Punching shear
Definition
A failure mode in which a concentrated load punches through a concrete slab around its bearing perimeter. It can occur at a column-slab connection, a lifting collar, or any concentrated bearing on a flat slab.
Related terms
- Carbonation depth
- The depth to which CO2 has penetrated concrete and neutralised its alkalinity, destroying the protective environment around embedded steel and initiating corrosion....
- Column tributary area
- The floor area whose load is carried by a given column. Adding floors or placing heavy equipment increases the load on existing...
- Disproportionate collapse
- Collapse extent that is far greater than would be expected from the triggering event. Ronan Point is the canonical example: a small...
- Lift-slab construction
- A method in which floor slabs are cast at ground level and hydraulically jacked up steel columns to their final position. The...
- Post-tensioned slab
- A concrete slab in which steel tendons running through plastic ducts are tensioned after the concrete hardens, improving span capacity. Corrosion of...
Explained in
- Case Studies: Building CollapsesA failure mode in which a concentrated load punches through a concrete slab around its bearing perimeter. It can occur at a column-slab connection, a lifting c...