Yield-line plasticity and tensile membrane action in lightly-reinforced rectangular concrete slabs

The paper provides the systematic derivation of a new analytical approach to tensile membrane action of lightly-reinforced thin concrete slabs at large deflections. The basic motivation for the work comes from the recent use of tensile membrane action as an enhancement, in the fire condition, of the capacity of the thin concrete slabs which are normally made composite with downstand steel beams, at temperatures which have substantially degraded...