Study on the Punching Shear Capacity of Flat Slabs Strengthened by Ultra High Performance Concrete

Flat-slab structures have gained considerable popularity in the field of civil engineering, particularly in the construction of high-rise buildings and office complexes. This structural form offers a number of benefits over the traditional slab-beam system. The shear force at the slab-column interface, which may eventually lead to brittle failure in the concentrated load region and its surrounding areas, is an important aspect of flat-slab structures. Such failures are particularly dangerous since they frequently occur without any prior observable warning indicators. The objective of this study is to investigate the punching shear capacity of flat slabs reinforced with ultra high performance concrete (UHPC), an advanced material in the domain of concrete technology. However, due to the high production cost associated with UHPC, it becomes economically feasible to employ this material exclusively in the shear zone rather than throughout the entire flat slab structure. The findings of this study demonstrate a significant improvement in the punching shear capacity of UHPC-strengthened flat slabs when compared to conventional concrete structures.