Fastrak Building Designer

Design of Composite Beams with FRC

Advisory Note for

Fastrak Building Designer
Design of composite beams using
fibre reinforced concrete

Version 1.0
April 2007
Prepared by Alan J Rathbone
Chief Engineer, CSC (UK) Ltd.

Advisory Note Version 1.0

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1.

Design of Composite Beams with FRC

INTRODUCTION
Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) uses small fibres evenly dispersed in the concrete
matrix to improve its properties. FRC has a wide range of applications and can use a
number of different fibres.
Kingspan Structural Products Ltd. (Kingspan) and Richard Lees Steel Decking Ltd.
(RLSD) along with their partners, Bekaert and Grace (respectively) have invested
considerable time, effort and resources into the development of FRC systems that can
eradicate the need for mesh reinforcement in steel deck composite slabs. This is at the
same time as maintaining or improving the structural and fire performance of the steel
deck composite slab.
In the context of its application in Fastrak, the fibres are included to resist
longitudinal shear along the composite beam. Two fibres are included,

Dramix is a steel fibre that is manufactured by Bekaert, a large

international company based in Europe. The Dramix steel fibre is
marketed and supplied in the UK by Bekaert Ltd for use in all types of
concrete structures and exclusively for steel deck composite slabs using
Kingspan Multideck.
Strux 90/40 is a co-polymer fibre that is made by Grace, a large
international construction products manufacturer with locations
throughout the world. The Strux 90/40 fibre is marketed and supplied in
the UK by Grace Construction Products Limited and where used on steel
deck composite slabs is exclusively for use with products from RLSD.

Full contact details are given in Section 5.1 and 5.2, and these can be used to obtain
further information on the systems.
Kingspan, RLSD and CSC (UK) Ltd. (CSC), all premier players in their respective
areas of operation within the steelwork construction industry, have joined forces to
make it even easier to specify and design FRC for use in composite beams.
The significant advantages of FRC in replacing mesh reinforcement in the ambient
and fire design of steel deck composite slabs are well documented. Less well known
is the economy this also brings to the design of the composite beams that support the
steel deck composite slab by removing the need in many instances for the provision of
reinforcement to resist longitudinal shear. Hence, Fastrak Building Designer has the
facility to define and design FRC as a substitute for reinforcement to resist
longitudinal shear.
The purpose of this document is to explain how to select FRC in Fastrak and describe
the design procedures. It is assumed that the need for and design procedures for
conventional reinforcement within Fastrak are familiar to the reader and hence
understood since they have been in place for some years.

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Design of Composite Beams with FRC

SCOPE
Two types of fibre can be selected in Fastrak Building Designer see Section 3 below
to find out how to make this selection. These fibres are,

Dramix is a steel fibre that is manufactured by Bekaert, a large

international company based in Europe. The Dramix steel fibre is
marketed and supplied in the UK by Bekaert Ltd for use in all types of
concrete structures and exclusively for steel deck composite slabs using
Kingspan Multideck.
Strux 90/40 is a co-polymer fibre that is made by Grace, a large
international construction products manufacturer with locations
throughout the world. The Strux 90/40 fibre is marketed and supplied in
the UK by Grace Construction Products Limited and where used on steel
deck composite slabs is exclusively for use with products from RLSD.

Each fibre designation can be used with all available profiles (and gauges) from the
appropriate decking manufacturer.
Research by the promoters has shown that the resistance of headed studs increase
with the use of FRC. However, currently, no advantage is taken of this in Fastrak.
Where it is desired to use Hilti shear connectors instead of headed studs, these are not
prohibited in Fastrak but you are advised to contact the decking manufacturer
concerned for further information.
The fibres perform equally well in both lightweight and normal weight concrete and
so Fastrak allows the choice of either. The full range of concrete grade is also
provided but advice from the promoters should be sought if you specify very high
strength or low strength concretes normal structural grade concrete for this type of
application is in any event in the range 30-35 N/mm2.
For composite beams in an edge condition, the fibres can resist the longitudinal shear
but U-bars transverse to the beam must also be provided see Clause 5.6.5 of
BS 5950-3, Section 3.1. At openings adjacent to internal beams Fastrak asks you to
confirm whether this is an edge or internal condition. In either case Fastrak assumes
that the FRC can fully contribute to the longitudinal shear resistance. If you opt for an
edge condition in the particular instance then U-bars will be required.
Note that the requirements regarding U-bars are not provided in any form by Fastrak
and so you should ensure that this information is transmitted in some way to site.
On the other hand the information regarding the presence of and type of FRC is
shown in the graphic of and in the dxf output from Fastrak. Clearly this needs to be
communicated to site.

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Design of Composite Beams with FRC

SPECIFYING FRC IN FASTRAK

The information given below assumes that you are familiar with the general workings
of the respective programs and that you have already decided to take advantage of the
considerable benefits offered by the use of FRC in conjunction with composite
beams.

3.1

Fastrak Composite Beam

When you start a new project or select New off the Beam menu, you are prompted for
the beam condition Internal or Edge. Select this as appropriate. There is no
difference in the selection of FRC whether the beam is an internal or edge condition
but see the last few paragraphs of Section 2.
Most of the information required on the Floor Construction dialogue remains
unaffected by the use of FRC. When a Kingspan or RLSD profile is selected on the
Profiled Metal Decking page then the potential use of FRC becomes available on the
Reinforcement page.
On the Reinforcement page there are two groups,

Reinforcement transverse to beam

Other reinforcement in slab

The transverse reinforcement is generally straight bars (or U-bars for edge beams)
that are provided specifically to resist longitudinal shear (or in the case of U-bars also
to maintain the integrity of the concrete flange).
The other reinforcement is that which is in the concrete slab for other purposes e.g.
as crack control mesh or for fire requirements. As an alternative to this
reinforcement you will find a tick box for selection of Fibre reinforcement. If you
tick this box then a new series of fields will appear, namely,

Name of fibre
Designation
Dosage rate

As noted earlier in Section 2, there is only a limited selection for this set of
information for each of the relevant decking manufacturers in the current release.
If you have selected automatic design of the beam then for the transverse
reinforcement you can select whether the program should determine the amount of
transverse reinforcement. See Section 4 for how this is used in conjunction with fibre
reinforcement. Remember that for edge beams U-bars are always required.
The remainder of the definition process is the same as for any other beam.

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3.2

Design of Composite Beams with FRC

Fastrak Building Designer

As with all beam types, you must create a set (or sets) of attributes appropriate for the
composite beams you wish to define. These attributes can then be assigned to the
relevant beams as you define them. Similarly for the concrete slabs that you wish to
define.
In defining the data within the attributes pages, you should follow the advice given in
Section 3.1 but noting that the transverse reinforcement is specified in the composite
beam attributes whereas the use of FRC, along with the relevant decking profile, is
specified in the concrete slab attributes.
The fibre name, designation and dosage rate can be displayed on the main graphic for
each concrete slab. Transverse reinforcement is displayed on the main graphic with
the beam attributes irrespective of whether FRC has been specified although no
information is given if transverse reinforcement is not required. All relevant
information is included in the dxf output.

4.

DESIGN USING FRC

Longitudinal shear in composite beams is essentially a tensile splitting failure mode.
Normal transverse reinforcement resists the tension force and controls cracking. The
fibres in FRC perform a similar function by resisting the tension forces developed
post-cracking.
In this way, FRC can be used as a substitute for transverse reinforcement. However, if
the resistance provided by the FRC is insufficient then the required resistance has to
be met entirely by the transverse reinforcement and the concrete ignoring the presence
of the fibres.
The resistance of the FRC to longitudinal shear is based on an enhancement factor to
the contribution of the concrete termed kFRC in the results. This is independent of
concrete grade and is a fixed value for the type and dosage rate of the fibres being
used.
You are not prevented from specifying both FRC and transverse reinforcement
indeed for edge beams transverse reinforcement in the form of U-bars is essential (see
Clause 5.6.5 of BS 5950-3, Section 3.1). However, Fastrak will use the fibres (alone)
in preference and check the beam for longitudinal shear resistance on that basis. Only
if it fails will an attempt be made to use the transverse reinforcement (if any). If that is
similarly inadequate then the beam will fail the longitudinal shear check.

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Design of Composite Beams with FRC

In auto-design mode the FRC will be used in preference when checking the
longitudinal shear resistance. If this is inadequate then there are three courses of
action that Fastrak will follow depending upon your chosen settings,

if you have ticked Autoselect for the transverse reinforcement, when

Fastrak finds that the FRC is inadequate, it will select a bar size and
spacing1 that is necessary to achieve the required resistance with no
contribution from the FRC. If the largest bar size at the smallest spacing is
still inadequate then Fastrak will adopt this amount and fail the check.
if you have not ticked Autoselect but specified a given amount of
transverse reinforcement e.g. H10 @ 200, Fastrak will check if this
amount with no contribution from the FRC is adequate. The check will
pass or fail depending upon the outcome.
if you have not ticked Autoselect and specified no transverse
reinforcement (selected None), the check will fail.

Note that where BS 5950-3 Section 3.1 allows, the decking can be used in
conjunction with FRC to provide longitudinal shear resistance. Also, for decks that
are angled, the conventional approach to establishing the longitudinal shear resistance
is used for FRC.

You are reminded that whatever selection you make, the validity of the design
and the communication to site of the assumptions and outputs from it, is entirely
your responsibility.

The allowable bar sizes and spacing can be set in the Reinforcement page of the Design Wizard for Fastrak
Composite Beam and in the Reinforcement page of the Beam Design Properties dialogue in Fastrak Building
Designer.

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Design of Composite Beams with FRC

5.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND ENQUIRIES

5.1

Kingspan Structural Products Ltd.

Kingspan Structural Products Ltd. should be contacted at the address given below,

for further information on the use of Dramix fibre reinforced concrete

for steel deck composite slabs and composite beams
for free design advice and assistance in optimizing the concrete mix
design
for on-site support.

Kingspan Structural Products Ltd.

Sherburn
Malton
N. Yorks.
YO17 8PQ
Tel.
+44 (0)1944 712000
Fax.
+44 (0)1944 710555
E-mail
stuart.mckechnie@kingspanmetlcon.co.uk (Sales)
trevor.kaiser@kingspanmetlcon.co.uk (Technical)
Web
www.kingspanstructural.com
Contact details for Bekaert are as follows,
Bekaert Ltd.
Gateway Business Centre
Unit 7
5 Leeds Road
Sheffield
S9 3TY
Tel.
+44 (0)114 242 7480
Fax.
+44 (0)114 242 7490

5.2

Richard Lees Steel Decking Ltd.

Richard Lees Steel Decking Ltd. should be contacted at the address given below,

for further information on the use of Strux 90/40 fibre reinforced

concrete for steel deck composite slabs and composite beams
for free design advice and assistance in optimizing the concrete mix
design
for on-site support.

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Design of Composite Beams with FRC

Richard Lees Steel Decking Limited

Moor Farm Road West
The Airfield
Derbyshire
DE6 1HD
Tel.
+44 (0)1335 300999
Fax.
+44 (0)1335 300888
E-mail
rlsd.drawingoffice@skanska.co.uk
Web
www.rlsd.com
Contact details for Grace are as follows,
Grace Construction Products Ltd
852 Birchwood Boulevard
Birchwood
Warrington
Cheshire
WA3 7QZ
Tel.
+44 (0) 1925 824824
Fax.
+44 (0) 1925 824033
E-mail
nicola.bond@grace.com
Web
www.graceconstruction.com

5.3

CSC (UK) Ltd.

For further information regarding this Advisory Note or for telephone support on the
use of Fastrak Building Designer and Fastrak Composite Beam, please contact the
CSC Support Department at the address shown below between the hours of 9.00 am
and 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday. For Sales enquiries, please contact the Sales Office
at the same address or your local Sales Engineer.
CSC (UK) Ltd.
Yeadon House
New Street
Pudsey
LEEDS LS28 8AQ
Tel.
+44 (0)113 239 3000
Fax.
+44 (0)113 255 3917 (Support)
+44 (0)113 236 0546 (Sales)
sales@cscworld.com
E-mail
support@cscworld.com
Web
www.cscworld.com

END OF DOCUMENT

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