STRINGER PANEL MODEL FOR STRUCTURAL CONCRETE DESIGN

A large number of concrete structures can be treated as two-dimensional plate problems. Both the load and the support reactions have lines of action that coincide with the plane of the structure. This is how beams, walls, dapped beams, corbels, etc., are analyzed. In practical design, two prominent methods of analysis exist: the strutand-tie method and the finite element method. First, we will briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods, and subsequently introduce a new method called the stringer panel model for the design of economic and rational reinforcement. This approach takes into account both equilibrium and compatibility and has the advantage of being highly design-oriented. An additional advantage of this method is that an estimation of the crack width in the serviceability limit state is part of the result.