Flat Slabs in Eccentric Punching Shear: Experimental Database and Code Analysis

Abstract

Eccentric punching shear can occur in concrete slab–column connections when the connection is subjected to shear and unbalanced moments. Unbalanced moments occur in all floor slabs at the edge and corner columns. As such, this problem is of practical relevance. However, most punching experiments in the literature deal with concentric punching shear at internal columns. This paper presents a developed database of 128 experiments of flat slabs under eccentric punching shear, including a summary of the testing procedure of each reference and a description of the slab specimens. Additionally, a linear finite element analysis of all the specimens is included to determine the relevant sectional shear forces and moments. Finally, the ultimate shear stresses from the database experiments are compared to the shear capacities determined with ACI 318-19, Eurocode 2 and the Model Code 2010. The comparison shows that the Model Code 2010 is the most precise in the predictions with an average tested to predicted ratio of 0.82 and a coefficient of variation of 29.63%. It can be concluded that improvements to the current design methods for eccentric punching shear are necessary.