Members of Smart Engineering have recently published new scientific papers in the field of column-supported flat slabs. The researcher Stanislav Aidarov has developed his research project of Industrial Doctorate Plan (AGAUR) in Smart Engineering during the last years and it was devoted to the development of new design systems of fibre reinforced concrete column-supported flat slabs.

One of the articles is related to the design procedure of hybrid reinforced concrete (combination of steel reinforcing bars and fibres) column-supported flat slabs. The results of this study permitted to develop a simplified design-oriented approach to assess flexural strength, ductility, cracking, and instantaneous deformations of fibre reinforced concrete and hybrid fibre reinforced concrete column-supported flat slabs. This outcome may motivate current practitioners to consider hybrid reinforced concrete solutions as a possible alternative during the design of residential and office buildings.

On the other hand, the second article presents a cost-oriented analysis of fibre reinforced concrete column-supported flat slabs construction, highlighting the potential benefits of this technology in terms of technological and economic aspects. Numerous research programmes evidenced the possibility of partial or even total substitution of reinforcing steel bars by fibres in elements with high structural responsibility, such as column-supported flat slabs for residential and office buildings. Nevertheless, the majority of these studies were (and are) focused on the material characterization of fibre reinforced concrete and elaboration of design approaches to precisely evaluate the structural response of fibre reinforced concrte elements. In contrast, the potential economic benefits due to the use of fibre reinforced concrete are scarcely analysed.