ACI DEFLECTION CONTROL CRITERIA

TABLE 9.5(b) — MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE COMPUTED DEFLECTIONS

Type of member Deflection to be considered Deflection limitation

Flat roofs not supporting or attached to non-structural Immediate deflection due to live load L Ll /180*
elements likely to be damaged by large deflections
Floors not supporting or attached to nonstructural Immediate deflection due to live load L Ll /360*
elements likely to be damaged by large deflections
Roof or floor construction supporting or attached to That part of the total deflection occurring after L /480‡
nonstructural elements likely to be damaged by large attachment of nonstructural elements (sum of
deflections the long-term deflection due to all sustained
Roof or floor construction supporting or attached to loads and the immediate deflection due to any L /240§
nonstructural elements not likely to be damaged by large additional live load)†
deflections
* Limit not intended to safeguard against ponding. Ponding should be checked by suitable calculations of deflection, including added deflections due to
ponded water, and considering long-term effects of all sustained loads, camber, construction tolerances, and reliability of provisions for drainage.
† Long-term deflection shall be determined in accordance with 9.5.2.5 or 9.5.4.3, but may be reduced by amount of deflection calculated to occur before
attachment of nonstructural elements. This amount shall be determined on basis of accepted engineering data relating to time-deflection characteristics of
members similar to those being considered.
‡ Limit may be exceeded if adequate measures are taken to prevent damage to supported or attached elements.
§ Limit shall not be greater than tolerance provided for nonstructural elements. Limit may be exceeded if camber is provided so that total deflection minus
camber does not exceed limit.

9.5.3.3 — For slabs with beams spanning between the supports on all sides, the minimum
thickness shall be as follows:
(a) For α m equal to or less than 0.2, the provisions of 9.5.3.2 shall apply;
(b) For α m greater than 0.2 but not greater than 2.0, the thickness shall not be less than

and not less than 5 in.;

(c) For α m greater than 2.0, the thickness shall not be less than

and not less than 3.5 in.;

9.5.3.4 — Slab thickness less than the minimum thickness required by 9.5.3.1, 9.5.3.2, and
9.5.3.3 shall be permitted to be used if shown by computation that the deflection will not exceed
the limits stipulated in Table 9.5(b). Deflections shall be computed taking into account size and
shape of the panel, conditions of support, and nature of restraints at the panel edges.
The modulus of elasticity of concrete Ec shall be as specified in 8.5.1. The effective moment of
inertia shall be that given by Eq. (9-8); other values shall be permitted to be used if they result in
computed deflections in reasonable agreement with results of comprehensive tests. Additional
long-term deflection shall be computed in accordance with 9.5.2.5.
TABLE 9.5(a)—MINIMUM THICKNESS OF NONPRESTRESSED BEAMS OR ONE-WAY SLABS
UNLESS DEFLECTIONS ARE COMPUTED

Minimum thickness, h

Simply supported One end continuous Both ends Cantilever

continuous

Member Members not supporting or attached

to partitions or other construction
likely to be damaged by large
deflections.

Solid oneway Slabs L /20 L /24 L /28 L /10

Beams or ribbed oneway L /16 L /18.5 L /21 L /8

slabs

Notes:
1) Span length L is in inches.
2) Values given shall be used directly for members with normal weight concrete (wc = 145 lb/ft3) and Grade 60 reinforcement. For other conditions,
the values shall be modified as follows:
a) For structural lightweight concrete having unit weight in the range 90-120 lb/ft 3, the values shall be multiplied by (1.65 – 0.005wc) but not less than
1.09, where wc is the unit weight in lb/ft3.
b) For fy other than 60,000 psi, the values shall be multiplied by (0.4 + fy/100,000).