COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO-WAY SLABS BY THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AND BS 8110

Abstract

Two basic methods are presently used to analyse slabs spanning in two directions. These are the so-called 'exact' theory of plates, which is based on elastic analysis under service loads, and yield-line theory, in which the behaviour of the slab as collapse approaches is considered. The ultimate bending moment coefficients given in the Codes of Practice CP 110 and BS 8110 are derived from yield-line theory which has been shown to provide only upper-bound solutions. This paper proposes the finite element method as a more versatile tool for the analysis of two-way spanning slabs. The results show that the method is more economical and gives sufficiently accurate solutions compared to the yield-line solutions of the Codes of Practice.