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concrete slabs in North America. We were given the opportunity to tour their
core concrete slabs; 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, and 14 inch thicknesses are
available. The slabs are not so much different in their shapes as they are in there
thicknesses. These slabs, which can span up to fifty feet unsupported, are
produced in a plant with machines that control the thickness as well as the
diameter of the hollow cores inside each slab. The facility has 7 beds to produce
the slabs, with each bed yielding 500’ of product. The 7 separate beds also give
time; no need to delay customer orders while other orders finish. Coreslab
Structures also does any and all transportation, installation and cutting of their
Although precast hollow core concrete slabs are the company’s main
focus, Coreslab Structures also offers two types of wet cast concrete beams, the
“ell” beam, which comes in 18” and 24” wide sizes, and the “inverted tee” beam,
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which comes in 24” and 36” wide sizes. Coreslab is capable of producing up to
seventy feet worth of each product per run. This is achieved with forms that are
already created and stored in the yard of the plant. These two different structural
shapes offer structural engineers additional options in the way they create and
certain degree, for the customer, as shown in figure 1.1. Coreslab creates the
installation crew
industry to build larger concrete structures faster and more efficient than ever
before.
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A major reason why hollow core concrete slab is becoming popular with
builders, is the long spans it can cover. Coreslab provides four different
thicknesses, and many re-bar counts and sizes to suit your project. Each
thickness and re-bar combination has its own maximum span and load that it can
carry. 8” thick core slab can span a maximum of 33 feet with a maximum service
load of 79lbs/ft2. 10” thick core slab can span a maximum of 43 feet with a
maximum service load of 62lbs/ft2. Though both 12” and 14” core slab can span
50 feet, the 12” slab can only hold a service load of 67lbs/ft2, while the 14” slab
can hold an impressive 129lbs/ft2. Every thickness of core slab has a wide range
applications.
allows Coreslab to provide the utmost quality control for their products. They
control the temperature moisture that the concrete is exposed to while curing,
which allow the concrete to achieve its maximum strength. Also, during
on the sand and aggregate used in the concrete mixes to ensure compliance with
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CSA guidelines. An air test and slump test is also performed during each wet-
cast pouring; six 4” by 8” cylinders are taken as samples for strength tests.
Hollow core slabs are also very efficient; their hollow cores reduce weight
any weather conditions. This is of significant advantage during the winter; cast-in-
continues without lost productivity. Coreslab installation crews can install 6000 to
9000 square feet of product per day, making installation quick and efficient. Also,
electrical and mechanical utilities can be placed in the hollow spaces within the
slabs. There are even cases of the hollow cores being used as a integral part of
the HVAC system, with hot and cold air running through the cores. Other
and handling of their products. Coreslab is responsible for cutting any holes or
special features in the slabs. Others are not authorized to cut or drill holes in the
slabs since they are so structurally complex; an ill-placed drill by a plumber could
compromise the structural integrity of the slab. They also transport the slabs to
the site and install them at a mutually agreed upon time; discussions take place
ahead of time with the contractor to ensure maximum efficiency. In most cases
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this seems like an advantage, however it also brings to light the versatility and
conflicting mechanical and structural plans, a revision can be quickly issued and,
if a cast-in-place floor system is used, the forms and reinforcing can be modified
on site and the concrete can be poured. However, a hollow core slab is precast,
and modifying it in the required way may not be possible; in this case an order
more than 5’. In general, continuous support is necessary for hollow core
concrete slabs, but reinforcing can be added in the top section of the hollow core
slab to allow for a small cantilever; this cantilever cannot exceed 5’. For larger
cantilevers, the engineer is required to use solid concrete slabs for balconies and
core slab; without proper site access, namely crane access to the required
thickness of the slab. Figure 2.1 shows a 300mm thick hollow core slab load
table. Column A lists the number of 13mm diameter reinforcing steel strands
present in the slab. Row A lists the length of the span. Based on the thickness of
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the hollow core slab, the number of reinforcing steel strands and the length of the
span, the table shown in figure 2.1 provides us with the uniformly distributed
superimposed service load that a particular hollow core slab can carry. For
example, from the table below, we can determine that for a span of 11.0m, a
300mm (12”) thick slab with eight 13mm reinforcing steel strands, a total
Column A Row A
Figure 2.1
reinforcing steel strands will increase the UDL that a certain thickness of hollow
core can carry over the same span. When designing our floor system, we would
look first at the required span and UDL that the floor must carry. Based on these
two elements, we can consult Coreslab’s design tables to find the most cost
effective and efficient hollow core slab to use. The required deflection values for
our floor will also be a determining factor when choosing the proper hollow core
slab.
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iv) Hollow Core Slab Manufacturing Process
The manufacturing process for precast hollow core concrete slabs can be
separated into two distinct sections, the batch plant and the hollow core
production. The batch plant is where the concrete mixes used in the hollow core
slabs are created. Coreslab Structures uses two different cements, Type 30 and
flyash. Type 30, supplied by Essroc, is stored in two 60,000 kg bins, while flyash,
used due to its high early strength yield, which allows the hollow core slabs to be
stone, and sand are each stored in separate dual 120,000 kg bins. Any
admixtures used in the concrete mix are supplied by Axim. A delivery bullet,
which travels at 300ft/min., supplies the concrete mixer, which turn produces 1-
production occurs on 7
product to be poured on Figure 2.2: The delivery bullet is the yellow machine on tracks,
the concrete mixer is orange, and the extruder is the blue
machine is
each bed. The resulting production producing the hollow
2,000 square feetcore slab. core slab per
of hollow
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bed. Extruders, which are the machines that form the concrete into hollow core
slabs, run in tandem, allowing the concrete mixer to supply two extruders at
Coreslab Structures produces four unique depths of hollow core slab - 8”,
10”, 12” and 14” – and the extruder forms each depth of slab at a different speed;
the thicker slabs contain a higher volume of concrete, causing the extruder to
move slower. Coreslab does not commonly produce 14” thick hollow core slabs;
the bulk of their business deals with 8”, 10”, and 12” thick hollow core slabs. The
for 8”, 10” and 12” slabs respectively. It takes approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes
motion stressing pump and jack system; this system digitally displays the
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pressure and elongation of the strand. For example, a ½” strand is typically
v) Detail Work
which Coreslab also produces. Also, when designing the structure, one must be
aware of the concrete topping, if any, that will be added to the top of the hollow
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core slabs to achieve a level, aesthetically pleasing floor. When specifying the
offset of doors placed on the hollow core slab, the concrete topping, usually 2”
documentation for their hollow core floor systems; included in this documentation
are detail drawings of connections with different types of structural systems, wall
approximate cost for the hollow core slab without knowing many associated, job-
approached with a specific job to price, they are able to more accurately price the
floor slab estimate can be rendered useless by a bout of bad weather delaying
installation.
Although it is difficult to give a price for hollow core slab, a rough estimate
would be one dollar per inch thick, per square foot. For example, an 8 inch hollow
core slab is approximately $8.00 per square foot. Coreslab is unable to place
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slabs down unless the area has adequate crane accessibility; if this crane access
is limited, the costs associated with hollow core installation rise. Typical cast in
place concrete averages one dollar per inch for a square foot as well, however
this number is most likely closer to the actual cost than the Coreslab estimate. To
properly estimate a job’s cost, Coreslab Structures must have all the information
discussed earlier, and we are of the opinion that these advantages far outweigh
the disadvantages. The main advantages of hollow core slab are the ease of
lightweight and efficient properties of hollow core. Of course, hollow core is not
for every structure and situation; a careful analysis of the structure, the site, and
other governing factors will help determine if precast hollow core concrete slab is
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