Short Term Deflections of Concrete Flat Plates

Short term deflections of concrete flat plates are considered. Deflection results from a number of finite element analyses of flat plates are examined and used to provide empirical formulas for estimating maximum short term deflections of flat plates. Both interior and exterior panels are considered. For reinforced concrete, progressive cracking of the slab is taken into account. In the analyses, support columns have a finite size and finite flexural rigidity. Edge beams also have a finite size and finite flexural and torsional rigidities. The suggested formulas provide load-deflection curves that agree well with numerical results by others and with experimental results.