STUDY THE EFFECT OF MEMBRANE ACTION IN PROFILED STEEL

SHEET DRY BOARD (PSSDB) FLOOR

Mahmood Seraji, Wan Badaruzzaman W.H., and S.A. Osman
Department of Civil Engineering
National University of Malaysia, Malaysia.


ABSTRACT

In simply supported slabs, the vertical deflection is closely associated with the in-
plane movement at supports. Hence, restraining the in-plane movement develops
the membrane action (MA) in the slab that notably increases the flexural capacity
of the floor, particularly in large deflections. The objective of this paper was to
explore the influence of MA at PSSDB panel. The experimental results of the
PSSDB panel with simply end support were exploited to verify the finite element
(FE) results. The developed model was then modified by restraining the
horizontal movement of the slab at the supports. The obtained results disclosed
that the first phase of the MA was not noteworthy and the TMA was initiated in
the first steps of loading. The disability of the PSS to carry the in-plane
compressive force is referred to as a reason behind these results that might be
conquered by employing concrete as an infill material.

Keywords: Compressive membrane action; tensile membrane action; flexural
capacity; PSSDB system.


INTRODUCTION

The profiled steel sheet dry board (PSSDB) system is a lightweight
composite structural system that consists of the profiled steel sheeting (PSS) and
dry board (DB) connected to each other by some mechanical fasteners such as
screws, welding, etc (Figure 1). The extensive research has been done on PSSBD
system in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The profiled steel sheet is available in
different types such as Peva45, Bondek II, Ajiya CL660, PMFL D35, PMFL
CF60, etc., which are varied in geometry and thickness. The available dry boards
are cement board, chip board, plywood, Primaflex, etc. Peva45 and plywood are
utilized in this study.
Different applications of the system such as wall, roof, and floor have
been investigated by many researchers [W.H. Badaruzzaman et.al.]. In the case of
utilizing as flooring units, the system has potential to carry the out-of-plane
bending and shear. The system is able to resist the plane deformation and shear in

walling applications. For the sake of carrying the in-plane and out-of-pane
bending, the system can be assembled in the form of folded plate in roof
applications.














FIGURE 1: Typical PSSDB floor system


The results obtained from experiments revealed that the ultimate mode of
failure of the PSSDB panels is buckling which occurs at the upper flange of the
profiled steel. Therefore, the ultimate failure is avoided by limiting the panel
deflection [Ahmed et. al. 1996].
Taking into account the membrane action theory in the calculation
lessens the predicted mid-span deflection of the slab and consequently delays the
ultimate mode of failure of the slab.


MEMBRANE ACTION

The effect of membrane action (MA) in slabs was investigated for the
first time by Westergaard and Slater in the early 1920s [Bailey et. al. 2008].
Considering the effect of MA in the PSSDB floor significantly increases the
flexural capacity of the floor especially in large deflections. In an unrestrained
slab, the in-plane movement of the slab at supports is closely associated with the
vertical deflection. Therefore, restraining the in-plane movement of the slab at
supports develops the MA in the slab.
The MA phenomenon may be developed in slabs into two stages;
compressive membrane action (CMA) occurs at the perimeter of the slab and
tensile membrane action (TMA) occurs at the central region of the slab. The first
stage is happened at small displacements and at the first steps of loading. The in-
plane movement at the support in the unrestraint slab is associated with the
vertical deflection and restraining the elongation causes the development of CMA
to carry the load in the arching system. The TMA as the second stage of MA is
initiated when the load is reached at the ultimate limit in the CMA [Park et. al.
2000].

The rigid-plastic analysis was modified by assuming a linear elastic in-
plane in boundary area in previous investigations to discover the advantages of
MA in concrete slab design [Eyre 2007].
The absence of information about the restraint stiffness of membrane
structural elements is a remarkable impediment to take into account the MA in
the analysis and design. The investigations conducted regarding the CMA in
slabs led to some methods where the restraint stiffness of the slab is essential
information and have to be fully known. Thus, the effect of CMA is not
considered in studying the strength of reinforced concrete slabs [Hon et. al.
2005].
The investigations disclose that the MA is beneficial in composite floors at large
displacements.


FINITE ELEMENT MODELING

The developed finite element model is based on the conducted
experimental model by Redzuan Abdullah on the prepared composite slab
comprising of PEVA45 and plywood. The following table demonstrates the
details about the model.

TABLE 1: Details of the specimen


Thickness
(mm)
Width &
Length (mm)
Modulus of
Elasticity
E, N/mm
2

PEVA45 1.0
790 x 2440 203.4E3
Plywood 18.0
790 x 2440 7.164E3

ABAQUS package has been used for the purpose of the analysis. To take
into account both in-plane and out-of-plane behavior of the profiled steel and dry
board, the shell element in a quadratic shape has been selected for both materials.
Furthermore, it has been assumed that the Plywood is an isotropic plate and
profiled steel sheet is the assembly of isotropic plates.


RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The obtained results from the finite element modelling are demonstrated
in Figure 2. The results from experiments and finite element modelling of the
simply support model show similar behaviour.
The support condition in the verification model is simply supported whereas
in the upgraded model both supports are pinned. It has been assumed that the spot
welding could provide enough rigidity to fulfil the pin condition.
Although, there is no experimental result to verify the finite element model
with pinned boundary condition, the mentioned similarity in Figure 2 ensures that

the created model could be upgraded to predict the behaviour of the model in
similar conditions.



FIGURE 2: Results from Finite Element modeling and experiment


Figure 4 shows that the application of pinned supports significantly
enhances the flexural capacity of the PSSDB slab especially at large
displacements, therefore, improves the efficiency of the system in fire condition.



















Figure 3 is the general load-deflection relationship for laterally restrained
one-way slabs. Two ascending parts of the figure (AB and CD) represent the
CMA and TMA, respectively. The descending part (BC) is the transition from the
FIGURE 3: Load-deflection
relationship for one-way slab with
restrained end.
FIGURE 4: Finite element model with
pinned support condition

compressive membrane to the tensile membrane with reduction in the applied
load and increase in the deflection (plastic decay).
By comparison of Figure 4 with Figure 3 it is revealed that the pinned
support model behaves similarly with Figure 3. According to the above figures,
the point B and C in both figures are convex and concave points, respectively.
Since the profiled steel sheet does not resist the compressive force at supports as
the concrete does, there would be no decay in transition to the TMA. The
obtained reactions at the supports show that there is no compressive reaction
which is due to the buckling at the mid-span top flange and the small
compressive strength of profiled steel sheet at supports. The increase of flexural
capacity is because of the initiation of the TMA in the slab.


CONCLUSION

The MA occurs in slabs into two stages; the CMA and TMA. Due to the
disability of the profiled steel sheet to carry the in-plane compressive force, the
first stage of the MA was not remarkable and the TMA was initiated in the first
steps of the loading. Utilizing the concrete as an in-fill material in the profiled
steel improves the system to experience the CMA. Considering the effect of MA
in the PSSDB panel considerably increases its flexural capacity and consequently
makes it more practical to be applied in larger spans or under higher loads.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The research works reported in this paper have been funded by the Ministry of
Science, Technology and the Environment, Malaysia, and Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia. The authors would like to express sincere gratitude for all support
provided.


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