Concrete Slabs

Although the beginning of man's ability to predict the behaviour of slabs dates from the Napoleonic era, analysis and design of reinforced concrete slabs are still active areas of research. Reinforced concrete slabs were first built on a regular basis at the start of the twentieth century, while prestressing has become popular during the last twenty years. Despite the enormous experience gained in this time, there is still no general agreement on the best design procedures. In this text the basic equations governing slab behaviour are clearly explained. Methods of solution in use before the advent of computers are briefly described and illustrated. Numerical procedures capable of solving slabs of almost any geometry are then described in detail, and computer programs are provided for use. To enable these methods to be used for approximate analyses of common forms of pseudo-slab construction, recommendations on the necessary structural idealisations are provided.