Abstract
Reinforced concrete flat slabs or flat plates continue to be among the most popular floor systems due to speed of construction and inherent flexibility it offers in relation to locations of partitions. However, flat slab/plate floor systems that are deficient in two-way shear strength are susceptible to brittle failure at a slab–column junction that may propagate and lead to progressive collapse of a larger segment of the structural system. Deficiency in two-way shear strength may be due to design/construction errors, material under-strength, or overload. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite laminates in the form of sheets and/or strips are used in structurally deficient flat slab systems to enhance the two-way shear capacity, flexural strength, stiffness, and ductility. Glass FRP (GFRP) has been used successfully but carbon FRP (CFRP) sheets/strips/laminates are more commonly used as a practical alternative to other expensive and/or challenging methods such column enlargement. This article reviews the literature on the methodology and effectiveness of utilizing FRP sheets/strips and laminates at the column/slab intersection to enhance punching shear strength of flat slabs.
Highlights
Reinforced concrete slabs that are not supported by beams, known as flat slabs are the most popular floor system in the building construction industry due to architectural flexibility and speed of construction
Use of vertical carbon FRP (CFRP) strips inside predrilled holes, simulating stirrups is effective in enhancing punching shear capacity
The ultimate load carrying capacity and ductility of specimen A8, which was reinforced with vertical CFRP strips along with diagonal ones, were 1.51 and
Summary
Reinforced concrete slabs that are not supported by beams, known as flat slabs are the most popular floor system in the building construction industry due to architectural flexibility and speed of construction. Speed of constructing flat slab systems is owed primarily to savings in time that would have been needed to build formwork for supporting beams. They offer designers the flexibility of placing heavy and light partitions anywhere on the floor slab without abiding by location of beams. Flexural and shear cracks form in the tension zone of the slab near the face of the loaded area. Flexural and shear cracks extend into what was the compression zone of the concrete
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