An Experimental Investigation of Vertical Castellated Joints Between Large Concrete Panels

In structural testing, it is important to ensure that the loading that is applied to the test piece is that which is intended. If unintended constraints or instabilities arise, these will often lead to errors. The paper proposes a method of assessing the kinematic state of a test setup and enables suitable systems to be designed. R.C. Corless and Professor P.B. Morice

Dr. 0. Vilnay (University College, Cardiff): For a long time, the stability of masonry arches has been confused with the problem of equilibrium and strength. It was generally assumed that, where it is possible to establish a thrust line lying wholly within the arch, the arch is stablec. However, this situation indicates only that the load is sustained by internal compression and does not indicate anything about the stability of the arch.

Eleven bamboo-reinforced concrete two-way slabs with simply supported boundaries have been subjected to concentrated central loading. Concrete strength, span/depth ratio, bamboo percentage, and the treatment given to the bamboo reinforcement, were varied. Punching failure always followed the full development of the flexural collapse mechanism, and the punching load was always greater than the yieldline theory load. From a consideration of the results, methods of predicting both the cracking load and the punching load of a bamboo reinforced slab are suggested. J.A. Kankam, M. Ben-George and Professor S.H. Perry