ECS 478

REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN

Chapter 3:
REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB
FLAT
SLAB
ECS 478 – Chapter 2 :
Continuous Beam Design & Detailing – continuous beam design

LEARNING OUTCOME (WEEK 8):

By completing this chapter, students shall be able to:

1.0 Determine effective diameter of column or column

head, hc.
2.0 Analyse design moment of a flat slab panel by using
simplified coefficients.
3.0 Detail ultimate design a flat slab (flexural & shear
resistance) & apply durability and serviceability
checks.
FLAT SLAB (CL 9.4)
Introduction
Defined as a slab with or without drops, supported generally
without beams by columns with or without column heads.

http://nisee.berkeley.edu/elibrary/Image/GoddenF79
FLAT SLAB (CL 9.4)
Advantages ;

• The slab is thicker than

that required in T-beam
floor slab construction .
• The omission of beams
gives a larger clear height,
more economical, windows
can extend up to the
underside of the slab,
there are no beams to
obstruct the light and the
circulation of air and
simplification in
construction and
formwork. http://www.cityu.edu.hk/CIVCAL/book/
misc_advanced.html
 a. Flat slab Floor Plan b. Sectional view of flat slab structure

Column
Drop Head
(i) (ii)
c. (i) Slab without drop panel; (ii) slab with drop panel and flared column head.`
 Structural Analysis
Design moments may be obtained by

(a) Frame analysis such as moment distribution or stiffness method.

(b) simplified method using the moment and shear coefficients.
 Simplified method using the moment and shear
coefficients
Subject to the following requirements ;
(i) The lateral stability is not dependent on the slab-column connections;
(ii) The condition for using table below;
(a) Substantially uniform loading
(b) Permanent action, gk ≥ Variable action, qk
(c) At least 3 spans that not differ by more than 15% of the longest span
 Simplified method using the moment and
shear coefficients
Subject to the following requirements ;

(iii) There at least three rows of panels of approximately equal span in the;
direction being considered;
(iv) The bay size exceeds 30m2.
General Design Requirement
Punching Shear

Punching shear - A concentrated

load on a slab causes shearing
stresses on a section around the
load.

Important features in the design of the flat slabs are the calculations
for punching shear;

1) at the critical section located at 2.0d from the loaded area

2) at the head of the columns
3) at the change in depth of the slab, if drop panels are used
Punching Shear
1. At the critical section

• The critical surface for checking is located at 2.0d from the

loaded area.
• The maximum force that can be carried by the slab can be
obtained by using;
VRd,c = vRd,cdu

Where
-vRd,c is taken from table 8.2
(textbook)
- d is effective depth
- u is length of the punching shear
perimeter.
2. The column head
Checks must also be undertaken to ensure that the maximum
permissible shear force (VRd,max) is not exceeded at the face of the
loaded area.

VRd,max = 0.5ѵ1fcdud

Where ;
ѵ1 = 0.6(1-fck/250)
fcd = fck/ƴc
u = perimeter of the loaded area
d = effective depth
EC2 requires that the design shear force be increased above the
calculated value by 15% for internal columns, up to 40% for edge
columns and 50% for corner columns, to allow for the effects of moment
transfer. These rules only apply to braced structures where adjacent spans
do not differ by more than 25%.
Serviceability checks
Serviceability checks
The usual basic span-effective depth ratios may be used but where
the greater span exceeds 8.5m the basic ratio should be based on the
longer span. (EN 1992-1-1; Table 7.4N)
 EXAMPLE – DESIGN OF A FLAT SLAB

• The columns are at 6.5 m centres in each direction and the slab
supports a variable load of 5KN/m². The characteristic material
strengths are fck = 25 N/mm² for concrete, and fyk = 500 N/mm² for the
reinforcement. It is decided to use a floor slab as shown in figure 8.13
with 250mm overall depth of slab and drop panels 2.5m square by
100mm deep. The column heads are to be made 1.2m diameter.
Density of concrete is 25 KN/m³
 SOLUTION

Permanent load:
Weight of slab = 0.25 x 25 x 6.5² = 264.1 KN
Weight of drop = 0.1 x 25 x 2.5² = 15.6 KN
Total = 279.7 KN

Variable load:
Total = 5 x 6.5² = 211.3 KN

Therefore,
Ultimate load on the floor, F = 1.35Gk + 1.5Qk
= 1.35 x 279.7 + 1.5 x 211.3
= 695 KN per panel
and equivalent distributed load, n = 695
6.5²
= 16.4 KN/m²
 SOLUTION

The effective span,

L = clear span between column heads + slab thickness at either end
2
= (6.5 – 1.2) + 0.35 x 2
2
= 5.65 m

A concrete cover of 25mm has been allowed and where there are two equal
layers of reinforcement, the effective depth has been taken as the mean depth
of the two layers in calculating the areas. (d = 250 – 25 – 20 = 205mm in
span and d = 350 – 25 – 20 = 305mm at support).

The drop dimension (2.5m square) is greater than one-third of the panel
dimension (1/3 x 6.5 = 2.1m), therefore the column strip is taken as the width
of the drop panel (2.5m)
 SOLUTION

Bending reinforcement:
Since the variable load is less than the permanent load and
bay size = 6.5m x 6.5m = 42.25m² (> 30m²), from table 8.1:
i. Centre of interior span
Positive moment = 0.063FL
= 0.063 x 695 x 5.65
= 247 KNm
The width of the middle strip is (6.5m – 2.5m = 4m) which is greater than
Half the panel dimension, therefore the proportion of this moment taken
by middle strip can be taken as 0.45 from table 8.6 adjusted as shown :
0.45 x 4 = 0.55
6.5/2
Thus middle strip positive moment = 0.55 x 247 = 136 KNm
The column strip positive moment = (1 – 0.55) x 247 = 111 KNm
 SOLUTION

a.) For the middle strip

M = 136 x 10⁶ = 0.032
bd²fck 4000 x 205² x 25
From the lever arm curve, figure 4.5 la = 0.97, therefore

As = M = 136 x 10⁶ = 1605 mm² bottom steel

0.87fykZ 0.87 x 500 x 0.95 x 205

Thus provide sixteen H12 bars (As = 1809 mm²) each way in the span
distributed evenly across the 4m width of the middle strip (spacing = 250mm
= maximum allowable for a slab in an area of maximum moment).
b) The column strip moments will require 1310mm² bottom steel which can
be provided as twelve H12 bars ( As = 1356mm²) in the span distributed
evenly across the 2.5m width of the column strip (spacing = 210mm)
 SOLUTION

2. Interior support
Negative moment = -0.063FL = - 0.063 x 695 x 5.65 = 247 KNm
Middle strip = 0.25 x 4 x 247 = 0.31 x 247 = 77 KNm
6.5/2
Column strip = (1 – 0.31) x 247 = 0.69 x 247 = 170 KNm
a) For a middle strip
M/bd²fck = 77 x 10⁶/ 4000 x 205² x 25
= 0.018
From lever arm curve, figure 4.5, la = 0.98 (> 0.95)
As = M/0.87fykZ = 77 x 10⁶ /0.87 x 500 0.95 x 205 = 909 mm²
Provide 11H12 (As = 1243 mm²)
 SOLUTION

b) For the column strip

M/bd²fck = 170 x 10⁶ /2500 x 305² x 25 = 0.029
From lever arm curve, figure 4.5, la = 0.97 (>0.95)
As = M/0.87fykZ = 170 x 10⁶/0.87 x 500 x 0.95 x 305 = 1349 mm²
Provide 14H12 (As = 1582 mm²) or provide H12 – 200 c/c
Punching shear

1. At the column head

Perimeter uo = π x diameter of column head
= π x 1200
= 3770 mm
Shear force VEd = F – π/4 x 1.2² x n = 695 - π/4 x 1.2² x 16.4 = 676.4 KN
To allow for effects of moment transfer, V is increased by 15% for an
internal column, thus
VEd,eff = 1.15 x 676.4 = 778 KN
Maximum permissible shear force,
VRD,max = 0.5ud [0.6 (1 – fck/250)]fck/1.5
= 0.5 x 3770 x 305 [0.6 (1 – 25/250)] 25/1.5 x 10ˉ³
= 5174 KN
Thus VEd,eff is less than VRD,max
2. The first critical section for shear is 2.0 x effective depth from face of the
column head, that is , a section of diameter 1.2 + 2 x 2.0 x 0.305
= 2.42 m (within the drop panel)
Thus the length of the perimeter u1 = π x 2420 = 7602 mm
Ultimate shear force, VEd = 695 – π/4 x 2.42² x 16.4 = 620 KN
VEd,eff = 1.15 x 620 = 713 KN
For the unreinforced section,
VRd,c = vRd,cu1d = vRd,c x 7602 x 305
with ρ1 = ρy = ρz = 100 x 1582/(2500 x 305) = 0.21%
From table 8.2 vRD,c = 0.47 N/mm²
VRd,c = vRd,cu1d = vRd,c x 7602 x 305 = 0.47 x 7602 x 305 x 10ˉ³ = 1090KN
As VEd,eff is less than VRd,c the section is adequate and shear reinforcement is
not needed.
3. At the dropped panel, the critical section is 2.0 x 205 = 410 mm from the
panel with a perimeter given by
u = (2a + 2b + 2π x 2d)
= (4 x 2500 + 2π x 410) = 12576 mm
The area within the perimeter is given by,
(2.5 + 3d)² - (4 – π) (2.0 x 0.205)²
= (2.5 + 3 x 0.205)² - (4 – π) (0.410)²
= 9.559 m²
Ultimate shear force,
VEd = 695 – 9.559 x 16.4 = 538 KN
So VEd,eff = 1.15 x 538 = 619 KN
VRd,c = vRd,c ud where u = 12576 mm and d = 205 mm
ρ1 = 100 x 1582/(2500 x 205) = 0.31%, thus from table 8.2, vRd,c = 0.55 N/mm²
Hence VRd,c = 0.55 x 12576 x 205 = 1418 KN
As VEd,eff is less than VRd,c the section is adequate.

In the above calculation, ρ1 has been based on column strip reinforcement

at the support. Since the critical zone will lie partially in the middle strip,
this value will be a minor over estimate but is not significant in this case.

Span – effective depth ratio (check deflection)

At center of the span, 100As,req/bd = 100 x 1605/(4000 x 205) = 0.20
From fig 6.3, the limiting basic span – effective depth ratio is 32 for class C25
concrete and this is multiplied by a K factor of 1.2 for a flat slab (see table 6.10)
giving ,
32 x 1.2 = 38.4
Actual span – effective depth ratio = 6500/205 = 31.7
Hence the slab effective depth is acceptable.