SHEAR AND PUNCHING CAPACITY PREDICTIONS FOR SLABS UNDER CONCENTRATED LOADS AIDED BY LEFEA

One-way slabs under concentrated loads may fail by one-way shear, punching, flexure or a mixed-mode between them. This study examines the benefits of using Linear Elastic Finite Element Analyses (LEFEA) combined with analytical expressions to predict the shear and punching capacities of such slabs. Besides, the determination of the most critical shear failure mechanism is also addressed. A simplified approach is proposed to predict the shear and punching capacity without numerical models. Forty-eight tests of simply supported slabs under concentrated loads were evaluated. The LEFEA was conducted with ABAQUS. The analytical expressions are based on the Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT). The coupling of the CSCT-expressions with the LEFEA accurately predicts the governing shear failure mechanism and the shear capacity of most test results. In this study, it was also found that the punching capacity predictions may be improved by considering the influence of the slab width and load size on the governing failure mechanism. A similar level of precision was achieved using only analytical expressions when properly calibrated. Therefore, the CSCT expressions can be used at different stages of design and assessment of existing structures according to the Level of Approximation required.