Evaluation of Maximum Shear Strength of Prestressed Concrete (PSC) Hollow Core Slab (HCS)

Abstract

In this study, four-point load tests were conducted to evaluate the shear performance of factory-produced precast prestressed concrete hollow core slabs (HCS) assembled on-site. The test specimens were fabricated using compression molding and comprised six samples, with variables being the presence or absence of topping concrete and the shear reinforcement. According to the experimental variables, experiments were conducted using simple support beams to evaluate the shear performance and ultimate strength of HCSs. The results showed that HCSs, regardless of whether they included topping concrete or not, exhibited average values of shear strength more than 10% higher than the factored shear strength specified by concrete structure standards, confirming that these materials satisfy existing design standards. According to current standards, the overall reinforcement length should be increased to meet the minimum shear rebar placement requirements. However, the nominal shear strength of PS concrete hollow slabs exceeded the hollow design, with the ratio of experimental results ranging from 1.26 to 1.87 on average, satisfying the required performance.