COMPARITIVE STUDY ON DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR

OF RC BUILDING WITH CONVENTIONAL AND

FLAT SLAB
Dr. G Sridevi1(0000-0002-5922-3132), Mr. A Shivaraj 2*(0000-0002-7437-1256), Mr. G
Sudarshan 3(0000-0002-5129-5465) and Mr. Umesh Biradar 4(0000-0003-0087-9433)
1234
B V Raju Institute of Technology, Narsapur, India
Sridevi.g@bvrit.ac.in
Shivaraj.a@bvrit.ac.in
Sudarshan.g@bvrit.ac.in
Umesh.b@bvrit.ac.in

Abstract: Earthquake causes massive destruction to all the infrastructure facilities

such as buildings power lines airport terminals etc. The extent of damage depends on
the associated energy, magnitude, epicenter distance. The effects of earthquakes are
responsible for ground shakings which in turn shakes the structure, liquefaction in
which sub soil losses its strength. During earthquakes, the ground experience high
accelerations resulting in back and forth moment of the structure. Unless the
structures are designed and constructed to with stand seismic forces the failure of
cannot be avoided. Building can be made seismically sound with proper structure
design, detailing and construction practice. The performance depends on how the real
life conditions like material properties and ground motion data are accurately
simulated.
Flat Slab is a reinforced slab built monolithically with the supporting column
without provision of beams. Configuration of a building is very much important for
seismic performance of buildings. The important aspects that affect seismic
configuration of a building are overall geometry and structural system. This parameter
varies in their behavior in flat slab and conventional slab. In Present study G+6 multi
story RC frame structure is considered for the analysis. Typical storey height of
building is 3.2m. To study the dynamic behavior of RC Frame structure with
conventional slab system and flat slab system, two models have been prepared in
ETABS software and response spectrum analysis has been performed.

Keyword: Conventional slab, Flat Slab, Response Spectrum Analysis, ETABS.

1. Introduction

The purpose of designing earthquake resisting structures is to make the structure

resistant to the effect of ground shaking, thereby avoiding disasters. During
earthquake in symmetrical buildings, swings back and forth such that all points on a
particular floor moves horizontally by the same amount in the direction in which it
shakes. On contrary, in the case of unsymmetrical buildings, the swing will be
unequal producing torsion leading to the damage of columns, which move more
during the shakes. The design of conventional reinforced concrete building is based
on strong column and weak beam design method. In the conventional multi storey
building, while designing the structures, the lateral loads such as seismic and wind
loads should also be considered apart from vertical loads. For buildings, pure rigid
frame system is not adequate because of its inability to provide the required lateral
stiffness and results in excessive deflection of the building. So, it becomes imperative
to make the structure more stable against excessive deformations. RC slabs with long
spans extended over several bays and supported by beams and columns suffers from
certain disadvantages like more depth of floor system, increased storey height and
lesser clear ceiling heights.
However, it is possible to undertake construction without providing beams, frame
system consisting of slab and column. These types of slabs are called flat slabs. Flat
slab system is very simple to construct and offers architectural flexibility, longer span
apart from requiring minimum building height for a given number of stories.
However, flat slab has week resistance to the lateral loads when compared to
traditional RC slab. The Flat Slab are weak in torsion and needs to be taken into
account while designing. The absence of beam results in larger thickness of slab.
 In the analysis of flat slab point supports at column location are assumed hence
reinforcement at the connection becomes very important as bending moment and
shear force at the joint is very large.
The behavior of flat slab building during earthquake mostly depends on the
configuration of the building. Response Spectrum analysis is one of the important
techniques for structural seismic analysis. Frame structures comprises of beams and
columns to support and transfer the loads. The floor loads are transferred to beam; the
beams transfer the loads to the columns, which in turn transfer the loads to
foundation. The beams are designed on flexure members in order to undergo
deformation under loading. When the structures is subjected to lateral loads such as
wind or seismic loads, additional strength and stiffness to be provided to the structural
members to reduce the lateral swag. The structure should be made of moment frame
strong enough at the beam column joints to counter the lateral force.
In order to increase the lateral stiffness of building with flat slab and to minimize
the displacement, increase the stability under lateral loading, shear wall are used.
FEM is a well accepted and reliable means to understand and solve complex
problems. Using FEM efforts are made to find the natural frequencies corresponding
to the respective mode shape as well as displacement with respect to time due to
loading.
The deflection of the member is proportional to the stiffness of the member, so a
member with higher stiffness deflects less under applied loads. Since the stiffness of
shear wall is much higher and also provides torsional rigidity to structure which can
resist lateral forces. This reduces axial force on the column in all the members
including middle frame region.
Husam Omar, Glenn Morris (1991) [1] reviewed about a procedure for performing a
linear structural analysis of laterally loaded three-dimensional flat plate structures,
with or without shear walls. H.S. Kim, D.G. Lee (2005) [2] studied about the Flat
Plate system with respect to the economical and architectural demands.
Uttamasha Gupta et al (2012) [3] and K S Sable et al (2012) [4] studied the behavior
of multi-storey buildings having flat slabs with drops and two way slabs with beams
in order to know the effect of part shear wall on the performance of these types of
buildings under seismic forces.
A natural disaster like an Earthquake can damage the life and property of humans if
structures are not designed to resist the seismic loads. Earthquake occurs as a result of
a disturbance that is triggered underneath the ground surface either due to release of
strain energy stored or due to convergence or divergence of tectonic plates. The
resulting ground movement from an earthquake induces large forces onto the structure
for a short instance of time. Although earthquake occurs for a short period of time, the
damage it causes is heavy due to the accelerations that are transmitted to the structure
from the ground. These accelerations give rise to inertia forces whose magnitude
equals the product of mass of the structure and acceleration. Inertia forces act as
lateral loads on the structure and make huge demand on the structure to withstand it,
as generally it is not designed to cater for these high lateral loads.
Reinforced concrete is concrete that contains embedded steel bars, plates, fibers that
strengthen the material. The capability to carry loads by these materials is magnified,
and because of this RCC is used extensively in all construction. In fact, it has become
the most commonly utilized construction material. Reinforced materials are embedded
in the concrete in such a way that the two materials resist the applied forces together.
The compressive strength of concrete and the tensile strength of steel form a strong
bond to resist these stresses over a long span.
Flat slab is a beamless slab supported on the four corners by columns without
beams and with long spans extended over several bays. To transfer the load from slab
to column drop panels and column heads will be provided. A part of slab is connected
to column by panels and column heads. The flat slabs are supported on columns
which includes high concentrated shear force which results in punching shear failure.
It becomes imperative to make the columns adequately strong in shear and reduce the
hogging moment at the support.
2. Model Description
In Present study G+6 multi story RC frame structure is considered for the analysis.
Typical storey height of building is 3.2m. To study the dynamic behavior of RC
Frame structure with conventional slab system and flat slab system, two models have
been prepared in ETABS software. Both conventional and flat slabs are designed as
per Indian standards. Plan of building is shown in Fig.1.

Fig 1: Building Plan

3. Methodology

In the present study Response spectrum analysis was carried out due to lack of
time history records of the area. Time history method is considered to be relatively
superior method as it provides and considers the peak acceleration value and duration
of time. The time history analysis can depict the response of the structure subjected to
dynamic loads with respect to time. The time v/s frequency data for entire duration of
earthquake facilitates accurate analysis of the data. Moreover the seismic analysis of
the structure requires not only peak ground acceleration, but also ground motion data
as well as dynamic properties.
A response spectrum is a plot of peak response of a series of oscillations varying
natural frequency that are forced into motion by the same vibration. Modal analysis
performed to identify the modes and the response in that mode can be identified.
Response spectrum analysis predicts peak value of forces and displacements for
all the natural modes of vibration which represent the likely maximum seismic
response of the structure considered as elastic. Response spectrum analysis measures
pseudo-spectral acceleration and displacement as a function of structural period for a
given time history and level of damping which provides an insight into the dynamic
behavior of the structure.
The main limitation of response spectrum analysis is that this is applicable for linear
systems. The response spectra generated for non linear systems are applicable for the
system with the same non linearity.
Earthquake load which is dynamic force as set of equivalent static forces. Every
structure has different frequencies of vibration and during earthquake the response of
building is a combination of different natural frequencies of the building. More the
number of natural periods considered, more accurate is the seismic loads estimates
expect to be.
For the present study following seismic parameters are considered. Response
spectrum analysis is considered to study the dynamic behavior of buildings. This
approach permits the multiple modes of response of a building to be taken into
account.
The response spectrum is conventional representation of the maximum response
of a structure in terms of displacement, velocity, acceleration of an infinite series of
damped SDOF harmonic oscillation to the seismic signal. The Spectral response of
each fundamental period is read by the graph and is related to base shear, the seismic
stress at the base of the building.
The response spectrum analysis calculates the maximum response of a structure to
transient loads that are forced into vibration by a shock. The details of sectional
properties of the building with conventional slab and flat slab are given in Table 1 and
Table 2 respectively. The details of the seismic parameters considered in the present study
are given in Table 3 and live load reduction factor is considered as given in Table 4 as per IS
875-II [5].

Table 1: Sectional Properties of RC Building with Conventional Slab

Size of Column 720 mm x 720 mm
Thickness of Slab 150 mm
Size of Beam 230 mm x 300 mm
Wall Thickness 230 mm

Table 2 : Sectional Properties RC Frame System with Flat Slab

Size of Column 720 mm x 720 mm
Thickness of Flat Slab 250 mm
Size of the Drop 300 mm
Wall Thickness 230 mm

Table 3 : Seismic Parameter

Soil Type Medium Stiff
Zone II
Importance of Building, I 1.5
Response Reduction Factor, 3
R

Table 4: Live Load Reduction Factor

No of floors Reduction in Total Distributed Imposed Load
1 0
2 10
3 20
4 30
5 to 10 40
Over 10 50

4. Results and Discussions

The analysis and design of the buildings models are performed by using ETABS.
The results of both Conventional slab and Flat slab and the response results are
computed using the Response spectrum analysis.
Results of building with conventional slab for response spectrum analysis such as
storey displacement, time period with respect to frequency and modal participation
ratio are given in Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7 respectively. Fig, 2 shows the Response
spectrum curve for building with conventional slab.

Table 5: Story Displacement in Conventional Slab

Storey Displacement X- Displacement Y- Direction in
Direction in mm mm
6 0.581 1.694
5 0.577 1.666
4 0.572 1.637
3 0.568 1.606
2 0.562 1.574
1 0.557 1.535
ground 0.552 1.505
 Table 6: Time Period Vs Frequency in Conventional Slab

PERIOD (SEC) FREQUENCY (CYC/SEC)

0.101 9.9
0.068 14.685
0.068 14.758
0.014 73.133
0.013 77.922
0.013 78.034
0.013 78.187
0.013 78.343
0.013 78.49
0.013 79.119
0.013 79.283
0.013 79.418

Table 7: Modal Participation Ratio for Conventional Slab

Case Item Type Item Static(%) Dynamic(%)
Modal Acceleration UX 99.99 99.57
Modal Acceleration UY 99.96 97.31
Modal Acceleration UZ 0 0

90
80
70 Response Spectrum
Frequency in Hz

60 Curve
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
Time Period in sec

Fig 2 : Response spectrum curve of building with conventional slab

Results of building with flat slab for response spectrum analysis like storey
displacement, time period with respect to frequency and modal participation ratio are
given in Table 8, Table 9 and Table 10 respectively. Response spectrum curve for building
with flat slab is shown in Fig 3.

Table 8 : Storey Displacement in Flat Slab

Displacement X- Direction in Displacement Y-Direction in

Storey
mm mm
6 1.407 2.271
5 1.393 2.193
4 1.379 2.113
3 1.364 2.03
2 1.348 1.945
1 1.332 1.859
ground 1.314 1.768
Table 9: Response Spectrum Curve for Building with Flat Slab
PERIOD (SEC) FREQUENCY (CYCLE/SEC)
0.098 10.422
0.087 11.461
0.076 13.14
0.019 53.444
0.009 112.812
0.004 242.389
0.003 287.141
0.002 406.189
0.002 504.164
0.002 517.469
0.002 530.763
0.002 608.607

700

600

500 Response
Frequency in Hz

Spectrum Curve
400

300

200

100

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
Time Period in sec

Fig 3 : Response spectrum curve of building with flat slab

Table 10: Modal Load Participation Ratios Flat Slab

Item Static (%) Dynamic (%)

UX 100 100

UY 100 100

UZ 0 0
 7

5 Conventional X

No. of Storey
Direction
4
Conventional Y
3 Direction
Flat X Direction
2
Flat Y Direction
1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Displacement in mm

Fig 4 : Comparison graph of Storey Displacement

The storey displacement at every storey level in both conventional slab and Flat slab
in X and Y directions are presented in Fig.4.

Conventional slab responds for lateral loads at a frequency of 9.9cyc/sec in a period

of 0.101sec. Flat slab responds for lateral loads with a high frequency of 10.422
cycle/sec in a short period of 0.096 sec. Modal Participation factor is a measure of
the importance of each mode. In both the slabs, conventional as well as Flat slab, the
Modal participation is more than 97%, which implies that the analysis is done
considering the influence of loads and mass in X and Y direction.

5. Conclusions

 The RC Building with Conventional Slab has performed well as compared

RC Building with Flat Slab.

 Displacement of the RC Building with Conventional slab was observed

0.581mm in X-direction and 1.694mm in Y- direction. Where as in RC
Building with Flat slab system it is 1.407mm in X-direction and 2.271mm in
Y-direction.

 When compared to Conventional slab building, Flat slab building is

responding more for lateral loads. Response time period time period for RC
Building with flat slab is 0.096 sec with a frequency of 10.422cyc/sec where
as for Conventional slab structure it is of 0.101sec with a frequency of
9.9cyc/sec

 With reference of results it can be concluded that RC Building with Flat slab
system are more prone to seismic loads as compared to RC Building with
Conventional slab.
References

1. Husam Omar, Glenn Morris, Analysis of laterally loaded flat-plate structures,

Canadian Journal of structural engineering, Vol.18, No.1, 1991, pp.109-117.
2. H.S.Kim, D.G.Lee, Efficient Analysis of Flat Plate Structures subjected to
Lateral Loads, Science Direct, Engineering Structures Journal, Vol.27, Issue.2,
January 2005, pp 251-263.

3. Uttamashagupta Shurti Ratnaparkhe, Padma Gome. “Seismic behavior of

buildings having flat slabs with drops”. International Journal of Emerging
Technology and Advanced Engineering. (IJETAE) ISSN: 2250-2459, Volume-2,
Issue-10, and October 2012.
4. K S Sable, Er. V A Ghodechor, Prof. S B Kandekar. “Comparative study of
seismic behavior of multi-storey flat slab and conventional reinforced concrete
framed structures”. International Journal of Computer Technology and
Electronics Engineering. (IJCTEE) ISSN: 2249-6343, Volume-2, Issue-3,
June2012
5. IS 875-II, Indian standard code of practice for design loads (Imposed).