Title: Effective Slab Width Model for Seismic Analysis of Flat Slab Frames

Author(s): Laurel M. Dovich and James K. Wight

Publication: Structural Journal

Volume: 102

Issue: 6

Appears on pages(s): 868-875

Keywords: effective width; flat slab; frame

DOI: 10.14359/14795

Date: 11/1/2005

Abstract:
An effective slab width model is developed to describe the lateral behavior of a reinforced concrete flat slab frame within a two-dimensional nonlinear frame analysis. The parameters of the model are based on experimental data from a two-story, two-bay flat slab frame tested under cyclic lateral loads. The model is useful for estimating the strength and stiffness of a flat slab frame either for the design of new structures or for economic seismic retrofit of older flat slab structures. The simplicity and usefulness of the model is demonstrated by a pushover analysis, which post-predicted observed earthquake damage to a slab-column frame. For a four story building with a stiff perimeter beam-column frame, the pushover analysis indicated that the interior slab-column frame carried a significant amount of the total base shear.