CYCLIC TESTING OF SLAB-COLUMN CONNECTIONS WITH SHEAR REINFORCEMENT. DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE

A discussion of an earlier paper with the aforementioned title by I.N. Robertson et al., published in this journal (Volume 99, Number 5, September-October 2002), is presented. The goal of the original paper was to compare the response of slab connections containing 3 types of shear reinforcement (single-leg stirrups, closed stirrups, and stud shear reinforcement) when subjected to combined gravity and cyclic loading. Slabs provided with the same amount of flexural and shear reinforcement were tested, differing only in the type of shear reinforcement. The 3 types of shear reinforcement have 3 distinct means of anchorage; the tests compared their effectiveness. The aim of this discussion is to show that shear reinforcement is not required in the tested slabs. Closure from the original on this hypothesis is provided.