MasterKey Concrete Slab Design

MasterFrame Finite Element Analysis Add-on for RC Slabs to Eurocode 2 and BS 8110 

The MasterKey Concrete Slab Design module extends MasterFrame FEA to automate code-compliant reinforcement design, detailing, and verification for 2D concrete floor plates, transfer slabs, and raft foundations in accordance with Eurocode 2 and BS 8110. 

Flexural and shear design is structured into four primary calculation sets: Basic Regions for establishing continuous background reinforcement mats (top T1/T2 and bottom B1/B2 layers), Peak Zones for two-way localized reinforcement over column heads and point loads with force-averaging options to smooth theoretical FE stress singularities, Strip Zones for one-way directional reinforcement along support lines or linear beam shear zones in transfer slabs, and Punching Shear Checks utilizing either the empirical Code Method or direct FE Shear Forces extraction. 

Furthermore, an integrated serviceability engine conducts non-linear, time-dependent deflection and cracking checks - accounting for creep, shrinkage, concrete cracking, and construction load-event sequencing, to accurately predict long-term slab deflections and crack widths. The software generates comprehensive engineering reports and exports design-intent rebar drawings to DXF and DWG formats.

The Concrete Slab Design module is an additional design module which adds to the analytic capabilities of the Masterframe and Masterframe FE modules to enable the design of concrete slab structural elements. The Slab & Wall Design module allows the user to set up regions within slabs modelled as FE surfaces and define a basic quantity of reinforcement and then to design the reinforcement in peak regions and strips and also to design for punching shear around the head of columns and at the ends of walls where they intersect with slabs. The Concrete Slab design will identify the critical forces within the various regions, using the results of the frame analysis, allowing the user to define the reinforcement required for these forces. The module also allows for an auto design to be carried out, providing tools to allow the user to control the reinforcement either through specifying allowable bar diameters and/or bar spacings.