ProtaStructure Design Guide

Flat Slab and Raft Design with Slab Patch Panels

Version 1.0 November 2023

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents..................................................................................................................................... 3
Slab Design with Slab Patch Panels .......................................................................................................... 4
A Quick Summary................................................................................................................................. 4
The New Feature: Slab Patch Panels.................................................................................................... 6
Recommended Workflow for using Slab Patch Panels ..................................................................... 6
Assigning Slab Patch Panels to Columns .............................................................................................. 7
Assigning Patch Panels to Multiple Columns ....................................................................................... 9
Base Reinforcement Design ............................................................................................................... 10
Additional Top or Bottom Reinforcement Design .............................................................................. 11
Batch Design of All Slab Patch Panels and Strips................................................................................ 12
Strip Profile (Diagrams) ...................................................................................................................... 13
Include Slab Patch Panel Results .................................................................................................... 13
Do Not Include Column Patch Region Results ................................................................................ 14
Thank You… ........................................................................................................................................... 15
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Slab Design with Slab Patch Panels

A powerful feature in ProtaStructure for economical and practical design of flat slabs and raft
foundations is to use a base reinforcement in the entire floor and calculate additional support bars at
column regions. In ProtaStructure 2024, you can achieve this with the help of Slab Patch Panels. See
the quick peek at what the final output looks like.

Flat Slab reinforcement design with Base Reinforcements and Additional Slab Patch Panel Reinforcements. FE Contours for
Direction-1 Top Reinforcement (Asd1-Top) are also displayed on the floor plan.

A Quick Summary
ProtaStructure provides powerful tools for the design of beam-slab, flat slab, rib/waffle slab, and raft
foundation systems. The methods that you can use to design the slabs in ProtaStructure are:

• Beam-Slab Systems: Moment Coefficient Method and Finite Element Method

• Rib/Waffle Slabs: Finite Element Method
• Flat Slabs: Finite Element Method
• Raft Foundations: Finite Element Method

The Moment Coefficient method is an approximate method outlined in the design codes for beam-
slab systems with regular geometry, spans, and loading. ProtaStructure automatically calculates the
necessary coefficients by checking the slab continuities. Just stretch an “Analytical Slab Strip” across
the slabs you want to design.
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Finite Element method requires an “FE Span Strip” or “FE Fixed Band Strip” to be inserted across the
slabs. Unlike an analytical slab strip, an FE slab strip collects results from its longitudinal and transverse
station points and creates a bending moment diagram.

You can use the FE Span Strips for beam-slab systems. It automatically collects bending moment
results from the span of the slabs, it encompasses and designs the required support and span
reinforcement.

FE Span Strip and the station points. FE Span strips collect results from the span of encompassing slabs

FE Fixed Band Strip is a general-purpose reinforcement design tool for flat slabs and raft foundations.
An FE Fixed Band strip has a tributary area, and collects results from its longitudinal and transverse
station points, creating a bending moment diagram along its length. The longitudinal stations consider
the maximum or average value by integration, while getting transverse station results.

FE Fixed Band Strip and the station points for a raft foundation (column outlines included)

FE Fixed band strip is a powerful and handy tool. However, with every FE tool, one must pay special
attention to some points emerging from the nature of FE analysis and design methodology. An FE
Fixed Band strip designs the top and bottom rebar according to the maximum value obtained through
the stations. In other words, when the FE Fixed Band strip encounters a column node, it picks up the
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peak hogging moment and designs the top or bottom bars according to this critical support moment.
It may yield an uneconomical design for the span where such a peak moment is unexpected.

ProtaStructure has several advanced tools to remedy this inevitable outcome:

1. Option to exclude column nodes from result collection,

2. Option to average the column node results with the adjacent shell nodes,

3. Option to use “Integral Fixed Band Strip” to use an area average of transverse points to
smoothen out peak hogging moments,

4. Option to create the floor mesh around the column outlines (subtracting the column section
from the FE Mesh)

In addition to these options, you must pay attention to keeping the strip tributary area sufficiently
narrow. The larger the area, the lower the accuracy and feasibility of the design.

The New Feature: Slab Patch Panels

Knowing these facts about FE Fixed Band Strip, we introduced a new feature that allows our users to
use a Base Reinforcement throughout the entire floor and design additional top or bottom bars at
column support regions. This feature is called the Slab Patch Panels. Before delving into the details,
the typical workflow is outlined below.

Recommended Workflow for using Slab Patch Panels

1. (Optional Step) Perform an FE Floor Analysis or a Building Analysis with the slabs meshed, and
examine reinforcement contours to decide on the column patch areas where you will put
additional rebars.

2. (Required Step) Insert FE Fixed Band strips for base reinforcement calculation. Fixed band
strips allow you to decide and calculate the base reinforcement regions. Hence, it is important
to first decide how many base reinforcement regions you will use.

3. (Required Step) Insert slab patch panels. Do not worry about the size of the patch panels yet.
Ideally, they should cover the support moment contours. You can use an approximate size of
1.5x15 m or 2x2 m to start with. An FE Fixed Band strip should completely or partially cover
slab patch panels in its tributary area.

4. (Optional Step) View the FE Reinforcement Contours on the physical floor plan view (such as
Asd1-top, Asd2-top for the upper floors, Asd1-bot, and Asd2-bot for raft foundations). This will help you
understand whether the patch sizes are large enough to cover the negative support moment
regions.

5. (Required Step) Perform an FE Floor Analysis or a Building Analysis with the slabs meshed.

6. (Required Step) Design the slab reinforcements using the Design > Slab ribbon menu. The
designed rebars will also be automatically drawn on the physical floor plan view with the
correct lap splices and extensions. The additional bars in the patch regions will be
automatically extended outside the designated patch area by anchorage length.
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7. (Optional Step) Modify the size of slab patch panels if you need to. The most usual scenario
would be to extend the patch region so that it covers more negative support moment
contours. Optimizing the path region size can further reduce the base reinforcement (not less
than the minimum required, Asmin)

8. (Optional Step) Redesign the reinforcement using the Design > Slabs ribbon menu.

9. (Optional Step) Modify the base reinforcement and/or additional reinforcements on the
Design > Slabs ribbon menu if you need to. If the edited reinforcement is not sufficient,
ProtaStructure will issue a warning.

Assigning Slab Patch Panels to Columns

To insert a slab patch panel, follow these steps:

1. Select a column in the modeling environment.

2. Pick the “Drop / Slab Patch Panel” command on the Right-click menu.

3. The “Drop / Slab Patch Panel” dialog will launch.

4. A Column Drop or a Patch Panel can be independently assigned to columns. In other words,
column drop dimensions can be different than patch panels. Column drops are used to
increase punching resistance and are irrelevant now. So, let’s continue with patch panels.
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Drop / Patch Panel UI is used to assign a column drop or patch panel to a column.
Initially, both options will be unchecked.

5. Check the “Patch Layout” checkbox and enter the patch panel dimensions and eccentricities.
The schematic view on the screen will update and provide visual guidance as you change the
values.

6. As soon as you check the “Patch Layout” checkbox, ProtaStructure automatically recognizes
the underlying Fixed Band strips containing this patch panel and populates the supplied steel
information on the window. You can see this information in the “Slab Strip Base
Reinforcement” table.
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7. If the FE Analysis results are available in the memory, ProtaStructure will automatically collect
the FE results from the designated stations within the patch panel and calculate the additional
reinforcement inside the patch region. The design results will be presented in the “Patch
Region Reinforcement” table. In this table, you can change the diameter and spacing of the
rebars, as well as their extension styles and extension lengths. The design status will be
updated upon your changes.

8. You can click on the “Design” button to reset the changes and do the design from scratch.
ProtaStructure will redesign bar diameter and spacing. But, it will keep the bar extension style
you have specified.

Assigning Patch Panels to Multiple Columns

If you want to assign patch panels to multiple columns, it is possible. Select multiple members on the
screen and run the “Drop / Slab Patch Panels” command. The same window for a single member will
open in a restricted mode, and you will be able to enter the geometric information only.
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Base Reinforcement Design

An FE Fixed Band Strip is required for the design of base reinforcement. If the FE Fixed Band strip
contains any slab patch panels in its tributary area, it will ignore the values inside the patch region and
calculate the top and bottom base reinforcement using the maximum values collected outside the
patch panel boundaries.

FE Fixed Band strip excludes the patch panels while collecting results from the mesh.

Important Remark

Fixed band strips should completely or partially cover the column patch panels. Otherwise, the
Fixed Band strips will continue to collect bending moment results from column nodes, which may
yield an uneconomical design. If you think a column support region does not have a significant
negative moment, you have the freedom not to insert a patch panel for that column.

If you choose not to insert patch panels around a column, you must cover the column area with an
FE Fixed Band. If you leave a particular column region uncovered by a Patch Panel or an FE Fixed
Band Strip, the results in the column region will not be considered, and that column region will not
be designed. You may end up with an unsafe design.
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Additional Top or Bottom Reinforcement Design

A patch panel automatically collects results from its interior points. See the following figure:

A Slab Patch Panel already knows its associated FE Fixed Band Strip. Hence, the additional
reinforcement is simply the difference between the maximum required by the patch region minus the
provided reinforcement by the FE Fixed Band.

Important Information:

The Additional Reinforcement Calculation is different between the upper floors and foundation floors.

For the upper floors, only the additional top reinforcement is calculated by the formula:

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝑶𝑷 (𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍) = 𝑨𝒔 𝑴𝑨𝑿 𝑻𝑶𝑷 (𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏) − 𝑨𝒔 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑽𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑶𝑷 (𝑭𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑)

For the foundation floors, only the additional bottom reinforcement is calculated by the formula:

𝑨𝒔 𝑩𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑴 (𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍) = 𝑨𝒔 𝑴𝑨𝑿 𝑩𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑴 (𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏) − 𝑨𝒔 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑽𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑴 (𝑭𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑)

Only the top additional bars are designed for the upper floors, whereas only the bottom additional
bars are designed for foundations.

Important Remark:

It is important to specify the FE Fixed Band Direction correctly. If the fixed band strip is along direction
X (or direction 1, so to say), you should check the X button on the strip properties window. Similarly, if
the fixed band strip is along direction Y (or direction 2), you should check the Y Button. Otherwise,
patch panel reinforcement directions will be wrong.
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Batch Design of All Slab Patch Panels and Strips

As soon as you insert Fixed Band Strips and Slab Patch Panels, the FE analysis results will be
automatically collected behind the scenes, and reinforcement design will be automatically performed.
The calculated reinforcements will also be drawn on the floor plan. In addition to this automated
workflow, you can always design all strips from scratch or perform a check design from a central
design interface. To open the batch design window:

1. Insert all FE Fixed Band Strips and Slab Patch Panels.

2. Click “Design > Reinforced Concrete > Slab Analysis and Design” on the ribbon toolbar. The
batch design window will open.

3. The batch design window displays all the slab strips (not the slab patch panels) in the model.
You can review the strips’ Storey, Type, Analysis Result Source, Encompassing Slabs, Design
Status, and Rebar Information.

4. Double-click one of the strips or click the Interactive Design button to see the details of the
design.

5. If a Fixed Band Strip contains Slab Patch Panels, the enclosed patch panels will be listed under
the Fixed Band Strip in the table.

6. The FE Fixed Band Strip row will present the details for the calculated base reinforcement,
such as Design Moments M-Top and M-Bottom, As-Required Top/Bottom, As-Provided
Top/Bottom, Selected Steel Bars Top/Bottom, and Design Status.

7. Design Moments and Required Steel Areas are automatically calculated from the Strip
Diagram, and you cannot change these values. However, you can change the Selected Bars. If
selected bars are not sufficient, the Design Status will change to a Red Cross Sign.
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Interactive design window for a slab strip. All enclosed patch panels are listed underneath it. The top and bottom bending
moments with 57.2 and 102.9 kNm values are fetched from the strip diagram. The rebars can be modified on this window.

Strip Profile (Diagrams)

As explained above, an FE Fixed Band Strip collects results from longitudinal and transverse station
points and generates Deflection (δ), Bending Moment (M), and Bending Moment with Wood-Armer
(Md) diagrams.

The inclusion of Wood-Armer Effects in the design can be turned on and off using the Settings > Slabs
> Design > Wood-Armer Effects in Design option.

The strip profiles are accessible through the interactive design window or strip right-click menu.

If there are enclosed patch panels within the tributary area of a fixed band strip, you will notice that
“Include Column Patch Region Results” will be available on the strip diagram window. This option is
included just for display purposes, so that you can review the results in detail.

Include Slab Patch Panel Results

When this option is checked on the diagram window, the results inside the patch panels will be
included in the FE Fixed Band Strip diagram. You can notice the peak support moment.
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Do Not Include Column Patch Region Results

By default, the patch panel regions are excluded in FE Fixed Band strip results, and design is carried
out accordingly. If this option is unchecked on the diagram window, the top bending moment results
inside the patch regions will be excluded from the FE Fixed Band Strip diagram. This is the diagram
used to calculate the Top and Bottom Base Reinforcement.

Important Remark

This is the default behavior in reinforcement design and cannot be changed.

In the diagrams above pay attention that the maximum negative moment is calculated as 168.6 kNm
in the absence of slab patch panels. This moment drops down to 57.2 kNm when patch panels are
present. The difference is compensated by the additional top reinforcement calculated in the
associated slab patch panel. The same 102.9 kNm positive moment is used for bottom reinforcement
for both cases.
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