Table 1 - Span to thickness ra/iosproposed in technical documents for post-tensioned slabs

l/h
ACI-ASCE Committee 423
'Tentative Recommendations for Prestressed
Concrete Flat-Plates', 19741

floors - 40 to 45 or 48 *
roofs - 45 to 48 or 52 *

'FIP Recommendations for the Design of FlatSlabs in Post-tensioned Concrete', 19802

floors- 42 or 48*
roofs - 48 or 52*

Concrete Society Technical Report n"25 'Posttensioned Flat-Slab Design Handbook', 19843

light .loading

ACI Committee 318

'Building Code Requirements For Reinforced
Concrete (ACI 318-89)', 19894

floors - 42 or 48*
roofs - 48 or 52*

40 to 48

normalloading - 34 to 42
heavy loading - 28 to 36

* - li the calculated deflections and vibration performance are acceptable.

of the deflection occurring after the construction of these elements
need be considered.
According to these principIes and taking into consideration the
values proposed in several concrete standards, the foIlowing limits
were adopted:
.

Maximum deflection under quasi-permanent loads, //250;

Maximum deflection after the installation of partitions, for
frequent loads, 1/500or 15mm, whichever is the lesser.

These limits follow closely the values proposed in other codes or

technical documents2,4,S,6, being presently adopted in the final
draft of the future 'FIP Recommendations for the design of posttensioned slabs and foundation rafts'7.
Since a significant part of the permanent loads is balanced by the
prestress, the deflections can, in general, be calculated elastically.
li cracking oecurs, it will be very local only over the columns,
and the reduction of the global rigidity wiIl be negligible. In this
case, time dependent effects can be estimated by considering a
multiplier factor, 'Pfor additionallong-time deflection.
Parametric study
Introduction
The study was addressed to flat slab systems currently adopted in
building designo

A square interior panel, with spans between 7.5 and 20.0 m was
considered. Solid, waffle and banded flat slab systems were
analysed.
Permanent loads include the self weight of the slab and an additional dead load of 2.0 kN/m2. Live load values between 3.0 and
20.0 kN/m2 were considered. For the definition of the quasipermanent and the frequent combination of actions, respectively
40% and 60% of the fulllive load were adopted.
Prestressing degree values between 0.6 and 1.0 were considered.
This parameter was defined as the ratio between maximum deflections due to prestressing and quasi-permanent loads. A coefficient
'P = 2.5, allowing for time dependent effects, was adopted.
Each one of the systems considered (structural solution and span)
was analysed by the finite element method, using four node
isoparametric elements.
The equations which express the slab deflection limits presented in
the previous section, are non-linear functions of the depth of the
slab, h, the applied loads, g and q and the degree of prestress,
k. Live load and prestressing degree values were imposed and
the slab depth was obtained by solving the equations using the
Newton-Raphson method.

/y

Fig 1. Equivalent loads due to prestress in an interior panel

15

- ~ ---

--

--

lIh

50

1=10.0m
k=O.7

D
_

40
.Ql
(2)

88~

..

(2) Waftle slab with a rigid solid band (bw =1/4)

30

OOt
rlnr
'--''--'
~
t

ElEilt

I : 705rn, "'0 1205rn

7.5

g+q

---r-

20
O

Fig 11. 1 = 10.0 m, k = 0.7. (l/h) valuesfor solid slabs and waffle

I , IO.Orno'''0 20.Om

10,0

15.0

20.0

1.0

45

42

33

27

2.0

41

34

26

20

3.0

35

29

22

16

slabs with b., = 1/4

_.J L J i..JL

lIh

40

1=15.0m
k=O.7

~c

30

20

.
~. .
.
"
:"':0

.1

,DO

EmgT
DO

(;

11I

~~].

-~

LJLJL

r-,,-.,,.
00
L
LJLJ~
ODO[][JOO[JG
OOL"J[][J[J[]OC
~"~r., "-H.-"r-"'!r r~.,,.

rlnr
1..."''''_.1 L

lni"1
JL_J,-..J
,~
,.-.,
:JULJLJ

O[]ll[
g~~JC

J[J[JO
,r-,,.,:",,.-,

8:;;;

ft""'-'
b(J) <114

8 ,-,,-,,,4

-+-+

g+q

-g

E]Oe]
,. ,lir-,r...,
II I
I JI..-''-..
[J[J

~".....

~_Solidzone

10

L..ii..';..ii

J i..-I i...:.J i J i.

OOOOOOOC][
ODOO[JO[][][
DO
O[J[
r-,r-,r
O nW fid ~=:!:=J~.'

Fig 12. Waffle slab, 1 = 15.0 m, k = 0.7. lnfluence of low rigid

solid bands, b., = 1/8

15.0

20.0

1.0

37

29

24

2.0

30

22

17

3.0

25

18

14

i) The tables presented

Note
The results shown in the various Figures are typical. Other Figures
for different values of k and 1 are available and can be obtained
from the Librarian at the Institution of Structural Engineers.

10.0

have been obtained

I : IO.Orn, "'0 20.0rn

considering

that prestress

is designed to balance approximately 70% of the quosi-permanent

actions. More slenderslabs may be possible using higherprestressing
degrees;
ii). For branded waffle slabs, permanent loads values to be used
should referto the ribbedzone.

The Figures available are:

Fig 13. Span to thickness ratiosfor post-tensioned slabs7

Fig 4. Solid slabs, 1 = 12.5m. Influence of degree of prestress

Fig 5.. Solid slabs (l/h) limits for k = 0.6
Fig 8. Waffle slabs (l/h) limits for k = 0.6

future 'FIP Recommendations for the design of post-tensioned

slabs and foundation rafts'7.

Fig 10. Waffleslabs(l/h) limitsfor k = 1.0.

Conclusions
In post-tensioned fIat slabs an important part of the permanent
loads is in general balanced by the prestress (k ~ 0.6), which
increases the sensitivity to defIections. Aesthetic or functional
requirements, in general related to the total defIection for permanent loads, are never critical when compared to criteria established to avoid damage in non structural elements.
For high values of the prestressing degree (k values about 1.0), the
slendemess of the slab is not conditioned by the control of defIections. It will be by other criteria, e.g. safety and serviceability,
economical considerations or, in particular cases, by the control
of vibrations.
The slendemess of the slab, the ratio between live and dead loads
and the degree of prestress significantly influence the defIections
in post-tensioned slabs. A prestressing degree of about 0.7 seems
appropriate to establish recommendations for control of defIection without calculations.
The results obtained can be summarized in the tables presented
in Fig 13. These tables allow very easy application, having been
adopted as specifications for indirect control of deflections in the

References
1. ACI-ASCE Committee 423, 'Tentative Recommendations for
Prestressed Concrete Flat Plates', Joumal of the American
Concrete lnstitute, v. 71, No. 2, February 1974.
2. 'FIP Recommendations for the Design of Flat .Slabs in Posttensioned Concrete (using unbonded and bonded tendons)',
Cement and Concrete Association, Wexham Springs, 1980,
21pp.
3. Concrete Society Technical Report No 25, 'Post-tensioned
Flat-Slab Design Handbook', Concrete Society, London, 1984,
43pp.
4. ACI Committee 318, 'Building Code Requirements for
Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-89)', American Concrete lnstitute, Detroit, 1989,353 pp.
5. ENV 1992-1-1,Eurocode 2, 'Design of Concrete StructuresPart 1- General Rules and Rules for Buildings', CEN, European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, 1991,253 pp.
6. CEB-FIP Model Code 1990, 'Design Code', Thomas Telford
Ltd., London, 1993,437 pp.
7. FIP Commissin 3, Design, 'Post-tensioned Slabs and Foundation Rafts, final draft', FIP Commission3, February 1994, (to
be published).

17

---

Figs. 6 and 7 summarize the results obtained for solid slabs. 'l'he
curves obtained by limiting the average prestress to 3.0 MPa are
represented if relevant.

IIh

70

.1=12.5m
k=0.6

Concerning the more wide objective of establishing simplified

rules for deflection control without calculation it seems appropriate to consider a degree of prestress of about k = 0.7. In fact,
in this case the average prestress obtained varies between 1.2 to
2.0 MPa. In addition, it was observed that the ordinary reinforcing
ratio, p, in the positive region of the column strips was limited to
about 0.5%.

60

50

40

(~a )

quasi-pennanentloads (q.p.):a $1/300

The main results obtained for waffle slabs are illustratedin Fig 9.
Taking into account the systems more generally used for waffle
slabs, an average value of 2 was considered for the ratio between
the self-weight of the solid and ribbed zones. In using the curves
for waffle slabs, permanent loads should refer to the ribbed zone
ofthe slab.

=770

qp

30

(~a )qp=920
~

frequentloads: a $ 1/500. 15.mm

g+q

20

For the span range common to solid and waffle solutions, differences are reduced when comparing the curves (l/h) particularly for
banded waffle slabs with a rigid solid band, b", ~ 1/4, connecting
the columns. Fig 11shows both curves for I = 10.0 m and k = 0.7.

Fig 3. Solid slab, 1= 12.5 m, k = 0.6. Deflection limits

On the other hand, for greater spans the influence of low rigid
solid bands between columns is relatively unimportant. The curves
obtained for a span of 15.0 m are shown in Fig 12, comparing a
solution with a solid zone to another with a solid zone and solid
bands with b.. = 1/8.

Results
Fig 3 shows

the curves

I/h obtained

for a solid slab with I

= 12.5

and k = 0.6, to each one of the maximum deflection conditions

presented before.
The maximum deflection limit related to damageon non-structural elements is obviously critical when this problem is relevant.
The difference between the curves would be greater for higher
prestressing degrees. It can be observed that deflection values of
about 1/800under quasi-permanent loads are obtained when using
(I/h) values corresponding to the second condition.

7 l/h
C7cp

50

It should be pointed out that the curves indicate the maxinlum

(l/h) values for the assumed deflection limits. For high values of
prestressing degree, in particular for k = 1.0, deflection criteria
can lead to slendemess values too high from a practical point
of view. In this case, the slab depth should be conditioned by
other criteria, e.g. safety against ultimate limit states, control of
vibrations or economical considerations. In order to control these
situations, a check was performed on the average concrete stresses
due to effective prestress. Practical applications, as well as some
technical documents2.3.4 recommend the adoption of an average
prestress of about 1.0 to 3.0 MPa for solid slabs. Values outside
such limits lead, in general, to uneconomical solutions and, for
the upper limit, the problems related to the restrained shortening
of the slab can be important.

IIh

Mpa

60 G'p=4.1 Mpa
1
Gcp = 3.9 Mpa

The prestressing degree has a relevant influence on the maximum

(I/h) values.

70

= 5.0

Solid slabs
k= 1.0

40

~1=750m; C7Cp
=3.0 Mpa
1= 10.oom;Gcp= 3.0 Mpa
-1=1250m
1= 1250m; Gcp= 3.0 Mpa

30

20
I

Fig 7. Solid slabs. (I/h) limits for k

l/h

60

Solid slabs
k=0.8

60

= 1.0

Waffle
k=0.8

slabs

50

Gcp = 2.5 Mpa

50

40

40

30

30

20

g+q

Fig 6. Solid slabs. (I/h) limits for k

g+q

10

-g

20

Fig9. Waffleslabs.(I/h)limitsfor k = 0.8

= 0.8

16
--

----

-g

Figs. 6 and 7 summarize the results obtained for solid slabs. 'l'he
curves obtained by limiting the average prestress to 3.0 MPa are
represented if relevant.

IIh

70

.1=12.5m
k=0.6

Concerning the more wide objective of establishing simplified

rules for deflection control without calculation it seems appropriate to consider a degree of prestress of about k = 0.7. In fact,
in this case the average prestress obtained varies between 1.2 to
2.0 MPa. In addition, it was observed that the ordinary reinforcing
ratio, p, in the positive region of the column strips was limited to
about 0.5%.

60

50

40

(~a )

quasi-pennanentloads (q.p.):a $1/300

The main results obtained for waffle slabs are illustratedin Fig 9.
Taking into account the systems more generally used for waffle
slabs, an average value of 2 was considered for the ratio between
the self-weight of the solid and ribbed zones. In using the curves
for waffle slabs, permanent loads should refer to the ribbed zone
ofthe slab.

=770

qp

30

(~a )qp=920
~

frequentloads: a $ 1/500. 15.mm

g+q

20

For the span range common to solid and waffle solutions, differences are reduced when comparing the curves (l/h) particularly for
banded waffle slabs with a rigid solid band, b", ~ 1/4, connecting
the columns. Fig 11shows both curves for I = 10.0 m and k = 0.7.

Fig 3. Solid slab, 1= 12.5 m, k = 0.6. Deflection limits

On the other hand, for greater spans the influence of low rigid
solid bands between columns is relatively unimportant. The curves
obtained for a span of 15.0 m are shown in Fig 12, comparing a
solution with a solid zone to another with a solid zone and solid
bands with b.. = 1/8.

Results
Fig 3 shows

the curves

I/h obtained

for a solid slab with I

= 12.5

and k = 0.6, to each one of the maximum deflection conditions

presented before.
The maximum deflection limit related to damageon non-structural elements is obviously critical when this problem is relevant.
The difference between the curves would be greater for higher
prestressing degrees. It can be observed that deflection values of
about 1/800under quasi-permanent loads are obtained when using
(I/h) values corresponding to the second condition.

7 l/h
C7cp

50

It should be pointed out that the curves indicate the maxinlum

(l/h) values for the assumed deflection limits. For high values of
prestressing degree, in particular for k = 1.0, deflection criteria
can lead to slendemess values too high from a practical point
of view. In this case, the slab depth should be conditioned by
other criteria, e.g. safety against ultimate limit states, control of
vibrations or economical considerations. In order to control these
situations, a check was performed on the average concrete stresses
due to effective prestress. Practical applications, as well as some
technical documents2.3.4 recommend the adoption of an average
prestress of about 1.0 to 3.0 MPa for solid slabs. Values outside
such limits lead, in general, to uneconomical solutions and, for
the upper limit, the problems related to the restrained shortening
of the slab can be important.

IIh

Mpa

60 G'p=4.1 Mpa
1
Gcp = 3.9 Mpa

The prestressing degree has a relevant influence on the maximum

(I/h) values.

70

= 5.0

Solid slabs
k= 1.0

40

~1=750m; C7Cp
=3.0 Mpa
1= 10.oom;Gcp= 3.0 Mpa
-1=1250m
1= 1250m; Gcp= 3.0 Mpa

30

20
I

Fig 7. Solid slabs. (I/h) limits for k

l/h

60

Solid slabs
k=0.8

60

= 1.0

Waffle
k=0.8

slabs

50

Gcp = 2.5 Mpa

50

40

40

30

30

20

g+q

Fig 6. Solid slabs. (I/h) limits for k

g+q

10

-g

20

Fig9. Waffleslabs.(I/h)limitsfor k = 0.8

= 0.8

16
--

----

-g

Table 1 - Span to thickness ra/iosproposed in technical documents for post-tensioned slabs

l/h
ACI-ASCE Committee 423
'Tentative Recommendations for Prestressed
Concrete Flat-Plates', 19741

floors - 40 to 45 or 48 *
roofs - 45 to 48 or 52 *

'FIP Recommendations for the Design of FlatSlabs in Post-tensioned Concrete', 19802

floors- 42 or 48*
roofs - 48 or 52*

Concrete Society Technical Report n"25 'Posttensioned Flat-Slab Design Handbook', 19843

light .loading

ACI Committee 318

'Building Code Requirements For Reinforced
Concrete (ACI 318-89)', 19894

floors - 42 or 48*
roofs - 48 or 52*

40 to 48

normalloading - 34 to 42
heavy loading - 28 to 36

* - li the calculated deflections and vibration performance are acceptable.

of the deflection occurring after the construction of these elements
need be considered.
According to these principIes and taking into consideration the
values proposed in several concrete standards, the foIlowing limits
were adopted:
.

Maximum deflection under quasi-permanent loads, //250;

Maximum deflection after the installation of partitions, for
frequent loads, 1/500or 15mm, whichever is the lesser.

These limits follow closely the values proposed in other codes or

technical documents2,4,S,6, being presently adopted in the final
draft of the future 'FIP Recommendations for the design of posttensioned slabs and foundation rafts'7.
Since a significant part of the permanent loads is balanced by the
prestress, the deflections can, in general, be calculated elastically.
li cracking oecurs, it will be very local only over the columns,
and the reduction of the global rigidity wiIl be negligible. In this
case, time dependent effects can be estimated by considering a
multiplier factor, 'Pfor additionallong-time deflection.
Parametric study
Introduction
The study was addressed to flat slab systems currently adopted in
building designo

A square interior panel, with spans between 7.5 and 20.0 m was
considered. Solid, waffle and banded flat slab systems were
analysed.
Permanent loads include the self weight of the slab and an additional dead load of 2.0 kN/m2. Live load values between 3.0 and
20.0 kN/m2 were considered. For the definition of the quasipermanent and the frequent combination of actions, respectively
40% and 60% of the fulllive load were adopted.
Prestressing degree values between 0.6 and 1.0 were considered.
This parameter was defined as the ratio between maximum deflections due to prestressing and quasi-permanent loads. A coefficient
'P = 2.5, allowing for time dependent effects, was adopted.
Each one of the systems considered (structural solution and span)
was analysed by the finite element method, using four node
isoparametric elements.
The equations which express the slab deflection limits presented in
the previous section, are non-linear functions of the depth of the
slab, h, the applied loads, g and q and the degree of prestress,
k. Live load and prestressing degree values were imposed and
the slab depth was obtained by solving the equations using the
Newton-Raphson method.

/y

Fig 1. Equivalent loads due to prestress in an interior panel

15

- ~ ---

--

--