or two-way ribbed slab

Vedavyasa college of architecture

Building materials and construction
Semester 6 –module 2
What is Waffle Slab or two way-ribbed Slab?

Waffle slab or ribbed slab is a structural

component which is plain on its top and
contains grid like system on its bottom
surface. The top of ribbed slab is
normally thin and the bottom grid lines
are generally ribs which are laid
perpendicular to each other with equal
depth. Waffle slab has two directional
reinforcement

Source: https://www.iamcivilengineer.com/what-is-waffle-slab/
Where this system can be used?

1 Can be used as a floor slab or ceiling slab.

2 Where less number of columns are provided. i.e.

It is basically used in the areas which has huge
spans. Ex: railway station ,airport ,warehouse
etc.

3 Specialized projects that involves clean rooms,

spaces requiring seclusion from low frequency
vibration or those needing low floor deflections.
Advantages of Waffle Slabs
 Economical where the live loads are fairly small such as apartment
houses, hotels.

 Long slab spans can be constructed through ribbed and waffle Slabs.
In many cases, long spans are desirable in the building. Ribbed or
waffle slabs are an easy solution for this purpose.

 Provide architectural advantages. All the Electrical appliances can be

installed easily in the gap of the ribs which can be architecturally
aesthetic.

 Slab thickness of ribbed or waffle slabs is less than other slab systems.
Therefore the weight of slab is reduced. This saving of weight can
change in structural characteristic.

 Lighter and stiffer slab than an equivalent flat slab.

 Reducing the extent of foundations by reducing the ultimate load.

 They provide a very good form where slab vibration is a viable issue.
Drawbacks of waffle slab

1 Formwork tools required are very costly

because of large quantity requirement of pods
and some special tools.

2 The services provided in the waffle

arrangement without proper
maintenance may causes damages to
the slab.

3 The floor height should be more hence

number of floors are reduced.
Waffle Slab Construction Procedure

The construction of waffle slabs can be done by three ways as follows.

In-situ waffle slabs are constructed by

1 In-situ pouring concrete in the site or field with
proper arrangements. In case of precast
2 Precast waffle slab, slab panels are casted
somewhere and they are joined together
3 Prefabricated with proper reinforcement and concrete
is filled.
The third case, prefabricated waffle slab
is costliest than the other two methods.
In this case, reinforcement is provided in
the slab panels while casting with some
tension. Hence, they do not need internal
reinforcement in the site.
THANK YOU and stay safe from covid-19 
27 MARCH 2020