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Slab-Deflection Case Study PDF
Slab-Deflection Case Study PDF
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Introduction 3=
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The European Concrete Building Project
at Cardington was a joint initiative aimed 1=
at improving the performance of the 0=
concrete frame industry. It led to the
preparation of a series of Best Practice
Guides, giving recommendations for
Figure 1: Lusas deflection prediction output for a prow end of St George Wharf
improving the process of constructing in-
situ concrete frame buildings.
Key Points
As part of a programme to disseminate This Case Study discusses experiences of predicting and measuring
and apply what has been learnt from
Cardington, BRE has subsequently actual deflections in reinforced concrete flat slabs.
worked directly with those involved in • Prediction of deflections in two-way spanning systems is not straightforward
St George Wharf, a high-profile, 100,000 m2
mixed-use phased development on the
and deflections may not be easy to calculate without computer aided analysis.
River Thames. • Deflections and the times at which they occur should be considered in
BRE worked jointly with the developers, conjunction with the limits associated with them. In general, deflections need
St George (South London), their to be considered both before and after installation of cladding and partitions.
engineers, White Young Green,
and specialist concrete contractors, • Early age construction loading can have a significant impact on deflections as
Stephenson, to develop and implement a result of induced cracking. Appropriate modelling of cracking behaviour is
process improvements tailored to the therefore essential if realistic deflections are to be predicted.
St George Wharf site.
• The sensitivity of the predicted deflections to the assumptions made,
This work has led to a series of
particularly the tensile strength of the concrete, should be assessed and the
innovations being trialled, the results of
which are summarised in this series of likely error bounds determined. Past experience suggests typical error
Best Practice Case Studies. bounds for deflection calculated to be +0/–30% arising from conservative
assumptions about material properties.
1
10
Introduction c 1st slab above cast
9
d 2nd slab above cast
Adequate control of deflections can
usually be achieved for in-situ reinforced
8 e
concrete beams and slabs by compliance
• The tolerances on the precast cladding Figure 2: Typical load history for slabs at St George Wharf
fixed around the perimeter of the
structure.
A further issue, which is becoming 25 KEY
increasingly important, is the influence of
early age loading, as there is a desire to Floor 3
speed up the floor cycle. In-situ reinforced 20 (measured)
concrete structures can be subject to
significant loads during construction. Floor 4
(measured)
This results from the need to support 15
Deflection (mm)
3. Cracking was observed at soffit 3. The effect of peak construction loads Acknowledgements
locations and in the tops of the slabs should ideally be considered at the
over columns. design stage when considering both The support of the DTI for this project
the serviceability and ultimate limit under the Partners in Innovation scheme
4. The cracking observed appears to be is gratefully acknowledged.
states. This is because slabs are
more extensive than at Cardington.
subject to peak construction loads,
This may be due to the actual concrete
which tend to govern long-term
strengths achieved on this project
deflections and can theoretically be
being closer to the nominal design The Best Practice Guide, Flat slabs for
close to the design ultimate load of
strength, resulting in the cracking efficient concrete construction,
slabs designed for domestic loading.
moment being exceeded by a greater summarises work carried out on these
margin and at more locations. The 4. Where deflections are likely to be an topics during the construction of the
cracks may also be more visible due to issue and reliance on span/depth in-situ concrete building at Cardington.
the reduced floor to ceiling heights. ratios is not deemed sufficient, the This can be downloaded free from
modelling employed should ideally be the Downloads section of The
5. Despite deflections having been larger
sophisticated enough to allow the Concrete Centre’s website at
than originally predicted, this is not
sensitivity of predicted deflections to www.concretecentre.com and at
believed to have caused problems.
the age, magnitude and duration of the http://projects.bre.co.uk/ConDiv/
6. Based on the information collected the construction loads to be assessed. concrete%20frame/default.htm
developer intends to review the need
The work undertaken and the conclusions
for complicated deflection head details
reached in relation to the innovations
on future phases of the project.
described above should be viewed in the
context of the particular project on which
Conclusions the innovations have been trialled.
1. Serviceability issues, particularly
deflections and vibrations, are This Case Study is underpinned by a full
becoming increasingly important with report [4] giving the background and
the move towards longer span, more further information on the work
slender, reinforced concrete flat slab undertaken.
structures.
References Case Studies in this series of applying
2. Reliance on span/depth ratios may be best practice:
1. Early striking of formwork and forces in
insufficient, particularly if deflection
backprops by A. W. Beeby, BRE Report • St George Wharf project overview
limits are specified for particular items
394. Published by Construction • Early age concrete strength
such as cladding and partitions.
Research Communications, London, assessment
Furthermore, better knowledge of
2000. • Early age construction loading
deflections on site has the potential
to provide economy in specifying items 2. Deflections in concrete slabs and • Reinforcement rationalisation and
such as deflection head details and the beams. The Concrete Society. A joint supply
movements that they must accommodate. report from BCA, The Concrete Society • Slab deflections
and RCC, 2003. • Special concretes
3. Prediction of deflections in two-way
spanning systems is not straightforward 3. Approaches to the design of reinforced
and may require finite element analysis. concrete flat slabs by R. Moss. BRE
Report 422. Published by Construction Ref TCC/03/06
4. The limitations of standard finite
Research Communications, London, First published 2004
element software based on linear
2001. Price group A
elastic analysis for predicting
ISBN 1-904818-06-4
deflections should be recognised, 4. Backprop forces and deflections in flat
particularly its sensitivity to the slabs: construction at St George Wharf © The Concrete Centre 2004
assumed material properties and the by R. Vollum. BRE Report BR463, 2004. Published by The Concrete Centre on
difficulty in accurately representing the behalf of the project partners.
effects of cracking. www.concretecentre.com.