№85-15

Study of operational reliability of natural stone stair slabs considering their stress state

I. Piskun¹       https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1658-5344

M. Kunytska¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2649-0939

A. Makhno¹    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7428-9578

O. Tolkach¹    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8722-6496

¹State University Zhytomyr Polytechnic, Zhytomyr, Ukraine

Coll.res.pap.nat.min.univ. 2026, 85:188–197

Full text (PDF)

https://doi.org/10.33271/crpnmu/85.188

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to identify operational risks of natural stone stair tread slabs and to quantify the stress-strain state of granite treads under different support schemes and positions of local dynamic loading.

The methods. The research was performed by systematizing the structural schemes of stone treads, analysing typical defects of outdoor operation and conducting finite element modelling in Autodesk Inventor. The computational model had dimensions of 1000×300 mm and thicknesses of 30, 40 or 60 mm. The material was specified as granite with a density of 2.7 g/cm³, Young’s modulus of 55 GPa, Poisson’s ratio of 0.25 and a design tensile strength of 5 MPa. The dynamic load was taken as 1660 Nand applied to a conventional foot contact area of 200×100 mm.

Findings. It is shown that overlay treads have the lowest structural risk, although they remain sensitive to wetting, efflorescence and corrosion of adjacent metal elements. For slabs operating in bending, the governing parameter is the first principal tensile stress. With support on two stringers, a 40 mm slab reaches a maximum tensile stress of 2.5 MPa and a deflection of 0.093 mm, whereas a 30 mm slab reaches 4.47–4.51 MPa and may exceed the deflection limit in several loading positions. For a single stringer, eccentric loading increases stresses up to 3.8 MPa; at a thickness of 30 mm the stress rises to a critical level of 9.3 MPa. A 60 mm cantilever reduces the stress near the free edge to 1.5 MPa.

The originality. For the first time, the regularities governing the formation of the stress–strain state of granite stair slabs have been established with regard to the combined effects of slab thickness, support configuration, and the position of local dynamic loading. It was found that increasing the slab thickness systematically reduces the maximum first principal stresses and deformations, whereas displacement of the load relative to the supports causes a substantial increase in these parameters, particularly in single-stringer and cantilever configurations. The most unfavorable condition was found to be the combination of reduced slab thickness and eccentric loading, which causes tensile stress concentration and increases the risk of brittle failure.

Practical implementation. The results can be used for preliminary design of natural stone stairs in industrial and civil engineering, including the selection of tread thickness, support configuration and the need for reinforcement.

Keywords: natural stone, granite, stair slab, cantilever, stringer, stress-strain state, finite element modeling, first principal stress, operational reliability.

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date of first submission of the article to the publication – 10.04.2026
date of acceptance of the article for publication after review – 20.05.2026
date of publication – 30.06.2026