Concrete
Q&A
Subgrade Drag Equation
in ACI 360R
Q.
Equation (6.3) in ACI 360R-921 is not included in
the current version of this document (ACI 360R-102).
What was the reason for this change? Also, what
reinforcement percentage is needed to limit crack widths and
ensure aggregate interlock?
A.
The subgrade drag equation (Eq. (6.3) in
ACI 360R-92) was removed by ACI Committee 360,
Design of Slabs on Ground, before ACI 360R-063
was published. The reasons for this change included:
•• The equation does not properly model the stresses that
develop as the result of differential shrinkage between the
top and bottom of the slab that causes curling (warping).
For most situations, the curling stresses in a slab-on-ground
far exceed the uniform tensile stresses estimated using the
subgrade drag equation;
•• Because the equation fails to address curling, the equation
typically fails to result in an appropriate percentage of steel
for a given application. For example, when joint spacing
exceeds ACI 360R recommendations, numerous consultants
have found that the steel percentage determined using the
subgrade drag equation will allow crack widths that cause
concern for many slab owners; thus, the equation can give
a false sense of security and cause problematic slab designs.
A common slab-on-ground reinforcing rule is to use about
0.10% continuous reinforcement in normally jointed (the
same joint spacing as unreinforced slabs), 6 in. (152 mm)
thick and thinner slabs (slightly less reinforcement ratio
percentage for thicker slabs). This amount of steel provides
good load transfer at joints and cracks that may form. While
the 0.10% reinforcement is not enough to hold cracks tight
enough for many owner’s needs, it will prevent faulting and
Questions in this column were asked by users of ACI documents and have
been answered by ACI staff or by a member or members of ACI technical
committees. The answers do not represent the official position of an ACI
committee. Comments should be sent to rex.donahey@concrete.org.
64 JULY 2017 | Ci | www.concreteinternational.com
facilitate crack repairs if needed. This design is discussed in
Section 6.2 of ACI 360R-10 and is termed “enhanced
aggregate interlock.” To eliminate contraction joints, and if
tight cracks are acceptable to the owner, about 0.50 to 0.60%
continuous reinforcement should be used in the top part of a
slab-on-ground.
When our company designs slabs-on-ground with
deformed bar reinforcement, we either specify about 0.10%
reinforcement for normally jointed slabs or we specify 0.50 to
0.60% reinforcement for slabs without contraction joints. We
avoid specifying between 0.10 and 0.50% reinforcement
because that amount is too much for the joints to consistently
activate (cracks under the contraction joint) to accommodate
the shrinkage and curling movement. Cracks will still occur,
however, and that amount of reinforcement is not enough to
hold cracks sufficiently tight for many owners. In fact, we
have seen this problem so often that we wrote an engineering
bulletin4 addressing it. The bulletin also provides more
detailed information regarding why the subgrade drag
equation was removed from the ACI 360R recommendations
and other common problematic designs.
References
1. ACI Committee 360, “Design of Slabs on Grade (ACI 360R-92)
(Reapproved 1997),” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI,
1992, 57 pp.
2. ACI Committee 360, “Guide to Design of Slabs-on-Ground
(ACI 360R-10),” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 2010,
72 pp.
3. ACI Committee 360, “Design of Slabs-on-Ground (ACI 360R-06),”
American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 2006, 74 pp.
4. Walker, W.W., and Holland, J.A., “Stay out of the Courthouse
Zone,” Engineering Bulletin, Structural Services, Inc., 4 pp.,
http://www.ssiteam.com/publications.
Thanks to Jerry A. Holland and Wayne W. Walker, Structural Services, Inc.,
Atlanta, GA, for providing the answer.