Slimfloor construction

Typical Arrangement

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Benefits of Slim floor Construction Flat soffit to the floor. Reduced overall floor construction depth. Improved fire resistance since the steel beam is partially encased in concrete. Enhanced strength and stiffness over traditional steel beams by use of composite action. Unhindered passage for services (due to level soffit). Reduced possibility of local or overall instability. Especially useful in regions of hogging moment where steel beams may otherwise be susceptible to lateral or lateral torsional buckling. In certain circumstances dry construction can be used saving reducing construction time.

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Beam Types - 1

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Beam Types - 2

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Beam Types - 3

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Floor Types
Pre cast units Deep deck composite floor

In each case, the beam can be designed as composite with the floor or otherwise. (with a semi composite design also considered).

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Pre Cast - Non composite

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Pre Cast -Semi composite

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Pre Cast - Composite

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Deep Deck Non Composite

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Deep Deck Composite

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The advantages of deep deck composite floors over pre cast units are: Lighter than pc units. Easier transport. Provides safe working platform during construction. Pumped concrete saves cranage relative to pc units. Service holes through floor slabs are more easily achieved (pc units present problems due to the pre stressing tendons).

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Design Method Non Composite - Design Assumptions The beam may suffer from lateral torsional buckling in the construction phase since the top flange is laterally unrestrained. There is a possibility of out of balance loads (on each side of the beam) causing a torsional effect on the beam in the construction stage. There is a possibility of local bending in the bottom flange plate reducing the overall bending capacity of the beam due to the biaxial bending effect (von Mises). In the permanent condition the beam is fully restrained against lateral torsional buckling.

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Design Method - Non Composite Section Classification
All the ASB sections are either Class 1 or 2 sections.

Moment Capacity - construction

The section is generally only monosymmetric cannot use Clause 6.3.2.3 should use Clause 6.3.2.4 which requires the calculation of the effective second moment of area of the compression flange plus 1/3 the depth of the web for the evaluation of the compression flange slenderness f. Moment Capacity Permanent In the permanent stage the bending capacity is simply the plastic capacity of the section multiplied by the design strength (Wpl.fy).

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Biaxial Stress Effects of Local Bending in the Bottom Flange

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Torsional Effects

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Vertical Shear Capacity
The vertical shear capacity is calculated in a similar fashion to any other rolled steel beam. A realistic assumption is that all the shear force is carried by the web. Since ASBs are generally shallow beams, it is VERY unlikely that shear will be a problem.

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Design Method Semi Composite Design Assumptions

The design assumptions are identical to the non composite checks, except that there is no need to check for the torsional effect of out of balance moments.

There is no possibility of out of balance loads (on each side of the beam) causing a torsional effect on the beam in the construction stage, since the grout and in situ concrete ensure continuity over the beam.

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Serviceability Limit States The aim of slimfloor construction is to reduce the structural depth of the floor. As such, a simple span/depth ratio is unlikely to prove satisfactory, and deflection calculations must be undertaken.

Regarding calculation of deflection, the only issue is calculating the second moment of area of the composite section. The best approach is to use a modular ratio method which converts the concrete to an equivalent steel section and then combines it with the steel, as described in the Composite Beam section of these notes.

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Vibration Composite construction inevitably allows the designer to use more slender beams for longer spans. It is therefore advisable to carry out a simple check on the potential vibration response of the beam.

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Fire Fire resistance of slimfloor construction has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically (finite element analysis). As expected, since most of the steel beam is encased in concrete, the fire performance of slimfloor beams is superior to conventional steel beam construction.