Cyclic testing of slab-column connections with shear reinforcement. Paper by Ian N. Robertson, Tadashi Kawai, James Lee, and Brian Enomoto. Discussion by Amin Ghali and Ramez B. Gayed

The objective of the paper is to compare the response of slab connections containing three types of shear reinforcement when subjected to combined gravity and cyclic loading. The three types of shear reinforcement are single-leg stirrups, closed stirrups, and stud shear reinforcement. Slabs provided with the same amount of flexural and shear reinforcements are tested, differing only in the type of shear reinforcement. The three types of shear reinforcement have three distinct means of anchorage; the tests are to compare their effectiveness. This discussion will show that shear reinforcement is not required in the tested slabs. The failure is mainly by flexure and there is no demand for the action of the shear reinforcement. Therefore, the reported tests cannot justify the conclusion: 'The three types of shear reinforcement proved equally effective in resisting punching shear failure...'