Three-Stage Approach for Unrestrained Simply Supported RC Slabs under Uniformly Distributed Load

Abstract

It is known from previous experiments that the load-carrying capacity for RC slabs at large deflection is governed and enhanced by the tensile membrane action. However, due to the intrinsic complexity of concrete properties, it is hard to capture the history of the load-deflection relationship for RC slabs. After reviewing several analytical reinforced concrete models, the author develops a simplified load-displacement semi-analytical model for laterally unrestrained simply supported RC slabs. Three stages have been identified for this model, which are elastic stage, transition stage and pure tensile membrane action stage. Compared with the existing RC slab tests, the author's model shows good agreement with the previous test results.