Introduction

Reinforced concrete slabs are used in floors, roofs and walls of

buildings and as the decks of bridges. The floor system of a structure
can take many forms such as in situ solid slab, ribbed slab or pre-cast
units. Slabs may span in one direction or in two directions and they may
be supported on monolithic concrete beam, steel beams, walls or
directly by the structures columns.
In conventional reinforced concrete, the high tensile strength of
steel is combined with concrete's great compressive strength to form a
structural material that is strong in both compression and tension.
Another method of overcoming concretes natural weakness in tension
is by a method called pre-stressing. The principle behind pre-stressed
concrete is that compressive stresses induced by high-strength steel
tendons in a concrete member before loads are applied will balance the
tensile stresses imposed in the member during service. Pre-stressing
removes a number of design limitations conventional concrete places
on span and load and permits the building of roofs, floors, bridges, and
walls with longer unsupported spans. This allows architects and
engineers to design and build lighter and shallower concrete structures
without sacrificing strength.
There are various types of slabs that result in designs and pre-
stressing have corresponding applications in construction and are
chosen based on several factors. Economy of construction, lead time,
design loads, required spans, serviceability requirements, among other
construction requirements are all important.
One type of specialized reinforced concrete slab is the flat slab
which is most commonly used in concrete-framed buildings. Other
types include flat plate, ribbed floor slab, waffle slab, lift slab,
spanstress floor system, and slipform method, all of which have their
own design characteristics and applications in construction.

Figure 1. Flat slab construction
What is a Flat Slab?
A flat slab is a reinforced concrete slab supported directly by
concrete columns without the use of intermediary beams (Figure __).
The slab may be of constant thickness throughout or in the area of the
column it may be thickened as a drop panel. The column may also be of
constant section or it may be flared to form a column head or capital.
This type of slab features highly versatile elements and are
appropriate for most floor situations, including irregular column
layouts, curved floor shapes, ramps etc. The benefits of choosing flat
slabs include a minimum depth solution, speed of construction,
flexibility in the plan layout (both in terms of the shape and column
layout), a flat soffit (clean finishes and freedom of layout of services)
and scope and space for the use of flying forms. The flexibility of flat
slab construction can lead to high economy and yet allow the architect
great freedom of form.

Types of Flat Slabs
There are four types of flat slabs (Figure _): (1) a simple flat slab
that is directly supported by columns; (2) a flat slab with column head,
which is supported by a wider base at the areas of the column; (3) a flat
slab with drop panels, which had an even wider support at the column
so as to increase primarily the perimeter of the critical section, for
shear and increasing the capacity of slab for resisting two-way shear;
and (4) flat slab with both drop panels and column heads.

Figure 2. Types of Flat Slabs
The early reinforced concrete flat slabs all had drops, and columns
with capitals, and were considered to be the structure of choice for
warehouse construction and heavy loads. Because of the columns
capitals and drops, shear was not really a problem.
The use of column heads increases the shear strength of the slab
and reduces the moment in the slab by reducing the clear or effective
span. Drop panels also increase the shear strength of the slab while
increasing the negative moment capacity of the slab thereby causing a
stiffening effect and reducing deflection.

Benefits of Using Flat Slabs
Having no beams necessary to support the floor slab has a
number of benefits and frees the architect and engineer from a number

Figure __. Floor-to-floor height reduction
of limitations inherent in conventional methods of reinforced concrete
construction.
Foremost, it allows an architect to introduce partition walls
anywhere required. Such flexibility in room layout also allows the
owner to change to size or configuration of the room layout. Also, there
is no need for false ceilings and finish soffit of slabs, rendering savings
on both labor and materials, as well as opening the volume of the
room. Without beams, the height of each level is reduced (Figure _)
and may offer significant savings in the overall building height. This
would generally result in 10% savings for vertical members, which
means there can be an additional floor for every 10 floors as compared
to using two-way conventional slabs. The savings in height lead to other
economies for a given number of floors, since mechanical features such

Figure __. Simplified formworks for flat slab

Figure __. Holes through beams
as elevator shafts and piping are shorter. There is less outside wall area,
so wind loadings may be less severe and the building weighs less, which
may bring cost reductions in foundations and other structural
components.
Construction time
reduction is another
advantage not only because
of the reduced building
height and weight but also
because the design will
facilitate the use of simplified
table formwork (Figure ) to
increase productivity. Also,
mechanical and electrical
systems are easier to install, further adding to the reduction in
construction time as well as installation
costs. M&E systems can be mounted
directly on the underside of the slab
instead of bending them to avoid
beams, or hacking through beams
(Figure _) where it may be necessary in
conventional reinforced concrete slabs.
Pre-fabricated welded mesh may also be used where the sizes
are standardized, allowing for better quality control and minimized
installation time.

Figure __. Prefabricated welded mesh
The above mentioned benefits allows for standardized structural
members and prefabricated sections to be integrated into the design
for ease of construction. As such, the structure will have a higher
buildable design score since the number of site workers is reduced and
the productivity at the site is increased.

When to Avoid Using Flat Slabs
Flat slabs (and other beamless slabs) will be at a disadvantage if
they are used in structures that must resist large horizontal loads by
frame action rather than by shear walls or other lateral bracing. The
transfer of moments between columns and a slab sets up high local
moments, shears, and twisting moments that may be hard to reinforce
for. In this situation, the two-way slab is the more capable structure
because of the relative ease with which its beams may be reinforced for
these forces. In addition, it will provide greater lateral stiffness because
of both the presence of the beams and the greater efficiency of the
beam-column connections.
Flat slabs are best applied only in spans of 5 to 9m. While it is
possible to use flat slabs for spans over 9m by subjecting it to post-
tensioning, it is advisable to apply conventional two-way slabs with
such longer spans.

Design Considerations

Figure __. Wall and Column Positioning
Walls and columns must be positioned to maximize the structural
stiffness for lateral loads. It is should be done to counter later forces in
the absence of beams. Such positioning must facilitate the rigidity of
the building towards the center.
In order to improve lateral stability, the elevator shaft positioning
must work in tandem with the rest of the structural members. It is also
possible to add multiple-function perimeter beams to add rigidity as
well as to reduce slab deflection.
The sizes of vertical and structural members can be optimized to
keep the volume of concrete for the entire superstructure (inclusive of
walls and elevator core) to be in the region of 0.4 to 0.5 m
3
per square
meter of the building. This is considered to be the optimum design
which is more economical than conventional two-way slab systems.
A deflection check must be undertaken to ensure that unsightly
occurrence of cracks on non-structural walls and floor finishes do not
appear. The test much include all load cases both for short- and long-
term basis, and the acceptable deflections should be less than L/250 or
40mm, whichever is smaller.
Openings through the floor slab should not encroach upon a
column head or drop. Sufficient reinforcement must be provided to
take care of stress concentration.
In order to fast-track projects where removal of forms at early
strength is required, it is possible to use high-strength concrete.
Alternatively, 2 sets of forms may be used.

Figure __. Pre-cast slab

Figure __. Preparation for in situ flat slab
Construction: In Situ vs. Precast
For some sites, a flat slab
is poured in situ. In this case,
the site is prepared, forms for
the concrete are set up, and
the reinforcing rebar or other
materials are laid down. Then,
the concrete is mixed, poured,
and allowed to cure before moving on to the next stage of construction.
The time required can vary considerably, with size being a major factor;
the bigger the slab, the more complex reinforcement needs can get,
which in turn adds to the amount of time required for set up. Once
poured, the slab also has to be examined and tested to confirm that the
pour was good, without air pockets or other problems which could
contribute to a decline in quality.
In other cases, a flat slab
may be prefabricated off site
(precast) and transported to a
site when it is needed (Figure
__). This may be done when
conditions at the site do not
facilitate an easy pour, or when
the conditions for the slab's construction need to be carefully
controlled. Transportation of the slab can be a challenge if it is
especially large. Barges, cranes, and flatbed trucks may be required to
successfully move it from the fabrication site to the site of the
installation.
Some precast flat slabs are subjected to pre-stressing to render it
stronger in both tensile and compressive capacities. Among the
advantages include shallower depth (for the same deflection), quicker
stripping of shuttering, and greater shear strengths than plain
reinforced slabs of the same depth. Pre-stressing is also applied to
waffle type slabs to achieve even greater spans.