CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Evolution of Concrete Flooring System

In Maryland, according to Maryland State Highway Administration, it is not known when the

first slab small structure was erected in Maryland, however, the first reinforced concrete bridge in the

state dates to 1903. Consequently, small slab structures were most assuredly built in the first decade of

the twentieth century. By 1912, the State included the reinforced concrete slab in their Standard Plans

for structures from 6 feet to 16 feet in length. Between 1912 and World War II, the concrete slab was

specified as Maryland’s standard structure type for small spans from 6 feet to 18 feet. Consequently,

many of these small slab workhorse structures were built on the state’s roadways.

Concrete plays a major role in the construction field. The usage of concrete is high in slab

construction. Slab which is one of the largest structural member consuming it because of its good

durability and it has been used for many years to build a variety of structures.

Types of Reinforced Concrete Slabs

Reinforced concrete slabs are structural components that are commonly used in floors,

ceilings, garages, and outdoor wearing surfaces. According to Lai (2010), there are several types

of concrete floor systems that are in use today. Some of these are:
a. Two-way flat plate (biaxial slab) – There are no required beams that shall support the floor

in between columns. Instead, the slab is heavily reinforced with steel in both directions and

is connected to the columns in order to successfully transfer the loads.

b. Two way flat slab with drop panels – This system differs from the two-way flat plate system

by the drop panel, it is used to provide an extra thickness around the column. This

strengthens the column and floor connection in respect with the punching shear.

c. One-war beam and slab – This is the most typical floor system used in construction. The

slab loads are transferred to the beams, which are then transferred to the columns.

d. One-way joist slab – The joists act like small beams that support the slab. This system is

economic since the formwork is readily available and less reinforcement is required.

e. One-way wide module joist slab – This system is variation on the one0way joist slab with

wider spaces between joists.

f. Two-way joist slab (waffle slab) – This floor system is the stiffest and has the least

deflection of those aforementioned since the joists run in two direction.

Figure. 1 Types of Reinforced Concrete Floor System

 Garber, G. (2006) said that a concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings.

Horizontal slabs with steel reinforced concrete, typically between 4 and 20 inches thick, are most often

used to construct floors and ceilings. On the other hand, thinner slabs can also be used for exterior

paving. Sometimes, the thinner slabs which range from 2 inches to 6 inches thick are called mud slabs,

particularly when used under the main floor slabs. Lafarge Holcim also specified the desirable

properties of industrial floors which are its high water resistance, good compressive and flexural

strength, overall dimensional stability, zero cracking and zero curling or warping. According to Lafarge

Holcim, the following are the advantage of industrial floor concrete: high performance floor; increased

abrasion resistance; increased ability of load transfer at saw cut joints; reduced potential for plastic

shrinkage cracking; reduced potential for drying shrinkage cracking; lower risk of curling; increased

dimensional stability; and overall lower maintenance costs.

In a study conducted by Kabir, A. et. Al (2012), the concept of early prediction of concrete

compressive strength is entertained. That is, this prediction enables to know quickly about the concrete

and its probable weakness for the engineers to go full gears in the continuation of the construction or

management of the destruction program. Therefore, prediction of the compressive strength of concrete

has been an active area of research. Several methods for early estimation have been introduced in some

previously published studies. These attempts were made to predict the 28 days concrete compressive

strength from early days test results but those had some limitations. Going further, as cited by Selcuk,

L. & Gökçe, H. S. (2015), the Point Load strength Test (PLT) is also intended to be used as index for

strength classification of earth materials. PLT may also be used to predict uniaxial tensile strength and

compressive strength of intact rock (Broch and Franklin, 1972). However, a study of Yao, W. et. al

(2017) strongly disagrees with this. They protested that the real value of the in situ tensile and

compressive strengths of concrete deteriorated under authentic environments for long time provides a

necessary basis for the evaluation of structures, especially for those that have existed for long period.
Bubble Deck Slab

With the evolution of construction, in 1990’s Jorgen Bruenig invented the first biaxial

hollow slab, known popularly as the Bubble Deck Slab which originated in Denmark. This

innovatory floor system of reinforced concrete leads to a 30 to 50 percent lighter slab which

reduces the loads on the columns, walls and foundations, and of the entire building allowing

heavier loads than a solid slab. Also, the innovative floor system have many numerous advantages

such as it lowers the total cost, use of material is reduced, structural efficiency is enhanced,

construction time is decreased, and is a green technology. It offers a more sustainable construction

option by using less concrete than tradition concrete floor systems.

Figure 2. Typical Lay-out of Bubble Deck Slab

Advantages of Bubble Deck Slab

The advantages of Bubble Deck become apparent when it comes to the deformation

calculation; bending-strength design; penetration design; load transfer to supports, walls and

foundations; crack-reinforcement design; earthquake design; determination of resonant

frequencies and determination of auxiliary supports during the construction phase.

 The concept of bubble-voided flat slabs involves placing hollow recycled plastic shapes

typically spheres in-between two layers or rebar, in the middle of a concrete slab. Due to the

replacement of concrete with air, the slab will have a lower dead load and a higher allowable span

up to 55 feet without using beams.

Figure 3. Stress Diagram of Bubble Deck Slab

Bubble Deck Slab contributes less CO2 to the atmosphere in the manufacturing process. It

meets sustainable goals through the use of recycled plastic spheres. Therefore, even after the

building has been demolished or renovated the spheres could be recycled. According to the Bubble

Deck, 100 kg of concrete is replaced by 1 kg of recycled plastic. The reduction in dead load makes

the long-term response more economical for the building while offsetting the slightly increased

deflection of slab.

Bubble Deck Slab was proven to be superior to the traditional solid concrete slab. Thus, in

the study of Tina Lai (2009), the structural behavior of Bubble Deck Slab is verified through the

application to a bridge deck. After verifying the validity of the prior research through a finite

element analysis of an office floor in SAP 2000, the Bubble Deck Slab was tested for a pedestrian

bridge deck. It is stated that a bridge design is dominated by the dead weight of the structure and

by concentrated stresses from vehicular traffic. Hence, the Bubble Deck Slab can solve both of the

problems by reducing weight with the plastic spheres and by applying to limit the high stress.
 The Bubble Deck Slabs is influenced by the ratio of bubble diameter to slab thickness. The
effects of various factors to the behavior of Bubble Deck Slab are considered such as concrete
strength, the shape and diameter of plastic balls, the size of reinforcing mesh at top and bottoming
order to demonstrate the superiority and advances of mentioned technology (L.V. Hai, 2009). It
was concluded by using the hollow elliptical balls, the better load-bearing capacity in the Bubble
Deck Slab can be achieved. M.A. Terec et al conducted also a study on the Bubble Deck floor
system. It was concluded that the Bubble Deck Slab obtaining a much improved flexural capacity
and stiffness and a shear capacity of at least 70 percent from that of a solid slab realizing 30 to 50
percent concrete economy in comparison with the solid slab.

Types of Bubble Deck Slab

As such innovations improved overtime, types of Bubble Deck Slab have been developed
like filigree elements, reinforcement modules, and finished planks.

Fig. 4 Types of Bubble Deck Slab

Filigree Elements or called Type A Bubble Deck is a combination of constructed and

unconstructed elements. This type of Bubble Deck is optimal for new construction projects where

the designer can determine the bubble positions and steel mesh layout. Moreover, Bubble Deck
Type B or also known as Reinforcement Modules, is a reinforcement module that consists of a

pre-assembled sandwich of steel mesh and plastic bubbles, or bubble lattice. This category of

Bubble Deck is optimal for construction areas with tight spaces since these modules can be stacked

on top of one another for storage until needed. A shop-fabricated module that includes the plastic

spheres reinforcement mesh in its finished form is the Bubble Deck Type C. Unlike Type A and

B, it is one-way spanning design that requires the use of support beams or load bearing walls. This

class of Bubble Deck is best for shorter spans and limited construction schedules.

Flexural Strength of Bubble Deck Slab

A study of Salman, W. D. (2013) presented the flexural capacities of reinforced concrete two-way

bubble deck slabs with common plastic spherical voids. It has been verified that the bubble deck slab

possesses good flexural strength, good ultimate load, small deflection, and significantly low concrete

compressive strain and few crack pattern.

Also, according to seminarsonly.com published at their website, Bubble Deck Slab is conceived to

omit a significant volume of concrete (compared to solid slab) in the central core where the slab is

principally un-stressed in flexure. In slabs, the depth of compressed concrete is usually a small portion of

the slab depth and this means that it almost always involves only the concrete between the ball and the

surface so there is no sensible difference between the behavior of a solid slab and Bubble Deck. The only

elements working are the outer shell of concrete on the compression side and the steel on the tension side.

In terms of flexural strength, the moments of resistance are the same as for the solid slabs provided this

compression depth is checked during design so that it does not encroach significantly into the ball.

Cellulose Acetate
 Cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) is a mixed ester of cellulose. CAB, commonly known as

butyrate, is resistant to ultraviolet rays, has a lower moisture absorption than cellulose acetate, and

has an extremely high-impact strength (McKeen, 2012).

Physical Properties of Cellulose Acetates is as follows:

a. Soft, smooth, natural feel

b. High Flexibility

c. High Gloss

d. Good chemical resistivity

e. Biodegradable

f. Moderate ability to protest friction

g. Good elongation at break

h. Protective against insect

i. Poor abrasive ability

j. Poor breaking tenacity

Table 1 Material Property of Cellulose Acetate

 INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Ping-pong balls
(Cellulose
Acetate) as
Hollow Spheres
 Steel
 Flexural  Flexural Strength
reinforcement
Strength Test of Voided Slab
o 8-mm Ø
(ASTM C78) using Ping-pong
RSB
of Voided balls as Hollow
o #16 Tie-
Slab Beam Spheres
wire
Samples  Light-weight
 Concrete mixture
concrete
o Sand (S1)
o Gravel
(¾”)
o Portland
cement
Type A

Figure 5. Research Paradigm