ADVANCED BUILDING

CONSTRUCTION
SLABS
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SLABS
Concrete slabs come in a variety of forms, which can be divided into two categories precast or in situ,
depending on where the concrete was cast. Wherever the concrete is cast it may be reinforced or
prestressed. Reinforced concrete uses steel bars to resist the tension in the slab. Prestressed concrete
has high strength steel strand cast in it which compresses the concrete and maximises the benefit of
concrete compressive strengths.
Precast concrete options are cast in a factory environment and include the following prestressed
concrete options:
Hollow core units
Double-tee units
Solid concrete units
Beam and block floors
Precast reinforced concrete slabs include:
Lattice girder slabs
Biaxial voided slabs
Solid concrete units
In situ reinforced concrete options include:
One-way slabs
Two-way slabs
Ribbed slabs
Waffle slabs
Flat slabs
In-situ concrete can also be pre s tressed after casting the concrete and this is known asposttensioning. and the options include:
Flat slabs
One-way slabs
Ribbed slabs

FLAT SLAB
Flat slabs
Flat slabs are highly versatile elements widely used in construction, providing minimum
depth, fast construction and allowing flexible column grids.
Benefits
Construction
Construction of flat slabs is one of the quickest methods available. Lead times are very
short as this is one of the most common forms of construction.
Procurement
Because this is one of the most common forms of construction, allCONSTRUCT members
and many other concrete frame contractors can undertake this work.
Cost, whole life cost, value
Flat slabs are particularly appropriate for areas where tops of partitions need to be
sealed to the slab soffit for acoustic or fire reasons. Flat slabs are considered to be faster
and more economic than other forms of construction, as partition heads do not need to
be cut around downstand beams or ribs.
Flat slabs can be designed with a good surface finish to the soffit, allowing exposed
soffits to be used. This allows exploitation of the buildings thermal mass in the design of
heating, ventilation and cooling requirements, increasing energy efficiency.
Mechanical and Engineering
Flat slabs provide the most flexible arrangements for services distribution as services do
not have to divert around structural elements.

 Flat slabsare appropriate for most floor

situations andalsofor irregular column layouts,
curved floor shapes, ramps etc. The benefits of
choosing flat slabs include a minimum depth
solution, speed of construction, flexibility in the
plan layout (both in terms of the shape and
column layout), a flat soffit (clean finishes and
freedom of layout of services) and scope and
space for the use of flying forms.

Solid flat slab

The flexibility of flat slab construction can lead

to high economy and yet allow the architect
great freedom of form.
Examples are;
solid flat slab,
solid flat slab with drop panel,
solid flat slab with column head,
coffered flat slab,
coffered flat slab with solid panels,
banded coffered flat slab.

Coffered flat slab

Solid flat slab with drop panel

 A flat slab is a flat section of concrete. These slabs are classically used in foundations,
although they can also be used in the construction of roadways, paths, and other
structures. Depending on the size and complexity of a flat slab, it may need to be
designed by an engineer who is familiar with the limitations and needs of slabs, or it may
be possible for a handy do it yourselfer to make one in an afternoon for a simple project.
Typically, a flat slab is made withreinforced concrete , in which rebar is criss-crossed in
the forms to provide support and reinforcement once the concrete is poured and
hardened. The slab design is designed to be reinforced in several directions so that it can
withstand stresses such as shifting ground, earthquakes, frost, and so forth. Failure to
fully reinforce a flat slab can cause it to crack or give along weak lines in the concrete,
which will in turn cause instability.

t slabs are typically used in foundations .

 or some sites, a flat slab is poured in situ. In this case, the site is prepared, forms for the concrete are
set up, and the reinforcing rebar or other materials are laid down. Then, the concrete is mixed,
poured, and allowed to cure before moving on to the next stage of construction. The time required
can vary considerably, with size being a major factor; the bigger the slab, the more complex
reinforcement needs can get, which in turn adds to the amount of time required for set up. Once
poured, the slab also has to be examined and tested to confirm that the pour was good, without air
pockets or other problems which could contribute to a decline in quality.
In other cases, a flat slab may be prefabricated off site and transported to a site when it is needed.
This may be done when conditions at the site do not facilitate an easy pour, or when the conditions
for the slab's construction need to be carefully controlled. Transportation of the slab can be a
challenge if it is especially large. Barges, cranes, and flatbed trucks may be required to successfully
move it from the fabrication site to the site of the installation.
The flatslab foundationis not without problems. It can settle on uneven ground, allowing the
structure to settle as well, for example, and during seismic activity, a slab foundation cannot hold up
if the soils are subject to liquefaction. A flat slab can also become a major source of energy
inefficiency, as structures tend to lose heat through the concrete.

WAFFLE SLAB
Ribbed and waffle slabs
Ribbed and waffle slabs provide a lighter and stiffer slab than an equivalent flat slab, reducing the extend of
foundations. They provide a very good form where slab vibration is an issue, such as laboratories and hospitals.
Ribbed slabs are made up of wide band beams running between columns with equal depth narrow ribs spanning
the orthogonal direction. A thick top slab completes the system.
Waffle slabs tend to be deeper than the equivalent ribbed slab. Waffle slabs have a thin topping slab and narrow
ribs spanning in both directions between column heads or band beams. The column heads or band beams are
the same depth as the ribs.
Benefits

Flexible
Relatively light, therefore less foundation costs and longer spans are economic
Speed of construction
Fairly slim floor depths
Robustness
Excellent vibration control
Thermal mass
Good for services integration
Durable finishes
Fire resistance

Areinforced concrete slabwith equally spacedribs

parallel to the sides, having awaffleappearance.

POST-TENSIONED SLABS
Post-tensioned (PT) slabs
Post-tensioned (PT) slabs are typically flat slabs, band beam and slabs or ribbed slabs. PT
slabs offer the thinnest slab type, as concrete is worked to its strengths, mostly being
kept in compression. Longer spans can be achieved due to prestress, which can be used
to counteract deflections.
Post-tensioned slabs use high strength tensioned steel strands to compress the slabs,
keeping the majority of the concrete in compression. This gives a very efficient structure
which minimises material usages and decreases the economic span range when
compared to reinforced concrete.
Benefits
Fire resistance
Cost
Speed
Reduced material use
Sound control
Robustness
Thermal mass
Minimal deliveries

FILLER SLABS
FILLER SLABS
In a simply supported RCC slab, the upper part of the slab is subjected to compressive
forces while the lower portion is subjected to tensile forces. Concrete is very good in
compression while it is weak in tension. Hence the steel reinforcement is placed in the
tension zone. The concrete in this portion is only for holding together the steel
reinforcement and has no structural purpose. This 'un-productive' concrete can be
replaced by a 'Filler' material which will reduce the weight of the slab and also reduce
the cost by reducing the amount of concrete used. Also, since the weight of the slab is
thus reduced, lesser steel is also required for reinforcement, further reducing the cost.
There is no reductoin in the structural strength of the slab at all and it will act as a
normal load bearing slab.
Common filler materials arelight weight materials like Mangalore tiles, clay pans,
bricks, waste bottles, coconut shells, thermocoletc.
Reduces the cost of the slab by around 25-30%
Creates interesting designs and patterns on the ceiling
Helps in better thermal insulation of the slab due to the air pockets present.
Reduces the load on the foundation

 The Filler Slab is essentially a normal RCC slab where the bottom half (tension) concrete
portions are replaced by filler materials such as bricks, tiles, cellular concrete blocks, etc.
These filler materials are so placed as not to compromise the structural strength, result
in replacing unwanted and non-functional tension concrete, thus reducing total economic
cost. Filler Slabs are safe, sound and provide aesthetically pleasing pattern ceilings
without a need for plaster.
This flat roofing technology is rapidly becoming very popular in many parts of India, and
is found especially extensively in Kerala. It has massive potential in both cost efficiency
and energy saving, and hence, is a concept well worth introducing in Nepal.
Assuming a cost estimate per square meter of NRs. 2000/-, the total relative cost saving
through material saving is around 15% to 20% compared to normal RCC Slab use. Of
course, this value depends heavily on the prices of material used.
Generally, Carbon Dioxide saving in Filler Slab construction as compared to the
traditional normal RCC slab comes around to approximately 10% to 15%.

Filler Slab used to add aesthetic appearance

The traditional Reinforcement Brick Concrete (RBC) construction found in numerous
existing buildings around Nepal, especially very old ones, is an example of the Filler Slab
technology, now almost completely not in practice.
Generally, it is found that many structural engineers, architects and designers in Nepal
do not easily accept the idea of wasting concrete below the neutral axis. In contrast,
interior designers seem to approve the idea of Filler Slab being used for aesthetic
appearance, and designs can be manipulated to form appropriate patterns for both
commercial as well as residential buildings.

A Typical Filler slab in Centre for Development

Studies, Trivandrum

filler slab roof using clay pans

Concreting Filler Slab

Reinforcement details & clay pan positio

 This is an ancient time technology which saves material and labour cost. Filler slabs, consume less
concrete and steel as compared to conventional RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) slabs. RCC roof
becomes lighter and looks more beautiful due to the use of less-heavy, low-cost filler material such
as Mangalore tiles, clay pots and broken pieces of cement blocks. The slab filled with lighter filler
materials is known as the filler slab. By reducing the quantity and weight of material, the roof
become less expensive, yet retains the strength of the conventional slab. The most popular filler
material is the roofing tile. Mangalore tiles are placed between steel ribs and concrete is poured
into the gap to make a filler slab. The structure requires less steel and cement and it is also a good
heat insulator.

Advantages
Consumes less concrete and steel due to reduced weight of slab by the introduction of a less
heavy, low cost filler material like two layers of burnt clay tiles. Slab thickness minimum 112.5
mm.
Enhances thermal comfort inside the building due to heat-resistant qualities of filler materials and
the gap between two burnt clay tiles.
Makes saving on cost of this slab compared to the traditional slab by about 20%.
Reduces use of concrete and saves cement and steel by about 40%.
Some of the benefits of these new technologies are
Healthier living
Comfortable living
Financial savings
Less maintenance and higher durability
A good steward of the environment

view showing reinforcemnt with roof tiles in

between.

Typical cross-section

Finished Filler Slab

View of finished ceiling

Filler slab roofs: An alternative roofing technology

A. INTRODUCTION TO RCC FILLER SLAB
Filler slab technology is a simple and a very innovative technology for a slab construction.
The reason why, concrete and steel are used together to construct RCC slab, is in their individual
properties as separate building materials and their individual limitation. Concrete is good in
taking compression and steel is good in tension. Thus RCC slab is a product which resists both
compression as well as tensile.

Fig 1: Simply supported slab cross section

Knowing this much if we want to move further to understand the Filler slab
technology, we will have to further study the cross section of a typical
simply supported RCC Slab. Under its own load and applied load, the slab
will try to bend as shown in the Figure 1.

If we refer Figure 2, which indicates the neutral axis and also tension concrete in
the bottom fibers of the slab which is in tension but the top fibers will be in
compression. Knowing this much is the key to understand the filler slab
technology. Tension in a slab is on the bottom fiber and compression on the top
fiber. That means if we want to optimise the structure we can remove concrete
from the tension zone where it is not much needed. Thats the key behind filler
slab construction.
This is a very cost effective roofing technology. Knowing the way slab is
constructed on site (w.r.t. Gujarat, India), it is not easy to remove, the concrete
from the tension zone, hence we try and replace (partially); that part of concrete
usinglight weight and low cost filler material. This method of construction is

Filler slab technology is being used across India, but substantial amount of work on
the successful promotion and transfer of this technology was done by Ar. Laurie
Baker in South India. It is one place where filler slab has crossed the boundary of
research and controlled implementation to being one of the regular options of
construction by both government and private sector and also architects and
designers have been promoting this technology.
These filler materials are so placed as not to compromise the structural strength,
stability and durability, resulting in replacing unwanted and non-functional tension
concrete, from below and thusresulting in economy of high energy material
consumption and respective cost savings and decreased dead load of the slab.
An internal cavity can be provided between the filler material which adds an extra
advantage; other than cost savings and energy savings;improved thermal comfort
for the interiors. Also an added advantage of lower dead weight transferred to the
supporting elements and finally onto the foundation to further adds up cost saving
in design of these elements.
These filler materials are so placed as not to compromise the structural strength,
stability and durability, resulting in replacing unwanted and non-functional tension
concrete, from below and thus resulting in economy of high energy materials,
consumption and considerable cost saving and decreased dead load of the slab.

B. MATERIALS SELECTION AS PER NEED AND DESIGN

Light weight, inert and inexpensive materials such as low gradeMangalore tiles, Burnt Clay Bricks,
Hollow Concrete blocks, Stabilized Mud blocks/ Hollow Mud blocks, Clay pots, Coconut shells etc. can
be used as filler materials. These materials are laid in the grids of steel reinforcement rods and
concreting/concrete topping is done over them.

fig 3: Filler material arrangement

The following points to be kept in mind for filler material selection:
Filler material should be inert in nature. It should not react with concrete or steel in RCC slab
constructed.
Filler materials water absorption should be checked for as it will soak the hydration water from
concrete.
Filler material should be light in weight, so that overall weight of the slab reduces and also the dead
load onto the foundations is reduced.
Filler material should be low cost so that it cost is much lesser then the cost of the concrete it
replaces.This is very important to achieve economy.
Filler material should be of a size and cross-section, which can be accommodated within the spacing
of the reinforcement and also thickness wise could be accommodated within the cross section of the
slab.
Moreover the Filler slab also provides insulation (compared to a conventional RCC slab) from the hot
climate outside the building, providing thermal comfort to the user.
Filler material texture should match with the desired ceiling finish requirements so as not to provide

C. INSTALLING FILLER MATERIAL IN THE SLAB

Size of the filler material will be very crucial. It is must to decide the filler material
before the slab is designed. The dimension of filler material will help decide the
spacing of reinforcement and accordingly the depth of the slab and other structural
details will be worked out.
Also, filler material should be properly soaked in water so that it does not absorb
any water from the concrete.While installing the filler material, one will have to
decide the concreting sequence of the slab i.e. from where the concrete will be
started and how will it progress to cover the whole slab.
Filler materials like Manglore tiles/Clay tiles can be installed in two layers (2 nos.
one over the other) entrapping an air cavity between the two tiles. A sketch
ADVANTAGES
OF below.
FILLER
SLAB
showing cross section of a filler slab with manglore
tile is shown
This
will
improve the thermal properties of the slab. TECHNOLOGY:

By adopting RCC filler slab construction compared to a RCC solid (conventional)

slab in case where manglore tiles are used as a filler material, you can save on
approximately 19% of the total concrete and including the cost of filler material,
you can save around 5-10% of your concrete cost.
Another advantage is, if the filler material is just a waste i.e. for ex temporary
manglore tiles that are removed from the roof to construct a pukka roof, you can
save upon nearly 15% on your roof concrete construction cost.
Building a 25 sq. m slab can save you approx. Rs. 5000 from your concrete cost.
Filler slab technology can also be applied to mass housing projects and township
projects to gain high cost saving and also saving in high energy consuming
materials.
Another advantage can be of a better thermal comfort if a cavity is kept between
the filler material or the filler material itself has a cavity. For example tow manglore
tiles/Clay tiles can be kept one over the other to form an air cavity thus keeping the
interiors of your house remain cooler in summer and warmer in winters.
Filler slabs can be kept exposed (with proper workmanship) to create aesthetically
pleasing ceiling with a view of filler material from below and thus the cost of
plastering and/or painting also can be avoided.
RCC being made of cement, steel, sand and aggregates, is a very high energy
intensive material.
So reduction in concrete quantity compared to conventional slab construction, adds
this technology to the list of sustainable and environment friendly technologies and
corporating green building features.

. COST SAVINGS
Material saving assuming a 100 mm thick slab 2.543.86 m, and calculating
the material and cost savings as per market material rates of Ahmedabad,
Gujarat, August, 2011 and comparing the savings
for 1 m3:RCCFiller slab vs. Conventional Solid RCC Slab.
1.61 bags (19% saving) = Rs 418/ m 3saving in cement
cost.
0.09 m3less sand (19% saving) = Rs 21/ m 3saving in sand cost.
0.18 m3less aggregates (19% saving) = Rs 127/ m3saving in aggregates
cost.
10 kg less steel/m3of slab casted = Rs 500/m3saving in
reinforcement cost.
The table below shows the consumoption of materials and cost savings for1
Table 1: Cost
m3quantity of the slab:
saving/cu.m
of concrete
slab

The figures in the table seem less as the slab taken for calculation is a small
size slab. Elaborating this savings, assuming a normal MIG house area of 100
sq.m ground area and of two stories. Assuming the slab area comes to be
160 sq.m. for this house, the total savings in concrete cost can be Rs. 30,000.
Also if the filler material is not a virgin material for the slab construction, you

E. EMBODIED ENERGY SAVINGS

The table below shows the embodied energy calculations for a 200 sq.m house slab. Slab
dimensions to be same as above inD. Cost Savings.