TORSIONAL STRENGTH OF

SLAB
• Fig. 12.10 has two horizontal beams joined
together in mutually perpendicular directions.
• The bending moment in one of the beam at the
common point acts as torque for the other beam.
• Part of the total load may be resisted by torsional
strength of beams besides the usual flexural
strength.
 Fig. 12.10. Two Mutually Perpendicular Shallow
Strip Beams Lying In Horizontal Plane.

Twisting moment

Thickness

Fig. 12.11. A Small Element of Slab Having

Torsional and Flexural Moments.

Twisting moment
• Exactly in the same way, perpendicular design strips are
connected to each other and loads are distributed in the
two directions partially by the torsional strength.
• Due to this two-way action the bending stiffness at a
particular section is increased by the presence of the
perpendicular strips.
• For the perpendicular strips, bending moment and
twisting moment are interchanged in the two
perpendicular directions and hence the load is
distributed in the two directions.
• It is clear that torsional stiffness of slab and beams is
very important in determining the overall behavior of
the slab system.
 DIRECT DESIGN METHOD
Check For Limitations Of DDM

• First five restrictions of the direct design

method are checked in this step and the 6th
restriction will be considered later.

• These restrictions are as under:

• There is a minimum of three continuous spans in
each direction.
• Panels are rectangular, with a ratio of center-to-
center longer to shorter span ratio of each panel
not greater than 2. This condition eliminates the
possibility of one-way action of slabs.
• Adjacent center-to-center span lengths in each
direction should not differ by more than one-third
of the longer span.
• If the columns are not exactly present in a single
line, a maximum offset of columns equal to 10%
of the span in the direction of offset is allowed
from between centerlines of successive columns.
 10% of l2

l2

Fig. 12.12. Maximum Allowed Column Offset.

The direct design method is only applicable to uniformly
distributed gravity loads. Separate analysis is to be made
for concentrated loads or lateral loads. Further, live load
should not exceed two times the dead load. The
coefficients given in this method are for pattern loads up
to the specified limit.

For a panel with beams between supports on all sides, the

relative stiffness (α f /l) of beams in two perpendicular
directions should not be less than 0.2 nor greater than 5.0.

α f 1l 22
= between 0.2 to 5.0
α f 2l 2
1
where αf = ratio of flexural stiffness of beam section to
flexural stiffness of a width of slab bounded
laterally by centerlines of adjacent panels (if
any) on each side of the beam.
E cb I b (E I )beam
= E cs I s
= (E I ) slab

* Moment redistribution allowed by ACI 8.4 is not

applicable to slab systems designed by the Direct Design
Method.
 Selection Of Slab Depth (ACI 9.5.3)
Two-Way Slab Depth Without Interior Beams
The minimum thickness is greater of the following
values and that given by Table 12.1:

• Slabs without drop panels 120 mm

• Slabs with drop panels 100 mm

ln = length of clear span in long direction of two-way

construction, measured face-to-face of supports in slabs
without beams and face-to-face of beams or other
supports in other cases.
 Table 12.1. Minimum Slab Depth Without Interior Beams.

Exterior panel
Interior panel
+ either drop
+ drop panel
Exterior panel panel or edge
fy (OR)
+ no drop panel beam
(MPa) Exterior panel
+ no edge beam (OR)
+ drop panel
Interior panel
+ edge beam
+ no drop panel

300 ln/33 ln /36 ln /40

420 ln /30 ln /33 ln /36

520 ln /28 ln /31 ln /34

Note:- Edge beam is considered to be present if αm ≥ 0.8.

Two-Way Slab Depth With Beams On All Sides
 (E I ) b 
Let, αf =  
 (E I ) s 
and αfm = average value of ‘αf’ for all beams on edges
of a panel.

For slabs with beams spanning between the supports on

all sides and denoting clear span in the long direction by
ln, the minimum thickness required is determined as
follows:
a) If 0.2 < αfm ≤ 2.0,
 fy 
l n  0.8 + 
 1500 
hmin = 36 + 5β (α fm − 0.2) but not less than 120 mm

b) If αfm > 2.0,

 fy 
l n  0.8 + 
 1500 
hmin = but not less than 90 mm
36 + 9 β

where β = ratio of clear spans in long to short direction.

c) If αfm < 0.20, the provisions for slabs without

interior beams must be applied.
d) For panel with one or more discontinuous edges
having edge beam with αf < 0.8, hmin is to be
increased by at least 10% in that panel. This
increase is not required for slabs without interior
beams and is not to be applied to the upper limit of
120 and 90 mm.
Trial Slab Depth
The maximum thickness for slabs without interior
beams may be used as under:
ln
h = >= 120 mm for fy = 300 MPa
33
 ln
h = >= 120 mm for fy = 420 MPa
30
For slabs with interior beams, αm may be assumed to be
greater than 2.0 and depth may be calculated using the
corresponding formula. For very shallow beams,
necessary increase in depth may be required.
Beam Stiffness b

hf

hb

bw
Fig. 12.13.Effective Slab Width For L-Beams
For L-beams, the effective width ‘b’ is lesser of:
i) bw + hb
ii) bw + 4hf

For interior T-beams the effective width ‘b’ is lesser of:

i) bw + 2hb
ii) bw + 8hf
* The neutral axis is then located for the resulting beam
and its moment of inertia (Ib) is calculated exactly.
* For normal proportions, Ib is approximately equal to
twice the moment of inertia of rectangular portion for
interior beams and 1.5 times the moment of inertia of
rectangular portion for edge beam.
* The values may optionally be tabulated as in Table 12.2.
 Table 12.2. Calculation of Stiffness of Beams.
Frame Exterior Interior Exterior Interior
Long Long Short Short
Web width, bw (mm)
Depth, h (mm)
Ib (×104 mm4)

αf -Value And 6th Limitation Of DDM

αf = ratio of flexural stiffness of beam section to
flexural stiffness of a width of slab bounded laterally by
centerlines of adjacent panels (if any) on each side of the
beam. In other words, the width of slab should be equal to
width of each design strip.
 Beam stiffness E cb I b
αf = =
Slab stiffness E cs I s
αf1 = αf - value in direction of l1 :
αf2 = αf - value in direction of l2

ls = value of slab inertia effective for l1 direction.

l 2w × h 3
=
12
The 6th condition for the use of direct design method is
that “The ratio of α f 1l 2 l 1 and α l l must be between
f2 1 2

0.2 to 5.0 for all combinations of beams in the

perpendicular directions. This condition needs only to be
satisfied if beams are present on all the four sides of the
panel”.
 Table 12.3. Calculation of Relative Stiffness of Beams.
Frame Exterior Interior Exterior Interior
Long Long Short Short
Ib (×104 mm4)
l2w (mm)

Is (×104 mm4)
αf

Torsional Stiffness Of Edge Beam

The torsional members are considered to have a constant cross
section throughout their length consisting of the largest of:

1. A portion of slab having a width equal to that of the column,

bracket, or capital in the direction of the span for which moments
are being determined
2. For monolithic or fully composite construction, the transverse
beam above and below the slab is added to the portion of slab as
above in (a) to get the effective slab width

3. The transverse beam as defined in Step 3 (ACI 13.2.4)

Divide the torsional members x2 2 1 x1

obtained into rectangles with y2 y1

smaller dimensions ‘x’ and 3 y3

larger dimension ‘y’, as shown
in Fig. 12.14. The torsional x3

constant is then evaluated as the Fig. 12.14.Torsion Member.

following summation:
  x  x3.y
C = ∑ 1 − 0.63 
 y 3

Compute the torsional constant, C, for all the edge beams.

These torsional constants are to be used for the
perpendicular strips.
Calculation Of Factor βt
The factor βt is defined as the ratio of torsional stiffness
of edge beam section to flexural stiffness of a width of
slab equal to span length of the edge beams, center-to-
center of supports.
 GC of edge beam
βt = EI of slab having width equal to span of edge beam
Ecb C
≅
2 Ecs I s
E Ecb
where G = 2(1 +ν ) ≅
2

if the Poisson’s effect is neglected.

The calculation is same for exterior and interior frames as the

width of slab is to be considered equal to the span of the torsion
member. The systematic form of these calculations may be done
by filling tables like Table 12.4.
 Table 12.4. Torsion Properties of Beams.

Frame Long Short

Span of edge beam Shorter Longer

C (×104 mm)

Span of torsion member, l2 (mm)

Is (×104 mm) for l2 width

βt
STEP 6: Calculation Of Factored Static Moment
For Each Design Strip
The slab is divided into design strips and the total
factored static moment is calculated for each design strip.

Absolute sum of positive and average negative factored

moments, called total static moment, in each direction is
equal to the following:
qu l 2 w l 2n
Mo =
8

where, l2w = total width of the design strip,

 ln = clear span, extending from face to face of
columns, capitals, brackets, or walls.
>= 0.65 l1
Circular or regular polygon shaped supports may be treated
as square supports with the same area, as in Fig. 12.15.
0.89h
0.93h h

h
h
h

Fig. 12.15. Equivalent Column Area for Calculation of Clear Span.

ACI requires that where the transverse span of
panels on either side of the centerline of supports
varies, l2w in above equation is to be taken as the
average of adjacent transverse spans.

Similarly, for the edge design frame, when the

span adjacent and parallel to an edge is being
considered, the distance from edge to panel
centerline is substituted for l2w (ACI 13.6.2.4).

The values are entered in Table 12.5.

 Table 12.5. Total Static Moments All Design Frames.

Exterior Interior Exterior Interior

Frame
Long Long Short Short

l2w (m)

ln (m)

Mo (kN-m)
Step 7: Longitudinal Distribution Of Moments
Longitudinal distribution of moments means the way
in which the total static moment at mid-span is divided
into positive and negative moments.

According to ACI 13.6.3.2, in an interior span, total static

moment Mo is to be distributed as follows:

Factored M at supports = 0.65 Mo

Factored M+ at mid-span = 0.35 Mo

ACI 13.6.3.3 says that, in an end span, Mo is to be

distributed according to Table 12.6.
 Table 12.6. Longitudinal Distribution of Moments For Exterior Slab Panels.

Slab without beams between

Exterior edge interior supports
Slab with
unrestrained Exterior
beams
(Torsion edge fully
between all Part of slab
member not restrained
supports considered With edge
considered)
as torsion beam
member

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Int. M
0.75 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.65

M+ 0.63 0.57 0.52 0.50 0.35

Ext. M
0 0.16 0.26 0.30 0.65
 Table 12.7. Moments After Longitudinal Distribution.

Exterior Interior Exterior Interior

Frame
Long Long Short Short

Mo

M at ext. support

M+ in ext. span

M at first int. support

M at typical int. support

M+ in interior span
Step 8: Transverse Distribution Of Moments
The moments determined at critical sections of the design
frames as above are further distributed into column strips
including the beams (if any) and middle strips.

This step is called the transverse distribution of moments.

Column Strip Moment Percentages

Let
l2/l1 = A 0.5 ≤ A ≤ 2.0
βt = B If βt > 2.5, B = 2.5
l
α f1 l 2 = D If α f1 2 > 1.0, D = 1.0
l1 l1
As per ACI 13.6.4, column-strip moment is expressed as
the following percentage of total moment at critical
section:

Interior negative moment (%age): 75 + 30(1−A)D

Exterior negative moment (%age): 100 − 10B
+ 2BD (1 − A)
Positive moment (%age): 60 + 15(3 − 2A)D
Beam Moment
l2
α f1 l × 85 with a maximum of 85 %
1

Column Strip Slab Moment

CS slab moment = CS moment − beam moment
 Table 12.8. Column Strip And Beam Moments.

Frame Ext. Int. Ext. Int.

Long Long Short Short

A = l2/l1

B = βt

D = α f1 l2/l1

%age of M+ to column strip

%age share of beam from above moment

%age of M+int. to column strip

%age share of beam from above moment

%age of M+ext. to column strip

%age share of beam from above moment

Middle Strip Moments

The portion of the total moment at critical sections of

design frames not resisted by the column strip is
proportionally assigned to the adjacent half middle
strips (ACI 13.6.6).

The middle strip adjacent to an edge supported by a

wall should be proportioned to resist twice the moment
assigned to its interior half.

The resulting values may be entered in Table 12.9, for

all of the critical sections.
 Table 12.9. Design Bending Moments For Various Frames.
Frame Location Ext. Int. Ext. Int.
Long Long Short Short
Beam moment M −ext
M +ext span
M −first int
M −first int
M +int span
Column strip slab moment M −ext

M +ext span
M −first int
M −int
M +int span
Middle strip moment M −ext
M +ext span
M −first int
M −int
M +int span
STEP 9: Calculation Of Slab Reinforcement
The slab steel may be calculated from the slab moments
by using the usual under-reinforced concrete design
formulas.
 Table 12.11. Slab Steel Areas For Various Frames.
Frame Location Ext. Int. Ext. Int.
Long Long Short Short
CS Width Minus Beam Width

As for column strip M −ext

Dia. and no. of bars for CS

As for column strip M +ext span

Dia. and no. of bars for CS

As for column strip M −first int

Dia. and no. of bars for CS

As for column strip M −int

Dia. and no. of bars for CS

As for column strip M +int span

Dia. and no. of bars for CS
MS Width

As for column strip M −ext

Dia. and no. of bars for MS

As for column strip M +ext span

Dia. and no. of bars for MS

As for column strip M −first int

Dia. and no. of bars for MS

As for column strip M −int

Dia. and no. of bars for MS

As for column strip M +int span

Dia. and no. of bars for MS

STEP 10: Development Of Flexural Reinforcement
For slabs with beams, usual procedure is used to curtail the
slab reinforcement.

However, for slabs without beams, ACI Fig. 13.3.8 is used

for detailing that gives the following provisions for bar
curtailment in slabs without beams:
A. Column Strip Top Steel
Half top steel should extend 0.30ln beyond the
face of support and 90° hooks are to be provided at
ends in exterior supports. This should be
increased to 0.33ln, if drop panels are present.
 The remainder half steel should extend 0.20 ln past
the face of support and must end with 90° hooks in
exterior supports.
B. Column Strip Bottom Steel
All bars must be provided throughout the span, with
half having 90° hooks in exterior supports over the
columns.
C. Middle Strip Top Steel
All bars must extend 0.22 ln past the face of
support, with 90° hooks in exterior supports.
 D. Middle Strip Bottom Steel
Half bottom steel should extend throughout the span.

The remainder half alternate bars should extend fully

to the outer edges but can curtailed at a maximum
distance of 0.15 ln from center of the interior
supports.

STEP 11: Shear In Beams

According to ACI 13.6.8, for beams with α f1(l2/l1) ≥ 1.0,
shear is calculated by 45° tributary lines area shown in
Fig. 12.16. For α f1(l2/l1) < 1.0, linear interpolation
should be made assuming that shear is zero when α f1 = 0.
 Area Supported By Beam CD

A C

B D

Area Supported By Beam BD

Fig. 12.16. Slab Tributary Areas For Beam Shears.

STEP 12: Beam Design
Design the beams, if present, both for flexure and shear.

STEP 13: Column Design Moments

Interior Column: As per ACI clause 13.6.9.2, at an
interior support, supporting elements (columns) above and
below the slab must resist the bending moment given
below in direct proportion to their stiffness.

M = 0.07 [(qDU + 0.5 qLU) l2 l2n − q′DU l′2 (l′n )2]

Where q′DU, l′2 and l′n are dead load, panel width and
clear span related to shorter span.
 Edge Column: As already stated, according to ACI
13.6.3.6, the gravity load moment to be transferred
between slab and edge column is to be 0.3 Mo.

STEP 14: Moment Transferred From Slab To

Column By Flexure (ACI 13.5.3)
Two-Way Shear Or Punching Shear: The shear
acting all along the perimeter of a column for a flat slab
without beams can punch the column into the slab and is
called two-way or punching shear.
Direct Shear: The two-way shear produced by the vertical
loads on the slab and having constant stress intensity all
along the critical perimeter is called direct shear.
Concept Of Eccentric Shear Or Combined
Shear And Moment:
Holes A Holes B

Net Moment
Imbalance
Holes B = γν(Mu1 – Mu2)
= γνMu
Direct Shear Stress
Shear Stress Due Holes A
To γν Mu
a) Isometric View b) Plan

b1 = c1 + d
D A
b2 = c1
c2 +
d c) Critical Perimeter
c2

Fig. 12.17. Slab – Column Connection

C B With Unbalanced Moment.
When any load cause transfer of unbalanced moment
Mu between a slab and a column, a min. fraction of the
unbalanced moment between slab and column, γf Mu,
must be transferred by flexure within an effective slab
width between lines that are 1.5h (h is the slab or drop
panel thickness) outside opposite faces of the column
or capital.

Concentration of reinforcement over the column by

closer spacing or additional reinforcement is to be used
to resist moment on the effective slab width defined
above. However, the reinforcement ratio ρ within the
effective slab width should not exceed 0.375 ρb.
STEP 15: Moment Transferred From Slab To
Columns By Eccentric Shear
Moment Transferred By Eccentric Shear:

As stated above, after the transfer of moment γf Mu by

flexure, the remainder of the unbalanced moment γν Mu
is transferred by eccentricity of shear about the centroid
of the critical section.

γν = 1 − γf
Critical section: The edges of critical section perimeter
for punching shear as defined in ACI 11.12.1.2 are
considered at distance d/2 from the following:
Edges or corners of columns, concentrated loads,
or reaction areas, or

Changes in slab thickness such as edges of capital

or drop panels.
 Boundary of drop panel

Critical section
do inside drop
di / 2
panel

do / 2
≥ l/6 <= x/4
Critical for calculation of
section flexural top steel.
outside x = Distance
drop panel from edge of the
drop panel to the Critical sections
face of column or
column capital.

do = effective depth outside the drop panel

di = effective depth inside the drop panel

Figure 12.18. Critical Shear Section.

 1
γf =
2 b1
1+
3 b2

b1 = width of the critical section for punching

shear defined in the direction of the span for
which moments are determined, mm.
b2 = same in a direction perpendicular to b1.

γv = 1− 1
2 b1
1+
3 b2
 For unbalanced moments about an axis parallel to the
edge at exterior supports, the value of γf may be
increased up to 1.0 provided that the following
conditions are satisfied:

Vu at an edge support 0.75 φ Vc

or Vu at an corner support 0.5 φ Vc

For unbalanced moments, about an axis transverse to the

edge at exterior supports, the value of γf is allowed to be
increased by up to 25% provided that the following
requirement is satisfied:

Vu at the support 0.4 φ Vc