CIE 525 Reinforced Concrete Structures Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

8. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF SLAB SYSTEMS

8.1 Recommended Reading

1. Park, T. and Gamble, W., Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Wiley, 2nd Edition, Chapters 7 and 8

2. Wight, J. and MacGregor, J., Reinforced Concrete, Mechanics and Design, Prentice Hall,
Fifth Edition, Chapter 13. (denoted WM hereafter)

8.2 Slab Systems

8.2.1 Types of Slab System for Gravity-Load Resistance

There are a number of two-way gravity-load-resisting slab systems in use at the time of this
writing

 Flat plate floor system

 15 to 20 foot spans

 light gravity loads (e.g., apartment buildings)

 economical because formwork costs are low

 Flat slab floor system

 20 to 30 foot spans

 higher gravity loads than flat plates (e.g., office buildings)

 use of drop panels to reduce shear stresses (direct and moment-induced) at column

 Waffle slab floor system

 20 to 35 foot spans

 high gravity loads (e.g., industrial buildings)

 high stiffness leads to small displacements

 expensive because formwork costs are high

 Two-way slabs with two-way beams (conventional framing)

 Two-way slabs with band beams

 band beams wide and shallow to minimize band beam depth and permit passage of
services

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For the design of slabs and slab systems, the engineer must

 Provide a load path to the columns and walls – see below

 Satisfy equilibrium – see below

Sketches of each of the first four types of two-way slab systems are presented below from WM.

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8.2.2 Behavior of a Two-Way Slab System to Flexural Failure

Before presenting methods of analysis and design of two-way floor systems, it is instructive to
consider the behavior of a simple two-way floor system, fixed on all four sides. Such a floor
system is shown below (from WM).

Wight and MacGregor identify four stages in the behavior of a slab loaded to failure as excerpted
below. Assume that the slab is uniformly reinforced, top and bottom, in each direction.

 Prior to cracking (stage 1)

 slab acts as an elastic plate; for short-term loads, deflections and stresses can be
calculated by elastic analysis

 shrinkage cracking in a slab restrained as shown?

 After cracking and before rebar yielding (stage 2)

 common state for building slabs under service loads

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 slab is no longer of constant stiffness; no longer isotropic because crack patterns

different in two directions; cracked regions have (lower/higher) stiffness?

 elastic theory does a reasonable job of predicting moments at this stage

 Rebar yielding (stage 3)

 yielding initiates in the region of high negative moment (see part b of figure)

 what is the moment distribution in a one way spanning slab fixed at each end?

 plastic hinges form when the deformation exceeds the yield deformation (due to
increasing load) and moments redistribute, eventually causing positive moment
yielding in the middle of the slab and negative moment yielding on the perpendicular
supports (see part c of the figure)

 Yield line mechanism (stage 4)

 with further loading, the zones of yielding (cracks or yield lines) propagate to divide
the slab into a series of trapezoidal or triangular elastic plates as shown schematically
in part d of the figure; the loads corresponding to this stage of behavior can be
estimates by yield line analysis (to be covered in this module).

The purpose of the above presentation is two-fold, namely,

 Elastic analysis of slabs may be inaccurate for loads greater than the service loads (and
for slabs that are substantially cracked due to restraint of shrinkage, etc.)

 Substantial redistribution of loads occurs in slab systems after initial rebar yielding

 need for ductility to accommodate load redistribution

8.2.3 Distributions of Moments in Two-Way Slabs

The purpose of the presentation below is to illustrate the relationship between slab curvatures
and moments. Recall from other classes the equilibrium equations for a plate, and set Poisson’s
ratio to zero. The moments in the x and y directions, and the twisting moment, are given by

Et 3  2 z
mx   ( ) Moment is proportional to curvature
12 x 2
Et 3  2 z
my   ( )
12 y 2
Et 3  2 z
mxy   ( )
12 x y

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where the z axis is in the vertical direction. The twisting moment will be discussed later in the
module.

By visualizing the deflected shape of the slab, the distribution of moments can be qualitatively
estimated. Consider again a two-way slab (from WM) that is fixed on all four sides. Three slab
strips are shown: A, B, and C. The deflected shapes of the three strips are also shown in the
figure.

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Consider first strips A and B. The largest deflection on the two strips occurs in strip B and the
curvatures in strip B are therefore larger in strip B than strip A.

 Moments in strip B are therefore larger than those in strip A.

Where is the curvature maximized in strip C? Near the support? What about the middle of strip
C?

 z-axis displacement approximately constant; what does this mean?

8.3 Analysis of Slab Systems

There are two broad categories of slab-analysis methods

 Elastic methods

 Direct Design Method (ACI §13.6)

 Equivalent Frame Method (ACI §13.7)

 Limit analysis

 Upper bound method (yield-line analysis)

 Lower bound method (strip method)

Detailed information on the Direct Design Method (DDM) and the Equivalent Frame Method
(EFM) are presented in WM and other texts on design of reinforced concrete structures.

 DDM and EFM are used around the world for the design of gravity-load resisting slab
systems.

 Not covered further in CIE 525

The presentation on the analysis and design of gravity-load-resisting slab systems will focus on
the two limit analysis methods.

8.4 Yield-Line Analysis of Floor Slabs

8.4.1 Introduction

Yield-line analysis (YLA) uses rigid-plastic theory to estimate failure loads corresponding to
given plastic moment resistances

 Can be used for slabs, beams, frames

 Material independent: reinforced concrete, steel, others

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 No information on deflections

 Useful for ultimate (post-yielding) behavior only

 no information on service-load response

 Often used for evaluation of existing structures

 Kinematic method provides an upper-bound estimate to the collapse load

 Conservative or non-conservative?

Johansen developed modern yield line theory in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The texts by
Park and Gamble, and WM provide much information on yield line analysis and provide greater
detail than that presented in this module.

The assumption of rigid-plastic behavior can be illustrated as follows for a beam and a slab.

Beam:

uniform load
simply supported edges

supports are axes of rotation

rigid segment

plastic hinge

Slab:

uniform load
simply supported edges

rigid segment

yield line (**** moment, ???? shear)

supports as axes of rotation

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There are three basic rules for determining yield line patterns in slabs.

1. Yield lines must be straight lines forming axes of rotation for the movements of the rigid
(plane) segments.

2. Slab supports will act as axes of rotation. If an edge is fixed, a yield line may form along
a support. An axis of rotation will pass over a column.

3. For compatibility of deformations, a yield line must pass through the intersection of the
axes of rotation of adjacent slab segments. (See below)

8.4.2 Yield Line Patterns

The sign convention for boundary conditions, axes of rotation, and yield lines that will be
adopted in CIE 525 is presented below.

Item 3 above regarding yield lines passing through the intersection of the axes of rotation of
adjacent slab segments is illustrated below.

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axis for segment b

axis for segment a

another option?

Other examples of yield line patterns for slabs supporting uniformly distributed loads, from Park
and Gamble, are presented below.

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What are plausible yield line patterns for the uniformly loaded slabs below?

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Consider now a trapezoidal slab similar to that shown on page 10. What are three plausible yield
line patterns?

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8.4.3 Flexural Strength of Slabs for Yield Line Analysis

For a yield line that runs perpendicular to the rebar in a slab, the moment resistance per unit
width for that rebar is

1c fy
mu  As f y (d  )  As f y (d  0.59 As )
2 f c

where As is the area of the tension rebar per unit width and all other terms have been defined
previously. For design, the right hand side of the above equation is multiplied by  to calculate a
dependable strength. As has been shown previously, the effect of compression rebar can be
ignored for the calculation of flexural strength, because for under-reinforced slabs, the
compression rebar makes little difference to the ultimate strength of the section.

The above is the yield criterion for a yield line that is perpendicular to the rebar. What is the
effect of skewing the yield line with respect to the axis of the rebar?

8.4.4 Flexural Strength of Slabs at Yield Lines Skewed to Rebar

The above equation facilitates the calculation of the flexural strength of a slab perpendicular to a
yield line. The derivation is extended below for the case where the yield lines are skewed with
respect to the slab rebar, namely to calculate the ultimate moment per unit width along a yield
line that is at an angle other than 90° to the x and y axes.

Consider the figure below from Park and Gamble that shows a yield line at an angle  to
orthogonal reinforcement. In this case, torsional and flexural moments will co-exist on the yield
line indicated below in the circled part of the figure. In the circled figure, ab has unit length.

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Johansens yield criterion provides a method to calculate the

 Ultimate bending moment per unit width, mun

 Torsional moment per unit width, munt

The criterion is based on a series of assumptions:

 The actual yield line can be replaced by a stepped line consisting of small steps in the x-
and y- directions as shown in the figure on the previous page.

 That the torsional moments acting in the x- and y-directions are zero (that is the moments
on these faces are principal moments).

 The strength of the section is not affected by kinking of the bars across the yield line
(crack) or by biaxial stress conditions in the concrete compression zone.

 That the stress in the tension steel in both directions crossing the yield line (crack) is f y

 That the internal level arms for the ultimate flexural strengths in the x- and y-directions
are not affected when bending occurs in a general direction.

Tests on slabs have shown that Johansen’s yield criterion is accurate, despite its simplicity.

Consider again the stepped slab on the previous page. The rebar is placed in the x- and y-
directions at right angles and the yield line is inclined at an angle  to the y-axis. The ultimate
flexural strengths per unit width in the x- and y-directions are mux and muy , respectively.

Consider now the circled part of the figure on the previous page, which is reproduced below.

Taking moments about side ab of the element above:

mun (ab)  mux (ac) cos   muy (cb) sin 

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and

mun  mux cos 2   muy sin 2 

Similarly, taking moments about an axis perpendicular to ab shows that the torsional moment per
unit width is

munt (ab)  mux (ac) sin   muy (cb) cos 

or

munt  (mux  muy ) sin  cos 

Consider now two cases:

 If mux  muy , mun  mux cos 2   mux sin 2   mux , and munt  0

 ultimate moment of resistance per unit width is the same in all directions

 torsional moment at the yield line is zero

 such a slab is said to be isotropic or isotropically reinforced.

 If mux  muy

 ultimate moment of resistance per unit width is dependent on the direction of the
yield line

 torsional moment at the yield line

 such a slab is said to be orthotropic or orthotropically reinforced.

8.4.5 Yield Line Analysis Using the Principle of Virtual Work

The first step in a yield line analysis is to propose the yield line pattern following the rules set
forth previously, namely,

1. Yield lines must be straight lines forming axes of rotation for the movements of the rigid
(plane) segments.

2. Slab supports will act as axes of rotation. If an edge is fixed, a yield line may form along
a support. An axis of rotation will pass over a column.

3. For compatibility of deformations, a yield line must pass through the intersection of the
axes of rotation of adjacent slab segments.

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The proposed yield line pattern will generally contain unknown dimensions that locate the
positions of the yield lines, and there is generally more than one family of yield lines for a given
slab as shown previously and again below.

All possible yield line patterns should be identified. Why?

 Correct pattern is the one that gives the lowest value of the ultimate load

 If the correct pattern is missed, the calculated ultimate load will be unsafe

The ultimate load can be calculated from the yield line patterns using

 Equations of equilibrium

 Principle of virtual work

 generally easier and the approach adopted in CIE 525

What is the principle of virtual work? Consider a rigid body (why a rigid body) that is in
equilibrium under the action of a system of forces; a sample rigid body in equilibrium is shown
below.

If this rigid body is given a small arbitrary displacement, the sum of the work done by the forces
will be zero.

 Because the resultant force is zero

The principle of virtual work can therefore be stated as follows: “If a rigid body that is in
equilibrium under a system of forces is given a virtual displacement, the sum of the virtual work
done by the forces is zero.” This principle underpins the following discussion.

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To analyze a slab system by the virtual work method, a yield line pattern is proposed for the slab
at the ultimate load.

 Segments of the yield line pattern may be regarded as rigid bodies because the slab
deformation with increased deflection occurs only at the yield lines.

 Segments of the slab are in equilibrium under external loading and the bending and
torsional moments and shears along the yield lines.

 A point within the slab is given a small displacement  in the direction of the applied
load.

 the displacements at all points within the slab ( x, y ) and the rotations of the slab
segments about the yield lines can be established in terms of  and the dimensions of
the slab segments.

 Work will be done by (a) the external loads, and (b) internal actions along the yield lines.

Consider first a slab with a uniformly distributed load per unit area wu . The work done by the
external load is

 w ( x, y) dxdy   W 
u u

where Wu is the total load on a segment of the yield line pattern,  is the downward movement
of the centroid of the segment, and the summation is over all segments.

 Reactions at the support do not contribute to the work. Why?

The work done by the internal actions at the yield lines will be due only to the bending moments.
Why?

 The work done by the shears and torsional moments is zero when summed over the
whole slab.

 Actions on each side of the yield line are equal and opposite as shown below, but
there is no relative movement between the sides of the yield line corresponding to the
torsional moments and shear forces.

n

yield line

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The work done by the ultimate moment of resistance per unit length mun at a yield line length l0
where the relative rotation between the segments is n (see above) is munl0 n . Why negative
work?

 Bending moments will be acting in the direction opposite to the rotation in the slab if the
virtual displacement is in the direction of loading.

The total work done by the ultimate moments of resistance is therefore  munl0n , where the
summation extends over all yield lines. The virtual work equation can therefore be written as

0   Wu    mun nl0 or W    m
u un
nl0

External work Internal work

The above information can be used to solve for the ultimate uniformly distributed load (UDL)
per unit area ( wu ) of a square simply supported slab of side length l. Assume that the slab is
isotropically reinforced with ultimate positive moments of resistance per unit width mu is each
direction (x and y). A sketch of the slab, from Park and Gamble, is shown below.

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A postulated yield line pattern is shown in the figure. The displacements of the four segments
can be determined easily in terms of the displacement  of the point E. The work done by the
UDL is

wu l 2  
W   4(
u
4
 )  wu l 2
3 3

Shown in the above figure is a section along line DB. From that section it can be seen that
rotation between each segment is equal for all four segments, namely,

 
n  2( )2 2
l l
2

The total internal work is equal to  munl0n and because mun  mu , the total internal work for
the sample problem is

 l
m un
nl0  mu (2 2 )(4
l 2
)  8mu 

The ultimate load wu is calculated by setting the internal work equal to the external work,
namely,

24mu
wu 
l2

Corner effects can complicate yield lines in the corner regions of slabs and may result in a
slightly smaller ultimate load. The reader is referred to Section 7.7 of Park and Gamble for much
additional information.

8.4.6 Components of Internal Work

The rebar in the example above was isotropic, that is, identical in both directions of the slab.
Generally, this is not the case and mux  muy .

Since most slabs are rectangular with rebar placed parallel to the x- and y-directions, and because
the ultimate moments of resistance per unit width in these directions are often known, it is often
convenient to deal with the x-direction and y-direction components of the internal work done by
the ultimate moments  mun nl0 . For a yield line inclined at angle  to the y-axis (see below),
with the segments of the slab undergoing a relative rotation n about the yield line, the internal
work is

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m un
nl0   (mux cos 2   muy sin 2 )nl0
  mux n cos  y0   muy n sin  x0
  mux  y y0   muy  x x0

where  x and  y are the components of n about the x- and y-axes respectively, and x0 and y0
are the projected lengths of the yield lines in the x- and y-directions. To illustrate this procedure,
consider again the sample square slab above, with side length l, and isotropic reinforcement. The
corner of this simply supported slab is shown below (from WM).

Edge AF is half of the side AD and edge AG is half of the side AB, so one quarter of the slab is
shown below. A stepped approximation to one of the four yield lines is shown. The displacement
of point E at the center of the plate is  . Plate ADE rotates about the y-axis only (  x  0) and
the internal work for this plate is

 mx Ly  y  m y Lx  x
2
 mx ( L)( )0
L
 2mx 

Similarly, plate ABE rotates about the x-axis only (

 y  0 ) and the internal work for this plate is

 mx Ly  y  m y Lx  x
2
 0  my ( L)( )
L
 2m y 

So, the total internal work is the sum of the work

done by the four segments, namely,

m  l  2(2mx   2my )
un n 0

 8mu 

because the slab is isotropically reinforced with

mx  my  mu , which is the same answer as before.

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8.4.7 Examples of Yield-Line Analysis

Example 1

To illustrate the use of yield line analysis, consider the rectangular slab below with plan
dimensions as shown. The slab is orthotropically reinforced as noted. The problem at hand is to
calculate the maximum uniformly distributed load per unit area. The ultimate moments of
resistance are mux  10 kip-ft/ft width and muy  15 kip-ft/ft.

15’

25’
The following (positive moment) yield line pattern is proposed for a unit midspan deflection.
Two slab segments are identified in the figure.

2 7.5’

1
7.5’

x 25  2x x

The internal work is given by

1 1 300
 ( mux ) (15)( )  2  ( muy )(25)( )  2   100
x 7.5 x

y0 y
2 panels

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The external work is equal to

1 1 1 1 1
 wu ([15']( ) x( )  2  [7.5']( ) x( )  4  [25  2 x](15')( ))
2 3 2 3 2
 wu (5 x  5 x  187.5  15 x)
 wu (187.5  5 x)

and

300
(  100)
wu  x
187.5  5 x

How do we solve for wu ? By either setting dwu / dx  0 and back substituting, or by trial and
error. The latter approach is used here and values are presented below.

x (feet) wu (ksf)

6’ 0.952

7’ 0.937

8’ 0.932

9’ 0.936

Is the problem now complete with wu  0.932 ksf? Not necessarily because other mechanisms
may control. See the alternate mechanism below.

15-2y

12.5’ 12.5’

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The internal work is given by

The external work is given by

and

750
(24  )
y
wu 
(187.5  8.33 y )

Solving this by trial and error,

y (feet) wu (ksf)

5’ 1.193

6’ 1.082

7’ 1.016

7.5’ 0.992

So, what is the collapse load?

 wu  ksf

As an aside, what service live load should be permitted on this slab, assuming that the slab is 10
inches thick and there is no other dead load?

10
932  1.2  (150  )
wLL  12  488 psf
1.6

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Example 2

Consider the square slab below, fixed around the perimeter, with side length l, and ultimate
moments of resistance:

mux  muy  mu for positive bending

  m  m for negative bending

mux uy u

Calculate the maximum concentrated load at the center of the slab. Impose a displacement  at
the center of the slab.

L P

The internal work is


 4( ( L)(mu  mu ))  8(mu  mu )
L
2

x0 , y0


# of panels

The external work is P and the maximum concentrated load is given by

P  8(mu  mu )

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Example 3

Consider the n-sided polygon-shaped slab below, fixed around the perimeter, with overall
dimension length l, and ultimate moments of resistance:

mux  muy  mu for positive bending

  m  m for negative bending

mux uy u

Calculate the maximum concentrated load at the center of the slab. Impose a displacement  at
the center of the slab.

Consider now one segment of the n-sided polygon:


L tan
n
2
n
L/2

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For the single segment shown above, the internal work is

 
( )(mu  mu )( L tan )
L n
2
projection
and the external work is

P
 
n

and the ultimate load P is equal to


P  2n(mu  mu ) tan
n

For n = 4


P  (2  4)(mu  mu ) tan  8(mu  mu ) (same answer as before)
4

For n = ∞ ( a circle),


P  2n(tan )(mu  mu )
n
 
[ ]3 2[ ]5

 2n(mu  mu )(  n  n  ......)
n 3 15
 6.28(mu  mu )

So what does the answer to Example 3 mean relative to the answer for Example 2?

 If the response of the slab is dominated by a concentrated load, the slab will always fail in
a circular pattern as shown below

 Both of these solutions are equally valid because the solution is independent of L.

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 How about off-center concentrated loads? Same solution as

or

8.4.8 Circular Fans

Circular fans will comprise all or part of a failure cone and are liable to form anywhere where
there are concentrated loads or reactions.

Consider an isotropic slab with ultimate positive and negative moments of resistance mu and mu ,
respectively. Let the circular fan shown below (from Park and Gamble) be a portion of the yield
line pattern.

Consider the internal work done by the ultimate moments of the shaded segment if the center of
the fan is given a downwards displacement  and the segment rotates around the negative-
moment yield line axis.

The rotation of the segment is



r

and the internal work done by the ultimate moments is

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
mun n l0  ( mu  mu )( )( rd )
r

and for the entire fan, if  is the angle subtended by the fan,



mun nl0   (mu  mu )( )(rd )  (mu  mu )
0
r

Compare this result with that obtained earlier for a polygon with an infinite number of sides (a
circle). The internal work from the above equation is

 (mu  mu )(2)

which is the same answer as before.

One case where fans should be considered in yield line analysis is shown below: a uniformly
loaded floor plate with a collapse mode around a rectangular column. This example is from Park
and Gamble. Many additional examples are presented in that text.

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8.4.9 Design by the Yield Line Method

Listed below are the key steps for the design of slabs using the yield line method.

1. Limit the reinforcement ratio to 0.4  0.5bal for ductility

2. Use a rebar layout that is similar to the elastic moment distribution, that is

a. M   1.5  2.0 M 

b. provide corner reinforcement

c. bar cut-offs are permitted but make sure that a new mechanism cannot form, for
example,

Bottom rebar Top rebar

3. Check serviceability: cracking and deflections

a. Use code minimum thickness

b. Check if elastic solutions are available

4. For combinations of loadings (say wu and multiple P), use superposition, that is, design
for each case independently and then combine the rebar.

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8.5 Strip-Method Analysis of Slab Systems

8.5.1 Lower Bound Method of Analysis

For the lower bound method of analysis, a distribution of moments for the whole part of the slab
or plate is found such that

 The equilibrium conditions are satisfied at all points in the slab

 The yield criterion defining the strength of the slab elements is not exceeded anywhere in
the slab

 mu  mdemand

 The boundary conditions are complied with.

The ultimate load capacity of the slab is calculated from the equilibrium equations and the
distribution of moments. For a given slab, the ultimate load so calculated is either low or correct
(the unique solution)

 Contrast this with the yield line method that calculates loads that are either too high
(unconservative) or correct.

The lower bound method is often referred to as the equilibrium method

 Hillerborg proposed the equilibrium methods for slab design in the 1950s.

 Provides information on possible safe distributions of moments and shears in slabs

Consider the shear forces and bending moments acting on the small element of slab shown below
(from Park and Gamble) supporting a uniformly distributed load per unit area, w.

 Vx and Vy are shear forces per unit width

 mx and my are bending moments per unit width

 mxy and myx are torsional moments per unit width

 mxy  m yx because the complimentary shear stresses (on adjacent faces)

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Equilibrium of vertical forces from parts a and b of the figure gives

Vx Vy
  w
x y

For moment equilibrium about a y-direction axis passing through the middle of the element,

mx mxy
  Vx
x y

and similarly about an x-direction axis passing through the middle of the element,

m y mxy
  Vy
y x

Substituting the last two equations into the third-last equation gives the well-known equilibrium
equation for a slab, which applies regardless of (a) whether the slab is in the elastic or plastic
range, (b) whether the slab is isotropic or orthotropic.

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 2 mx 2 2 mxy  2 my
   w
x 2 x y y 2

To obtain lower bound solutions to the slab equilibrium equations

 The load w can be arbitrarily apportioned between the terms

 2 mx
 
x 2

2 2 mxy
 
x y

 2 my
 
y 2

 The load can be carried by any combination of slab bending and/or twisting in the two
directions.

8.5.2 Hillerborg Strip Method

The strip method is an alternative limit design method to the yield-line method. Although the
distribution of moments (bending and torsional) is left up to the designer, the method must be
applied with care, Why? Because substantial cracking and deflection can result from a poor
choice of load distribution. As a rule, loads should be distributed in a manner reasonably close to
the elastic distribution.

Returning to the equilibrium equation, and the notion that the load could be carried by any
combination of slab bending and/or twisting in the two directions, Hillerborg set the second term
(the twisting term) to zero, such that

 2 mx  2 my
  w
x 2 y 2

so that the load is carried by flexure in the x- and y-directions. To do this, the slab can be divided
into a system of strips in the x- and y-directions.

The above equation can be replaced by two equations:

 2 mx
 w for bending in the x-direction (using the convention of the figure above)
x 2

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 2 my
 (1   ) w for bending in the y-direction (using the convention of the figure above)
y 2

In the above equations, the designer selects the value for  ( 0    1 ). If   1 , the entire load is
carried in the x-direction. If   0 , the entire load is carried in the y-direction. Regardless, the
designer must provide a reasonable load path.

The following sections in this module present information on the application of the strip method
to a range of slab systems. The figures used to describe the method make use of the sign
convention that shown below for boundary conditions.

Free (unsupported) edge

Simply supported edge

Fixed (continuous) edge

Column

The use of the strip method is illustrated below using a series of examples.

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8.5.3 Examples of the Strip Method

Example 1

Consider a rectangular slab with a uniform load w, with side lengths l1 and l2 . Each edge of the
slab is simply supported by a beam and each beam spans to a column in the corner of the slab.

A
A y
B

l2 beam (4 total)
w

(1   )w

C D

l1
x A

If l1  l2 it is reasonable to set   0.5 . Is this at odds with the static moment calculation for
which the moment about the centerline of the panel, about the x axis, is

( wl2 )l12
Mx   M A A
8

For the slab spanning in the y-direction:

( wl2 )l12 wl2l12

M slab  
8 8

For the beams spanning in the y-direction:

2([1   ]w(0.5l2 )l12 ) [1   ]wl2l12

M beams  
8 8

Summing the moments in the slab and the beams gives

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CIE 525 Reinforced Concrete Structures Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

wl2l12
M  8
 M x above

Example 2

Consider a rectangular slab that is simply supported on masonry walls as shown below.
Information on materials and loads are presented in the table.

f c 4 ksi

(1   )w
l y  20 ' fy 60 ksi

w wu 0.3 ksf
x

lx  30 '

Assume that   0.5 and for moments about the y-axis,

(1  0.5)(0.30)302
My   16.9 kip-ft/ft width
8

For moments about the x-axis,

(0.5)(0.30)202
Mx   7.5 kip-ft/ft width
8

For an 8-inch thick slab, the effective depth (in each direction) is assumed to be approximately
6.5 inches.

Assuming that the flexural strength of the slab can be calculated as

Ab Ab f y
mun   f y d (1  0.59 )
s sd f c

Using #6 bars for the slab reinforcement ( Ab  0.44 in 2 ) and   0.9 , the following rebar are
needed

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 x-direction: #6 bars at 8.7 inches on center (for M y )

 y-direction: #6 bars at 19.6 inches on center (for M x )

30 12  20 ' 20  12  30 '

The total length of #6 rebar in this slab is   1195' .
19.6 8.7

Example 3
y
Same as Example 2 except that

   0.75
(1   ) w
 (1   )  0.25 l y  20 '

w

lx  30 '

From above

(0.25)(0.30)302
My   8.4 kip-ft/ft width
8

(0.75)(0.30)202
Mx   11.25 kip-ft/ft width
8

For an 8-inch thick slab, the effective depth (in each direction) is assumed to be approximately
6.5 inches. Using #6 bars for the slab reinforcement ( Ab  0.44 in 2 ) and   0.9 , the following
rebar are needed

 x-direction: #6 bars at 17.4 inches on center (for M y )

 y-direction: #6 bars at 13.0 inches on center (for M x )

30  12  20 ' 20 12  30 '

The total length of #6 rebar in this slab is   967 ' (cf 1195’ in
13 17.4
Example 1)

How could the designer select a better distribution of load (value for  )?

 Consider two strips in the middle of the slab spanning in the x- and y-directions

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 two strips shown below (solid and dashed)

 deflections at the intersection point to be the same: w1l14  w2l24

w1 l24 30
 ( )  ( 4 )  ( ) 4  5.1 and   0.83
w2 l1 20

 Could choose   1.0 but the designer must still add temperature and shrinkage rebar to
the slab

Example 4

Example 4 is similar to the previous two examples. This example introduces Discontinuity Lines
that originate from the corners of the slabs. Discontinuity Lines are not yield lines. The lines are
shown dashed in the figure.

To illustrate the process of assigning loads to strips, consider strip 3 above. Strip 1 is identical to
strip 3. Strip 3 spans 30’ and only the zone that is shaded orange is loaded on this strip.

A 5’ 1
B B
l y  20 ' 10’ 2

5’ 3
x
10’ 10’ 10’
4 5 6

lx  30 '

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B B

5’ 3

10’ 10’ 10’

Using this approach, the strips can be considered to be one-way spanning beam elements. Loads
and resulting moments are established for each strip as follows:

10’
5’ 5’ 5’ 5’

Strips 1 and 3

5wu  1.5 kips/ft over a 5’ width

Loads:

Moments 5
(12.5wu )   6.25 kip-ft over a 5’ width
3

Strip 2

10wu  3.0 kips/ft over a 10’ width

Loads:

Moments 291.6wu  87.5 kip-ft over a 10’ width

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Similarly for strips 4, 5, and 6 that span in the perpendicular direction.

10’ 10’

Strips 4 and 6

10wu  3.0 kips/ft over a 10’ width

Loads:

10
Moments (50 wu )   50 kip-ft over a 10’ width
3

Strip 5

10wu  3.0 kips/ft over a 10’ width

Loads:

Moments (10wu )  202 / 8  150 kip-ft over a 10’ width

The solution is to band the rebar in Strips 1 through 6; assume that the slab effective depth is 6.5
inches and that #6 bars are used to reinforce the slab. Results are tabulated below. Note that this
method of using average moments is not totally correct but at the ultimate load condition some
redistribution of load will occur.

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Strip Width Length Mu Mu Spacing Direction

(#6)

1 5’ 30’ 6.3 1.25 117 X

2 10’ 30’ 87.5 8.75 16.8 X

3 5’ 30’ 6.3 1.25 117 X

4 10’ 20’ 50 5.0 29.3 Y

5 10’ 20’ 150 15.0 9.8 Y

6 10’ 20’ 50 5.0 29.3 Y

Putting aside the possibility of slab rebar cut offs, the total length of rebar for the above solution
is 654 feet: substantially less than the previous examples.

Example 5

Example 5 is similar to the previous three examples. This example introduces Discontinuity
Lines that originate from the sides of the slabs. Note again that Discontinuity Lines are not yield
lines. The lines are shown dashed in the figure.

A 5’ 1

l y  20 ' B B 10’ 2

5’ 3
x
10’ 10’ 10’

4 5 6

lx  30 '

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CIE 525 Reinforced Concrete Structures Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

The loads on strips 1 through 6 are shown below.

10’ 10’ 10’

Strips 1 and 3

Strip 2

Strips 4 and 6

Strip 5

The solution proceeds as for Example 4. The total length of rebar required for this set of
Discontinuity Lines is 736’, assuming that no rebar are curtailed. For reference, the total length
of rebar for Example 4 was 654’.

The preceding example gave rise to questions regarding the selection of Discontinuity Lines that
originate from the sides of slabs. Consider now the rectangular slab below that is fixed on two
sides and simply supported on the remaining two sides. What is a reasonable choice for the 6
dimensions shown?

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ca
Choose
a d f

Why?
b

d e f

8.5.4 Selection of Slab Strip Widths for the Strip Method

There are no specific rules for the choice of slab strips for the purpose of analysis and design.
The designer must recognize that some level of load redistribution at the ultimate condition will
occur—overloaded regions will be relieved through redistribution. The challenge is to

 Detail slabs with high ductility to facilitate redistribution, that is, with small  . Sample
values of curvature ductility are presented below.

 0.02 0.015 0.010 0.005

 4 6 10 23

 Select slab widths so that excessive redistribution is not needed

 keep strips relatively narrow

 select load paths similar to that predicted by elastic analysis

Some examples from figures in Park and Gamble are presented below. What are reasonable
values for the widths of strips aa and bb in these examples?

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CIE 525 Reinforced Concrete Structures Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

8.5.5 Discontinuity Lines from Slab Corners

Discontinuity lines were introduced in the examples of the previous section. Hillerborg proposed
some rules for such lines originating at right-angle corners:

1. The discontinuity line should bisect the corner angle where two fixed edges or two
simply supported edges meet.

2. Where a simply supported edge and a fixed edge meet, the discontinuity line should make
an angle with the fixed edge about 1.5 to 2.0 times the size of the angle with the simply
supported edge.

 Why?

These rules are shown in the figure below (from Park and Gamble).

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8.5.6 Strong Bands in the Strip Method

The strip method as presented above cannot deal with

 Openings

 Re-entrant corners

 Free edges

 Beam-less slabs with column supports

without the use of strong bands to help distribute the load to the supports. A strong band is s strip
of slab of reasonable width that contains a concentration of reinforcement and hence acts as a
beam. Often the depth of the strong band is set equal to the slab depth but the band can be
thickened to accommodate the requisite reinforcement. The use of strong bands is illustrated
below using examples.

Example 1

Consider the rectangular slab below that is fixed on three sides and free on the remaining edge.
The imposed ultimate load is wu . A strong band is shown shaded in the figure of width b.

0.5wu
ly

0.5wu

lx

On the section mark shown, the load distribution is as follows:

0.5wu

the reaction at the RHE is

b
ly  provided by the strong band
2

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The moment diagram for this distribution of load is

The designer can choose any value for the reaction R but it is reasonable to select something less
than the reaction for a propped cantilever. On the strong band, the load distribution is:
R  0.5bwu

lx

Example 2

Example 1 presented a simple use of strong bands. In that example, the loading hierarchy was
clear, namely, the slab spanned to the strong band and the strong band spanned between the
walls. The example below, from Park and Gamble, shows the use of strong bands for design of
reinforced concrete framing around an opening. The sample slab is simply supported on fours
sides and contains an opening or penetration. Also shown below are the loads on the slab strips
and strong bands. The strong bands are marked aa, bb, cc, and dd.

Strong bands are placed on all four sides of the penetration. Discontinuity lines for the slab are
also shown in the figure above. The slab strips span as indicated by the arrows in the figure: to
simple supports, strong bands, or both. The loading hierarchy for the strong bands is:

 Strong bands aa and bb transfer loads to cc and dd.

 Strong bands cc and dd span to the simple supports.

Similarly, the strong band approach can be applied to uniformly loaded slabs with re-entrant
corners and beamless slabs with column supports. Applications to a slab with a re-entrant corner
and a beamless slab are shown below. Both examples below are from Park and Gamble.

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Example 3

For slabs with re-entrant corners, strong bands are placed at the re-entrant corner to transfer slab
loads directly into the supports.

The strong band procedure can also be applied to slabs supporting line loads.

For beam less slabs, strong bands are placed orthogonally over the interior columns as shown
below.

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Example 4

Consider the slab below with a re-entrant corner supporting the line load shown.

line load

What is a reasonable distribution of slab strips and strong bands? What is the load path?

c b

a
a
2
1
c b

One rational load path is as follows:

 The zone 1 slab spans as shown. What distribution of  should be used?

 Strip aa supports part of the zone 1 slab and spans from the fixed support to the strong
band bb

 The zone 2 slab spans to the supports and strong band bb.

 Strip cc supports the line load but no load from the zone 2 slab.

 Strip bb supports load from slab zones 1 and 2 and the pint load from strip aa.

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8.5.7 Slab Detailing Using the Strip Method

Some practical rules have been developed for detailing slabs that have been designed using the
strip method:

1. Use a small rebar ratio to facilitate load redistribution. For example,   0.5bal

2. Provide minimum reinforcement for temperature and shrinkage.

3. Limit the rebar spacing to twice the slab thickness.

4. Do not cut bottom bars and extend bottom bars 6 inches into the support. Cut top bars
past the pint of inflection; use a conservative estimate for the assumed point of inflection.

5. Provide corner reinforcement in the top of the slab and extend for a distance of 0.2 times
the span.

6. Provide torsion rebar along free edges

- End of Module -

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