Experimental and parametric 3D nonlinear finite element analysis on punching of flat slabs with orthogonal reinforcement

► Experimental and 3D nonlinear FEA on punching with orthogonal reinforcement. ► Effect of different parameters on punching behaviour is studied. ► Equation proposal for punching capacity including fracture mechanics parameters. ► Comparison with EC2 and MC2010 provisions. This work refers to experimental and 3D nonlinear FEA on punching. Numerical results were compared with experimental ones in order to benchmark the FE model and afterwards a parametric study was conducted, changing the reinforcement ratio, slab thickness, concrete strength and column dimensions, running a total of 360 models, where their effect on punching capacity is shown. EC2 and MC2010 provisions agreed approximately with experimental and FEA results. Based in the FEA results it is proposed an equation to predict the punching capacity with the introduction of fracture mechanics parameter, which was compared with several experimental results, giving good approximation.