Punching shear of high-strength concrete slabs with perforations

This thesis presents the results of six tests conducted on reinforced high strength slabs. The tests were performed to evaluate the influence of perforations on the punching behavior and ultimate capacity of flat plate-column connections containing high performance concrete. In particular, the tests were designed to assess the impact of perforations on the load carrying mechanisms defined by the bond model, a lower bound solution for punching strength proposed by Alexander and Simmonds.;The bond model is successfully applied to the six tests reported in the thesis as well as 32 others reported in the literature. In addition test results are compared to existing code predictions.;The test specimens consisted of two solid specimens, two specimens with perforations on the column faces, and two specimens with perforations on the column corners. The test results showed that perforations placed in the vicinity of the column have a significant effect both on the ductility and capacity of the connection. Effects on capacity were shown to be a result of disruptions to the load carrying mechanisms defined by the model, in particular on the development of shear and torsion in the vicinity of the perforation. Perforation placed at the column corners had a greater effect than perforations at the column faces.