Numerical investigation on punching shear of RC slabs exposed to fire

This paper describes the numerical modelling of an interior slab-column connection to investigate the punching shear resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under fire conditions. Parameters of the study were the fire direction, flexural reinforcement ratio, load levels, shear reinforcement and compressive strength of concrete. Moreover, the efficiency of the insulating material, gypsum, in reducing the heat transferred to the slab was assessed. Validation studies were conducted comparing the simulation results to experiments from the literature and common codes of practice. Temperature dependencies of both concrete and reinforcing steel bars were considered in thermo-mechanical analyses. Results showed that there is a slight difference in temperature endurance of various models with respect to concrete with different compressive strengths. It was also concluded that compared to a slab without gypsum, 10-mm and 20-mm thick gypsum reduce the maximum heat transferred to the slab by 45.8% and 70%, respectively. Finally, it was observed that increasing the flexural reinforcement ratio changes the failure mode from flexural punching to brittle punching in most cases.