Design of shear reinforcement for thick plates using a strut-and-tie model

The strut-and-tie method is a rational approach to structural concrete design that results in a uniform and consistent design philosophy. A strut-and-tie model has been developed to model the punching-shear behaviour of thick concrete plates. This model provides a quick and simple approach to check the punching-shear behaviour. Thick concrete slabs (250–500 mm) without shear reinforcement can exhibit brittle shear failure under a central force and an unbalanced moment. Shear reinforcement has proven to be very effective in preventing such failures. The developed strut-and-tie model has also been used to evaluate the minimum shear reinforcement required to prevent brittle shear failure of two-way slabs in the vicinity of concentrated loads. The strut-and-tie model for symmetric punching consists of a “bottle-shaped” compressive zone in the upper section of the slab depth, leading to a “rectangular-stress” compressive zone in the lower section of the slab depth. Inclined shear cracking develops in the bottle-shaped zone prior to failure in the lower zone. Cracking in the bottle-shaped zone is related to the splitting tensile strength of concrete.