One way joist slab (by Prof. A.

Charif)













Joists (Ribs) are closely spaced T-beams. The space between the beams may be left void or filled with
light hollow blocks called Hourdis. This type of floor is very popular and offers many advantages
(lighter, more economical, better isolation).






Joists are supported by beams, which are supported by girders or columns.
ACI / SBC Conditions on joist dimensions:
Web width: mm b
w
100 > Web thickness:
w w
b h 5 . 3 s
Flange thickness:

>
mm
S
h
f
50
12 /
Spacing: mm S 800 s
The flange width is then: S b b
w f
+ =
ACI and SBC codes specify that concrete shear strength may be increased by 10 % in joists.
Usually stirrups are not required in joists, but are used to hold longitudinal bars. It is therefore
recommended to consider stirrups when computing longitudinal steel depth.
Analysis and design of joist slabs is equivalent to analysis and design of joist as T-beams. Shrinkage
reinforcement must then be provided in the secondary direction.
Typical joist (rib)
Vertical section
b
w
S
b
f
h
w
h
f
Void or hollow
block (Hourdis)
Steps for the analysis and design of a joist slab:
(1) Thickness: Determine minimum thickness and:
If the thickness is unknown choose a value greater or equal to the minimum value
If the thickness is given, check that it is greater or equal to the minimum value
(2) Geometry and Loading: Check the joist dimensions and determine the dead and live uniform loading
on the joist (kN/m) using the given area loads (kN/m
2
) for live load and super imposed dead load as well
as the joist self weight. If hollow blocks (Hourdis) are present, their weight must be added to dead load.
Dead
jw b jw jw c jf jf c jD
Sh h b b x h SDL w + + + = ) ( Live
jf jL
b x LL w =
The ultimate joist load is:
jL jD ju
w w w 7 . 1 4 . 1 + =
(3) Flexural analysis: Determine the values of ultimate moments at major locations (exterior negative
moment, interior negative moment and positive span moment) using the coefficient method (if conditions
are satisfied) with appropriate clear lengths and moment coefficients.
(4) Flexural RC design: Perform RC design using standard methods starting with the maximum moment
value. Determine the required steel area and compare with code minimum steel area. Determine the bar
number and check bar spacing.
(5) Shrinkage reinforcement:
Determine shrinkage (temperature) reinforcement and the corresponding spacing.
(6) Shear check: Perform shear check, that is, check that
u c
V V > | with V
c
increased by 10%
If it is not checked, stirrups must be provided.
(7) Flange check: Part of the flange is un-reinforced. It must be checked as a plain concrete member.
(8) Detailing: Draw execution plans


One way joist slab example:














The above figure shows a one-way joist slab with beams and girders (same floor as in one
way solid slab example).
Beams are in X-direction (perpendicular to slab strip) and girders are in Y-direction
(parallel to joists). Joists are in Y-direction.
The space between joists is filled by hollow blocks (hourdis) with a density
3
/ 12 m kN
b
=

Concrete:
3 '
/ 24 25 m kN MPa f
c c
= = Steel: MPa f
y
420 =
All beams and girders have the same section 300 x 600 mm.
All columns have the same square section 300 x 300 mm.
Superimposed dead load SDL = 1.5 kN/m
2
Live load LL = 3.0 kN/m
2

All external beams and girders as well as the internal beam C support a wall with a
uniform weight of m kN w
wall
/ 4 . 14 =

4.0 m
4.0 m
4.0 m
4.0 m
8.2 m 8.1 m
A
B
C
D
E
1 2 3
Typical joist (rib)
500
120 120
50
250
Joist Data (mm)
Solution of joist slab example:
The joist is modeled as a continuous beam with four equal spans

Step 1: Thickness use Table 9.5(a) for h
min
Table 9.5(a): Minimum thickness for beams (ribs) and one-way slabs
unless deflections are computed and checked


Simply
supported
One end
continuous
Both ends
continuous

Cantilever
Solid one-
way slab
L / 20 L / 24 L / 28 L / 10
Beams
or ribs
L / 16 L / 18.5 L / 21 L / 8

Spans 1 and 4: One end continuous
mm
L
h 22 . 216
5 . 18
4000
5 . 18
min
= = =

Spans 2 and 3: Both ends continuous
mm
L
h 48 . 190
21
4000
21
min
= = =

Thus mm h 22 . 216
min
= The total joist thickness is h = h
f
+ h
w
= 50 + 250 = 300 mm
The joist thickness is thus OK (No deflection check required)
Step 2: Geometry and Loading
a) Geometry: Check joist dimensions
Web width: mm mm b
w
100 120 > = Web thickness: mm x b mm h
w w
420 120 5 . 3 5 . 3 250 = = s =
Flange thickness:

= =
> =
mm
mm S
mm h
f
50
67 . 41 12 / 500 12 /
50 Spacing: mm mm S 800 500 s =
All dimension conditions are satisfied. The flange width is then: mm S b b
w f
620 120 500 = + = + =
b) Loading: Dead:
jw b jw jw c jf jf c jD
Sh h b b x h SDL w + + + = ) (
m kN x x x x x w
jD
/ 894 . 3 25 . 0 5 . 0 12 25 . 0 12 . 0 24 62 . 0 ) 05 . 0 24 5 . 1 ( = + + + =
Live m kN x b x LL w
jf jL
/ 86 . 1 62 . 0 3 = = =
The ultimate joist load is: m kN w w w
jL jD ju
/ 614 . 8 7 . 1 4 . 1 = + =
Step 3: Flexural analysis
All conditions of ACI/SBC coefficient method are satisfied.
So
2
) (
n u m u
l w C M = |
.
|

\
|
=
2
n
u v u
l
w C V

l
n
is the clear length w
u
is the factored uniform load
m l
n
7 . 3
2
3 . 0
2
3 . 0
0 . 4 = = for all spans
For shear force, span positive moment and external negative moment, l
n
is the clear length of the span
For internal negative moment, l
n
is the average of clear lengths of the adjacent spans.
C
m
and C
v
are the moment and shear coefficients given by ACI tables. The moment coefficients and values
are:



RC-SLAB1 software output is:

Step 4: Flexural RC design
Steel depth
s
b
d
d
h d =
2
cover Cover = 20 mm
Assume bar diameter d
b
= 12 mm and stirrup diameter d
s
= 8 mm
Thus mm d 266 8
2
12
20 300 = =
RC design for internal negative moment M
u
= 11.79 kN.m
We find A
s
= 121.88 mm
2
requiring two 12 mm bars (we may use two 10 mm bars).
We also find that one 12 mm bar is sufficient for bottom reinforcement (for positive moment) and for
external top reinforcement (external negative moment).
RC-SLAB1 design output is:

Step 5: Shrinkage reinforcement
As in one way solid slabs, shrinkage steel (in secondary slab direction) is equal to minimum steel.
A
shr
= A
smin
= 0.0018 bh = 0.0018 x 1000 x 50 = 90 mm
2
(we consider 1 m strip)
We use a smaller diameter of 10 mm Thus A
b
= 78.5 mm
2

The spacing is mm
x
A
bA
S
s
b
2 . 872
90
5 . 78 1000
= = =
Maximum spacing for shrinkage steel in slabs according to SBC / ACI is:
mm x Min mm h Min S 200 ) 300 , 50 4 ( ) 300 , 4 (
max
= = = we thus use 10 u @200 mm

Step 6: Shear check
Ultimate shear force kN x
L
w C V
n
ju v u
33 . 18
2
7 . 3
614 . 8 15 . 1
2
= = =
For joists, the nominal concrete shear strength V
c
is increased by 10 %.
Thus kN N x d b
f
V
w
c
c
26 . 29 29260 266 120
6
25
1 . 1
6
1 . 1
'
= = = =
u c c
V kN V V > = = 945 . 21 75 . 0 | So shear is OK. No stirrups required

Step 7: Flange check
The flange part between the webs must be checked as a plain concrete member. It is considered as fixed to
both webs with a length equal to spacing S. We consider a 1m strip.
We have a doubly fixed beam with length S = 500 mm = 0.5 m
The section is b x h
f
= 1000 x 50 mm
The ultimate uniform load is obtained from slab loading:
( ) | | ( ) | | m kN m x x x m x LL h SDL w
f c
/ 88 . 8 1 3 7 . 1 05 . 0 24 5 . 1 4 . 1 1 7 . 1 4 . 1 = + + = + + =
The maximum ultimate at fixed ends is: m kN
x S w
M
u
. 185 . 0
12
5 . 0 88 . 8
12
2 2
= = =
As the member is un-reinforced, the nominal capacity must consider concrete tension strength, which is
defined by SBC as: MPa f
c t
5 . 3 7 . 0
'
= = o (for ACI, it is
'
5 . 0
c t
f = o ).
S
w
The nominal moment for a rectangular section with maximum stress equal to tension strength is:
m kN mm N
x
bh
M
f
t n
. 458 . 1 . 1458333
6
50 1000
5 . 3
6
2
2
= = = = o
Strength reduction factor for plain concrete is 65 . 0 = |
Therefore m kN x M
n
. 948 . 0 458 . 1 65 . 0 = = |
u n
M M > | The flange is thus OK

Step 8: Detailing
Standard execution plans conforming to ACI / SBC provisions for beams and ribs.












L
n1
L
n2
L
n3
L
n1
/4
Max (L
n2
/3 ,L
n3
/3) Max (L
n1
/3 ,L
n2
/3)
Min. 150 mm
Bottom steel
Top steel

t
o

t
o
Beam loading (uniform in kN/m)











Load transferred by joists to the beam according to its tributary width l
t
as in one way solid slabs.
Area load (kN/m
2
) used for this purpose is equal to the joist load (kN/m) divided by the flange width.
In order to avoid duplication of the joist-beam joint weight, we must use the beam clear tributary width l
tn
.
It is obtained by subtracting the beam width:
b t tn
b l l =
The dead load includes possible wall loading
Dead
wall b b b c tn
jf
jD
bD
w b x SDL h b l
b
w
w + + + = Live
t bL
l x LL w =
For internal beams (B, C, D) the tributary widths are: m l
t
0 . 4
2
4
2
4
= |
.
|

\
|
+ = m l
tn
7 . 3 3 . 0 0 . 4 = =
For beam B without wall loading:
m kN x x x w
bD
/ 008 . 28 3 . 0 5 . 1 6 . 0 3 . 0 24 7 . 3
62 . 0
894 . 3
= + + = m kN x w
bL
/ 12 4 3 = =
The ultimate load is m kN w
bu
/ 61 . 59 =
The effective section of the beam is a T-section for internal beams and L-section for external beams.
However with small flange thicknesses, rectangular section is frequently considered.
Analysis and design of beams is performed using the same steps as in one way solid slabs.
4.0 m
4.0 m
4.0 m
4.0 m
8.2 m 8.1 m
A
B
C
D
E
1 2 3
Analysis and design of beam B:
The following figure is produced by RC-SLAB1 software. It performs various checks and gives the
analysis results and diagrams.


The next figure, also produced by RC-SLAB1 software, shows the flexural design results considering a T-
section or a rectangular section.

In theory the rectangular section and T-section designs give the same result for negative moments (flange
in tension) and different results for positive moments (flange in compression).
It can be observed that for negative external moment, rectangular and T-section designs give the same
result (four 16-mm bars). For the span positive moment, rectangular section design gives eight bars
whereas T-section design requires seven bars.
It is however worth noting that the two designs are also different for the internal negative moment. This in
fact is due to the required number of layers. The initial result of twelve bars is maintained for the T-section
because they fit in one single layer in the flange. For the rectangular section, the twelve bars require more
layers and successive design-checks are performed by RC-SLAB1 software. The final design requires
thirteen bars in three layers.
Girder loading (uniform and concentrated)
The girder is subjected to uniform loading as well as concentrated forces transferred from supported
beams just as in the case of one way solid slab.

Concentrated forces on columns
The internal forces in the columns may be determined as in the case of one way solid slab, using the
tributary area concept. The area load is equal to the joist line load divided by the flange width.
The dead force includes area loading as well the self weight of the webs of all beams and girders in the
tributary area. It also includes possible wall loads.
Dead ( )

+ + =
ti i wall i ti wi wi i c t
jf
jD
D
l w l h b A
b
w
P
,
o o Live
t L
A x LL P =
For beams / girders inside the tributary area, the total web self weight and total wall load is considered
( ) 1 =
i
o . For beams / girders on the border of the tributary area, only half is considered ( ) 5 . 0 =
i
o . l
ti
is
the member length inside the tributary area (clear length for beams and full length for girders).