Contribution of Steel Shear Reinforcement in Two-Way Shear Resistance of Flat Plates (Parametric Study)

The current research presents an experimental, analytical and finite element investigation to study shear enhancement of flat plates by shear heads. Experimental results of nine half-scale concrete flat plate specimens were tested. Three different column aspect ratio were tested in the current study as follows: 1:1, 2:1 and 4:1. Two different lengths of shear heads from column face equal to 2.00d and 2.60d were examined with change of column aspect ratios in which "d" is flat plate depth. Structural behaviors were evaluated in terms of overall load-deflection response, ultimate loading capacity and ductility. Failure patterns and strain distribution were also discussed. The research also presents parametric study through numerical analysis taken in to account most important variables which haven't been studied in the practical program. Different arrangement of shear head legs, changing cubic compressive strength of concrete were some of these variables. Several different lengths of shear heads were also studied. Experimental and numerical results were analyzed through regression analysis to propose a new formula to predict the ultimate punching shear capacity of flat plates with shear heads. Keywords – Flat plates; Shear heads; Column aspect ratio; Finite element investigation; Parametric study; Numerical analysis; Regression analysis