URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Ribbed or waffle slab is a slab system which consists of series of parallel reinforced concrete T
beams framing into reinforced concrete girders. The slab is the flange of the beam and the
extended part is the web. The extended part is known as ribs. The spacing between the ribs
should be in general 20-30 inch. The ribs are tapered in cross-section in its lower part.

Types of Ribbed and Waffle slabs

1. One way ribbed slab system

2. Two-way ribbed slab System (Waffle system)

One-way Ribbed Slab System

A one-way joist floor slab consists of

a series of small, reinforced
concrete T beams that are
connected with girders that in turn
carried by the building column. T
beams are known as joists which
are formed by setting steel pan at a
constant spacing. Concrete is cast
between those spacing to make
those ribs and in this way, the slab
also cast and the slab becomes the
flange of T beam.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Two-way Ribbed Slab System (Waffle System)

The system was designed to

decrease the weight of traditional
full-concrete slabs. The dome-
shaped forms create a matrix of
voids surrounded by orthogonal
ribbing, producing a two-way
configuration very suitable for
large-spanning slabs. Voids
between all the domes reduce the
dead load as the width of that
portion of the slab is less than a
flat slab.

This type of slab is known as waffle slabs because they look like waffles with rows of beams
running underneath them. Waffle slab shows a ceiling which is suitable to install all the electrical
appliances and can give a better outlook thus increasing the aesthetic factor.

Advantages of Ribbed and Waffle Slabs

1. In this type of slab, the tension stress is eliminated in the tension side of the slab. The
strength of concrete in tension is very small and so elimination of much of the tension
concrete is done by the use of pan forms.
2. Economical where the live loads are fairly small such as apartment houses, hotels.
3. 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.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

4. Provide architectural advantages. All the Electrical appliances can be installed easily in
the gap of the ribs which can be architecturally aesthetic.
5. 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.
6. Lighter and stiffer slab than an equivalent flat slab.
7. Reducing the extent of foundations by reducing the ultimate load.
8. They provide a very good form where slab vibration is a viable issue.

Disadvantages of Ribbed and Waffle Slabs

1. Not suitable where the live loads are huge as heavy manufacturing buildings,
warehouses.
2. The thickness of the slab is controlled as the requirement of fire resistance.
3. Formwork cost is high.
4. Sometimes difficult to install the electric equipment.

Characteristics of Waffle Slabs

 Waffle slabs are generally suitable for flat areas.

 Volume of concrete used is very less compared to others.

 The reinforcement in the waffle slab is provided in the form of mesh or individual bars.

 Separate excavation for beams is not required in case of waffle slab.

 The bottom surface of slab is looks like waffle which is obtained by using cardboard
panels or pods etc.

 The thickness of waffle slab recommended is 85 to 100 mm while the overall depth of
slab is limited to 300 to 600 mm.

 The width of beams or ribs provided in waffle slab are generally 110 to 200 mm.

 Spacing of ribs recommended is 600 to 1500 mm.

 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

 Reinforced waffle slabs can be constructed for the span up to 16 meters while beyond
that length prefabricated waffle slab is preferable.

 Waffle slab is good against shrinkage and it is lower than stiffened rafts and footing
slabs.

 Waffle slab requires only 70% of concrete and 80 % of steel from the concrete and steel
used for stiffened raft.

Waffle Slab Construction Procedure

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

 In-situ

 Precast

 Prefabricated
In-situ waffle slabs are constructed by pouring concrete in the site or field with proper
arrangements. In case of precast waffle slab, slab panels are casted somewhere and they are
joined together 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.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

To construct a waffle slab in-situ conditions, formwork should be necessary to support the slab.
But some special tools are required for the form work in case of waffle slab.

Formwork tools required in the construction of waffle slab are:

 Waffle pods

 Horizontal supports

 Vertical supports

 Wall connectors

 Cube junctions

 Hole plates

 Clits

 Steel bars
Horizontal support and vertical supports are arranged first and they are fixed in position by the
connectors. At the edges wall connectors are used to provide connection between wall and
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

slab. The horizontal beam supports are connected by small beam connectors which form
square like shape in which pods are going to be placed.

The pods are generally made of plastic and they are available in different sizes and different
shapes. Size selection of pod depend upon the requirement and span length. For longer span
large number of pods are required. Same size should be used for one complete slab.

Similarly beam connectors and cube junctions are also available in different sizes based on the
suitability of pod sizes.

Cube junctions are used to fix the corners of pods with the frame work. After fixing the
formwork, reinforcement is placed in the two directions of the slab and then concrete is poured
in the gaps which are called as ribs after hardening.

Thin concrete slab is provided on the top and after its hardening pods and frameworks are
removed from the bottom. Thus, the waffle like shape appears at the bottom surface.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Benefits of Waffle Slab Construction

 Waffle slabs are used for larger span slabs or floors and used when there is limited
requirement for number of columns.

 The load carrying capacity of waffle slab is greater than the other types of slabs.

 They provide good structural stability along with aesthetic appearance. Hence, it is
constructed for airports, hospitals, temples, churches etc.

 The waffle slab can be made of concrete or wood or steel among those concrete waffle
slab is preferred for commercial buildings and other two are preferred for garages,
decorative halls etc.

 It has good vibration control capacity because of two directional reinforcement. So, it is
useful for public buildings to control vibrations created by movements of crowd.

 Waffle slabs are lightweight and requires less amount of concrete, hence it is
economical.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

 Construction of waffle slab is easy and quick with good supervision.

 Concrete and steel volume required is small, hence, light framework is enough for waffle
slab.

 Several services like lighting, plumbing pipes, electrical wiring, air conditioning,
insulation materials etc. can be provided within the depth of waffle slab by providing
holes in the waffle bottom surface. This system is called as Holedeck.

Drawbacks of Waffle Slab

 Formwork tools required are very costly because of large quantity requirement of pods
and some special tools.

 The floor height should be more hence number of floors are reduced.

 The services provided in the waffle arrangement without proper maintenance may
causes damages to the slab.

 Skilled workers are required during its construction.

 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

 They are not suitable for sloped areas. If there is slope area, the area must be leveled
with filling or by excavating. For soil filling, good soil should be used.

 They are not suitable against high winds or cyclonic areas because of their light weight.

DIFFIIINITION OF TERMS

Casting - a process in which a liquid metal is delivered into a mold (usually by a crucible) that
contains a negative impression (i.e., a three-dimensional negative image) of the intended
shape. The metal is poured into the mold through a hollow channel called a sprue. The metal
and mold are then cooled, and the metal part (the casting) is extracted.

Curing - plays an important role on strength development and durability of concrete. Curing
takes place immediately after concrete placing and finishing, and involves maintenance of
desired moisture and temperature conditions, both at depth and near the surface, for extended
periods of time.

Monolith - means composed all in one piece. The Monolithic application describes a single-
tiered software application in which different components combined into a single program from a
single platform.

Camber - a slight convex curvature is built into a truss or beam to compensate for any

anticipated deflection so that it will have no sag when under load.

Span - the distance of an unsupported structural component between two supporting members.
Span is used extensively in the construction process. This does not necessarily have to involve
a structural component.

Shear - is opposing structural forces, which causes slippage, on a plane and failure. A rigid
member such as a masonry brick, if half of the brick is experiencing a force down, and the other
half of the brick has an opposing force, up, the brick will split in half.
 URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
#1 San Vicente West, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Middle Strip - is defined to span between the edges of the column strips. This method
requires engineering judgment for column grids that are not perfectly aligned and rectangular.

Prefabricated - is the ability to manufacture the parts needed to create a building offsite and
assemble them swiftly, reducing the amount of labour required.

Load Bearing - is a wall that is an active structural element of a building, which holds the weight
of the elements above it, by conducting its weight to a foundation structure below it. Load-
bearing walls are one of the earliest forms of construction.

Girder - is basically a beam that supports other small beams and serves as the main horizontal
supports of a structure. Unlike beams, the girder is designed to support major concentric loads
such as columns or beam reactions, and their load carrying capacity is much higher than that of
beams.

Pillar - a strong vertical column made of stone, metal, or wood that support of a building or
stands alone for decoration.

Column Strip - In the flat slab, the columns strips are the section that are center aligned with
column and has the width equal to 1/4th of the shorter span on each side.

Bending Moment - is a force normally measured in a force x length (e.g. kNm). Bending
moments occur when a force is applied at a given distance away from a point of reference;
causing a bending effect. In the most simple terms, a bending moment is basically a force that
causes something to bend.

Effective Depth (Beam) - is the distance between the centroid of the area of tension
reinforcement and the topmost compression fibre. It is equal to total depth of the beam minus
effective cover.