Abstract

An office floor of typical grid size 10.8 m x 8 m in a multi-storey building is considered for
the design with flat slab, flat plate and beam slab systems. In all the cases both Reinforced
Concrete (RC) and Post tensioned systems are used for the comparison of structural
performance and cost together with safety. The slab systems are designed using three
different codes of practices, namely, Indian Standard (IS), British standard (BS) and
American Concrete Institute (ACI) Standard. From the cost analysis it is observed that the
post tensioned flat slab system provides better cost reduction of about 16% and 18% in the
case of as per IS and BS standards, respectively. In the case of ACI standard, the RC and
post tensioned flat slab system yields
18.8% and 14% cost reduction, respectively. From the study it is concluded that the post
tensioned flat slab system using ACI standard is considered to be durable since the stress is
totally eliminated and designed as uncracked section, whereas the IS and BS allow 0.2 mm
crack width.

Chapter 1

1.1 Introduction
Increase in urban population demand in area for occupation and high floor area cost. This has
inevitably introduced a demand for efficient floor system. Normally used flooring system in
conventional buildings is a beam-slab system with reinforced concrete, however, the use of
other types like flat slab and flat plate systems are also not unknown. However the demand
for a large column free areas has necessitated use of post tensioned slab systems.
These systems are normally chosen based on their indices such as their economy and safety in
carrying the imposed load satisfying the limit state of serviceability. In addition, the design
practices using codes of different countries also make substantial differences since each code
emphasises particular criteria to be satisfied.
Initial

cost

of

the

slab

system

in

any

conventional

building

is

25%

(Subramanian 2014[11]) of the total cost of the building. This will increase with span. Also in
terms of safety, slab failure can create progressive collapse due to debris loading. Hence it is
necessary that the slab system are studied for their relative safety and economy. Since it is
found that the different codes are emphasising different aspects of design it is necessary to
study commonly adopted code of practice.

1.2 Objective
The objective of the study includes,
a.

To Analyse and design three different slab systems for Limit state of collapse and
serviceability.

b. To analyse the effect of prestress on the above systems.

c. To design the slab systems using three different codal provisions.
d. To compare cost effectiveness of slab systems.

1.3 Scope
Scope of the study includes,
a. An office floor of typical grid size 10.8m x 8.4m and 11m x 11m, a part of 16 storey
office building is considered.
b. Parameters considered are :
i. Type of slab - Flat slab, Flat plate, Beam Slab.
ii. Grade of concrete M30, M35, M45.
iii. Three different code of practice are considered, namely, IS, BS and ACI.
iv. Variation in the crack width with the change in the percentage of reinforcement is
studied.
c. In all the cases both Pre-stressed and Non Prestressed options are considered for the
comparison of both structural performance and cost.
d. ETABS and ADAPT software will be used for the analysis
e. Vibration analysis will carried out.

1.4 Methodology

Phase
II
Literature Review
Project Significance
Understanding
Codal
provisions
Design of RC slab
systems using IS

Phase
I

Design of PT
slab
systems
using IS
Design of
RC slab
systems
using BS
PT slab
systems
using BS

Design of RC
slab systems
using ACI
PT slab systems using
ACI
Cost efective
slab system for
10.8x8.4m
panel

Phase III

 Determining
Effective slab
system
Vibration analysis
Difference in cost
and safety due to
the variation in
crack width

Phase
IV

Phase
V
Comparing
all the codal
provision
Ensuring the
cost
efectivenes
s and safety

Compilation
Report
preparati
on

Phase VI

1.5 Literature Review

Pre-stressing is a suitable technique as it helps to control the deflection at the serviceability
limit state and to increase the punching shear strength at ultimate. Failures by punching in
these members such as integrity or shear reinforcement or fairly low ratio of flexural
reinforcement, they are brittle and can propagate to adjacent columns (overload after first
punching of a column), thus triggering the progressive collapse of the entire structure
(Fernandez et all[15]). Previous research on punching of flat slabs has shown that posttensioning has a number of potential beneficial influences such as, the in-plane compressive
stresses developed in concrete due to pre-stressing lead to an increase on its capacity to carry
shear forces, added to that the eccentricity of the tendons which usually produces bending
moments opposing those of the external actions. This leads to smaller crack openings in the
failure regions and thus increases the capacity of concrete of concrete to transfer shear forces
(Ulloa[14]). Similarly the vertical components of the prestressing forces of inclined tendons
intercepted by the punching failure surface are in equilibrium with the deviation forces which
can be directly transferred to the supported area.
This component can thus be subtracted from the shear load transferred by concrete. It is
proved that the post-tensioning influences both the behaviour and strength of slab systems,

post- tensioned members have stiffer responses associated to lower extents and opening of
flexural cracks and higher punching resistance for the same amount of non-prestressed
flexural

reinforcement (Loo et al[24]). Behaviour after punching must not be forgotten when a flat slab
has to be designed. After a punching in a slab without or with small quantities of the bottom
reinforcement crossing the column, a sudden loss of support can occur causing increase in the
load. This may lead to progressive collapse of entire building as slabs may fall one over
another, such as the Harbour bay condominium (USA,1981), Sampoong department store,
Seoul (South Korea,1995) (Delatte Norbet et al[7]).

Chapter 2
2.1 Modelling and analysis of slab systems
The modelling and analysis of the RC slab systems are carried out using the FEM software
ETABS. The post tensioned slab systems are modelled and analysed using ADAPT software.

2.1.1 Reinforced Concrete slab system

The structure is a 16 storey office building, in which first four floors are for parking. The
second floor is considered for the analysis, which consist of a typical floor gird size of 10.8 m
x 8.4 m as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: ETABS model of RC slab system

The reinforced concrete slab systems such as beam slab, flat slab and flat plate systems are
considered for the study, they are modelled and analysed using ETABS software. The loads
are taken as per Indian codal provision, as shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Load pattern

Type

Loading

Live

2.5 kN/m2 (Parking)

Load

2 kN/m2 (Toilet)

Dead

1.2 kN/m2 (Floor Finish)

Imposed 0.5 kN/m2 (Pipe lines)

Load factor is taken based on the three codal procedures. In the beam slab option, the slab is
modelled by considering them as a membrane element, but in the case of flat slab and flat
plate option they are modelled as shell element. The model of beam slab system is shown in
Figure
2.2.

Figure 2.2: ETABS model of RC beam slab system

The beam moments are obtained from the analysis results and the members are designed
manually by IS, BS and ACI codal provisions. According to the IS codal provisions the
member sizes and the deflection limits are arrived. The analysis results of RC beam slab
system (IS) is tabulated in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: Analysis results of beam slab system (IS)
Beam

Dimension

Support

Span

Support

(mm)

Moment

moment

Moment

(Left)

kN-m

(Right)

kN-m

Ast
Pt %

Ast

(Left)
2

kN-m

Ast

(Middle)

(Right)

mm

mm

mm2

Primary I

600 x 750

733

538

832

0.83

2675

1866

3094

Primary II

600 x 750

1163

1247

1174

1.13

4685

5137

4766

Secondary

600 x 600

578

855

1018

1.87

4667

2800

6116

In the beam slab system, by changing the orientation of the secondary beam the cost can be
reduced up to 2%. Similarly in order to obtain an economic design, instead of using same
diameter bar throughout the length of the member, bars with different diameters are cranked
and used as reinforcement. Similarly the flat slab and the flat plate systems are modelled and
analysed in the ETABS software, the model of RC flat slab system is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: ETABS model of RC Flat slab system

2.1.1.1 Transfer of moment to the column
The depth of the slab and drop is arrived based on the span and the punching shear value.
Normally punching shear calculation is performed in the face of the column, d and d/2
distance from the face of the column, where d is the depth of the slab, In order to improvise
the design, the shear created due to the transfer of moment from the slab to the column is also
considered, The unbalanced moment in the slab is transferred to the column in two form,
either as a moment or as an shear, this shear should be considered during the punching shear
calculation of the flat slab and flat plate system. Moment due to the gravity load as per ACI =
0.3Mo and the Unbalanced moment Mu = f Mu should be transferred by flexure and rest of the
moment by shear as shown in the equation 1.
(1- f ) Mu = v Mu
Where,
v - Unbalanced shear ratio
f - Unbalanced shear ratio

(Eq 1)

This kind of moment transfer occurs due to the unequal panel loading or unequal panel
length, in this case this happens due to the unequal length of slab.It is found that ACI
eccentric Shear model accurately predicts the failure behaviour.
The moment from the RC flat slab and the flat plate system were calculated by taking a cut
section along the length of the slab, which will give the accurate percentage of column and
middle strip moments instead of assuming them as per codal provision. The moment diagram
of the flat slab system is shown in Figure 2.4 and the corresponding percentage of column
strip and middle strip moments are tabulated in Table 2.3.

Figure 2.4: Moment diagram of RC flat slab system

Table 2.3: RC Flat slab moment

MOMENT CALCULATION FOR FLAT SLAB (RC)
NEGATIVE MOMENT (SUPPORT)
Moment

Column

Middle

CS

MS

kN-m

Strip

Strip

Right

1646

1500

146

91

Left

1605

1458

147

91

Top

874

815

59

93

Bottom

889

834

55

94

Face

POSITIVE MOMENT (SPAN)

Column

Middle

CS

MS

Strip

Strip

587

343

244

58

42

Left

509

302

207

59

41

Top

453

257

196

57

43

Bottom

490

266

224

54

46

Face

Moment

Right

Similarly the flat plate is also analysed in the same manner and the depth of the slab is
obtained by considering the span to depth ratio and the punching shear calculation. The
transfer of moment from the slab to column is also considered. The flat plate is analysed using
the ETABS software and the corresponding column strip and middle moments are obtained,
based on the obtained moments the area of the steel reinforcement is calculated and
estimation for the RC slab system is also calculated.
2.1.2

Post-Tensioned Slab systems

The post-tensioned slab system systems such as Beam slab, Flat slab and Flat plate systems
are considered for the study, they are modelled and analysed using ADAPT software. It
consist of
10.8m x 8.4m slab panel and they are designed using IS, BS and ACI codal provisions. Using
IS codal provision the stress is limited based on the type of the member ,where the slab
system is designed for 0.2mm crack width and as type 3 member. With these primary
assumptions, based on the type of member and the crack width, the stress in the slab system is
limited according the Indian standards.The Post tensioned flat slab system is shown in Figure
2.5.

Figure 2.5: ADAPT model of Post Tensioned flat slab system

Added to the stress limitations, the stress is further reduced based on the depth of the member.
The slab system is modelled in ADAPT software and by limiting the stress, the slab depth and
number of tendons can be determined. This can be cross checked by the manual calculation,
by considering the cross-section of the slab in the column strip and middle strip,

corresponding cross-sectional area of the slab at each position can be calculated and with that,
the number of tendons needed to maintain the stress limit can be calculated. The tendons are
arranged in such

a way that they wont overlap the tendons running perpendicular to them. It is necessary to
maintain the eccentricity values so that the loss of the stress due to the relaxation can be
avoided. The tendon arrangement along the column strip plays a major role because it
coincides with steel reinforcement provided at the top and causes congestion. The tendon
arrangement in the flat slab system is shown in Figure 2.6.

Figure 2.6: Tendon arrangement in Post Tensioned flat slab

In the tendon arrangement the R values is maintained above 8, when the value reduces
below
8, then the tendon profile will be nearly perpendicular and tensions are most effective in
parabolic and curved profiles. As per Indian standard calculation, addition steel reinforcement
has to be provided in order to avoid shrinkage cracks in the slab.
To obtain an economic result these additional reinforcements are considered for the stress
calculation so that the number of tendons can be reduced. The area of additional
reinforcement is calculated and based on that, the corresponding moment of resistance
provided by the additional steel reinforcement is calculated. The total moment of resistance
will be the sum of moment of resistance offered by the tendon and steel. The stress diagram
of PT flat slab is shown in Figure 2.7.

Figure 2.7: Stress diagram of Post Tensioned Flat slab

Similarly while designing the slab system using the British standards[R], the stress is limited
based on the crack limit and the type of member. The minimum grade of concrete used in BS
slab system is M45. By comparing the stress limit by BS system to that of Indian system, it
reduces and the additional steel reinforcement also get reduced. While designing the slab
system using ACI codal provision, it does not allow a type 3 member i.e, according to the
ACI code does not permit crack formation in PT flat slab and flat plate system. So the PT
slab system which is designed according to ACI codal provision will be of zero crack width.
The ACI code also states that, there is no need of additional steel reinforcement in the PT
slab system, hence the total moment of resistance is provided by the tendon. While
comparing the spacing criteria in the all three codal provisions, both the Indian and the
British standards talk about the spacing between each tendons, whereas according to the ACI
code, they talk about the spacing between two reinforcements either a tendon nor steel or the
spacing between a single tendon to the steel reinforcement. This gives an additional help to
the designers while designing an un-bonded PT slab system.
The cost analysis and the cost comparison is done manually. The rates are taken as per the
Indian construction cost. The cost of various materials and the construction cost is listed in
Table 2.4. The total cost tabulated in Table 2.4 included the wages of the labour. The
dimensions of the members are tabulated in Table 2.5.

Table 2.4: Material and construction cost

Material

Cost
M30

3500 Rs/m3

M35

4000 Rs/m3

M45

5000 Rs/m3

Steel

55,000 Rs/MT

PT Tendon

1,10,000 Rs/MT

Beam/Column

600 Rs/m2

Concrete

Reinforcement

Conventional
Shuttering

Slab
Flat slab (or)
Flat plate

500 Rs/m2
550 Rs/m2

Table 2.5: Member Dimensions

TYPE
Conventional

Slab

Drop

Primary

Secondary

Column

Depth

Depth

Beam

Beam

Dimension

(mm)

(mm)

(mm)

(mm)

(m)

150

600x750

600x600

0.8x0.8

Reinforced

Slab

Concrete

Flat Plate

275

1.4x1.4

Flat Slab

250

200

1.0x1.0

Post

Flat Plate

250

1.3x1.3

Tensioned

Flat Slab

225

200

1.0x1.0

13

2.1.3

Banded Flat slab system

The Banded slab system is a combination of the RC and the post tensioned slab systems. The
column strip and middle strip moments are obtained with the help of the ETABS software.
Based on the analytical results, the tendon option is adopted in the strip consisting the
maximum moment and span, similarly the reinforcement steel option is adopted in the strip
consisting of minimum moment and span. In this case, the reduction in the reinforcement steel
quantity results in an economic slab system compared to the post tensioned flat slab option.

2.1.4

Vibration Analysis

The objective is to determine whether the slab systems meets the serviceability requirements
for vibration using conservative values or whether a more detailed analysis is warranted.
Walking rates (Foot drops) above 2.5Hz are uncommon so this is a reasonable upper limit for
the design of slab systems. The mass, modulus of elasticity, damping and post tensioning are
the parameters governing the vibration response of the slab systems (Vibration design
ADAPT

[3]

). The Vibration analysis is performed using ADAPT software, the post tensioned

slab system designed using IS, BS and ACI standards are subjected to vibration analysis. The
values obtained from the first three modes are compared with the Threshold of human
sensitivity to vertical vibration graph as shown in Figure 2.8.

Figure 2.8: Threshold of human sensitivity to vertical vibration

1
4

Chapter 3

3.1 Results and Discussion

The model for the study is a 16 storey office building, in which first four floors are for
parking. The second floor is considered for the analysis, which consist of a typical floor
gird size of
10.8m x 8.4m. The analysis is performed using ETABS and ADAPT software. The analysis
results such as bending moment and shear force are obtained from the software analysis and
the design and the estimation are done manually. The slab systems are compared between
three codal provisions for safety and economy.
The reduction in the cost while designing the reinforced concrete slab systems such as beam
slab, flat slab and flat plate according to IS standards shows 20% using RC beam slab option
as shown in Figure 3.1. While considering RC flat slab option, it is about 15% cost effective
so the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.58,909 per panel. Considering the practical
application and also to increase the clearance between the floors without any obstruction, RC
flat slab option will be feasible, added to that they can ultimately reduce the height of the
building.
The variation in the cost while designing the Post-tensioned slab systems such as flat slab and
flat plate according to IS shows 14% reduction in cost while using post tensioned flat slab
system as shown in Figure 3.1. The overall cost can be reduced about Rs.50,678 per panel,
while comparing to the Post tensioned flat plate.
The cost is cut down to 16% by using post tensioned flat slab system when comparing the
reinforced concrete and post-tensioned slab systems according to IS. The overall cost can be
reduced about Rs.60,763 per panel, while comparing to the other RC and Post tensioned slab
systems.

1
5

 4,00,000

3,22,79
8

3,69,015

3,57,980
3,08,252

3,17,076
3,00,000

2,00,000

1,00,000

RC SLAB SYSTEM (IS)

PT SLAB SYSTEM (IS)

BEAM SLAB
FLAT SLAB
FLAT PLATE

Figure 3.1: Cost comparison between RC and Post tensioned slab system using
Indian standards
The reduction in the cost while designing the reinforced concrete slab systems such as beam
slab, flat slab and flat plate according to BS standards shows 19% reduction in cost while
using RC beam slab option as shown in Figure 3.2. While considering RC flat slab option, it
is about
17.7% cost effective so the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.66,909 per panel. When we
consider the practical application and also to increase the clearance between the floors
without any obstruction, RC flat slab option will be feasible, added to that they can
ultimately reduce the height of the building.
The variation in the cost while designing the Post-tensioned slab systems such as flat slab and
flat plate according to BS shows 13.8% reduction in cost while using post tensioned flat slab
system as shown in Figure 3.2 and the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.48,419 per panel,
while comparing to the Post tensioned flat plate.
The reduction in the cost while designing the reinforced concrete and post-tensioned slab
systems according to BS shows that the post tensioned flat slab design yields results of 20%
reduction in the cost, so the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.76,180 per panel, while
comparing to the other RC and Post tensioned slab systems.

1
6

 4,00,000
3,50,000
3,00,000

3,77,133
3,10,224

3,49,372
3,00,953

3,04,95
1

2,50,000
2,00,000
1,50,000
1,00,000
50,000
0

RC SLAB SYSTEM (BS)

BEAM SLAB

PT SLAB SYSTEM (BS)

FLAT SLAB

FLAT PLATE

Figure 3.2: Cost comparison between RC and PT slab system using British standards
The reduction in the cost while designing the reinforced concrete slab systems such as beam
slab, flat slab and flat plate according to ACI standards shows 20.2% reduction in cost while
using RC beam slab option as shown in Figure 3.3. While considering RC flat slab option, it
is about 17.7% cost effective so the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.66,909 per panel.
When we consider the practical application and also to increase the clearance between the
floors without any obstruction, RC flat slab option will be feasible, added to that they can
ultimately reduce the height of the building.
The variation in the cost while designing the Post-tensioned slab systems such as flat slab and
flat plate according to ACI standards shows 14% reduction in cost while using post tensioned
flat slab system as shown in Figure 3.3 and the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.52,228
per panel, while comparing to the Post tensioned flat plate.
The reduction in the cost while designing the reinforced concrete and post-tensioned slab
systems according to BS shows that the post tensioned flat slab design yields results of 12%
reduction in the cost, so the overall cost can be reduced about Rs.46,932 per panel, while
comparing to the other RC and Post tensioned slab systems. The comparison of post tensioned
steel take off between different slabs systems are shown in Figure 3.4.

 4,00,000

3,71,683

3,66,393
3,01,527

3,50,000

3,19,461

2,92,673

3,00,000
2,50,000
2,00,000
1,50,000
1,00,000
50,000
0

RC SLAB SYSTEM (ACI) PT SLAB SYSTEM (ACI)

BEAM SLAB

FLAT SLAB

FLAT PLATE

Figure 3.3: Cost comparison between RC and Post Tensioned slab system using
ACI standards
Post-Tensioning Steel
(Kg/m2)
5.1
4.41

Flat slab

5.9
5.5
6

Flat Plate

Indian Standard

8.2
6

British Standard

10
ACI

Figure 3.4: Cost comparison of Post-Tensioning Steel take off between the
IS, BS and ACI Standards

The Vibration analysis is performed using ADAPT software, the post tensioned slab system
designed using IS, BS and ACI standards are subjected to vibration analysis. The values
obtained from the first three modes as shown in Figure 3.5 are compared with the Threshold
of human sensitivity to vertical vibration graph as shown in Figure 2.8. Based on the limiting
values, the depth provided for the flat slab and flat plate system are sufficient to withstand the
walking rate vibrations.

Figure 3.5 : Mode shape of Post tensioned Flat plate system using ACI Standards

19

Chapter 4
Conclusion

In this study cost and safety of RC and post tensioned slab systems are investigated in detail.
From the analysis, the following conclusions are drawn.

The beam-slab system yields a better results compared to the rest of the systems, but
while comparing the head room and floor clearance the flat slab and flat plate system
gives better results. This also results in elimination of indirect cost such as, clearance for
the air ducts and pipe lines. Since flat slab and flat plate system has a uniform depth and
the number of intermediate beams are reduced, it reduces the complication of shuttering
and reduces the shuttering cost. By using the flat slab and flat plate system will result in
reduction in the total cost of construction.

From the cost analysis it is observed that the post tensioned flat slab system provides
better cost reduction of about 16% and 18% as per IS and BS standards, respectively.

In the case of ACI standard, the RC flat slab system shows 25% cost reduction more than
that of post tensioned flat slab system.

However from the safety point of view the post tensioned flat slab using ACI standard is
considered to be durable since the stress is totally eliminated and designed as uncracked
section, whereas the IS and BS allow 0.2 mm crack width.

2
0

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1