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BY J. THOMAS RYAN
omposite construction is
the most common structural system for elevated
floors. It consists of concrete placed on metal decking
thats supported by structural steel
beams and girders. As the concrete
hardens, the steel framing and
concrete bond together to carry
dead and live loads. Until the concrete hardens, however, the framing and metal deck must carry construction loads that include the
weight of the fresh concrete.
During concrete placement, the
weight of the concrete causes the
steel members to deflect. Mo re
c o n c rete must be added to keep
the slab surface level, but the
weight of this additional concrete
causes further deflection (ponding). These deflections can be a
c o n c e rn to building ow n e r s, arc h i t e c t s, engineers and contra ctors. If concrete isnt added to level the floor, the concave surf a c e
may cause gaps under partitions,
f i x t u res and furn i t u re. Costly extras result if the contractor has to
level floors after concrete hardens.
Even if enough concrete is added
to keep the floor level, there may
be insufficient space for ductwork
between the underside of deflected beams and the false ceiling for
the floor below.
To minimize floor levelness
problems in composite construc-
Design Issues
A few years ago, floors were designed using ASTM A36 steel
(36,000-psi yield strength) and Allowable Stress Design (ASD), equivalent to the working stress method
for concrete design. In composite
structures designed by ASD with
A36 steel, filler beams were usually
placed 6 to 8 feet on center.
Today, ASTM A 572, Grade 50 steel
(50,000-psi yield strength) has almost totally replaced A36 steel, and
Load and Resistance Factor Design
(LRFD), which is equivalent to ultimate strength design in concrete,
has begun to replace ASD. There is
also a trend toward increasing fillerbeam spacing to 10 feet and using
longer spans for beams and girders
to increase column spacing. The re-
Figure 2. Total
deflection in a bay
is the sum of the
deck, beam and
girder deflections.
Figure 3. Deflection during construction of composite slabs with 30-foot bays can
double as a result of switching from A36 steel and Allowable Stress Design to
Grade 50 steel and Load and Resistance Factor Design.
Construction Issues
To avoid objectionable deflections in composite slabs with Grade
50 steel and LRFD designs, contractors usually must vary concrete
thickness to produce a reasonably
level floor. Concrete placement requires careful preplanning. The
goal is to load the steel floor system
with the wet concrete and allow the
steel to deflect before finishing the
concrete to a level condition. Following are two approaches contractors can take:
APPROACH 1
Simultaneously work two adjacent structural bays having a
common girder.
Rough-fill both bays with concrete. The steel will deflect as
concrete is placed, with most deflection occurring within about
30 minutes. Use a retarded concrete mix so that deflections occur while the concrete is still
plastic.
Using a laser level, establish wet
screed pads of concrete in the
first bay.
Screed the first bay, continually
monitoring the wet-screed elevations as the structure deflects.
If necessary, add extra concrete
to compensate for the deflection
and maintain a level floor.
Rough-fill the third bay with concrete, then screed the second bay.
Continue in this manner
throughout the floor.
APPROACH 2
Work one structural bay at a
time.
PUBLICATION #C970734
Copyright 1997, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved