The use of column capitals is one way to increase the punching strength of slab-column connections. Recommendations presented by codes of practice for defining the geometry and checking the resistance of slab-column connections with capitals are not comprehensive, with few experimental studies available on the topic. This paper discusses important aspects of the historical development of mushroom slabs and also presents experimental results of 4 tests, with 1 test in a reference flat slab and 3 tests in mushroom slabs with circular column capitals. These results are compared with theoretical results estimated using Eurocode 2 (2004) and NBR 6118 (2007). They were also compared with a series of non-linear finite element analysis in order to get insight of the stress distribution and of the failure mechanism of mushroom slabs.
mushroom slab; punching shear; reinforced concrete; column capitals
