SLABS

 Slabs are plate elements forming floors and

roofs in buildings which normally carry
uniformly distributed loads.
 Slabs may be simply supported or continuous
over one or more supports and are classified
according to the method of support as follows
spanning one way between beams or walls
spanning two ways between the support
beams or walls
flat slabs carried on columns and edge beams
or walls with no interior beams
TYPES OF SLABS
Slabs may be solid, ribbed, precast or in-situ
and if in-situ they may span one way or two-
ways.
In practice, the choice of slab for a particular
structure will largely depend upon economy,
buildability, the loading conditions and the
length of the span.
Thus for short spans, generally less than 5 m,
the most economical solution is to provide a
solid slab of constant thickness over the
complete span.
With medium size spans from 5 to 9 m it is
more economical to provide flat slabs since they are
generally easier to construct.
The ease of construction chiefly arises from the
fact that the floor has a flat soffit
One way slab is defined by the Code as one
subjected predominantly to u.d.l. either
(i) it possesses two free and parallel edge; or
(ii) it is the central part of a rectangular slab
supported on four edges with a ratio of the longer
to the shorter span greater than 2.
Two way slab is a rectangular one
supported on four sides with length to
breadth ratio smaller than 2.
Flat slab is a slab supported on
columns without beams.
 Ribbed or Waffled Slab is a slab with
topping or flange supported by closely
spaced ribs.
 if LY/LX>2 than we use one way slab if
LY/LX<2 than use two way slab.
Definition of panels and bays
DESIGN OF ONE-WAY SPANNING SOLID SLAB
The general procedure to be adopted for slab
design is as follows:
 Determine a suitable depth of slab.
 Calculate main and secondary
reinforcement areas.
 Check critical shear stresses.
 Check detailing requirements.
Depth of slab (clause 3.5.7, BS 8110)
Solid slabs are designed as if they consist of
a series of beams of l metre width.
The effective span of the slab is taken as
the smaller of
(a) the distance between centres of bearings, A,
Or (b) the clear distance between supports,
D, plus the effective depth, d, of the slab (Fig.
3.59).
The minimum effective depth of slab, dmin, can
be calculated using

Steel areas (clause 3.5.4, BS 8110)

The ultimate moment of resistance of the
slab, Mu, is calculated using equation the
equation
If Mu ≥ M, which is the usual condition for slabs,
compression reinforcement will not be required and
the area of tensile reinforcement, As,is determined
using

Secondary or distribution steel is required in the

transverse direction and this is usually based on
the minimum percentages of reinforcement (As
min) given in Table 3.25 of BS 8110:
Shear (clause 3.5.5 of BS 8110)
 Shear resistance is generally not a problem
in solid slabs subject to uniformly distributed
loads
Table 3.11 BS. 8110 table 3.16
Reinforcement details (clause 3.12, BS 8110)
For reasons of durability the code specifies
limits in respect of:
1. minimum percentage of reinforcement
2. spacing of reinforcement
3. maximum crack widths.
3. Crack width (clause 3.12.11.2.7, BS 8110).
 Unless the actual crack widths have been
checked by direct calculation, the following rules
will ensure that crack widths will not generally
exceed 0.3 mm.
 This limiting crack width is based on
considerations of appearance and durability.
Curtailment of reinforcement (clause 3.12.10.3, BS
8110).
 Simplified rules for the curtailment of
reinforcement are given in clause 3.12.10.3 of BS
8110.
 These are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3.60 for
simply supported and continuous solid slabs.
 TWO-WAY SPANNING RESTRAINED SOLID SLAB
DESIGN
 The design of two-way spanning restrained slabs
supporting uniformly distributed loads is generally
similar to that outlined above for one-way spanning
slabs.
 The extra complication arises from the fact that it is
rather difficult to determine the design bending
moments and shear forces in these plate-like
structures.
 BS 8110 contains tables of coefficients (βsx, βsy, βvx,
βvy) that may assist in this task (Tables 3.13 and 3.14).
 Thus, the maximum design moments per unit width of
rectangular slabs of shorter side lx and longer side ly
are given by
These moments and shears are considered to
act over the middle three quarters of the
panel width.
The remaining edge strips, of width equal to
one eight of the panel width, may be provided
with minimum tension reinforcement.
where there is a significant difference in the
support moments calculated for adjacent
panels, it maybe necessary to modify the mid-
span moments in accordance with the
procedure given in BS 8110.
Ribbed And Hollow Slabs (Waffle Slabs)- BS8110:
Part 1, section 3.6.
The ribbed floor is formed using temporary or
permanent shuttering
Hollow block slab is generally constructed with
blocks made of clay tiles or with concrete
containing lightweight concrete
The principle advantage of these slabs is the
reduction in weight achieved by removing part of
the concrete below the neutral axis.
Ribbed and hollow slabs
are economical for
buildings where there
are long spans, over 5m
and light or moderate
live loads e.g hospital
wards and apartment
buildings.
Not suitable for
warehouses and
garages because of
heavy loading
 Near the supports the hollow blocks are stopped off and
the slab is made solid this is to enable greater shear
strength.
If the slab is supported by monolithic beam the solid
section acts as the flange of the T-section
The ribs should be checked for shear at the junction with
the solid slab
To avoid shrinkage cracking of the top concrete flange the
hollow tiles should be well socked in water.
The thickness of concrete flange should not be less than:
1. 40mm or one-tenth of the clear distance between the ribs,
whichever is greater, for slabs with permanent blocks
2. 50mm or one-tenth of the clear distance between the ribs,
whichever is greater, for slabs without permanent blocks
If the requirements are not met, check
longitudinal shear between web and flange see if
additional transverse steel is needed
The ribs should be spaced no further apart than
1.5m and their depth below the flange should not
be greater than four times their width
Transverse ribs should be provided at spacing not
greater than ten times the overall depth of the
slab
A slab in an office building measuring 5 m×7.5 m is
simply supported at the edges with no provision to
resist torsion at the corners or to hold the corners
down. The slab is assumed initially to be 200 mm
thick. The total dead load including self-weight,
screed, finishes, partitions, services etc. is 6.2
kN/m2. The imposed load is 2.5 kN/m2. Design the
slab using grade 30 concrete and grade 250
reinforcement
Provide 16 mm diameter bars at 200 mm
centres to give an area of 1010 mm2/m.
Provide 12 mm diameter bars at 200 mm
centres to give an area of 566 mm2/m.
Fig. Below the maximum shear at the support is
given by
V=12.68×2.5=31.7 kN
 Check the shear stress on the long span. This
will have the greatest value because d is less
than on the short span.
 The design concrete shear stress will also be
lower for the long span because the steel area
is less.
The slab is satisfactory with respect to shear.
(d) Deflection
 The slab is checked for deflection across the short
span.
 The basic span-to-effective depth ratio from Table
3.9 in the code is 20.
The modification factor for tension steel is

The slab is satisfactory with respect to deflections.

If high yield reinforcement is used a thicker slab is
needed to comply with the deflection limit.
(e) Cracking
Referring to BS8110: Part 1, clause 3.12.11.2.7, the clear
spacing is not to exceed 3d=480 mm.
In addition the slab depth does not exceed 250 mm for
grade 250 reinforcement. No further checks are required.
(f) Slab reinforcement
Hence, assume effective depth of slab (d) = 155 mm. Assume diameter of main steel
D = 10 mm. From A4 BS 8500-1, cover to all steel (c) for exposure class XC1 = 25
mm.
Provide 10 mm diameter bars at 150 mm centres to give an area of 523 mm2/m.
Actual modification factor
The actual value of the modification can now be
calculated using section 3.9.1.4
Secondary Steel
Based on minimum steel area = 241 mm2/m. provide H8 at
200 mm centres (As = 252 mm2/m.).

Shear Reinforcement
 Table 3.11- BS 8110 Table 3.8
Table 3.16 - Table 3.10

Check spacing between bars

Maximum spacing between bars should not exceed the lesser of 3d
(= 465 mm) or 750 mm. Actual spacing = 150 mm
main steel and 200 mm secondary steel. OK
Maximum crack width
Since the slab depth does not exceed 200 mm, the above spacing
between bars will automatically ensure that the
maximum permissible crack width of 0.3 mm will not be exceeded.