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During an earthquake, a brittle punching failure can arise in flat plate-column connections due to poor transfer capacity of shearing forces and unbalanced moments. To increase the shear capacity of the slab, various types of shear reinforcement can be used in the slab around the connection. The aim of the project is to study the response of slab column connections containing without slab shear reinforcement when subjected to combined gravity and cyclic lateral loading. At first a calibration model was developed to simulate the tested flat plate-column joint using finite element analysis program MASA. This model was used to predict the load displacement behaviour. The predicted behaviour was compared with the observed behaviour as reported by James Lee & Ian Robertson (Ref.4). The comparison showed that the model predicts the load level excellently but significantly over estimates the stiffness of the joint compared to that observed by James Lee & Ian Robertson. Since the present study is to compare the relative behaviour of slab-column joints provided without slab shear reinforcement, the error in the estimation of joint stiffness will not alter the comparative conclusions drawn. Thus, the developed model was validated for application to various types of column slab connection behaviour.

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A steady, 2-D, viscous fluid flow past a fixed solid cylinder of radius ‘a’ has been considered where the density is constant for considered fluid. The flow of fluid happens in 3 regions namely fluid, porous and fluid region. The constitutive equations for the flow in porous and fluid regions are Brinkman and Stokes equations respectively. The variation of flow patterns by means of streamlines has been analysed by applying different boundary conditions at the interface of fluid – porous and porous – fluid regions and also on the surface of the solid cylinder assuming that the even velocity far off from the fluid region. The nature of streamlines is observed for the distinct values of porous parameter ‘σ’ and the corresponding flow behaviour is analysed graphically. From the obtained results it is noticed that increase in porous parameter, suppress the fluid flow in porous region consequently the fluid moves away from the solid cylinder.

Soft first storey is a typical feature in the modern multi-storey constructions in urban India. Social and functional need to provide parking space at ground level leads seismic vulnerability of such a building. The computer software usage in civil engineering has greatly reduced the complexities of different aspects in the analysis and design of projects. In the present study an attempt has been made to investigate the seismic behaviour of a multi-storey building with soft first storey. When subjected to seismic loads, it was observed that soft storey frames are less resistant when compared to infill frames.