Analyse and design reinforced concrete slabs with a finite-element plate model — flat plates on columns, two-way slabs on walls, one-way slabs and cantilever balconies, with openings, walls, patch loads and any edge condition. The studio solves the plate, plots deflection, moment and reinforcement contours, designs bottom mesh and top bars by the Wood–Armer method, checks punching shear at every column, long-term cracked deflection and fire, and issues reinforcement layout drawings, a 3D deflected surface, Excel and PDF calculation sheets to AS 3600.
Scope & limitations
Preliminary analysis and design for study and feasibility. Linear-elastic plate theory — verify detailing, crack control and construction loading and have the design checked by a qualified structural engineer.
What the Slab Studio does
Start on the Slab system tab: choose one of twelve floor systems — flat plate, flat slab with drop panels, waffle slab, post-tensioned flat plate, post-tensioned band beams, RC band beams, two-way slab on beams, one-way solid slab, one-way ribbed (joist) slab, precast hollow-core planks, composite steel-deck slab or industrial slab on ground. Each is sized and designed by the method that suits it: the simplified (direct design) method with column and middle strips, load balancing with friction, draw-in and long-term losses for post-tensioned floors, moment coefficients for one-way and ribbed slabs, pretensioned stresses and a span table for hollow-core, construction and composite stages for steel deck, and Westergaard wheel and rack-post stresses for slabs on ground. Every system comes with its framing plan, section, tendon or reinforcement elevation, details, a design chart, quantities and step-by-step calculations, and the two-way systems can be sent straight to the finite-element plate model below.
A finite-element plate program for reinforced concrete slabs. Start from a flat plate on a column grid, a two-way slab on walls, a one-way slab or a cantilever balcony, then edit the outline, edge conditions (free, simply supported or continuous), columns (pinned or monolithic with the storeys above and below), walls, openings and patch loads.
The slab is meshed with rectangular plate-bending elements and solved for permanent and imposed loads; strength and serviceability combinations follow AS/NZS 1170.0. Deflection, Mx, My and Mxy and the required top and bottom steel are shown as contour plots, with column reactions and an equilibrium check.
Design moments come from the Wood–Armer method at the face of support. The studio picks the bottom mesh and the top bars over each column and fixed edge, checks ductility (ku), minimum steel and spacing, punching shear at interior, edge and corner columns to AS 3600 Cl 9.3, long-term cracked deflection with the effective-stiffness method (increasing the bottom steel when deflection governs) and fire thickness.
Output: reinforcement layout plans, a section and punching details as SVG, PNG and an A3 drawing set, a 3D deflected surface, an Excel workbook with live formulas and PDF calculation sheets.