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Design of Pre-Stressed Flat Slabs

Code of Practice - EC2 Design of concrete structures
Introduction
The technique of prestressing has several different applications within
civil engineering , often being used to keep cables taut when subjected
to compressive forces. However, by far the most common application
is in prestressed concrete where a prestress force is applied to a
concrete member, and this induces an axial compression that
counteracts all, or part of, the tensile stresses set up in the member by
applied loading.
Within the field of building structures, most prestressed concrete
applications are in the form of simply supported precast floor and roof
beams. These are usually factory made, where the advantages of
controlled mass production can be realized. Where large spans are
required, in situ prestressed concrete beams are sometimes used, and
in situ prestressed concrete flat slab construction is increasingly being
employed.
Most prestressed slabs utilize uniform depth slabs with draped
Prepared
Eng. Chamil Duminda
tendons, but an interesting development is the use
of by:
variable-depth
Mahagamage
1
slab with straight tendons.
B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,

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Two way load balancing

A one way spanning slab is essentially a very wide simply supported
beam. With a prestressed concrete slab simply supported on four
edges, the situation is different, since the structure is now highly
indeterminate. A rectangular slab is shown in Figure below supported
on walls along each edge and prestressed with sets of uniformly
spaced parabolic tendons in each direction.

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

If the prestress forces in the x and y directions are, respectively Px and

Py per unit length, and the mid span eccentricities are ex and ey,
respectively, then since the vertical forces due to the tendons in each
direction are additive at any point in the slab, the total upward uniform
load on the slab ..

Since the tendons must have a minimum spacing between them, the
stress distribution within the slab will not be exactly uniform, but in
practice it would be reasonably so. Prestressed concrete slabs such as
that shown in figure above are rarely found in practice, and the more
common form is the flat slab.

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

The slab shown above will resist any additional imposed load in much
the same way as would a reinforced concrete flat slab, and the same
analysis methods are applicable. Since this analysis need only be
carried out for a small percentage, usually, of the total design load,
any inherent inaccuracies in the method are not significant.

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

In practice, the sharp changes of curvature in the tendons are avoided

by adopting smooth reversing in curvature. An alternative pattern of
tendons which is often used based on the distribution of primary and
secondary tendons is well suited to slabs with irregular column
layouts, but shear strength will be reduced.

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

Equivalent Frame Analysis

The load balancing technique is very useful for estimating the prstress
force required in each direction, but an analysis of the slab for the
unbalanced loads must still be made. The analysis and design of
reinforced concrete flat slabs with regularly spaced columns has been
based on a method which divides the slab and columns into a series of
equivalent frames in each direction. The distributions of bending
moment and shear force may be determined by any of the available
methods of structural analysis. The equivalent frame method has also
been found to give acceptable results for prestressed concrete flat
slabs and is one of those recommended in TR43.
The equivalent frame method can be used to find the distribution of
moments due to both the prestress force and the total design load,
and not just the unbalanced loads. Each equivalent frame comprises
columns and strips of slab at each floor level. The width of slab to be
used to determine the beam stiffness is generally equal to the full
width of the panels for vertical loading, whilst for horizontal loading,
where lateral stability is provided by the frame, one-half of the panel
width should be used.
If the equivalent frame method is used to determine the stresses
under the design load, the analysis should be carried out for the
Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage
following load cases.
7
B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)
i) All spans loaded with total design load

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Consideration should be given to any restraint to the free movement of

a prestressed concrete slab due to axial shortening, and creep and
shrinkage effects. This restraint will have the effect of reducing the
prestress in the slab and is caused by the columns and any walls
connected to the slab such as those from lift shafts, for instance. As a
guide if the axial stress in the slab is less than 2N/mm2, and there is
not more than one stiff restraint between movement joints, then
restraint effect is usually ignored.

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

4/27/16

Design and Detailing

For preliminary estimation of the required slab depth, span/depth
ratios in the range of 36-45 for floors and roofs, respectively, may be
assumed. Waffle slabs are sometimes used, and the span/depth ratio
for these should be taken as 25. Careful attention must be paid to the
layout of tendons in these slabs, since they can only be placed in the
ribs. Solid slabs with spans in excess of 10m are likely to require drop
panels in order to provide adequate shear resistance at the columns,
and waffle slabs with smaller spans than this will require at least a
solid section near the column.

A commonly used layout of tendons is to place 70% of the total

number of tendons in a panel, determined from an equivalent frame
analysis, in a band of width equal to 40% of the bay width, centered on
the columns. The remaining tendons are uniformly distributed across
the panel. Maximum spacing of tendons, or groups of tendons, should
be 6 times the slab depth for unbonded tendons or eight times the
Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage
slab depth for bonded tendons. The9 minimum spacing B.Sc.Eng
between
ducts
(Hons),
C Eng,
MIE(SL)
or groups of ducts, should be 75mm, or the width of the group of

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Untensioned reinforcement should be placed in the top of all slabs over

the columns, equal in area to a minimum of 0.075% of the gross cross
section of the slab, placed in a width equal to that of the column plus
one and a half times the slab depth on each side of the column. Bars
should extend at least one-fifth of the span on either side of the
column and have a maximum spacing of 300mm. The combination of
tendons and reinforcing bars in the region of the columns could lead to
congestion and careful attention should be paid to the detailing in this
area.
Example
A prestressed concrete flat slab warehouse floor has the layout shown
in figure below. The imposed load is 10KN/m2.
i). Determine a preliminary slab depth and layout of unbonded
prestressing tendons.
ii). Determine whether the ultimate strength capacity of the slab is
adequate.
iii). Determine the shear resistance at column B3

10

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

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11

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)

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12

Prepared by: Eng. Chamil Duminda Mahagamage

B.Sc.Eng (Hons), C Eng,
MIE(SL)