Utilization of Two Different Diaphragms for Analysis of Tall Structure using Analysis Software

When a large space within a building needs to be covered without hindrance and supports, architects often deploy waffle slabs to construct floors and ceilings. Structural designers analyse such slabs, assuming the grid work as simply supported system (all four edges) and deriving solutions based on displacement compatibility of beams or plates to arrive at an approximate solution or performing a detailed finite element analysis (FEM) of the slab beam system using any of the generalized finite element software available in the market. This is so because no analytical solution or quick computational tool exists, except for the case of slabs with all edges simply supported. In this study we are performing comparative analysis of ribbed and waffle slab to determine the most stable and distributive one in comparison. To validate the results, selected cases are compared with finite element analysis and results are compared in terms of forces, moment, displacement and drift in both direction.