Anda di halaman 1dari 7

Construction of elevated

concrete slabs
Understanding the effect of structural systems

BY BRUCE A. SUPRENANT

o one can design and build strikeoff operations determine the and level, or flat but not level, or lev-

N an elevated concrete slab


that is flat, level, of uniform
thickness, and at the speci-
fied elevation. Thats why American
Concrete Institute (ACI) tolerance
floors levelness.
Figure 1 shows the differences
among flatness, levelness, and ele-
vation control. A floor can be flat
el but not flat, or level and flat but
not at the specified elevation.
This article discusses effects of
design and construction methods
on slab levelness and elevation con-
documents spell out permissible trol during and after construction.
variations in flatness, levelness, Effects of concrete placing and fin-
slab thickness, and elevation. ishing operations on floor flatness
Even with these tolerances, how- will be discussed in a subsequent
e ve r, building an acceptable elevat- article.
ed slab can be tricky. Many elevated
slabs are unshored and some may Contractor and engineer
deflect excessively. And because of responsibilities
newly developed measurement An out-of-level elevated slab may
methods, tolerances are more tight- be caused by:
ly enforced than ever before. When
tolerances arent met, the result is Deflection of formwork and
often a feud among the owner, engi- shoring during concrete
neer, and contractor. placement
To avoid getting burned in a dis-
pute over slab tolerances, engineers Deflection of unshored structural
and contractors need to know how members during concrete
design and construction decisions placement
affect variations in slab dimension
and location. Deflection of the hardened con-
crete when supporting formwork
Flat versus level is removed and the structure
Flat refers to smoothness of the begins to carry its own weight
floors top surface. A concrete slabs
flatness is mainly affected by the The contractor is usually respon-
finishing operations that occur after sible for controlling deflections of
the initial strikeoff. Co n t ro l l i n g f o rm w o rk and shoring that occur
floating, straightedging, and trow- during concrete placement.
eling is the key to improving flat- For unshored construction, such
ness. as most composite slabs, the re-
Level refers to how close the floor sponsibility for controlling deflec-
surface is to being horizontal. Form- tion isnt always clear. If a slab is out
ing, shoring, beam camber, screed Figure 1. Differences among flatness, of level, the condition might be
position, concrete placing, and levelness, and elevation control. traced to structural design of the
Figure 2. Designers dream of level slabs of uniform thickness. However unless deflections can be predicted accurately, a
level slab happens by chance and not choice.

supporting steel frame or to poor culated using formulas in the then- some cases the difference could be 12
control of screed setting. current ACI building code. A ratio of inch or more.
The engineer is responsible for one in the graph in Figure 2 indi-
s t ru c t u ral design that keeps short- cates that the actual and calculated Engineering approaches
and long-term (creep) deflection of deflections were equal. The most to camber
the finished structure within frequently found ratio was one, but In spite of the inaccuracy of de-
acceptable limits. the committee concluded there is flection estimates, engineers some-
approximately a 90% chance that times specify beam camber to ac-
The designers dream the deflections of a particular beam commodate part or all the dead load
Many designers believe that cam- will be within the range of 20% less deflection plus part of the live load
bering the beams is the key to to 30% more than the calculated val- deflection. The amount of needed
achieving a nearly level floor (Figure ue (Ref. 1). camber also can be influenced by
2). A concrete slab of uniform thick- Because the reported results are the relative percentages of dead and
ness can be placed by positioning from carefully controlled laboratory live load, the probable frequency
the screeds at the high and low tests, the field situation is sure to be and intensity of the live load, the
points of the cambered beam. The worse. The best estimate of deflec- performance of similar members, or
weight of the concrete slab would tion for reinforced concrete mem- aesthetics.
then cause the cambered beam to bers is probably accurate to no bet- Contractors should be aware of
deflect to a level plane at the speci- ter than 25%. the wide variations in engineering
fied elevation. Agreement between actual and practice regarding camber. Experi-
Sounds easy, but the trick is to de- calculated deflections for steel ence seldom indicates what to ex-
termine the amount of beam cam- beams isnt much better. Steel pect on future jobs. One engineer
ber (upward deflection) that will off- beams designed in accordance with may decide to camber the beams for
set the deflection from the dead American Institute of Steel Con- the full dead load and another may
weight of the concrete slab. The de- struction (AISC) specifications choose to camber for full dead load
signers dilemma is that he cant ac- sometimes deflect 10% to 20% more plus 50% of the live load.
curately predict deflections. than the calculated values (Ref. 2). Cambering the beams for live
Figure 2 also shows the results of Based upon realistic expectations load is always a gamble. If the actu-
s e ve ral laboratory tests on simply for a beam designed with a 1-inch al live load is less than expected, the
supported reinforced concrete midspan camber, the final floor sur- beam will have an upward bow. If
beams. ACI Committee 435 com- face elevation at midspan after plac- the actual live load is more than ex-
pared measured deflections of ing concrete could be 14 inch above pected, the beam deflects down-
loaded beams with deflections cal- or below the desired elevation. In ward. Regardless of which occurs,
its safe to bet that the actual live c re t e. When submitting bids, some information on camber (Ref. 5):
load present wont cause the beam experienced contractors add be-
to deflect to a dead level position. tween 12 to 34 inch of extra concrete It should be recognized that
Steel beams. For steel beams the to compensate for the expected camber of precast, pre s t re s s e d
engineer must specify the desired d ow n w a rd deflection of the steel members is a result of the place-
amount of camber. Typically, this is joists. ment of the strands needed to
shown on the structural drawings Precast, prestressed tees. Another resist the design moments and
which list the maximum camber at common construction application service load stresses. It is not
midspan for each beam. The AISC is to place a 2-inch-thick concrete practical to alter the forms of the
Manual of Steel Construction indi- topping over a prestressed double members to produce a desired
cates minimum and maximum tee or hollow core plank. Although camber. Therefore, cambers
amounts of induced camber that its common practice to place a con- should not be specified, but
the mill will agree to supply (Ref. 3). crete topping, it is rather uncom- their inherent existence should
Beams less than 20 feet long usually mon to have the topping exactly be recognized. Calculation of
cant be cambered nor can beams 2 inches thick. Camber in pre- topping quantities should also
with depths less than 14 inches. Al- stressed members is not specified recognize the imprecision of
so, most mills will not provide less by the engineer. The camber is camber calculations.
than 1 inch of camber. Fabricators a result of prestressing for the
may heat camber smaller or shorter design loads. The Precast/Pre- PCIs Committee on To l e ra n c e s
beams but may not guarantee the stressed Concrete Institute lists the permissible variation in
results. (PCI) Design Handbook provides design camber and differential cam-
The AISC manual also lists mill
tolerances for cambered steel
beams. Camber tolerances are al-
ways on the plus side. For beams 50
feet or less in length, the permissible
camber variation is + l2 inch.
If an engineer orders a 30-foot-
long beam with a 112-inch midspan
camber, the beam delivered to the
jobsite might have a 1 34-inch cam-
ber. Another beam might have a 112 -
or 2-inch camber. This illustrates a
common problem for the concrete
subcontractor: How do you place a
level slab of uniform thickness over
steel beams that can vary in eleva-
tion at midspan by as much as 12
inch? It cant be done.
Open web steel joists. Engineers
dont specify camber for open web
steel joists (bar joists). Instead, the
Steel Joist Institute states that the
joists as delivered shall have the fol-
lowing approximate midspan cam-
ber (Ref. 4):

20-foot length 14 inch


30-foot length 38 inch
40-foot length 58 inch
50-foot length 1 inch
60-foot length 112 inches

As most contractors know, these Figure 3. Placing level slabs of uniform thickness over beams spanning different
cambers arent enough to compen- lengths is impossible. To obtain a level slab, locate the screed at the high point.
sate for the weight of the fresh con- It wont be possible to obtain a slab of uniform thickness.
ber between adjacent members of
the same design for double tees
as (Ref. 6):

Camber variation from design


camber
14 inch per 10 feet, 34 inch
maximum
Differential camber between
adjacent members of same
design
1
4 inch per 10 feet, 34 inch
maximum

With these allowances, its possi-


ble for the elevation of the top sur-
face of a series of precast double
tees to vary by as much as 34 inch. A
nominal 2-inch topping could easi-
ly become as much as 234 inches
thick or as little as 114 inches thick.
Typical initial cambers for precast,
prestressed double tees are:

20-foot length0.3 inch


30-foot length0.7 inch
40-foot length1.2 inches
50-foot length1.4 inches

This camber may increase or de- Figure 4. Construction options for placing concrete slabs on cambered beams or
crease with time, depending on the decks that retain an upward bow after concrete placement.
stress distribution across the mem-
ber due to sustained loads.
Cast-in-place concrete systems. feet of span (Ref. 7). tional camber. The afternoon sun
Engineers must specify the amount Some members used in forming has been known to camber both
of camber, if any, for cast-in-place are already cambered. Patented steel and concrete members as
concrete flexural members. Most h o ri zontal shoring usually has a much as 1 inch. Also, overenthusias-
engineers dont specify cambers built-in camber. Wood members tic laborers can induce camber by
for cast-in-place concrete systems usually dont. The contractor is re- using shores to push on the bottom
and for most buildings this isnt a sponsible for assembling the forms of the beams. Although negative
problem. For long-span concrete and shoring to satisfy the engineers camber is unusual, it sometimes oc-
systems, howe ve r, camber may required camber. Make sure, how- curs. During winter concreting,
be necessary. e ve r, that the camber is measured some contractors enclose and heat
Where camber is required, the en- after the concrete hardens but be- the bottom of the slab. A warm bot-
gineer specifies the amount of cam- fore removing any shores or forms. tom and a cold top will produce a
ber to compensate for deflection of downward deflection.
the finished structure, and the con- Unintentional camber Its always best to determine the
tractor estimates the amount of Even if the engineer doesnt spec- elevations of the beams and forms
camber necessary to offset the de- ify a camber its possible for sup- before placing concrete. Just be-
flection of the formwork and porting beams to have a camber. For cause no camber was specified
shoring. The final formwork camber instance, AISC specifications permit doesnt mean that the beams will be
is the addition of these two compo- the natural mill camber (unintend- level. Use a construction survey lev-
nents. ACIs Formwork for Concrete ed camber) for a 40-foot beam to be el or a laser to determine the eleva-
says that a frequently applied rule of as much as 12 inch at midspan. tions and variations in elevations.
thumb to account for formwork de- Besides fabrication tolerances, Dont wait until you run out of con-
flections is to camber 14 inch per 10 there are other sources of uninten- crete or have half a truckload left
over. Know your concrete require- Contractor approaches to as a precast, prestressed double-tee
ments in advance. elevated slab construction floor panel. These examples show a
The contractors objective is an el- cambered beam (or cambered
Beam span effects on camber evated concrete slab that meets, f o rm w o rk) that deflects under the
Not all concrete slabs are placed within tolerance, the requirements dead weight of the fresh concrete
over beams of the same length. Be- for levelness, slab thickness, and but still has a positive upward de-
cause of framing around elevator specified elevation. As shown above, flection after the concrete is placed.
shafts and stair openings, concrete howe ve r, this objective is some- Constructing a level surface at the
slabs are poured over beams of vari- times hard to achieve. The contrac- specified elevation while maintain-
ous lengths. For example, Figure 3 tor must choose how to best satisfy ing the required minimum concrete
shows precast double tees that are the objective and may choose to thickness at the supports results in a
40 and 30 feet long. The amount of construct a slab that is: slab that is too thin at midspan (Fig-
camber varies for each tee, and the ure 4a). The thin concrete section at
location of the maximum camber is Level and at the specified eleva- midspan may reduce the flexural
different across the slab. tion but not of uniform thickness strength below the desired strength.
Its not possible to place a slab of For composite construction,
Level and not at the specified el-
uniform thickness over these two some specifications allow steel
vation nor of uniform thickness
different length precast beams and studs on the structural frame to be
have it deflect to a horizontal posi- Of uniform thickness but not within 12 inch of the top concrete
tion when loaded. Choose the high- level s u rf a c e. Constructing a composite
est elevation and use this as a refer- concrete slab as shown in Figure 4a
ence location for a screed. The Cambered beams. Figure 4 shows could result in the studs protruding
concrete slab will be thicker than the options for constructing a con- through the thin concrete layer at
specified but it can be level. crete slab on a cambered beam such midspan. Some workers call the
p ro t ruding studs a dinosaurs
spine. Most contractors recognize
them as the beginning of another
feud.
Maintaining the required mini-
mum thickness at midspan and a
level slab surface requires too much
concrete at the supports (Figure 4b).
The contractor might not have in-
cluded this extra concrete in the bid
price and thus could lose money on
e ve ry slab poured.
Also, placing a surface level
doesnt guarantee that its at the
specified elevation. As Figure 4b
shows, the top of slab surface is lev-
el but not at the correct elevation.
The difference between actual and
specified elevation might cause a
problem for other contractors plac-
ing prefabricated window, door, or
utility units.
Positioning the screeds to main-
tain a uniform slab thickness results
in a top floor surface that is bowed
instead of level (Figure 4c). Contrac-
tors occasionally choose this alter-
native to make sure that the amount
of concrete bid is the amount of
concrete used. Howe ve r, the va ri a-
tion in top surface elevation may
make other subcontractors work
Figure 5. Construction options for placing concrete slabs on noncambered beams more expensive. Installers of prefab-
or decks that sag during concrete placement. ricated metal partitions or stud and
dry wall construction, for instance, Because of the amount of plan-
may complain that their units dont ning, the construction delays, and Estimating Concrete
fit properly. The concrete contractor the cost of shoring, most designers Quantities
may be blamed for the lack of fit prefer to use unshored construction
when the real problem is incompat- if possible. A shoring system, Since most contractors try to
ible construction tolerances (Ref. 8). though, controls deflection more pour a level floor, the slab on de-
Noncambered, unshored beams. accurately than cambering does. flecting beams is thicker at
Figure 5 shows construction options If a shoring system is rigid midspan. The amount of extra
for placing a concrete slab on non- enough, formwork and supporting concrete needed should be de-
cambered beams, such as those members deflect little during con- termined by the contractor and
in a metal deck-open web steel joist crete placing. Camber can still be included in the bid. To do this,
floor system. The beams are erected built into the design, but the pur- the contractor or engineer needs
level or slightly cambered. Du ri n g pose is only to accommodate de- to calculate the midspan deflec-
concrete placement the beams flection of the hardened concrete tion under the weight of the
deflect. slab after formwork and shoring are fresh concrete. Alternatively,
Maintaining the required mini- removed. some contractors use their judg-
mum thickness at the supports and Most specifications contain a ment based on experience.
a level top surface makes the slab phrase that makes the contractor re- In either case, assuming that
thicker at midspan (Figure 5a). As sponsible for all temporary bracing the deflected shape is parabolic
mentioned previously, the extra and support necessary to erect the leads to a simple formula for
concrete increases material costs for completed structure. So if shoring is computing the additional vol-
the job. used, its usually the contractors re- ume of concrete needed due to
The American Society of Civil En- sponsibility. beam or deck deflections:
gineers (ASCE) commentary on the Shoring makes sense when exces-
construction of composite slabs sive deflections require enough ex- Extra concrete (cu. ft.)
states that in some instances, in- tra concrete to substantially in- = 118 x x L x B
creased deflections due to the crease material costs. The weight of
ponding effects of the increased extra concrete also may reduce the where
weight of concrete and deflections load capacity and increase deflec- = estimated deflec
of the deck and its supporting mem- tion of the finished structure. The tion at midspan,
bers must be considered (Ref. 9). ASCE commentary on composite inches
Engineers, though, rarely include slabs discusses the latter concern L = span length, feet
the extra concrete weight in their (Ref. 9): B = width of slab, feet
analysis.
Maintaining the required mini- For very short spans the in- For example, if the expected
mum thickness at midspan and a creased weight due to deflection midspan deflection for a steel
level top surface results in a slab is quite small, but for larger joist-metal decks floor system is 1
that is too thin at the supports (Fig- spans this weight may be signifi- inch and the bay is 30x30 feet the
ure 5b). Since most concrete slabs cant. To be precise, this in- additional concrete in this bay
are placed continuous over the sup- creased weight or concrete would be 118 x 1 x 30 x 30 = 50 cu-
p o rt s, cracking at these locations should be considered in all com- bic feet or about 2 cubic yards.
(negative moment regions) is com- putations of deflections, stresses, T h e re f o re, when ordering con-
mon. Thus a thin concrete section and load capacities. Howe ve r, in crete add an extra 2 cubic yards
will aggravate an already too com- p ra c t i c e, shoring would proba- per bay. More importantly, make
mon problem of cracking at sup- bly be used to prevent excessive sure the extra concrete is includ-
p o rt s. Also, the top surface is lower deck deflection under the wet ed in your bid. In some cases it
than the specified elevation. concrete. might be cheaper to shore to pre-
Positioning the screeds to main- vent excessive deflections rather
tain a constant uniform slab thick- For composite construction, than to spend money on the extra
ness produces a top surface with a shores along the construction joint concrete.
sag (Figure 5c). The contractor may be required. The location of a
knows the amount of concrete construction joint at an interior
needed for each placement but does span, especially at midspan, re- deck during adjacent concrete
not know if the engineer and archi- quires the steel deck to be shored. placement could destroy composite
tect are willing to accept the change The shores should remain in place action.
in floor elevation. until the concrete on each side of Even noncomposite decks might
the joint has been placed and cured. need shoring along the construction
Shored construction Without shoring, deflection of the joints. If a construction joint is lo-
cated at midspan, the concrete will the contractors bid. If thats the Tables, Steel Joist Institute, 2001 Jef-
be poured to the location. Assume case, agreement on a change order ferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA
22202.
that the concrete slab for this first might be needed right away.
pour is placed level. When the adja- For shored construction, make 5. PCI Design HandbookPrecast
and Prestressed Concrete,
cent slab is poured the weight of the sure that levelness and flatness will Precast/Prestressed Concrete Insti-
fresh concrete will cause the first be evaluated before shoring is re- tute, 201 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL
slab poured to deflect. Thus the first moved. And if the shored slabs are 60606.
slab wont be at the correct elevation built with a camber, decide how 6. PCI Committee Report, Tolerance
or level and neither will the second screeds will be installed and how el- for Precast and Prestressed Con-
slab. evation control and levelness will be crete, PCI Journal, January/February
1985, Precast/Prestressed Concrete
A possible alternative, although evaluated. Institute.
not perfect, is to shore the deck A pre-pour meeting lets all mem-
7. M. K. Hurd, Formwork for Concrete
along the construction joint. Both bers of the construction team dis- (SP-4), 5th Edition, American Concrete
pours can be completed and main- cuss tolerances, review construction Institute.
tained at the same elevation. Then options, and choose solutions be- 8. Russell S. Fling, Someone Still Has
when the shores are removed that fore problems occur. Thats the best to Pay When Building Components
slab area will deflect as a unit. The time to air disputes and reach agree- Dont Fit Even if Tolerances Are Met,
slab wont deflect to an exactly level ment about floor levelness issues. Concrete Construction, January 1990,
The Aberdeen Group, 426 South
position but it should be acceptable. Westgate, Addison, IL 60101.
Advantages of a pre-pour References 9. Standard Specifications for the De-
sign and Construction of Composite
meeting 1. ACI Committee 435, Variability of Slabs and Commentary on Specifica-
Too many engineers, architects, Deflections of Simply Supported Rein- tions for the Design and Construction
forced Concrete Beams, ACI 435.4R- of Composite Slabs, American Soci-
and contractors are not aware of the 72, ACI Manual of Concrete Practice, ety of Civil Engineers, 345 E. 47th St.,
problems in constructing elevated Part 4, 1990, American Concrete Insti- New York, NY 10017.
concrete slabs that meet specifica- tute, P.O. Box 19150, Detroit, MI
tion re q u i re m e n t s. And too many 48219.
contractors have had to grind or 2. Jack McCormac, Structural Steel Bruce A. Suprenant is a consulting
patch elevated slabs to correct prob- Design, Third Edition, Harper & Row engineer, an Adjunct Associate Pro-
lems they didnt cause. Publishers, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, fessor at the University of Colorado
NY 10022. at Boulder, and a contributing writer
For unshored construction, dis-
3. Manual of Steel ConstructionAl- to this magazine.
cuss potential deflection problems lowable Stress Design, 9th Edition,
and solutions at a pre-pour meet- American Institute of Steel Construc-
ing. If there are tight tolerances on tion, 400 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, PUBLICATION#C900910
levelness, the solution may require IL 60611. Copyright 1990, The Aberdeen Group
more concrete than was included in 4. Standard Specifications and Load All rights reserved

Anda mungkin juga menyukai