As part of the workshop “Punching: Assessment, Strengthening and NLFEM” organized by Bau Und Wissen and XDEEA, Hammad El Jisr presented a punching shear analysis of a slab bridge using the fib Model Code 2020. The presentation highlighted the differences between the four levels of approximation used to calculate the slab rotation, ψ. Particular emphasis was placed on Approximation Level IV, which comprised a nonlinear analysis of the slab bridge.

The workshop also included a blind prediction contest in which participants were asked to calculate the failure load and failure mechanism of an edge column–slab subassembly. The column was subjected to both axial and flexural loads. The submission by INGPHI won the contest. Given the uncertainty surrounding the calculation of slab rotation, a nonlinear finite element analysis was performed in ANSYS, where the concrete was modeled using the Menétrey–Willam constitutive law.

The competition demonstrated the usefulness of the advanced nonlinear analysis methods used at INGPHI for simulating complex structural problems and predicting failure loads.