Design of Concrete Slabs for Punching Shear: Controversial Concepts

The authors have made a comparison between design requirements and recommendations currently provided by ACI for slab-column connections. Specifically, they point out select differences in the recommendations of three ACI guides: ACI 352.1R-11, ACI 421.1R-08, and ACI 421.2R-10. The authors also compare these recommendations to ACI 318-14 requirements. In the paper, the authors suggest that overly conservative or erroneous recommendations are made in ACI 352.1R-11. The discussers would like to provide a general response to this paper, as it tends to shed a negative light on a document that was developed and reviewed through the formal consensus-based process required of ACI technical committees.