Development of methodology for design of grade slab using numerical approach

Abstract

Presently, the design of grade slab for heavy industrial floors is generally carried out by empirical approaches, as provided in different national or international literature. With advances in numerical methods and computational resources, efforts have been made to apply numerical approaches in analysis of grade slab or pavements; however, such applications have been primarily restricted to the research area. For practical industrial implementation, numerical analysis methodology for design of grade slab is scarce in literature. In this article, a methodology for analysis of grade slab for practical design is developed with parametric analy-sis using commercial finite element software SAP2000®. The results are compared with empirical approach-es for validation. The method proposed would be useful for practicing engineers for the design of grade slabs using numerical analysis.