The Strucutres Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering of NOVA's Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia conducted a test of a flat slab under cyclic actions, in order to simulate the action of an earthquake. It was the first experimental test of this kind held in Portugal and one of the first in Europe.
This type of structural solution has the feature of supporting the slabs floors directly on columns, without requiring the presence of beams. It is an easy and economical solution to execute, also allowing a great versatility of space occupation. For that they have become very common in a substantial part of residential, offices and commercial buildings, also including several examples in our faculty. These structures are susceptible to horizontal and seismic actions and little information is available about their behaviour. Therefore their study and understanding is very important.