Single Element Panel for Flat Plate Structures

A single element panel (SEP) has been developed in this paper for use in the analysis of slab-column type structures; a slab panel being defined by column center lines or boundary of the floor system, or both. The generated SEP stiffness matrix takes into account the influence of parameters related to the slab and column dimensions. In the case of a multistory flat plate building, the proposed technique would permit the analysis of a structural system consisting of columns and single element panels as connecting members. The analysis of two multistory flat plate buildings under lateral loading shows that the proposed technique can predict the distribution of lateral loads among columns and story drifts as accurately as a finite element solution (FES). The former involves a considerably smaller number of stiffness equations than the latter, thus producing significant savings in computation costs. The proposed technique is also shown to be far superior in accuracy and reliability to the equivalent frame technique (EQF).