Design of hollow core slab

Pasi Salmela, Parma Oy

01.03.2016

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Target of this hcs course

Learn about the hollow core slab as a product,
and its design and calculation principles in SLS
and ULS

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Content

General Introduction
Design principles
Serviceability limit state
Ultimate limit state
Related design consideration

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

General Introduction

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Main advantages of precast

construction
Cost effective
Structural advantages - Long spans,
Technical qualities Durable, Fire & Sound
Optimum use of materials
Factory made product
Construction speed

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principle

Prefabrication is not a variant execution
technique of cast in-situ construction. To
get optimum benefits, the design should be
conceived according to specific rules from
the very outset

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Precast Floors,
How long is the span?
Live load
[kN/m2]

Floor plank

Hollow core

Double tee

Span [m]

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Hollow core slab

Hollow core slab is the most advanced product
in precast concrete industry

Highly industrialised production process, cost effective

Constructions speed
Optimum use on materials
Technical qualities Durability, Fire & Sound
Efficiency comes from pre-stressing and low self weight
Long spas

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Geometry of hollow core slab

Width effective 1200 mm

Height 160 mm up to 500 mm
Length up to 20 m
Percentage core is 30% - 50%
Edge profile

core

web

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Longitudinal joint
transversal joint

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principle

Most economical frame plan is a 1.20 m
modular grid
The actual width of 1196 mm allows for
constructional tolerances and leaves room for
joint grouting
Can be adjusted to various floor plans

1.20 m

1.20 m

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

1.20 m

Basic design principle

Modulation is an important economic factor in
the design and construction of precast
buildings.The use of modular planning is
not a limitation on the freedom of planning
as it is only a tool to achieve systematic
work and economy and to simplify
connections and detailing.

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principle

- Hollow core applilcations

Apartment buildings
Single family houses
Offices
Shopping centers
Industrial buildings

(Walls)

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Reinforcement & Concrete

Only longitudinal prestressed strands
anchored by bond

Prestressed steel strands or (wires)

7-wire helical strand of 9,3 or 12,5 mm diameter
Ultimate tensile strength of strands is 1860 MPa
Pre-stress level is 900 1300 MPa

No transverse or shear reinforcement

Concrete
Characteristic compressive strength of concrete
40/5050/60 MPa (C60/75)
Water/ binder ratio < 0,4
Detension is 6070% of the final strength
Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Production

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Production
Prefabricated units are extruded or slipformed
on a long prestressing bed
Units are pre-tensioned with prestressed steel:

Strands are tensioned before casting

Slabs are cast and cured
Slabs are cut by saw to the desired length
Slabs are lifted to storage and transported to the site

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Design principles

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Main design parameters

Cross section
Depth of unit (max span-to-depth-ratio = 35)
Strand pattern
Pre-stressing
Span

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Design principles hcs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Design principles hcs

Serviceability state
Behaviour in SLS is improved by the pre-stressing
Cracking, Deflections, Stresses
Camber differences

Ultimate limit state

Bending capacity (hardly improved due to pre-stressing)
Shear capacity (improved by the pre-stressing)
Shear bending interaction

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Serviceability limit state design

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Stresses in cross section

Linear behaviour
zt

Pm e zt
M z
x t
I
I

+
Vx

Mx
d

Pm
A

Np

Pm
P ez
M z
m b x b
A
I
I

A and I are cross sectional properties

Mx is bending moment (g and q) at section x
Pm is prestressing force (ex/including losses of prestress)
zt and zb are z-coordinate of top and bottom fibres
Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Tensile stresses
Flexural cracking
Cracking of top fibers

M r f ctm, fl

cracking of bottom fibers

I Pm I

Pm e
zt A zt

f ctm, fl

+
f ctm, fl

M r f ctm, fl
Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

I Pm I

Pm e M x
zb A zb

Cracking patterns

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Cracking
Crack-free or controlled crack widths in SLS
Characteristic crack width (uk) can be calculated and
evaluated according to different codes
If cracks occur, the width of it is immediately uk >0,2 mm

u>umax

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

u>umax

Local stresses
Anchorage stresses in the transmission zone
Bursting and spalling, related to distribution of prestress
force over cross-section
Splitting due to bond action

Bond stress
Ribbed bar

e0

spalling
splitting

strand

bursting
spalling

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

slip

Local stresses
Prevention of longitudinal cracking:
cmin required for bursting and splitting:
. If centre-to-centre distance of strands
3.0:
2.5:

cmin = 1.5
cmin = 2.5

Spalling sp shall satisfy:

sp

P0

bwe0

in which

15 e

2.3

1.5

l pt1

1
e0
P0
k
bw
e0

0.07

1.3 e 0.1

f ct

with e

initial prestressing force just after release

core radius as Wb/Ac
width of individual web
eccentricity of prestressing steel

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

e0 k
h

Deflection
Deflection
Long term and short term load combinations
Can be estimated with factors from static handbooks
In programs calculated from stresses and curvature

Deflection limits
From loading: L/200
Deflection from 0-level downwards L/250
Britle connected structures: L/500

Camber

w>wmax

w>wmax

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Ultimate limit state design

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Bending
In ULS Bending capacity of hollow core is
calculated just like reinforced cross section

At ULS strain and stress distribution are:

cu
Ncu = 0.8bxfcd
pu

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Npu

Balanced failure design

Good design is balanced failure design:
When load is increased
Hcs starts cracking followed by
yielding of strands such that extensive cracking occurs and
large deflections
finally followed by failure of strands or concrete compression
zone

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Shear capacity
Cracked cross section
Uncracked cross section
Anchorage area

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Shear capacity
Cross section cracked in ULS

Cross section Uncracked in ULS

Critical point in 35 from support to

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Web shear tension cracking

Cracking starts in the web near the support
Diagonal crack propagates both in the upward
and downward directions
And leads to a brittle failure

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Web shear tension cracking

Calculate largest principal stress cp in web
Limit it to tensile strength fctd of concrete
So:
cp

1
1 2
2
cx
cx cxz
f ctd
2
4

z
e

Then VRd,c is (none cracked areas)

VRd ,c

Ibw

( f ctd ) 2 1 cp f ctd
S
Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

xz x

Flexural shear compression

Combination of moment and shear forces
Cracked areas:

VRd ,c

C Rd ,c k 100 l f ck 3 0,15 cp bw d

In which 0.15cpbwd is contribution of prestressing force

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Shear and bending interaction

Effect of shear and bending in same cross
section can be checked with formula

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Anchorage failure of strands

To guarantee bearing capacity it must be verified that
prestressing steel is well anchored under design load
Due to shear, a flexural crack starting from the bottom
surface turns into an inclined crack
If the strands:
are anchored firmly enough, this crack does not cause failure
are slipping, the crack width increases under increasing load and
causes anchorage failure

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Anchorage failure of strands

Anchorage and tensile capacity of strands
Pd
Pi
P

Np

at ULS
at release

Np (Pi, P)

lpt1 lpt2

lbpd

l pt1 0.8l pt , l pt 2 1.2l pt

l pt

1 2 pm 0
f bpt
Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

distance

Final remark on failure modes

The ULS can be reached either in the bending
mode and/or the shear mode.
It is hard to distinguish between the different
failure modes.
Anchorage failure mechanisms are treated as
separate failure modes

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Related design consideration

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Composite floor structures

Composite concrete topping on slabs:

Increase load bearing capacity

Increase rigidity
Improve fire resistance and diaphragm action
Adjusts camber differences and tendency for upward deflection

Precast hcs and in-situ cast topping

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Non-rigid supports
Hcs on concrete and steel beams
Deformation of beam alter mode of behaviour:
Transversal stresses are introduced in slab
Bottom flange may crack and influences bond of strands
Transversal joint may crack and decreases composite action

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Unintended restrain

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs

Questions???

Basic design principles on hollow core slabs