1 447-XR-1X Design Guide for Twisting Moments in Slabs

2 2016-03-05 For Ballot

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4
5 TITLE
6 Twisting Moments in Finite Element Based Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs
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8 DOCUMENT NUMBER
9 ACI 447.1T-XX
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11 KEYWORDS
12 Slab design, shell design, wall design, finite element analysis, torsion, mxy, twist, twisting
13 moments

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 1 Chapter 1 Introduction
2 1.1 General
3 Section 8.2.1 of ACI 318-14 allows slabs to be designed by any procedure that satisfies
4 equilibrium and geometric compatibility. ACI requires that at each section the design strength
5 exceeds the required strength, and serviceability requirements are fulfilled.
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7 Traditional strip1 design methods for slabs are based on approximate analysis and provide neither
8 a complete equilibrium load path nor satisfy geometric compatibility. Nonetheless, these
9 methods have been used successfully for many years to design slabs with supports arranged in a
10 rectangular grid.
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12 In recent years, design engineers have transitioned from traditional slab analysis methods to
13 finite element analysis (FEA). FEA solutions provide a full equilibrium load path and satisfy
14 geometric compatibility, but they determine load paths that require twisting moments for
15 equilibrium (Shin et al. 2009). Many designers using FEA have blindly ignored these twisting
16 moments, an assumption that may be unconservative where twisting moments are high (Park and
17 Gamble 2000). To provide designers with guidance related to this issue, methods for explicitly
18 incorporating twisting moments determined from FEA in the design of slabs are discussed in this
19 Design Guide.
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21 1.2 Objective
22 The purpose of this Design Guide is to provide advice to design engineers who are analyzing
23 slab systems with finite element methods and need to ensure that their designs are satisfactory
24 for the twisting moments predicted by the analysis. The Guide provides background information
25 regarding twisting moments and describes multiple approaches for consideration of twisting
26 moments in design. This Guide also provides advice for designers of walls and shells with
27 twisting moment conditions similar to those in slabs.
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1
The strip design methods referred to in this document are those commonly utilized by practicing engineers, not
the more sophisticated strip approaches discussed in academic literature.

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 1 1.3 Scope
2 This Design Guide applies to slabs of both uniform and non-uniform thicknesses including drop
3 caps and drop panels, except where noted in the text. This Guide does not apply to waffle slabs,
4 or the beams of slab and beam floor systems. Chapters 1 5 of this documents address slabs and
5 walls in which the response is determined purely by bending. Chapter 6 addresses shells for
6 which the response is determined by bending and membrane action. Chapter 5 and the theory
7 sections of this Guide are applicable to walls. Chapter 6 and the theory sections of this Guide are
8 applicable to shells, with the caveat that equations presented in Chapter 2 are not valid for curved
9 shells.
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11 1.4 Notations
12 ci,j = Fraction for consideration of sections partially crossing element to apply to forces in
13 local node j in element i
14 D = Flexural rigidity of plate (see Eq. 2)
15 E = Youngs modulus
16 F = Force vector
17 fi,j = Nodal force vector for local node j in element i
18 h = Thickness of slab or plate
19 L = Width of design section
20 M = Bending Moment, or Moment vector
21 mi,j = Nodal moment vector for local node j in element i
22 mr = Bending moment causing stresses parallel to r-axis, per-unit length of slab or plate
23 mrs = Twisting moment relative to r-s-axes per-unit length of slab or plate
24 ms = Bending moment causing stresses parallel to s-axis, per-unit length of slab or plate
25 Mu = Design moment for slab cross section
26 mux = Design moment causing stresses parallel to x-axis, per unit length of slab or plate
27 m+ux = Positive design moment causing stresses parallel to x-axis, per unit length of slab or
28 plate
29 m-ux = Negative design moment causing stresses parallel to x-axis, per unit length of slab or
30 plate
31 muy = Design moment causing stresses parallel to y-axis, per unit length of slab or plate
+
32 m uy = Positive design moment causing stresses parallel to y-axis, per unit length of slab or
33 plate
34 m-uy = Negative design moment causing stresses parallel to y-axis, per unit length of slab or
35 plate
36 mx = Bending moment causing stresses parallel to x-axis, per-unit length of slab or plate
37 mxy = Twisting moment relative to x-y-axes per-unit length of slab or plate
38 my = Bending moment causing stresses parallel to y-axis, per-unit length of slab or plate
39 nx = Membrane tension in x-axis direction per unit length
40 nxy = Membrane in plane-shear in x-y-axes direction per unit length
41 ny = Membrane tension in y-axis direction per unit length

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 1 q = Transverse load per unit area
2 T = Torsional moment
3 vx = Transverse shear on x-face per unit length
4 vy = Transverse shear on y-face per unit length
5 w = Transverse deflection
6 xi,j = Distance vector from section centroid to local node j in element i
7 = Poissons ratio
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9 Chapter 2 Background
10 2.1 Qualitative introduction to twisting moments in slabs
11 Twist is just bending about some other axes. Twist exists in every slab (except those - theoretical
12 case only - slabs whose moments at any point are identical about any axis). Figure 2.1 illustrates
13 an extreme case of twist a square slab with supports at three corners and a load at the fourth
14 corner.

15 Figure 2.1: Twisting moment example free body diagram