Challenges in the structural assessment of transfer slabs for shear
Event details
| Date | 25.09.2026 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Robert Vollum, Professor of Structural Concrete, Imperial College London. |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract
In the UK, the use of reinforced concrete transfer slabs in multi-storey residential buildings became commonplace in the early 2000’s following the widespread adoption of elastic finite element analysis for the design of reinforced concrete slabs. In the absence of published design guidance, engineers had no alternative but to follow their engineering judgement when applying codified design rules for shear and flexure to the design of transfer slabs. Examination of the existing UK building stock shows wide variations in the thickness of transfer slabs with relatively thin transfer slabs without shear reinforcement seemingly common. These structures have come under the spotlight in the UK following the 2022 building safety act which requires a safety case report to be written for all existing residential buildings over 18 m high. The talk will examine the some of the issues involved in assessing the failure load of transfer slabs in shear. A key issue is shown to be the transition between linear and punching shear failure. Comparisons will be made with the behaviour of one-way spanning bridge decks subject to concentrated loading.
Biography:
Robert began his career as a structural engineer with Arup Associates in 1982 before completing an MSc in Structural Steel Design at Imperial College in 1986-87. He worked at Ove Arup and Partners before returning to Imperial College in 1991 as a lecturer, later earning a PhD on reinforced concrete beam column joints. Promoted to full professor in 2020, his research spans all aspects of reinforced concrete design, with emphasis on shear in beams and slabs, restraint induced cracking, and reinforcement detailing, with notable contributions to Eurocode 2: 2023. He is also an academic editor for Structural Concrete.
In the UK, the use of reinforced concrete transfer slabs in multi-storey residential buildings became commonplace in the early 2000’s following the widespread adoption of elastic finite element analysis for the design of reinforced concrete slabs. In the absence of published design guidance, engineers had no alternative but to follow their engineering judgement when applying codified design rules for shear and flexure to the design of transfer slabs. Examination of the existing UK building stock shows wide variations in the thickness of transfer slabs with relatively thin transfer slabs without shear reinforcement seemingly common. These structures have come under the spotlight in the UK following the 2022 building safety act which requires a safety case report to be written for all existing residential buildings over 18 m high. The talk will examine the some of the issues involved in assessing the failure load of transfer slabs in shear. A key issue is shown to be the transition between linear and punching shear failure. Comparisons will be made with the behaviour of one-way spanning bridge decks subject to concentrated loading.
Biography:
Robert began his career as a structural engineer with Arup Associates in 1982 before completing an MSc in Structural Steel Design at Imperial College in 1986-87. He worked at Ove Arup and Partners before returning to Imperial College in 1991 as a lecturer, later earning a PhD on reinforced concrete beam column joints. Promoted to full professor in 2020, his research spans all aspects of reinforced concrete design, with emphasis on shear in beams and slabs, restraint induced cracking, and reinforcement detailing, with notable contributions to Eurocode 2: 2023. He is also an academic editor for Structural Concrete.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- CONSTRUCT Lab.
Contact
- Prof. David Ruggiero