A Crack-Width Design Approach for Seamless Jointless Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete Grade Slabs

Author(s): Hendrik Thooft(1), H.E. Sriprakash Shastry(2) and Navneet T. Narayan(3)
Paper category: Proceedings
Book title: Proceedings of the 71st RILEM Annual Week & ICACMS 2017,Chennai,India, 3rd -8th September 2017
Editor(s): Manu Santhanam
Ravindra Gettu
Radhakrishna G. Pillai
Sunitha K. Nayar
ISBN: 978-2-35158-196-4
ISBN: 978-2-35158-190-2 (Set)
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-191-9:
Publisher: Published by RILEM Publications S.A.R.L.
Publication year: 2017
Pages: 126-135
Total Pages: 10
Language : English

Abstract: Conventionally, concrete grade slabs are designed as jointed systems with regular spaced
control joints and periodic construction joints. The panel grids vary anywhere between 3 m x
3 m to 6 m x 6m for control joints, whereby the shrinkage movement of the slab gets
distributed across these closely spaced joints. Furthermore, large panel floors with no control
joints in the range of 25 m x 25 m to 40 m x 40 m are also possible, with prefabricated steel
profile joints at the panel edges, allowing for the entire panel shrinkage movements to be
released at this joint interface (typically about 15 to 25 mm). A major problem faced by the
floor users is that of joint edge failures leading to costly repairs later. This paper presents the
possibility of a more versatile third alternative of designing the floor as cracked section, but
limiting the crack-widths by making them liquid tight and imperceptible to human eye. The
end result is a slab that has numerous closely spaced fine cracks typically ranging from
0.1 mm to 0.3 mm. The floor plate has no control joints while the construction joints are tied
and suitably designed to the crack-width limit specified.

Online publication : 2017
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros) : 0.00