How can a slab be defined with a drop panel?

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For this example a similar structure to the one shown in the figure will be used. In this structure the slab is created with drop panels. The columns have a section dimension of 50 x 50 cm and the slab thickness is 20 cm. The drop panel has a dimension of 200 x 200 cm and a thickness of 40 cm.

The drop panels are created like thicker slabs. These thicker slabs should not be superimposed over the main slab. To avoid this, the main slab is created with holes. The thicker slabs are placed inside the holes. The holes are created with closed contour lines.

The new slab thickness is 40 cm.

After the model is finished, a uniform distributed load is defined for the structural behavior of the new elements.

Displacement diagram for a slab with drop panels.

Displacement diagrams for a slab without drop panels.