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The flat plate is a two-way reinforced concrete framing system utilizing a slab of uniform thickness,
the simplest of structural shapes.
A flat plate floor system is a two-way concrete slab supported directly on columns with
reinforcement in two orthogonal directions (Figure 1). Primarily used in hotels, multi-
family residential buildings, and hospitals, this system has the advantages of simple
construction and formwork and a flat ceiling, the latter of which reduces ceiling finishing
costs, since the architectural finish can be applied directly to the underside of the slab.
Even more significant are the cost savings associated with the low-story heights made
possible by the shallow floor system. Smaller vertical runs of cladding, partition walls,
mechanical systems, plumbing, and a large number of other items of construction
translate to large cost savings, especially for medium and high-rise buildings. Moreover,
where the total height of a building is restricted, using a flat plate will result in more
stories accommodated within the set height. The thickness of a flat plate is controlled
by the deflection requirements given in Sect. 9.5.3 of ACI 318-05. Minimum slab
thicknesses for flat plates with Grade 60 reinforcing bars, are laid out in ACI 9.5.3 and
it is a function of the longest clear span between supports. Flat plate systems are
economically viable for short to medium spans and for moderate live loads. Up to live
loads of about 50 psf, the deflection criteria usually govern, and the economical span
length range is 15 ft to 25 ft. For live loads of 100 psf or
The advantages of the flat plate system are thin structure, simple formwork, and flat
soffits. The integral interaction of 2-way slab allows for wider distribution of moment
capacity and therefore a large effective width for carrying moment. This results in the
ability to use a thin structure to support the required loads. The simplicity of a flat
concrete slab with repetitive bays lends itself well to construction efficiency. Flat soffits
are of particular advantage to construction of an apartment building or hotel where
ceiling finishes will be applied directly to the underside of the slab. This allows for a
reduction in story height and ease of construction. Due to the nature of the building
being a research facility there is an extensive amount of MEP
The flat slab has overcome all the drawback of the traditional system of beams framing
into columns and supporting slabs spanning between the beams. Though the relatively
deep beams of traditional floor system provide a stiff floor which is capable of long
spans, and which is able to resist lateral loads, yet the complications of beam
formwork, co-ordination of services, and overall depth of floor have led to a decrease in
the popularity of this type of floor.
The main and unique feature of this system is that it provides a way for the architect to
achieve the concept of high and completely flat ceiling with no beam protrusion. The
services can be installed within or below the slab and there are flexibilities in relocating
vertical small penetrations. The soffit is often flat and high ceiling height can be
achieved. Whereas traditional beam column slab system, the ceiling is not flat and
hence many locations it is required to use false ceiling to get a flat ceiling, which is
again going to increase the cost of construction. Moreover the lifespan of false ceiling
few years and hence it needs to be changed several times in the lifespan of the
structure. This problem can be avoided with flat plate system. As already the soffit of
the slab is flat, there is no need of providing false ceiling. Because of this flat plate slab
system has found immense use in hotels, malls, public buildings. The difference can be
very easily made out from Figure 3 and Figure 4.
(C) Savings in Shuttering Cost
As formwork and stagging time is reduced, the overall construction time also gets
reduced considerably in flat plate slab system. Keeping in mind of
(E) Prestressing
(G) Service
In traditional beam column slab system the penetrations through beams for large ducts
difficult to handle. This is a common need in hotels, malls, public buildings, as the
service lines are more in these time of buildings. Since making holes in large size
beams is not feasible the service lines needs to be taken through longer routes, which
again increases the cost of installation and effects the aesthetics by a great deal. With
the adoption of flat plate slab system, the large and bulky sized beams are avoided and
service lines can be very easily taken through the slab by keeping suitable and required
sized openings in the slab. Figure 6 shows one such work, where service lines were
routed through the openings in the slab.
Though Flat plate slab system promises a world of benefits over the traditional beam
column slab system, still all is not well with this kind of system too. The main
disadvantages of the flat plate system are deflection control, punching shear at
columns, and future core drilling. The relatively thin slab of the structure makes it
susceptible to excessive deflections and floor vibrations, in a laboratory facility such as
the MSC this could be an issue. The uniformity of the flat plate system may lend itself
to an ease of construction, however, it is not very efficient at resisting shear forces at
critical locations, namely columns. If the slab is found to be inadequate to resist
punching shear, certain measures can be introduced to strengthen these locations.
These include increasing the depth of the slab over the entire panel, increasing the
column size, adding a shear capital, or adding shear reinforcement. Furthermore, in a
research facility experiments and equipment is often changing to meet the needs of the
current industry. This often results in retrofits to the structure involving core drilling of
the slab. In a 2-way system this can be problematic because it significantly lowers
strength capacity of the floor system. The most dominant failure type in flat plate slab
system is brittle failure caused by shear failure. But it does not mean that these
drawbacks will limit the use of flat plate floor system. These limitations and drawbacks
can be overcome by adopting suitable design practice.
The following are the key factors to be considered before adopting the use of the
concrete flat plate with steel/concrete column system:
Architectural layout should be well planned to fully enhance the main area where
high flat ceiling with neatly arranged steel/concrete columns are required in the design
Spacing of columns
Punching shear checks at column areas
Long term deflection of the flat plate
Early planning of routing for M&E services, opening for voids and location of
staircase
The design of flat slab structures involves three steps
Framing system
Engineering analysis
Reinforcement design and detailing
Framing System
Engineering Analysis
Flat plate/slab may be analyzed and designed by any method as long as they satisfy
the strength, stiffness and stability requirements of the IS 456:2000 or ACI-318
codes. A typical flat plate/slab can be analyzed by direct design method or equivalent
frame method as prescribed by the code. However, if the flat plate/slab is atypical with
unusual geometry, with irregular column spacing, or with big opening then the designer
may have to use finite element method model analysis using computers. The design of
flat plate/slabs irrespective of the methodology used must first assume a minimum slab
and drop thickness and a minimum column dimension to ensure adequate stiffness of
the system to control deflection. The IS 456:2000 code is not clear on these minimums.
However ACI specifies empirical formulas to arrive at these minimums. Refer to Table 1
for minimum slab thickness.
Once the slab thickness and column dimensions with boundary conditions are
selected, the structure is loaded for different load cases and combinations prescribed
by the code. The computed forces and moments in the members should be used for
reinforcement design.
Critical reactions for the load combinations are used for the design of the supporting
columns and foundations.
Seismic design lateral force is based on the provisions of Indian Standard IS 1893
(Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structure), however due to non-clarity of
IS1893 designer, in addition may have to use, other codes like UBC-2000 (Uniform
Building Code) to design an effective lateral system. Based on these codes a common
practice is to determine lateral force by either using static or a dynamic procedure.
Reinforcement design is one of the critical parts of flat plate/slab design; maximum
forces from the analysis shall be used in the design of the reinforcement.
Reinforcement required for flexure by using minimum slab thickness per table 1
typically will not require compression reinforcement. The tension steel area required
and detailing for appropriate strips can be per IS 456:2000 or ACI-318, both being
similar. However design for punching shear force (including additional shear due to
unbalanced moment) per IS 456:2000 is 32% conservative compared to ACI-318,
because Indian code underestimates the concrete two-way shear strength by 32%
compared to ACI.
Conclusion
Flat Plate slab system often provide the most economical solution for high-rise
residential/ commercial construction. The systems low floor height, compared to
traditional beam column slab system results in overall reduction of building height
which further results lesser dead load, leading to lower foundation costs. Flat plate/slab
construction is a developing technology in India. Flat plate/slab can be designed and
built either by conventional RCC or Post-tensioning. Design of conventional RCC flat
plate/slab in India, utilizing Indian codes, has many shortcomings, which have to be
addressed and revised soon. Until then Indian engineers will continue to use Indian
codes in combination with other standards like the ACI, BS or Euro Code to design and
analyze Flat slabs/plates.
Reference