ABSTRACT
The mechanical characteristics of horizontal joints between load-bearing walls and floors which must be known to apply modern design methods are mainly:
— limit states of cracking, failure and if appropriate, excessive deformation. These limit states are defined by stresses which determine them as well as by the pattern and localization of cracking and failure;
— deformability of joints so as to define the interaction between walls and floors, that is the distribution of stresses between them.
