Hello,
I need to design a floor slab supported by piles, basically a column slab. I have made several models and got different results from them.
- There are "drop-downs" cast over columns (= piles). The slab and these drop downs are cast over piles as a single monolithic structure without seams.
- It's essential that cracks in the slab must be absolutely limited to 0,3mm maximum.


Here are two different models I have made for comparison.
The first one has drop downs modelled only there, where h = 800mm. I was fine with the results.


The second one has drop downs also over single columns, where h = 600mm. The required reinforcement goes up drastically with the drop down at the vicinity of singe columns, where slab is 350mm (slab where h=600 has significantly larger "d" value, so reinforcement doesn't build up there).


Obviously with the drop down there is more rigidity over the column, which takes more bending. What makes me worried is that with the second model there is over x1,5 times more reinforcement at the top of the single columns and just a little bit less at the bottom at the sagging area of slab. I have "reduction of forces above columns" activated in both cases. Is it so, that with the drop downs, the "reduction" -functionality doesn't affect the larger panel at the end of rigid links?
I need to find the most economic reinforcement, as there are lots and lots of these slabs coming up. I'm looking to build the most "realistic" model as possible, as I need to limit the cracking at 0,3mm max everywhere in slab. I'd like to hear from more experienced Robot users and designers how would you model this kind of slab? Which of these models results do you think would better represent the reality?