Concrete Slab

Engr. Lito I. Mauro

A concrete slab is a common
structural element of modern buildings.
Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced
concrete, typically between 4 and 2”
(100 and 500mm) thick, are most often
used to construct floors and ceilings,
while thinner slabs are also used for
exterior paving.
Concrete slab floors come in many
forms and can be used to provide great
thermal comfort and lifestyle
advantages.
Slabs can be on-ground, suspended, or a
mix of both.
They can be insulated, both
underneath and on the edges.
Conventional concrete has high
embodied energy.
It has been the most common
material used in slabs.
How deep a concrete slab need to be?
Standard concrete floor slab thickness in
residential construction is 4”.
Five to six inches is recommended if the
concrete will receive occasional heavy
loads, such as motor homes or garbage
trucks.
To prepare the base, cut the ground level
to the proper depth to allow for the slab
thickness.
What is meant by suspended slab?
Suspended slabs are above-ground
level slabs which are not directly in
contact with the earth.
They are commonly used to create
floors for the upper storeys of
houses, but can also be sat on top of
pre-constructed walls to form a
ground floor.
What is in situ concrete?
The first is to pour the liquid material
into forms at the building site; this
is so-called in situ concrete.
The other method is called precast
concrete, in which building
components are manufactured in a
central plant and later brought to the
building site for assembly.
Different types of concrete slab
Slab-on-ground
Slab-on-ground is the most common and
has two variants: conventional slabs
with deep excavated beams and waffle
pod slabs, which sit near ground level
and have a grid of expanded
polystyrene foam pods as void formers
creating a maze of beams in between.
Suspended slab
Suspended slabs are formed and
poured in situ, with either removable
or ‘lost’ non-loadbearing formwork,
or permanent formwork which forms
part of the reinforcement.
Precast slab
Precast slabs are manufactured off
site and craned into place, either
in finished form or with an
additional thin pour of concrete
over the top. They can be made
from conventional or post-
tensioned reinforced concrete.
Design
For a suspended slab, there are a number of
designs to improve the strength-to-weight
ratio. In all cases the top surface remains
flat, and the underside is modulated:
A ribbed slab, giving considerable extra
strength on one direction.
A waffle slab, giving added strength in both
directions and it looks hollow from
bottom.
Corrugated, usually where the
concrete is poured into a corrugated
steel tray.
This improves strength and prevents
the slab from bending under its own
weight.
The corrugations run across the short
dimension, from side to side.
Reinforcement design
A one-way slab needs moment resisting
reinforcement only in its short-direction
because the moment along long axes is so
small that it can be neglected.
When the ratio of the length of long
direction to short direction of a slab is
greater than 2 it can be considered as a one
way slab.
Long direction = ly Short direction = lx
One way slab IF ly/lx > 2
A two-way slab needs moment
resisting reinforcement in both
directions.
If the ratio of the lengths of long and
short side is less than two then
moment in both directions should be
considered in design.
Two way slab IF ly/lx < 2
Suspended slab with removable formwork,
before the installation of reinforcement
Suspended slab with removable formwork ready for concrete pour
Permanent structural formwork with top reinforcement in
place, ready for concrete pour
Precast concrete floor panels installed and ready for light top
reinforcement and pouring of a thin covering slab
Construction
• A concrete slab can be cast in two ways:
It could either be prefabricated or cast
in situ.
• Prefabricated concrete slabs are cast in
a factory and then transported to the
site ready to be lowered into place
between steel or concrete beams.
• They may be pre-stressed (in the
factory), post- stressed (on site), or
unstressed.
The supporting structure is built to the
correct dimensions to avoid trouble
with the fitting of slabs over the
supporting structure.
• In situ concrete slabs are built on the
building site using formwork.
Formwork is a box-like setup in
which concrete is poured for the
construction of slabs.
• For reinforced concrete slabs,
reinforcing steel bars are placed
within the formwork and then the
concrete is poured.
• Plastic tipped metal, or plastic bar
chairs are used to hold the
reinforcing steel bars away from
the bottom and sides of the form-
work, so that when the concrete sets
it completely envelops the
reinforcement.
• Formwork differs with the kind of
slab.
For a ground slab, the form-work
consists of sidewalls pushed into the
ground whereas for a suspended
slab, the form-work is shaped like a
tray, often supported by a temporary
scaffold until the concrete sets.
Working Safely with Concrete
Wet concrete on skin can cause everything
from mild redness to third-degree,
permanently disfiguring chemical burns.
You and your helpers should take these
steps:
• Wear eye protection. Sandy concrete
splashes can wreak havoc with your eyes.
• Wear long pants and long sleeves to
protect your skin.
• Wear tall rubber boots if you have
to wade in wet concrete.
• Wear gloves.
If your clothes get saturated with wet
cement, remove them, thoroughly
rinse your skin and change into clean
clothes before going back to work.