Shear band test procedure

1. EQTec Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology 1650 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC Canada V6J 1V4
Tel.: (604) 724-5555 ♦ Fax: (604) 731-5381
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement
Testing Procedure
Prepared for:
Abcot International Inc.
Suite 203 1433 King George Highway
Surrey, BC
Canada V4A 4Z5
Prepared by:
Mahmoud Rezai, Ph.D., P.Eng.
November 25, 2004

2. EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement Page 2
Testing Procedure, Draft, 25 November 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction __________________________________________________________________ 1
2. Test Objectives ________________________________________________________________ 1
3. Test Specimens________________________________________________________________ 1
4. Test Set-up ___________________________________________________________________ 1
4.1 Instrumentation Plan ____________________________________________________________ 2
5. Test Loading__________________________________________________________________ 2
6. Test Results___________________________________________________________________ 2
Appendix A_______________________________________________________________________ 3

3. EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement Page 3
Testing Procedure, Draft, 25 November 2004
List of Figures
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List of Tables
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4. EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement Page 1
Testing Procedure, Draft, 25 November 2004
1. Introduction
Abcot International Inc. has retained EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd. to oversee cyclic testing of flat
concrete slabs with shearband reinforcement. The design and detailing of test specimens was
carried out by Bogdonov Pao Associates Ltd. in Vancouver, Canada.
The intent of this document is to provide a methodology for the testing and to help Smith-
Emery Laboratories set-up the test specimens.
2. Test Objectives
The objective of the tests is to demonstrate the stable cyclic lateral load-displacement response
of flat concrete slabs using shearband reinforcement. It is our further objective to determine the
lateral drift capacity of flat slab-column connections using shearband reinforcement.
3. Test Specimens
The test specimens are 10 ft by 10 ft in plan and 6 in. thick supported by a 10 in. square
column in the middle. They represent an interior connection of a full-scale flat slab with a
column grid spacing of 20 ft by 20 ft consistent with a residential design of 10 psf
superimposed dead plus 40 psf live load. The slab rebar and shearband reinforcement were
designed per these loads. Appendix A illustrates plans and details of the test specimens.
Three specimens are tested in phase I of testing. A control test specimen with no
supplementary shearband reinforcement is tested for comparative purposes. The second
specimen is reinforced with nine strips of shearband reinforcement spaced at 2.5 in. on center
in the direction of loading and four strips spaced at 2.5 in. in the orthogonal direction. For the
third specimen the spacing of shearband reinforcement is increased to 3.5 in. while the number
of strips is reduced to six and three in the two orthogonal directions (see Appendix A for plans
and details of each specimen).
4. Test Set-up
The test specimens shall be mounted inside a test frame that would act as a reaction frame. The
base of the column is attached to the floor by a pinned connection. The top of the column
above the slab is pinned to a hydraulic servovalve controlled actuator applying lateral load.
Concrete weights suspended from the slab edges shall apply an additional equivalent vertical
load of 720 lb/ft to simulate the required moment and shear demand at the slab-to-column
interface.
The slab edges parallel to the loading direction are unrestrained. The slab edges perpendicular
to the direction of loading shall allow horizontal movement and rotation of the slab. Along the
edges of the slab in the vertical direction actuators shall be used to interact with the lateral load

5. EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement Page 2
Testing Procedure, Draft, 25 November 2004
applied at the top of the column and to develop the additional moment at slab-to-column
interface. The actuators installed shall have minimum interaction with the slab carrying the
gravity load. It is noted that as the cracking propagates during cyclic loading a portion of the
gravity load will be carried by the vertical actuators. This reduction would need to be
examined and documented during the tests.
4.1 INSTRUMENTATION PLAN
Load cells, LVDTs and strain gages are used to determine forces, displacements and stresses.
One LVDT to be used at the top and bottom of the columns, while two LVDTs to be used at
each end of the slab in line with the loading direction. All actuator loads shall be monitored
using load cells. Strain gages shall be placed on both horizontal and shear reinforcement.
5. Test Loading
The specimens shall be subjected to incrementally increasing cyclic displacement time-
histories. It is expected that drift cycles of as high as 8% (±6 in. at the top of column) would be
achieved. The stroke of actuators used for the tests shall be sufficient to accommodate this
requirement.
It is expected that the self-weight of the slab combined with the additional dead weight would
produce a negative moment at the face of the column to about half of the slab nominal moment
capacity.
6. Test Results
During the application of loading crack development on top surface of the slab shall be
monitored and crack pattern be recorded. All results from data acquisition system shall be
stored in spreadsheet format accompanied by a file describing each column of data with
appropriate units and scale factors.

6. EQ-Tech Engineering Ltd.
Structural Innovation and Technology
Cyclic Testing of Concrete Flat Slabs with ShearBand Reinforcement Page 3
Testing Procedure, Draft, 25 November 2004
Appendix A
Plans and Details of Test Specimens

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