BubbleDeck type slab (BD) is a lightweight construction system for building floors where recycled plastic hollow spheres (RPHS) are disposed in its core to decrease its deadweight without significant loss of stiffness, flexural and shear strength. However, the behaviour of…
BubbleDeck type slab (BD) is a lightweight construction system for building floors where recycled plastic hollow spheres (RPHS) are disposed in its core to decrease its deadweight without significant loss of stiffness, flexural and shear strength. However, the behaviour of BD under punching loading conditions is not yet well known, despite its use in real practice has increased significantly in the last years. Since punching is a brittle failure mode, in this work an experimental program with BD prototypes is complemented with advanced numerical simulations to assess not only the punching capacity of BD but also to explore the potential of nonlinear finite element analysis on the simulation of this complex structural system. When compared to the equivalent solid RC slabs (SS), the experimental tests showed a smaller performance in terms of punching capacity and ductility. Regarding the numerical simulations, a multidirectional fixed smeared crack model applied to a refined finite element mesh where concrete was simulated by solid finite elements, and steel reinforcements were considered perfectly bonded, was demonstrated capable of capturing the main experimental records, namely the load vs deflection and strains in the constituent materials. This demonstrates that this numerical approach can be explored to optimize numerically the BD to have larger punching capacity and ductility, such is the case of using fibre reinforced concrete.