TWO-WAY SLABS

Two-way slabs bend into dish shaped surfaces, so there is bending both principal
directions. As a result, they must be reinforced in both directions by layers of bars that are
perpendicular to each other. An elastic analysis for such slabs is a very complex problem due
to their highly indeterminate nature.

As a result, the design of two way slab is generally based on moment coefficients,
which though they might not be accurately predict stress of variation, results in slabs with
satisfactory overall safety factors. In other words, if too much reinforcement is place in one
part of a slab and too little somewhere else, the resulting slab behaviour will still be
satisfactory.

1995 ACI Building Code Methods of Design;

The 1995 ACI Building code presents various methods of design for two-way slabs.
These are based on other than elastic analysis. Rather than determining the exact
distribution of bending moments, the slab is divided into column and middle strips as shown
and the value of moment is assumed constant across the full width of the strip. The methods
of analysis proposed by the 1995 ACI Building Code contain different requirements
concerning the load distribution to the supporting beams.

The 1995 ACI Building code requires that the minimum thickness of two-way slabs
shall not be less than 90mm or less than the perimeter of the slab divided by 180.

𝑠
𝑚=
𝑙
Where:
M is the ratio of short span, S to long span, L

METHODS OF DESIGNING TWO-WAY SLAB

(1) ACI Moment Coefficient Method

(2) Direct Design Method (DDM)
Limited to slab systems to uniformly distributed loads and supported on equally
spaced columns. Method uses a set of coefficients to determine the design moment at
critical sections.
(3) Equivalent Frame Method (EFM)
A 3D building is divided into a series of 2D equivalent frames by cutting the building
along lines midway between columns. The resulting frames are considered separately
in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the building and treated floor by floor.
Methods of Analysis
(4) Yield Analysis
Used to determine the limit state of slab by considering the yield lines that occur in
the slab as a collapse mechanism.
(5) Strip Method
Where slab is divided into strips and the load on the slab is distributed in two
orthogonal directions and the strips are analyzed as beams.

ACI Coefficient Method

The ACI Code provides tables of moment coefficient for a variety of conditions. These
coefficients are based on elastic analysis but also account for inelastic redistribution. The
expressions for moment take the form of coefficient multiplied by total factored load per unit
length on the span & the length of the clear span.
 Column Strip and Middle Strip. For the
purposes of design, a typical flat slab panel is divided
into Column Strips and Middle Strips. A Column Strip
is defined as a strip of slab having a width on each side
of the column center line equal to one-fourth the
smaller of the panel dimensions 𝑙1 and 𝑙2 . Such a strip
includes column-line beams, if present. A Middle Strip
is a design strip bounded by two Column Strips. Fig.
2.4 shows the distribution of Column Strips and
Middle Strips in a typical slab, where 𝑙1  𝑙2 .

𝑀𝑎.𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐶𝑎 w𝑙𝑎 ² and 𝑀𝑏.𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐶𝑏 w𝑙𝑏 ²

Where
𝐶𝑎 , 𝐶𝑏 = Tabulated moment coefficients,
w = Uniform load per unit area (e.g., psf or kPa)
𝑙𝑎 , 𝑙𝑏 = Length of clear span in short and long directions respectively

Three tables are available for “C”

 Dead load positive moment
 Live load positive moment
 Negative moment

Two-Way Slab Cases