Designing Floor Slabs on Grade: Step by step Procedures Book by Boyd C. Ringo and Robert B. Anderson

INTRODUCTION

How thick should the slab be?
How strong should the concrete be7
Is reinforcement needed?
Where should the joints be placed?
Can adding fibers enhance the slab3 performance?
When is post-tensioning appropriate?
What can be done to control cracking?

This how-to–do-it book provides practical answers to these and other major questions
that confront owners and designers when an industrial floor is needed. It is intended to
simplify and improve the design of slabs on grade for commercial and residential as well as
industrial uses.

“Design” includes all of the decisions, specifications, and details made and documented
before construction can begin. It is based on properties of both the subgrade support and the
concrete material. The process determines thickness, any necessary reinforcement, and
jointing details as well as standards for construction of the slab. The authors regard design as
a two-step procedure: thickness selection is done by one of the methods listed below; then
other features such as joint location and treatment and construction tolerances are
determined. Even though these steps are intimately related, they are commonly thought of as
two separate procedures.

Drawing on their combined experience of many decades at the forefront of slab design
and construction technology, Ringo and Anderson have prepared a text designed to help
professionals at many different levels of slab design expertise. The book is arranged in three
major parts:

Gtttting r11ad1 to tklign presents two chapters explaining the available slab design and
construction methods, and outlining the input values of site and materials data needed before
the design begins.

Thtt tksign 11.rampltts are the heart of the book, seven chapters of numerical examples
worked out on a step-by-step basis for vehicle loads, rack storage post loading, column or
wall loadings, and distributed uniform loads. Separate examples show bow to use posttensioning
when sensitive areas such as compressible soils and plastic clays are encountered,
and how to convert the post-tensioned slab to a conventionally reinforced equivalent.
Problems are solved in several ways – giving the designer a choice, but always presenting
the authors’ recommendations as to the best way to proceed. Chapter 9, new to the second
edition, presents the latest Post-Tensioning Institute method for designing hybrid slabs,
ribbed and post-tensioned along a perimeter band, but having a conventional uniform
thickness slab at the center.

RaolU’Ctt information in Chapter 10 provides needed data on joints, construction tolerances,
computer alternatives, and a short course in soil mechanics. The final chapter on
troubleshooting explains the steps to take when a slab is in distress and an investigation is
called for. The Appendix is a recapitulation of the design aids, presenting in large, readable
format all of the charts required for solutions given in the design examples. ‘Ibe authors
expect that designers will copy these charts many times over as they draw the lines
required for slab thickness determination and the selection of other variables.

This comprehensive book will help you select the most cost-effective approach to achieve high-performance concrete floors. Discusses a variety of slab types and different loading and support conditions. The 2nd edition includes new chapters on The Hybrid Post-tensioned Slab and Troubleshooting, plus expanded commentaries and details. Contain step-by-step procedures and all the charts, tables, and equations needed to apply them.

Reference: Ringo, B. C., & Anderson, R. B. (1996). Designing floor slabs on grade: step-by-step procedures, sample solutions, and commentary. Aberdeen Group.