Dhakal, Rajesh2009-08-112009-08-112008Dhakal, R.P. (2008) Exploring the Feasibility of a Floor System Detached From Seismic Beams in Moment Resisting Frame Buildings. Wairakei, New Zealand: 2008 New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) Conference, 11-13 Apr 2008.http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2674Paper 18In current practice, floor slab and beams in the perimeter seismic frames are monolithically constructed and rigidly connected to each other through starter bars. This rigid connection ensures that the shear friction between the floor and the seismic beam transfers the inertial force resulting from the response acceleration of the floor mass and any superimposed dead loads to the moment resisting seismic frame. But, this rigid connection between the floor and perimeter seismic beams leads to several complications such as: (i) possibility of stronger beam (than columns) because of the slab contribution on the negative moment capacity of seismic beams; (ii) possibility of (unidirectional) plastic hinge forming away from column face; and (iii) the floor-beam compatibility requirement leading to severe damage in the slab as the seismic beams deflect in double curvature and grow in length due to elongation of the plastic hinges at the same time. In a quest to avoid these complications, this paper investigates the feasibility of a floor slab that is detached completely from the perimeter seismic beams. In this system, the slab is rigidly connected to the intermediate beams, which are designed to transfer the inertial force to the columns through shear friction and/or torsional resistance. This idea is conceptually discussed and its validity is scrutinized in the paperenConference Contributions - PublishedFields of Research::290000 Engineering and Technology::290800 Civil Engineering::290801 Structural engineeringFields of Research::290000 Engineering and Technology::290800 Civil Engineering::290804 Construction engineering