NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CAST-IN-SITU CONCRETE HOLLOW SLABS BASED ON LAYERED SHELL ELEMENTS

The complexity and low level of computational efficiency hinder the usage of solid elements when simulating cast-in-situ concrete hollow slabs, due to the existence of openings. The mechanical properties of shell structures in three dimensions, on the other hand, can be accurately captured by layered shell elements. This is primarily because the shell structure can be divided into layers according to the difference in material properties. In addition, layered shell elements are capable of representing the coupling effect between in-plane bending, in-plane shear and out-of-plane bending. In this study, two symmetric continuous hollow layers were employed. The thickness of hollow layers and the distance from the hollow layers to the natural axis were obtained based on the equality of area and stiffness. Furthermore, the distribution of component materials was determined. Results from numerical simulation match well with those from the tests. This study is expected to model nonlinear mechanical properties of cast-in-place concrete hollow slabs using layered shell elements with higher efficiency and accuracy.