres

94
ACLStructural,laurnall,Jamtarv-Febrn ra
 Carl Erik Broms rir a s?nialist comltant at the coMlting agincm Jtglll q.
€l Widrur*), Sttchholm, Sweden, He rrciud hi; Mscfrom thc Royal Insri- r'|'.
'ogy, Stockholn\ in 1e62.

+
io
i
-+
t
'$!!Elgett
+
lYl
,. '
-4<-
| ,in'f** " {
| ,

F ig. S O r igi n a I re i n;forc enrent sy s te m r d u c t t I itt'.

- lfo

t unchnzg.failure mechanism give a good prediction ofthe punching capacity despite the in-
-P correct shear stress analogy. A prerequisite is ofcourse that the
lormal punching strengthJo is not merell' erpr-essed as a function
ofthe concrete strengtir but also as a lunction oftl're reinfbrce-
nrent ratio and the slab thickness (siz-e eflect)

diagonat crack
V=n(B+d).d.f,, (+)

The failure mechanism des.,ibed above clarifies why stir-

rups .r stud rails generally do not result in the desired ductile
behar.ior. For such shear reinlorcement a capacity increase-as
s'ell as some dr-rctility increase-is normall_r'encountered in
relation to a flat plate without shear reinforcernent, although
the failure mode is still a sudden punching failure.
If the stirrups or studs exter-rd far enough lj.om the column
to prevent a shear lailure outside the shear reinfbrcenrent, t1'p-
ically a steep shear crack lorms near the column passing
betu,een the stirrups (studs)?'8 at failure. This occurs because
the distressed compressed concrete near the coiumn becomes
'
tg. z-Diagonal tension failure outsidt shear reinforcement too soft rvhen the tangential strain reaches a critical level-a
scenario that di{Iers from beams and one-u'ay slabs u'here tan-
vertical load is then at maximum if the cone forms a t5 degree
gential compression does not occur.
to the horizontal
The detrimental eflect on the tensile capacity of the concrete
in perpendicuiar direction to the tang,e41_ra!_c_qppr-epqiql is
(r) demonstrated if the shear reinforcement is not extended far
enough from the column. A diagonal tension failure u'ill then
ultimately develop outside the shear reinforcement. Once the
diagonal crack opens up, it rvill immediately propagate u,ithin
lsin l5desree
4.
Jc the soft concrete cover under the shear reinforcemer-rt all the
sin 30dcgree \r'ay up to the column (Fig. Z).

l'= 0.134r(B +3.46y),*f, (s) REINFORCEMENT FOR DUCTILITY

.}
One n'ay to overcome the deficiency r.'ith stirrr-rps and studs is
mg.1 described ir-r Reference 7. The test specimens rvere pror,ided u-ith
= O.99d, s'hich is vali.i for low leinlorcernent ratios
bent bars as hangers into the colurnn in combination rl'ith stirrup
cages from q,elded rvire fabric over a fairly large area around the
V=n(B+d).d.0.04f, (s)
column (Fig. s). The bent bars were given a flat slope to bridge
over the zone u'itir wide flexural cracks near the column. This
*,i the ultimate strengthyf is a function ofseveral factors,s concept turned out to be very cflective in creating an extremelv
al AS Cuctile structural system without any punching tendency at re-
pl Concrete strength; inforcemerrt ratios exceeding O.'i5pb loads exceeding 2l/ro, and
Sizeeflect (height of compression zone); openings distributed around the column.
lncreasing brittleness olconcrete rvith increasing The reinlbrcement system is nora' fLrrther de','eloped and ver-
strength; and ified by the tests reported below. The basic principle still holds,
Concletc sottening due to the tangential squeezing. "l but the stirrup cages-made ftorn rvelded u'ire fabric-ate sim-
^i.i'cltance,
ct0{1.
'I Stfi trq (s) has the same forntat as the norrnal code plified in both labrication and installation (Fig. +). The stable
Eq. (+), which explains rvhv tl're code approach can stirrup cages and the bent bars are tied on top of the bottom

Structu ral Jou rnal/January-February 2000 95

 .1,I rcII!

min 1.4db
-$

F-ig'. 4-Stirrul cage.

flexural reinlorcement followed by the top flexural reinfor.ce_

ment (Fig. 5). The installation procedure is very simple (no
bar
drreading is ipvolr-ed) because the stirrups do irot enclose
any
flexural reinforcentent. The bent bars are pror.ided u,ith loni
bottom lcgs that act as catenarv reinibrcentent in reliablc cooP_
cration ri'ith the bottorn flexural reinfbrcernent.

J CODE PREDICTIONS
The tesi resr.rlts shall be corlpared n,itir predicr;.rn.i?aL" F t g. 5 eta i l i ng of r e itfo r c e me n t.fo r d u c t i l i t t-.
ACI Code sl8-9J4 and Moriel Codc 9o.e The latter code is- -D
nrore refined than the ACI Code because it accounrs for the /'rq
size Model Code 90 (uttimate strength)
ellcct (decreasitrg slrear strcngth *.ith increasing mernber The code expressions are rearranged herein to suit the
height), as s,ell as the positir.e influencc on tlte shear capacity ACi
mcthod u'ith a critical section at the distance O.5d ironr
lr.v a Iriglr flt'rural reinlbrcernent ratio. colurnn fhce
tht
-fhe N{oclcl
Code 90 is consideretl by the author to be the
best currenr code tbr prediction of thc punching failure load.
The provisions for shear capacitl,outside shear ieinlorcernent
are, Iton,e,,,er, too optirnistic. Therefore, a rnodified approach
is
..{,r = 0.t 8Ef t00p ,fl ri t\1ral
proposed here, termed Modified Model Code go.
The code expressions in the follos.ing equations are slightly
rearranged to delnonstrate that the t*,o cot_les treat the t*rr.i_ E = t* p [mm] (sizeeffect)
tion from one-\\.a,\' shear to t\\,o-\\.a-v shear in a sirnilar rvay.
ACI gr s-g;+
P= flexural tension reinforcement ratio within column strip =

f,t _Jr [lv1Pa] (one-wayshear) (s) S,'p,

6

J !:.., d.. d bo+ d.. d il

= " h .tJ L, .1; " = .--

J,z 'J,r li
- -rL, {t\ro-ua1'shcar) (6) u; ll

!l
v- f,z' bo' d
ti

l'. = i,z.b,,.d (i)

]a
-
ii

bo=4c+n'd square columns ( r3i

il

bo = 4c + 4d (square columns) (8) F

A=37E interior columns t
Ct = !O for interior coluntns: A = l.sn edge columns I

g = l5 for edge colurnns; and

0 = l0 for corner columns.
a = 0.75 1(, corner column.s
t
I
(Thc cr valucs seem to be too high, cornpar.e N{odel Code gO. Modified Model Code 90 (proposeci herein by authorl
NIoreor.er, it is renrarkabie that, i. 'fhe Model Code equations are valid
u .on."qu"nce ol the pre_ \\,ith rhe fullo\i'ini I
scribed o, r'alues, higher shear stress is amendments
1r".,r.,itt",l for ed.qe col_ i
runins and corner colurrrns than lbr interior colLrrnns
alorrg
critical sections placed at the sante distance {i.orn the col,r,n,.,s.i
f,zS2.f,t
96
ACI Structural Journal/January-February
 r*a
q ;i:::.

.O

lfare of
--]f ictitious
"scfi" support =
riiical section
t

bent bars

bend

Fig. s-Reirforce.m.ent arrangementfor Slzzbs 9 and 9a.

), effeciive
tillttal seiti0n
'x.
$oo

f'n o-Critica.l seclion out.sidtt benl bars.

Fig. s-Reitforcenrcnt arrangementfor Slab to.

--lface of I

o = o.?5?r edge columns (limited con{inement b1'surround-

llctitious ing slab)
"sofi" support ct
l = o corner columns (no confinement, one-lvay sheargorerns).
'ritical sertion
shear reinforcement is provided, the critical section shall
If
be placed accordir.rg to Fig. 6, ?8 and the shear capacitv at the
critical section shall be computed by Eq. (ts)
-^l+;-ri
LI IIILdt
-^.t;^^
JtrLIIUI I,

periare+p^ = 5.
V, = .f,z'bo,"fi'd (r5)

TEST DATA
-fir trrlrrries cotrrprised seven specitnens, ail of which had
tlrr sanr( dirnensions and approximatel.v the satne flexural
ii;t{i:; t;. capae it-t', but rvith difl'erent reinibrcement arrangements
F$,".* according to Table i and Fig. 8 through te. The material prop-
,:iltlI erties are summarized in Table 2.
t, ,h-- '., '
The test setup (Fig. 13) \,r'as identical to the one leported in
*"i4l.t'" Refelence ?. The 26o0 mm square and t 80 mm thick slabs rvere
sirnpil supported at eight points. The supports u'ere slrnmet-
rically distributed on the sides of a 2ooo mm square. The effec*
tive depth for the llexulai tension reinforcenrent \\'as l50 mm
ior all specimens.
All specirnens \\'ere cast s'ith normal dcn-.ity concrete. The
cor'lctrete strength rvas recorded on ioo mm test cubes that
u,erc stored under the sante conditions as the test sllecilnetls.
The corresponding standardized cylinder strength;/f has been
1-Critical section outsi.de stirrup cages calculated accoldins to Eq. (te)

al Journal/Januarv-Februarv 2000 97
 q

I Icl'
E]
OI
col
-l

Fig. 1O-Reityforcernznt arrungencnt;fnr Slab t t Fig. t l-Reinforcentent anangementifctr S,lab tc.

.f ', = 0.95. 0.80 .ioo (r s)

where
.froo = cornpression strength of too mm cube; cl
0.95 = lactor to transform to l50 mm cube strengtli; and bt
L-r.ll
O.80 = lactor to transform cube strength to ct,linder -.1
strength.
=*-\
i1
-llre i
concrete stren€fth s'as deliberately kept relatir.ety,lo.rv
Y
i
I
to. sirnulate the possible under-strerrgthln situ ola concrcte_
I
I
with. nominal compression strengthlff
= 25 Mpa. The nominal
-+_.1
Fl rl
yield strength ofthe reinforcementir,as 5oo N{pa and the cho_ Elr=l
i
sen flexural reinforcernert ratio of approxirnatelv o.5% repre_
olo!
C.Jlcol
I
sents a realistic level for ordinary buildings.The load rvas
I

I
increased in zs kN steps. At ductile behavio"r of the slab, thc
I

I
load steps rvere chang'ed to S mm deflection steps.
Load and deflection recordings were made ts,ice: irnrnediately
after.applying the load and after approxinatelr. lO min to al_ Fig. I2-Reittlforcemznt arrangementlfor Slabs tS arttl l q..
lorv fb" the initial relaxation. The latter ,".oiding. are clis_
played graphically in this paper.
The reference Specimens g ar:l 9a had no shear reinforce_ Table 1-Specimen data
ment. Specimens lO and i i were provided ,u,ith bent 12 mm
Top flexural Bottorn flexural
bars as shear reinflorcement. all ihe bent bars *,ere placed reinlorcenrent, reinfbrcenrent, Bent bars, Stirrup legs
u.'ithin the.column cage- The bottom legs t.srg +5o mm Specimen each rvav each g-av
long each n a1' each rrat'
and placed on top ._.rf the bottom flextirr,l reinforcement foi 226 tO 16 0 8
Specimen lo, whereas the bottom legs rvere made 9oo nrm
long lo r;0lo l6 0 I 3 6 rg
and anchored under the bottom reinlorcernent for Specirnen
t i. l;0 ttt le.0 8 3Q re
l2 through 14 were provicled rvith a combinatiorr l..l i
ol^Specimens
bent l2 rnm bars atrd stirrup cages as shear reinfirrcr.ntr"nr
r-6r,, I0 l:l o 5 @ roomn +.
+ :"gt!
,a
'r-
The iongitudinai bars of tlie cafes u;cre placcd in tlre sanre i.. _,
as tl,e first layer of the bottorn reinforcernent ibr Specimen
:
\"rj- \" -r'-:;izt lr;t:!:{":a}:::: !t:-r
:,ior 3 0 It O5
@ lclomfii
-r...li,r;r.:. .i:.(,;hq!hj $;r)rir siritll ,9(pm
t:. l
For Specimens t3 and l,t, the cages rver.e placed alter thc iom. sd.i
pleted bottom reinforcement, i.J., with tire longitudinal bur-r $i:rx
parallel with the bars in the second layer ofthe"botrom rein- Table ?-Material proFerties L,l
{brcement.
Concrete
sh.
The bent bars rvere designed so that the vertical component Reinforcernent
ksc
of their ultimate force shJuld exceed the shear force corre_
Diameter,
men fl,MPa )peclmer mm -f, MYU fu, s\LPa 6,t % krlir
sponding to the ultimate flexural capacrty of the specimen.
9 25.9 ?onl
. In all specimens the distance from the eight supports to the 9a Q' o
8 r) 669 t? ittp
shear reinfbrcement exceeded s/, therebl, thc pos-
"i-in"iing
sibility ofdirect transfer offorces to the shear reinforceil zone.
lo i9..1 9-t2 IO 5lo 59+ ti tp sr:

n 18.4
I2 r) 55! 90
TEST RESULTS Far:
The test results are depicted in Fig. ta and t5 and compared rri. ri
c 2) 6S9
l9 20.9
to predictions according to ACI s1s_ssa and the tvioiinea 8 r) 633
T;hi,,
Model Code So (Fig. r 4 and 15, and Table 3 and +). Specirrens l3 t4 :hr.:
9 and 9a with no shear reinfor.cernent both iailed in punchirrg t4 20.+
10 r) 6lt !9
h,..
t9
at loads close to predictions accor.cling to the t,"r,o codes. J,
| 01,
Notc: t) No vicid platcau;9) Not recorded.
 300:
Load (kN)
10C0mm 200 i

lr t:
40 60 80 100

Deflection (mm)

Iri{:. 1.1-I'c,ad-defleclion rurxesfor Specintens l9 tltrough t1

6\l
t 250mm
Table 3-Test results and comparison with ACI
v- 318-95
.-!-+-
IE llst rcsults Calcuiated properties
I'*r' tj, /rt, t,, I'*b, l't"rt/
,l --i-r----:q-
|

I
.\N
Specirnen KN
F..;lu re
mode KN
/ctt'
KN KN KN KN I,'roL

,+\
*1
| 9 =-tOii Punching +68 alJ +t5 o.98
\y
9a =360 l'unching 46q. 36i 36i o.96

lo =3+ Shear, I! +i3 352 49t +t9 491 n;o

ll Shear, /i7 +11- 4'95 .+99 4,95 o.;ai

El' l9 +2o Yield +lo 818 +99 +lo l.ot

oi
OI I3 ++3 Yicld +91 ..J6(; 899 49i itl l .0.5

--t l+ +.+o ) lcld +tl 361 E8 +91 +21 l.O:'r

otrtrl bu tlo ol bcnt bars to flt\ural capaclll ol
Notc: Corltrlbutlon
I3-7bst setuP rer arnr arouDd colurrrn c'dgc = (d-d,'9J cos55 degrec

Table 4-Test results and comparison with

Modified Model Code 90
fest results Calcrriated 1;roperties
1',,,u, Failurc t!, Iru,, /rt' r:. I."oto 1",,,/
300 1-\f I'rol,
i
Specirren h-\ rnode KN hN KN KN
(10\)
9 =408 Punching +68 405 +o5 l OI
200 o.96
9a =560 Punching +62 3'i4
lo =345 Shear, It +23 333 316 429 399 r.o4

il =3ii Shear, [.1 4t+ 34.1 +99 l.o9

t2 420 \''ield +lo 622 +29 4lo l.09

20 40 60
l3 ++3 Yield +,) | 3:t5 637 +91 421 r .o.5

Deflection (mm) Yickl 1il rr'j l tzl

l4 41O 191 I .L).t

l+-Load-dzflection curves;for Specimens I through t t :-ore, Contributiorr oi bent

ver anrr around colutnn cdge = (d'a/ n : ' ro\J 'i' rr.a

1 lt'uobvious that the bent bars in Specirnens 10 and i t had lim-

r - dect on the punching capacity
: and ductiiity of these speci-
rrii.at'iThe post-punching behavior rvas improved, llorvever, but
' I deflection curves in Fig. la demonstrate that consider-
:r ', rrlab displacement at the shear cracking outside the bent
I, &cuned belore they became fully active as hangers. They
Sd, horvever, most probably act as catenary hangers with
' reliable behavior than the design concept described in
o{ltnces 5 and o, since they are not anchorecl or spliced
'
,rl0ltened concrete near the column.
' ltre
ACf Code 3r8-95a grosslv overestimates the punching
, Fty for Specimerrs 10 and 1t it'the critical section fbr trvo-
j , l..!hear is placed o.5doutside tire outer bends of the bent bars
i , .s). The Code apparently rnakes no riiflbrence betu'een a
hctsupport pror.ided by a column and the weak indirect sup-
' i u'ithin the slab tlrickncss at discrete points that arc provid-
t stirrup cages) atrd Specintens lfl and t+'(n'ith 20 lnln croncrete
! bent bars, stirrups, or studs. (A more coltscrr"ative
M&iLsmctural Jou rnal/January-February 2000
approach \\'as aPplied in A('l g i s-x i lilifr. '-r'r-''L-a-!- ':r'ar
-1sat
considered governing otttside tit"'^-*" Erni'.wenlant '
The \,lodified \{odcl Co.ic 1.r,.-' :c:'-::::rl-r pr-cc:,::i i::c slcar ca-
pacity outside the bent bars r.t'St'"t'itrtr!i! ii-r arid I I i'l-ai.lit +l'
'r'-l ti:t
The approach is also I'crifitri b) '-'i!t.t tr:!: l':rii'rntui
autl'roi, where the colttmtt reaction rvas ibrced to be transi'erred
to the slab by bent bars onlv.
Specimens l2 througl'r 14' behaved in the desirable manner
t'ithin rvith a cor-rtit-tuously increasing load capacity all the s'ay up to
mm deflection, u'here tlre trs1ll1g was sto|1red 'I-lrt' trlti-
lOO
rnate detlection \\'as so iargc that mcmbrane action of the slab
could develop. This is u'hy the predicted ultinrate flexural
capacity could be reachcd in spite ofthe reduced eflective depth
dr-re to spalling olthe bottotn collcrete cover across the entire
width of the specimens alotrg the trvo principal axes.
No diflcrence in behavior couici be obsen'cd bet',r'cen Specimerr
tz (s,ith ntnt concrcte cover to the longittrdinal bars of'the
19
oo
1
 ,iover). The dciiection shape resembled a truncated pyrarnid. A '-F--
t'
small local punching movement at the column also occurre.l -/<
(f o nrm at Specirnen t+), whiqh indicates diagor.ral crackins
and derronstrates tlre ability of the bcnt bals to transli:r the
s li
shcar load to the columtr-if supplcrrtcnted by -stirruPs. 'lhe 4l.un
bent bars q'ere also iooTo efli:ctive in resisting the betlclitlg tno- l
t'

nrcnt around the colurnn edge. '..-\

i
j
\
J
DESIGN RECOMMENDATION *l- -
'l'he tests lravt,rlerrrrinsfratccl tltat t'ith sltear t'eill-
11:.t
o
P!ates
firrcenrcnt arratrgcd in accordattcc rvith lrig. 5 n'ill exhibit a {--
ver-y ductile behavior sirnilar to that of ordittar')r reilllbrccd corr-
crete slabs suppoltcd by bearns c>r x alls, ilthe firllo*'ing desi*^rr
prinr:iplcs ale corttl;lietl u'ith.
'flrc bent bars act as ltalrgers. TIte vertical colrll)ollent ot' t(- H

tlreil yield firrce slrall be at ltast eclttal to tlte coltttntr t'eaction __\
l', correslxrndirrg to tlre fblntation of flcxural yield hinges ,''/__72.
alon.g tlrc support lines and in thc nridspans fol unifbrnrlv clis- --- ./\-
tributed loadins. ud'/ '-
'fhe bent bars slrall be placed n'ithin the colutrtr cage. The // ,,
slopirrg part shall start at the colutntr edge and tlle inclination
*/ active stirrup leg

shall not be s-teeyrer than 95 dcgrees to the horizontal. Thc bot-

tonr legs slrall be givctr a fLrll developrnent lelrgth, Lrut, jn older
tirr the bars to be elli:ctive tbr caterrarv actiotr of the slab, tlle,r'
shall extend not less than the distal-rce 0.95 /,, ti-on-r the thce oi
tlre colutnn.
-lhe stillup l,:gs shall be unifirrrnl-1' distribtrtccl aroutrd tltc
-"J colulrln artcl covel a s(luarc orrtside ol slticlr tllel designrsllear
<:apacitl' ot'the slab cxceecls tlte coluurtr reactiotl l'i (tjq. ( t;))-.
'1-l:'stirrups shail t'xtencl, lioucver, to a distatlce it least t.5d
outside tlre oriter bencl ot'th': bent bars
tl 1
v f..
bo' d (r i)
Iv",t
tt
u,ith
0,., according to Fig. 7 andfr" accorditrg to Eq. (l t); and
T = t.5 (partial safety factor for concrete, rl'hich here also
inclucles the possible increase of l'., by strain hat'dening
-
ol'tlretleruralreinlbrccrnent).
-fhe stirrup cages shall be placed t'itlr tlteir longitudinal
anchor bars on top of the first bottorn flexural reitllbrcement
la1'e. u,-rd extend up to the top face of the slab rvith mitlitnurn
concrcte cover. The spacing ofthe stirrup legs shail not exceed
o.?d in botli directions, their diameter d6 should trot exceed
8 mnr, and the inside diameter of tlre bends sliall be 6/6 The
longittrdinal bars in the stirrup cage sl'rould ha\re a diarneter not
,$ less than 1.,1116 and the shearing strength ofthe n'eld to the stir-
I rup legs shall exceed the design force in the stirrup leg by a
I
rninimunr of 25"to. 'lhe design streltgth oi'the strrrups should
I
theref<>re be limited to 2oo MPa.
I 'lhe stirrup: sliall be designed to transfer the support reac-
i. tion I/rto tlrc betrt bars. Only stirrup less \\'ithin thc distar.rc.e
l,-..1-+'':.5d,raft'orrt tltc outer betid olthe bent bars are therel-v consid-
'r eled active ilt accordance rvith the variable strut irrclination
nrethod outlined in Eurocode 2t (Fig. l6). Until further
rcsearclr shorl's otheru'ise, the reinfbrcemet-rt ratio p- of stir'-
rup legs should exceed o.oo2o and should be lirnited to o.oo35. l
'fhe upper linrit rvas applied in the tests described in ilefbrence 7'
frig. l6-Force lrdnsfer f;'rnn stirrufs to bent bars.
CONCLUSIONS
Slab s1'51s11.^ in morlern buildings should displal' a ductil.
lailure nrocle in case oloverloacling. An ob.jective olthis pa1*
thcrcfore, is to drari attentiorl to the ittcor-tsistenc-t' of rnllx
Lroncrcte cocles that re<iuire pri.rrary bearns to behave in a du{,
tilc'manner but accept a brittle i'ailurc node lbr flat platcs,
It is clcrnonstrated that b-r' usir-rg vcrt' sitttple precautionl',H
is incleed possible to obtain the same good ductilitl' lbr li:l
platcs as tbr slabs supported by bearns or \\'a11s. The risk of l
sucklcr-r punching thilure is tirereby elinrinatecl and the bar*
rctluircme nt fbr structural integrity is ful{llled-
The described bcnt bar ancl stirrup cotttbitration is cas,t t
labricate and install in a stable u'ay. For a t1'pical flat Plrlt
s1 r' 1,'tLrre, ciglrt stirruP cages at each coiulnll are uonnally sul'
licient (Fig. 5). The extra cosr (including labor cost)-as cot*
pared to a conventional brirtlc ilat plate u'itl-rout any sher
reirrfbrcenrent-is ass'-'ssed at less thalt 1.5% of the total cort
fbr the slab. In this context it is u'orthshile nrentioning tlut
this extra cost in reality meatts a cost redttction in Ss'edq
since the Srve"lisl-r concrete code assig's a premiunt in thefong
oi'a to% increased design strength for ductile strtrctural mtr&
bers in relation to nonductile Inetnbers. Moreover. a drrctilefu
plate is insetrsitive to moment redistribution, u'hich the desigrxt
can use for a cost-efl-ective reinfbrcemeltt distribtrtit'n
'l'he design reconrnrendations are valid firr intt'rior r,i'#r
but the sarnt .oncept is applicable for edge colunrrt- tixiXk
systenr should be suitable as standard Practice fttr flar p&r&
and extends the use of flat plates to protcctitc ri:.tr!4F
against \\'eapon attacks and perhaps also to ,elraratc!-r'kfd
buildings in .ser,ere earthqttake regions.
It is important tltat
rs rtnportant that the
tlle stlrruP
stirrup cages
iages extello
extend r?r enough fuF
far €noug,"'*
the colurnn to ensure the desired ductiiity. Tne protisionsa
the ACI Code 3t8-95 seem to be unsafe in this respect.
NOTATIONS
area ot stirrup leg
deptlt olequii al""nt ,"ctt,.gulu, concrete stress block at fierdr

It is recogr,ized that the recotnntendations above do not con- B= diarrrcter of circular colut'trtr
lbrrrr to rL:l.s for beattts itt ACI 318-95 rvhere U-stirrttl;s flolir t\, perimeter o{' critical section
p'elde<l u'irc labric slrould enclose tlre {lerural reilltbrcenretlt L'o.dJ. = eilective perimeter ol'critical section (l'ig. 6)
rvidth of'square column
atrd ei.clt lcg should be ancl'rored in the cornpression zone by
clistancc fl'om cxtrenre conrpressiolr ilber to centroid ofluo
nvo s'elded longitudinal u'rres. tcrrsi,'rr rt infhrcctrcltt la-tets : o..i \4. + (i\)
'lhe tcsts have detnottstrated, hou'ever, tlrat the dcscribed rlistance frorn to1> Ilcxural rcinlbrc",t.it, ,o'io,,o,,l lcg ol'hd
corlcel)t rvill gii'e the slab the dcsired ductility. l,rrr s (Fig. c)

'100 ACI Structural Journal/January-February

a
I

= nolninal dianreter of bar

I
radial.inclincd conrpression stress around column at punching ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
= The tests were carried out at the Department of Structural Design
(Fig.t) at
I
compressive cylinder strength olconcretc Tallinn Technical Universi!4 Estonia, under tl,e supervision ofVelio
Otsnaa
I ti =
financed'by the consulting engineers AB Jacobson & Widmark,
It,
Lt'
= ultinratestrcngti)o1'reinlorccnrent
nominal one-uray slrear strengtlr ofco;rcrete
1nd .y"l
StL{:khohn. This is gratefully acknoiuledged. A special
acknou,ledgment is
Iot = gi\€n to F.undia Bygg AB, Su,eden, f". supptying the stirrup cagei free
= nontinal tw,o-way shear strength ofconcrete of
Je charge and to Kent An'idsson (AB J&W) iir. f.uitfut and vaiuable
\ I' = yield strength ofrejnforcerncnt opinions
.\ t. J* = contpressivc strength of IOO mm cube during the slud;:

t, = clear span measured face-to-face ofsupports

lel
|, _____f t = spacing ofstirrup legs
REFERENCES
slrnal ln',.^ !rrr"llrr.:d j'ron: sl:l; i;;ulu;;.trr
i.
"European Committee lbr Standardlzation,
Eurocode 2, Design of
cllculated shcar capacitl' ofspecinren lor observcd failure mode
* l'or,
I'tt calculated^punching capacit,y provided by concrete (u,itlrout
Concrete Structur€s Part l: General llules and Rules lor Buildings,,,"ENV
1992-l-l:lg9t.
i slrear reinft;rcemcnt)
2. Kinnunen, S., arrd Nylander, H., ..punching of Concrete
calculated shear capacit-v outside slrear reinfbrcemerrt Slabs rvithout
t"1 = ^.
*/' r'.t = calculatcd shear force at ultitrlate flexural capacity of'specintcn
Shear lleinforcentent," Transactions of thz Roli htstitute olf T,echnology,No.
t58, Stockholm, 1960, I l2 pp.
(_ t', = calculated ultirnate sirear capacitl,pror.ided by bent bars
ntaxilnun) {brcc recorded at tcst, tO rnin eftcr loacl stcp applicaiion
u 3. Brorns, C_ E., "Punching of Flat plates_A
euestion of Concrete
l'u,, = Properties in Biaxiai Compression and Size Effect,', ZCI
r =. column reaction at Jbrrlration ofyield hinges along.uppo.t
\l s?. No. s. Ma1,-Jrrne t99O, pp. 2g9_5O4.
StructuralJournal
Iirres and midspans
height ofcompression zone in radial tlirection near colunrn
4. ACI Conrmittee gl8, ',Building Code Requirements for Structural
.t = srsM-e5)," Anerimn
o - coe{Icicnt in expression for tu,o-\\,ay shear strength 9:l:.:::.(ACI Concreie Institute, Farmington
rup leg I-lills, N,Iich., 1995,
s6e pp.
6,o = elongation olreitrfbrcement bar at rupture
5. ACI-ASCE Commitree g59, ..Recommendations for Design
1 - partial salety lactor of Slab_
ratio of'tension reinfbrcement = lilit, Colunrn Connections in Monolithic Reinforced Concrete Siructures,,,
I = I

(ACI 359 I R-s9)," American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills,

= reinforcernent ratio producing balanced strain conditions
P,t
Mich., rss9, ez pp.
- .4,r/ s', slirrup reinlbrccnrcnt ratiu
[tu
ratio of'tension reinforcernent in z- and;-directions, respectirc\,
v 6. N{itchell, D., and Cook, W D., ..preventing progressive Collapse of
Ia1' a ducrilt 0. P,t =
Slalr Strur:tures," Journal olf Stnuhuul EngineerTng AECA, V r
rf'tlris paJ*r,
Io, i{o. ?,
Jul_y t SS+, pp. | 5 ts-r b32.
. sizerflbtlfar.ror. € = I + 200
:rc1, oi', d v r-. Brorrs, C. tr., "Shear Reinfbrcement for Deflection Ductilitl, of lrlat
avc lll
aj)
i! due. I>lates," ACI Stnutural Jounml V 8;, No. 6, Nor:_Dec. 199o,
pp. 696_705.
at l)latcs. CONVERSION FACTORS 8. Rcsan, P E., and Braestrup, M. \\i, ,.punching Shear in Reinforced
.ecautions. it I nrrn = O.O.994 in. Concrete: A State-ol'-the-Art Report,,' Butbtin din-forniatmr4 No. 168,
lm = 3.28rft
tility lor flrt l kN - o.eeas kt)
Conrit€ Euro-lnternational du B6ton, I_ausanne, tgal, zs2 pp.
l'hc risk trll s. CtrB-trlP \'todel Code t99o, "N{C so," Buttetin d'htjbrmtion No.
I N{[ja = r45 psi 9.13i,21+, Conrit6 F,rro-lnternationale du B6ton, Lausanne, 199g,45T
urd the basir pp.

is easy lr
or-r
cal llat plxr
:ronnall_Y suf.
)st)-as cotrF
ut any shcar
the total cstt
ntioning tlrrl
n in Srteden
m in the forn
uctural me$!
', a ductile {ld
ir the desig*r
-rtiotr. , ,

llior col't6q
rnns, t '.ltr
br tlat Ptat4
1,s 5trgCtUtfi
irately brr{t'
,{i
r enough lit{
prorisionr I
espect. ' :::

at
's block

i:j:'
r.:!f!

entroid of t*{ti
:
ottonr legdbd
+

Structural J o_g1na l/,1 a qgq ry:[e_!ru ely!qQq { n{