ISSN (Online) 2456-1290

International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering

(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

Choice of Type of R C Slab Floors for Construction

of Multi-Storied Buildings.
[1]
Sanjay B Borghate, [2] Dr R. K. Ingle
[1] [2]
Department of Applied Mechanics, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India

Abstract:— In construction of a multi-storey building while assessing the structural cost, it is evident that the bulk of the expenses
is utilised for the floor slab construction. Hence the overall budget of a structure depends on the efficiency and expenditure of the
floor slab system. Efficacy of the design and structural layout depends upon the quality of the material used, where as the actual
cost of the structure may depends on factors such as speed of construction, availability of labour, competitive tendering, local
market conditions, and equipment and cost of construction finance. Choice of the floor is very important for a building to meet the
needs of major financial occupiers in today’s market. In this paper, the different types of RC slab floor systems and their
advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

Index Terms :-- Flat slab, One-way, Precast slab, Ribbed slab,Two-way ,Waffle slab.

I. INTRODUCTION
1.3 Classification of Slabs
A slab is a flat two dimensional planar structural Slabs are mainly classified on the basis of many aspects such
element having comparatively small thickness than its as-
other two dimensions. It provides a working flat surface i) Shape: Square, rectangular, circular and polygonal in
or a covering shelter in buildings. It transfers the load shape.
mostly by bending in one or two directions. Reinforced ii) Support or boundary conditions: Simply supported,
concrete slabs can be used in floors, in roofs and the walls Cantilever slab, Overhanging slab, Fixed or Continues slab.
of buildings and as the decks of bridges. The floor system on columns (Flat slabs).
of a structure can be made in various forms such as in situ iii) Type of supports: Slab supported on walls, Slab supported
solid slab, ribbed slab or pre-cast units. Slabs may be on beams, Slab supported on columns with or without drops
supported on different structures such as concrete beams, and column heads (Flat slabs).
steel beams, walls or directly over the columns. Concrete iv)Stressing steel reinforcement – Conventional reinforced
slab behave mainly as flexural members and the design is concrete slab, Prestressed slabs.
similar to that of beams. v) Cross section or sectional configurations: Solid slab,
1.2 Importance of Slabs in Buildings Ribbed slab /Grid slab/Waffle slab, Filler slab, Folded plate,
In multi-storied buildings slabs are important Precast Slabs and Composite Precast slabs.
load bearing structural elements. A very high proportion vi) Spanning directions :
of the total volume of concrete used for the construction One way slab – Spanning in one direction.
of buildings is mainly used for the attainment of slabs Two way slab -Spanning in two direction.
(Table1). Optimal design is required since slabs have vii) Utility: Roof slab, Floor slab, Foundation slab/slabs-on-
crucial impact on the total cost of the construction. ground or slabs-on-grade, Water tank slab.
Table 1 - Percentage of the total concrete volume used 1.4 Choice of Type of Slab Floor
for load bearing structural elements in buildings. There are many factors that influences the choice of
Structural element or load Percentage of total type of slab for a particular floor. Predominantly economy of
bearing member volume of concrete construction is a significant factor having geographical
variables. Other factors includes the design loads, required
Foundations and ground 15-25% spans, serviceability requirements, and strength requirements.
supported slabs
Bearing walls 3-6% In the assessment of the structural cost of a multi-
Columns 5-7.5 % storey building, large proportion of the budget is assigned
Floor Slabs with Beams 50-65% mainly for the floor slab construction. The efficiency and
Others 5-10% economy of the floor slab system affects overall economy of a

All Rights Reserved © 2017 IJERMCE 369

 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

structure. The quality of the material used indicates the The key feature of the dropless floor is its Flush soffit which
competence of the structural layout and the design. The requires only simple formwork and is very easy to construct.
structural design that has proved to be competitive in one This floor has a minimum overall depth that allows great
region may not always be competitive in another, since flexibility for locating horizontal services. Flat Plate floor
the actual cost bearing of the structure depends on factors system are economical for spans 5m to 7.5 m and lighter
such as speed of construction, local market conditions, loading to control shear in the vicinity of the column supports
competitive tendering, availability of labour and and the need to control long-term deflection limits.
equipment and cost of construction finance. Flat slabs: Flat slabs have drop panels and /or column
There are some considerations for the choice of capitals and not the beams. In some structures there may be
floor design that we have to keep in mind for a building peripheral beams at the outer edges.Drop panels give extra
to meet the needs of major financial occupiers in today’s strength and stiffness in the column region and minimizes the
market: amount of concrete at mid-span. As per IS 456:2000, the drop
i. The cost of concrete, reinforcement, formwork and when provided shall be in rectangular in plan, and have a
workmanship expenses required in construction of cast- length in each direction not less than one third of panel
in-place concrete floors. length in that direction. Thickening of the slab near the
ii. The need for long spans to provide floor space column with drop panels (Figure 1b & d)or flaring the top of
uninterrupted by cores and columns. the column to form a column capital (Figure 1c & d)provides
iii. A maximum floor-to-floor height which allows the shear transfer to the column.Nowadays column capitals as
adequate space for services and ducts, balanced against shown in Figure 1c &d are rarely seen due to the high
planning pressure to limit overall building height. construction cost. The R C flat slabs are used for loads of 5
iv. An adaptable floor structure which can accommodate kPa and for spans of 6m to 9m.
future tenant alterations with maximum speed and The main feature that differentiates flat plates from flat slabs
minimum disruption. is that flat plate does not contain both column capitals or drop
The types of floors and the reasons for choosing them are plates on the other hand flat slab contain any one of these or
given below. both. The advantages and disadvantages of two way Flat
1.5 Cast-in-place reinforced concrete floor systems Slabs are given in Table 2. In flat plate/slab design, the longer
A concrete slab can be cast in two ways: It could either be spans is used to find depth of slab and slab deflection.
prefabricated or cast in situ Table 2 -The advantages and disadvantages of two way Flat
Prefabricated concrete slabs are cast in a factory and then Slabs.
transported to the site ready to be lowered into place Advantages Disadvantages
between steel or concrete beams. 1. i. Flexibility in 1. i.Larger
The cast-in place concrete are most commonly used for room layout amount of in
construction of structural element such as foundation, 2. ii. Saving in situ concrete
columns, beams and floors. On the behaviour of structural building height require than
actions floors can be classified as two way or one way 3. iii.Shorter other flooring
slabs. construction time systems,
1.5.1 Two Way Slabs Floors 4. iv.Ease of resulting in a
A two-way slab is a structure where a rectangular slab is installation of heavier floor.
supported on all the sides and the longer span-to-shorter MEP services 2. ii.Can have
span ratio is less than two. It spans in both the orthogonal 5. v. Use of deflection and
directions and are supported by beams all around or by prefabricated vibration
rectangular column grids where the load will be carried in welded mesh issues,
both the directions. Where the two way slab is directly 6. vi. Buildable score especially for
supported on columns are called flat slabs, total load will longer spans,
be carried in each direction therefore main reinforcement requiring
is provided in both directions for two way slabs. additional
Rectangular two-way slabs can be differentiated into the reinforcement
following types.
Flat plates: Flat plates shown in Figure 1a, does not have
any beams, drop panels or column capitals. There can be
edge beams called as spandrel beams that are designed for
torsion.

All Rights Reserved © 2017 IJERMCE 370

 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

Two-way slabs with beams: The main feature of these slabs is

the beams are provided in orthogonal directions between the
columns. The slab is either supported by the beams or by
wide and shallow/band beams (Figure 2). In two way slab-
beam design, the shorter spans is used to find depth of slab
and slab deflection.

Figure 1a. Flat Plate Slab resting directly on Column

(Source https://www.nexus.globalquakemodel.org)

Figure 2.Two-way slabs with beams(www.dailycivil.com)

Two Way Waffle slabs : The column supports directly the
Ribbed floors consisting of equally spaced ribs. It is of two
types, the one is ribbed slab ( Figure 5) which is one way
spanning system and the another one is waffle slab (Figure 3)
which is two-way ribbed system. The shear transfer of loads
from the slab to the columns requires a solid drop panel and
load bearing walls for shear and moment resistance.
Main drawback of this structure is its formwork costs and the
low fire rating therefore not recommended usually. To attain a
Figure 1b. Flat Slab with Drop Panels
2-hour fire rating, 120-mm-thick slab with a minimum rib
thickness of 125 mm for continuous ribs is essential. A rib
thickness of greater than 125 mm is usually required to
accommodate tensile and shear reinforcement. Ribbed slabs
are appropriate for medium to heavy loads and spans from
7.5m to 12m. The advantages and disadvantages of two way
Waffle/Ribbed slabs are given in Table 3.
Table 3- The advantages and disadvantages of two way
Waffle/Ribbed slabs.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
1. i.Savings on weight 1. i.Depth of slab
Figure 1c. Flat slab with column head and materials between the
(Source https://en.wikipedia.org) 2. ii.Long spans ribs may
3. iii.Attractive soffit control the fire
appearance if rating
exposed 2. ii.Requires
4. iv.Economical special or
when reusable proprietary
formwork pans formwork
used 3. iii.Greater
v.Vertical penetrations floor-to-floor
between ribs are easy height
4. iv. Large
vertical
penetrations are
Figure 1d. Flat slab with drop panel and column head more difficult
(Source http://civildigital.com) to handle
Figure 1. Types of Flat Slab (Source

All Rights Reserved © 2017 IJERMCE 371

 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

1.5.2 One-way slabs

A one-way slab is a structure where a rectangular slab is
supported by two parallel sides only by beams and other two
edges are free (Figure 4). The structural action is only along
the direction perpendicular to the beams as it is supported on
two opposite side only. Total load is distributed in the
direction perpendicular to the supporting beam. In one way
slab design, the spans between beams is used to find depth of
slab, structural response like bending moments, shear force
Figure 3a. Reinforcement Details. and slab deflection. This type of slabs are economical when
(Source http://recentpastnation.org) these slabs are supported along longer directions.
The slab is also considered as one way slab spanning in
shorter direction when a slab is supported on all the four sides
and the ratio of longer span (ly) to shorten span (lx) is greater
than two. In this type of slabs, the shorter span is used to find
structural response.
In one way slabs, the main reinforcement is provided
along the span i.e. along the plain of bending and
distribution/temperature steel is provided in other orthogonal
direction. For fast construction the one-way spanning solid
slab between the beams facilitates the use of table forms.
Figure 3b. Waffle / Ribbed Slabs
(Source http://www.designboom.com)

Figure 4a. One Way slabs supported on two parallel beams.

(Source http://www.arch.ttu.edu)

Figure 3c. Waffle / Ribbed Slabs

(Source http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com)

Figure 4b. One Way slabs supported on two parallel band

beams. (Source http://www.vhptsystem.com)
Figure 4. Types of One-Way slabs supported by opposite
beams

Figure 3d. Waffle Slab with Column head. One Way Slabs supported by series of beams (One Way
(Source http://sketchucation.com) Ribbed slabs)
Figure 3. Two-Way Ribbed slabs /Grid slabs/Waffle The quantity of concrete and reinforcement, and
slabs consequently the weight of the floor can be reduced by
providing series of ribs to the soffit of the floor slab (Figure

All Rights Reserved © 2017 IJERMCE 372

 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

5).. The ribs should be positioned away from the column

lines while flying form panels are used. The deeper and
stiffer floor permits longer spans to be used. Standard
modular, re-usable formwork minimises complexity of
formwork. Ribbed slab floors are very much compliant
for a range of service openings .

Figure 6b. Precast Hollow Core Slab(Source

http://www.jpcarrara.com)
Figure 6. Precast Slab

1.7 Preliminary sizing of Non-prestressed concrete

members:
Figure 5. One Way Spanning Ribbed Slab (Source Preliminary member sizes must be assumed before
http://www.slideshare.net) analyzing the floor system by the designers. It is ensured that
the deflection requirements of respective Section of Building
1.6 Precast concrete floor systems codes and Standards (Table4) are fulfilled by determining the
Precast slabs are of two types: Precast solid slabs thickness of the slab and/ or beam.
(Figure 6a) and Precast hollow core slabs(Figure 6b) both Table 4– Sections/Clauses for Span to Depth Ratio or
offers the advantage of off-site manufacture,with a Minimum thickness for Non prestressed concrete members to
reduction in site labour and site formwork. The ensure deflection criteria by various Building codes and
prestressed slab offers the additional benefits of longer Standards.
spans and higher load capacity. The hollow core slab is a
very common type of precast floor (Figure 6 b). A flush
soffit is formed by relatively light weight units. A shear
key between units ensures load sharing and the
construction is commonly capable of developing
diaphragm action without the need for a structural
topping. The precast units are easily removable and can
accommodate a wide range of floor openings.

1.8 Conclusion
The overall budget of a building structure depends
on the efficiency and expenditure of the floor slab system.
The choice of the floor is very important for a building to
meet the needs of major financial occupiers in today’s market.
While making the choice of floor system for long spans, the
factors like buildability, aesthetics, sustainability, health and
Safety, cost, buildingservices integration and adaptability
shall be considered. In this paper, the different types of RC
slab floor systems and their advantages and disadvantages are
Figure 6a. Precast Solid Slab discussed.

All Rights Reserved © 2017 IJERMCE 373

 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Vol 2, Issue 3, March 2017

REFERENCES

1) ACI Committee 318, 2014, “Building Code

Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-
14) and Commentary,” American Concrete
Institute, Farmington Hills, MI.

2) BS 8110-1:1997, 1997, “British Standard Code:

Design of Concrete Structures,” British
Standards Institution, London, UK.

3) CSA A 23.3-04-2004, “ Design of Concrete

Structures”, Canadian Standards Association,
Canada.

4) EN 1992-1-1:2004, 2004, “Eurocode 2: Design

of Concrete Structures. General Rules and Rules
for Buildings,” European Committee for
Standardization.

5) IS 456 : 2000, “Plain and Reinforced Concrete

Code of Practice”, Bureau of Indian Standards,
New Delhi, India.

6) NZS 3101 :Part 1:2006, “The Design of

Concrete Structures”, Standards New Zealand,
Wellington, New Zealand.

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