Engineering Structures,Vol. 19, No. 7, pp.

533-539, 1997
© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
PII: S0141-0296(96)00123-X 0141-0296/97 $17.00 + 0.00
ELSEVIER

Finite element analysis of floor

slabs under warping effect
Moayyad AI-Nasra
Department of Civil Engineering and Technology, Gaston College, Dallas, NC 28034, USA
(Received February 1995; revised version accepted September 1996)

A finite element model for the slab-on-grade problem is introduced.

The concrete slab is represented by eight-node brick elements, and
the expansional joints and the subgrade are represented by bound-
ary-spring elements. To study the warping of the slab-on-grade,
the subgrade boundary elements are taken to be nontension
elements to represent the soil resistant characteristics. Because of
the variation of the soil contact area and the cracks in the concrete,
a general nonlinear analysis for the response behaviour of slab-
on-grade is developed. The theoretical finite element results are
compared with the experimental measurements. The effects of
temperature and moisture gradients, modulus of subgrade reac-
tion, and modulus of elasticity of concrete are studied. A FORTRAN
computer program is written to run cases on sequential computers.
© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: finite element model, warping, pavement slabs

1. Introduction In 1959 Leonards and Harr 2 developed a new theory for

Many aspects of slab-on-grade (SOG) design remain more
art than engineering due to the lack of thorough research
and well-defined objectives. Unfortunately, the SOG prob-
lem looks unattractive to researchers due to its high degree
of indeterminacy, dealing with two heteogeneous materials
(concrete and soil) and nonunique types of loading.
It has long been known that concrete pavement can be
subjected to considerable warping or curling stress due to
differential length changes caused by temperature and
moisture gradients in floor slabs. Early attempts to account
for warping (sometimes called curling) effects achieved
limited success. This was due to the assumption that the
slab maintains full contact with its support at all times.
As early as 1917, field and laboratory tests were conduc-
ted by Goldbeck and Jackson j to study the effects of expan-
sion and contraction of concrete pavements. As reported by
Leonards and Harr z, it was discovered as early as 1922
that temperature gradients cause considerable warping in
concrete slabs. By 1924, a semi-empirical formula had been
developed by Older 3 to determine the required thickness
for SOG based on the assumption that the concrete corners
are entirely unsupported.
The first rigorous theory of structural behaviour of rigid
pavements was developed by Westergaard 4 in the 1920s.
The theory was based on the assumption of a homogeneous,
isotropic, and elastic slab resting on a uniform subgrade,
where the slab was in full contact with the subgrade and
the vertical reactive pressure was proportional to the
deflection of the slab.
calculating the stresses and deflections in circular slabs of
finite size support on the ground. The theory accounted for
self-weight, superimposed loads, warping due to tempera-
ture and moisture gradients, and the condition that the slab
might be only partially supported by the ground. Closed
form solutions were derived for circular SOG based on the
assumption that the materials (soil and concrete) were lin-
early elastic.
Recently, the need to construct superflat floor slabs
caused engineers to re-evaluate the methods of design and
construction of concrete SOG. In 1988, ASTM 5 published
specifications for standard test methods for determining
floor flatness and levelness using F-numbers. In 1989, ACI
Committee 1176 published a report on standard specifi-
cations for tolerances for concrete constructions using F-
numbers to measure the flatness and levelness of floor
slabs. To control the quality of concrete slabs within the
recently developed specifications, engineers have become
more concerned about the warping effect in concrete slabs.
2. Finite element technique
In the present study, nonlinearity is introduced by the non-
linear form of the constitutive relationships for concrete in
compression and by concrete tensile cracking, as well as
by the variable contact area with the ground support. The
displacements are assumed to be small and, thus, the strain-
displacement relations are linear. Under combined states of
stress, the stress-strain relationship for concrete is gener-
ally nonlinear. Therefore, the concrete is assumed to be an

533
534 Finite element analysis o f floor slabs under warping: M. AI-Nasra
isotropic-nonlinearly elastic material. The modelling of
concrete behaviour proposed by Cedolin and Crutzen v is
used and involves material and boundary nonlinearities.
2.1. Cracking model
In the present study the smeared-cracking model is incor-
porated with the finite element analysis. In the smeared-
cracking model, the cracked concrete is assumed to remain
a continuum, i.e. the cracks are smeared out in a continuous
fashion. A crack in the smeared-cracking model is not dis-
crete but implies an infinite number of parallel fissures
across the finite element. When the ultimate strength under
tensile stress is reached, cracks will form perpendicularly
to the maximum principal tensile-stress direction. There-
fore, the stiffness of the cracked element must be softened.
Since the material in the present study is assumed to be
isotropic, the material should be softened isotropically by
reducing the concrete modulus of elasticity, E,, according
to an assumed linear stress-strain relationship. 8
2.2. Three-dimensional isoparametric element
In the derivation of the generalized-coordinate finite
element model, a local-element coordinate system x, y and
z is used. The element displacements u(x,y,z), v(x,y,z) and
w(x,y,z) are assumed in the form of polynomials in x, y and
z with undetermined constants c~, /3~, and y~ (i = 1,2,3 . . . . ).
The generalized coordinates are linear combinations of the
element nodal point displacements. Figure 1 shows a gen-
eral case of the three-dimensional eight-node element.
The principal idea of the isoparametric finite element for-
mulation is to achieve the relationship between the element
displacements at any point and the element nodal-point dis-
placements directly through the use of interpolation func-
tions (shape functions). This means that the transformation
matrix is not evaluated; instead, the element matrices corre-
sponding to the required degrees of freedom are obtained
directly 9. The shape functions for the eight-node element
are defined as
Ni = H(r, ri) H(s,si) H(t,ti) (1)
where
1 readily from the top surface of SOG, moisture gradients
H({~,{~z) = ~ (1 + {~s~)for {~ = ~-1; {~= r,s,t (2)
H(~,~i) = (1 - ~ ) for ~ = 0 (3)
r, s and t are the natural coordinate system. The element
stiffness matrix is represented by
t tom surfaces of the SOG. According to Portland Cement
3 Association (PCA) tests ~1, most practical portland cement
Z
8 the SOG. Measuring the temperature gradient is easier than
r
x ks
Figure 1 Eight-node three-dimensional element
[Blr[D] [B] det [J] drdsdt (4)
[k] =f
v
where [D] is the material property matrix; [B] is the strain-
displacement matrix in the natural coordinates system r, s
and t; and det[J] is the determinant of the Jacobian matrix.
One of the most important aspects of the isoparametric and
related finite element analysis is the required numerical
integration. For the three-dimensional case
[k] = ~_, aijF(ri,si, tk) (5)
i,j,k
where F = [B]r[D][B]det[J], the summations extend over
all i, j and k specified %k is the weighting factor, and
(F(ri,sj,tk) is the matrix F(r,s,t) evaluated at points specified
in the arguments.
2.3. Boundary-spring element
The boundary element is represented by a spring with the
constant k, for the subgrade, and kj for joints. The spring
is a nontension element and is assumed to behave in a linear
fashion such that
F=kx (6)
where F is the force in the spring, k is the spring constant,
and x is the displacement. The nodal displacements u~ and
U~+l, along the corresponding transmitted forces f and f+,,
are shown in Figure 2. These four variables are related
according to
fi = ki (ui - ui+,) (7)
fi+, = ki (ui+, - ui) (8)
where ki is the spring constant.
2.4. Temperature and moisture gradients
Concrete is usually produced with about twice as much
water as is needed to hydrate the cement in order to make
the concrete workable. Since water usually evaporates more
will be created between the top and bottom surfaces. The
edges of the slab curl upward because of differential shrink-
age when the top of the slab dries to a lower moisture con-
tent than the bottom surface of the floor slab l°. Such moist-
ure gradients are magnified by moist subgrades and by low-
humidity air at the top surface. Curling is caused by the
difference in drying shrinkage between the top and the bot-
concrete shrinks about 400 to 800 millionths (0.0004 to
0.0008 in/in or cm/cm), except for that made with shrink-
age compensating cement.
Either temperature and/or moisture can cause curling in
Ui Ui+1
Figure2 Spring element
Finite element analysis of floor slabs under warping: M. AI-Nasra 535

measuring the moisture gradient which is controlled by the

evaporation of water from the top surface of the slab and
the moisture content in the subgrade or subbase. Leonard
and Harr 2 found that typical moisture gradients for slabs
on ground vary from 3 °F/in to 6 °F/in (0.66 °C/cm to
1.31 °C/cm), expressed as equivalent temperature gradient
(ETG). For comparison purposes, this study uses an ETG,
T~ = 6 °F/in (1.31 °C/cm) as a basic reference value.
The SOG structure is exposed to both temperature and
moisture gradients. These gradients cause the slab to warp
resulting in partial support with the ground and boundaries.
The self-weight of the slab tries to counteract the warping
causing tensile stresses. In the present study the effect of a. lsomeu@al view.
temperature and moisture gradients is expressed in terms
of linear ETGs along the thickness of the slab as shown in
Figure 3. The equivalent temperature at the top surface of
the slab is less than the equivalent temperature at the bot-
tom surface, and that causes the upward warping of the
slab.
The terms 'curling' and 'warping' are used inter-
changeably in this study. The American Concrete Institute
(ACI) defines the two terms as follows:
b. Section A-A
Curling: the distortion of an originally essentially linear
planar member into a curved shape, such as the warping Figure 4 General finite element model
of slab due to creep or differences in temperature or
moisture content in the zones adjacent to its opposite
faces.
Warping: a deviation of a slab or wall surface from its
original shape caused by temperature or moisture differ-
ences or both within the slab or wall.

2.5. Finite element modelling of SOG

The concrete is represented by eight-node brick elements
while the subgrade is represented by nontension spring
elements. Figure 4 shows the general form of the finite
element model for a case before warping where the joints
are represented by boundary elements. When the slab is
subjected to positive curling (upward deflection), the edges
will lose contact with the supporting foundation as well as
the upper part of the restrained edges. Figures 5 and 6 rep-
resent the curling effect on the edges subjected to horizontal
constraints. The boundary spring elements acting on the Figure 5 Joint modelling before warping
lower part of the edge help to reduce the upward deflection.
The stiffness of these boundary elements is a function of
the rigidity of the lateral support.
For the case where the joint spacing is large enough, or
there are no horizontal restraints, the slab can be considered
as free-edge slab. In this case there is no effect of the hori-
zontal boundary elements on the warping of the floor slabs.
Figure 7 depicts the case of free-edge SOG under warping
effect. A 20 ft x 20 ft x 6 in slab size is considered in the
present study loaded with 6 °F/in (1.31 °C/cm) ETG. The
slab does not maintain full contact with the subgrade as is

,.o:.o..o o
, o

;oo o .b01 ¢
I:,:°o . , . o ;:1 Figure 6 Joint modelling after warping

Figure3 Equivalent temperature gradient

536 Finite element analysis o f floor slabs under warping: M. AI-Nasra

T~). This thermal load causes the slab to warp upward

leaving some of the spring elements in tension. Reduce
the stiffness of each soil boundary element that is in
tension to zero and iterate until all of the boundary
elements are in compression.
(3) Apply external load. The load is increased by
increments of varying magnitudes; the load increments
are reduced in magnitude after concrete starts to crack.
(4) Modify the material properties using the nonlinear
model proposed by Cedolin and Crutzen 7

2.6.2. Computational steps The following compu-

tational steps are involved in a typical cycle of analysis

(1) Increase the previous load by an increment of loading

Pi = Pi-I + A P i - I (9)

Perform elastic analysis for the structure under the load

P~ using the updated stiffness matrix at the end of the
previous load.

Pi = [K]i-1 Ai (10)
Figure 7 Free-edge SOG modelling
where [K]i t is the stiffness matrix at the end of the
shown in Figure 8. The partial support weakens the slab if load Pi ~, P~ and Ai are the load and displacement vec-
subjected to corner or edge loading. tors for the general system at cycle i, respectively. Cal-
culate the nodal displacements Ai and the element
stresses
2.6. General solution technique for nonlinear analysis (2) Modify the stiffness of the boundary elements. Reduce
2.6.1. Analysis procedures The analysis procedures the stiffness of boundary elements which are in tension
used in this study are summarized as follows to zero, and restore the stiffness of boundary elements
which are again in compression
(1) Discretize the structure into elements by introducing (3) Check concrete cracking
three-dimensional finite element meshes and boundary (4) Modify the compression material properties
elements to take the effects of the soil support and the (5) Modify the tension material properties of the old and
boundaries into account. This finite element model div- new cracked elements using linear tension softening
ides the structure into a number of nodes and elements. model
The characteristics at the centroid of each element are (6) Update the structure stiffness at the end of the load P~,
considered in all calculations to represent the average using the new material properties.
property of that element.
(2) Apply thermal load (equivalent temperature gradient, Repeat the computational cycle until the ultimate load is
deemed to have been reached (the stresses are compared
with the strength envelope).
20.00

3. Warping of SOG
Leonard and H a l t 2 developed a closed form solution for
circular SOG problems. They derived an analytical solution
which applies for circular SOG and compared their solution
v with the experimental measurements of Hatt ~2, who used a
18 ft x 25 ft x 7 in rectangular slab in his experiment. The
~ 10.00 analytical finite element solution of the present study is
I compared with both Leonard and Harr's analytical solution
and Hatt's experimental measurements as shown in
Figure 9. One can see from Figure 9 that the analytical and
numerical results show reasonably good agreement with the
experimental measurements.

3.1. Parametric study on warping of a free-edge SOG

0.00 I,,w, I I I 1 I , I I I I I ! I I
0.00 The level of warping of SOG is affected by many factors
10.00 20.00
and parameters. Some of these parameters will be discussed
X-Axm (~t)
in the following paragraphs. For simplicity, the combined
Figure 8 Contact area temperature and moisture effects were studied by using an
Finite element analysis o f floor slabs under warping: M. AI-Nasra 537

0.20 - ~0bseved a f t e r Hatt 0.20 Z.(Ksi)

( 1 8 x Z 5 - f t x T . i n e h slab)
.... Computed after Leonards and
Herr, E . = 3 0 0 0 KSl, k . = l S 0 _ p c i 5000
0.15
Pad. = 185in.,t =7in..T.= 4 0 . 4 4 " F
_ __F.E.M. r e s u l t ( p r e s e n t )
E . = 3 0 0 0 KSl k . = l S 0 p c i
%= 4 0 . 4 4 ~ ( 1 8 x Z S - ~ t x V i n . ) //
/
0.15
~ 4000
3000
w

"-" 0.10 0.10

.o
,,i,d,
0
o 0.05 0.05

-0.00 -0.00
q

-0.05 , i i i I i i i l I i i i i I -0.05 t ~ ' ,, ),,, I i ,,, ,,

i , ,, I
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 0.00 100.00 200.00
Diagonal distance (ft) Diagonal distance (in)
Figure 9 Comparison of finite element with theoretical results8 Figure 11 Effect of concrete modulus of elasticity on warping
and experimental measurements7 of free-edge SOG

softer foundations, which helps the slab to sink deeper into

E G T (T~) that varies linearly across the thickness. The ref-
the foundation, which also increases the curvature of warp-
erence parameters are as follows: ETG, T , = 6 ° F / i n
ing and consequently causes a slight increase in deflection
( 1.31 °C/cm), slab thickness t = 6 in ( 15.24 cm), subgrade
as can be seen in Figure 12. The modulus of subgrade reac-
modulus ks = 200 pci (5.536 kg/cm3), and concrete modu-
tion may not be a major factor in this case, but it plays a
lus of elasticity E,. = 3,600 ksi (24 822 MPa).
significant role when the slab is loaded.
The increase in ETG causes a substantial increase in the
It is interesting to note that the larger the warping, the
warping of floor slabs as shown in Figure 10. Because of
smaller the contact area will be, and consequently the slab
symmetrical deflection, half-diagonal distance is rep-
sinks deeper into the foundation due to its own weight
resented measuring from the centre toward one corner of
before loading. Also if the contact area gets smaller, the
the slab. The value of Te varied from 0, 2, and 6 °F/in (0,
cantilever effect on the slab due to c o m e r or edge loadings
0.44, 1.31 °C/cm). The E T G has a direct effect on warping,
and due to its own weight will be more critical. Conse-
which is a major factor that contributes to large deflection.
quently, the slab fails by cracking at lower values of
Figure 11 presents the effect of concrete modulus of
applied loads.
elasticity, Ec, on the warping of free-edge SOG. The
increase in the modulus of elasticity of concrete is related
3.2. Effect of coupling soil nodal springs
to the increase in concrete strength. One can easily vis-
ualize that the larger the E,. is, the larger the warping The modulus of subgrade reaction, ks, is usually represented
will be. by a bed of springs. This is commonly termed the ' W i n k l e r '
The modulus of subgrade reaction, ks, is also a factor foundation where the soil springs are uncoupled. Bowles ]3
that affects the warping of SOG. Smaller values of k~ mean has presented more than one method to couple the soil node

0.20 -: k~(pci)
0.20 -

- 50
T.(*F/in) O. 15 -- 200
0.15 m
6.0
- 800
.~
v 0.10 --
I
"-" 0.10 -

I:I
.o
0 •° 0.05-
0.05 -

2.0
- 0 . 0 0 -~
-0.00 f I
0.0

-0.05 "] i ~ I i i i i i i i i i i t i i i i i i
-0.05 l,,,J I i I I [ I I I I I I I ! I l 0.00 100.00 200.00
0.00 100.00 200.00 Diagonal distance (in)
Diagonal distance (in)
Figure 12 Effect of subgrade modulus on warping of free-
Figure 10 Effect of ETG on warping of free-edge SOG edge SOG
538 Finite element analysis of floor slabs under warping: M. AI-Nasra

0.20 0.20 -
kl(pci)

0.15 0 . 1 5 -- 0.0

/
~
/
~-~ 0.10
Uncoupled 0.10
I000
o
o
0.05 • 0.05
¢:1
20000
-0.00 -0.00

-0.05 J , i , , , , , , i i j i , i i , , , , I -0.05 i J I I 1 I I I I [ I I [ I I I I I I I
0.00 100.00 200.00 0.00 100.00 200.00
Diagonal distance (in) Diagonal distance (in)
Figure 13 Effect of coupling soil nodal springs on warping of Figure 14 Effect of lateral stiffness on w a r p i n g of SOG
free-edge SOG

springs. One of the simplest coupling methods is to double
the end node springs. Another method to couple the soil
node springs is to obtain a vertical stress profile at selected
points beneath the foundation and then numerically inte-
grate the vertical stress profile to obtain the average stress
DQ. The modulus of subgrade reaction can then be modi-
fied according to
slabs. Defining the joint condition of the SOG problem is
a major step in the design of floor slabs. For the case of
partially restrained edges, the resistance in the horizontal
direction, K~, is expressed in lb/in 3. Different values of kj
are studied. Figure 14 presents the effect of increase in the
value of kj on the warping. Large values of kj mean stronger
resistance to horizontal movements and less deflection.

OQe
k'= k (ll)
DQi
where DQ~ = edge stress increase value and DQi = average
stress increase at point i.
Based on equation (11) the values of the modulus of
reaction should be modified from the edge to the centre of
the slab as follows
k',=k, (12)
k',.,, = 0.77k, (13)
where k'e is the modified value of the modulus of subgrade
reaction at the edge of the slab and k',e, is the modified
value of the modulus of subgrade reaction at the centre of
the slab. These values are computed using depth of influ-
ence 4xB to 5xB, where B is the width of the slab. The
value of the modified subgrade reaction varies nonlinearly
from the edge to the centre.
The coupling produces softer interior node springs than
the edges. Figure 13 shows a representation of both
coupled and uncoupled node springs. It is noted from
Figure 13 that there is only a slight difference between the
coupled and uncoupled node springs in terms of the vertical
deflection due to warping. The only applied loads in this
case are the self-weight and the ETG ( T ~ = 6 ° F / i n ) .
Bowles 13 mentioned as one of his conclusions: 'there were
no major differences in design moments and displacements
using simple Winkler springs versus using some other kind
of coupling'.
3.3. Laterally constrained SOG
Joints have a major effect on the warping of SOG. The
joints usually control the cracking patterns of the floor
4. Conclusions
The response behaviour of rectangular slab on grade has
been studied both experimentally and theroetically. A finite
element model to study the warping of SOG has been
developed. The formulation takes into account the material
nonlinearity of concrete and the geometrical nonlinearity
due to cracking of concrete elements and changing the con-
tact area of the subgrade. General conclusions on the behav-
iour of SOG under warping effect are summarized as fol-
lows: (i) the finite element method has good potential to
analyse the slab-on-grade problem. (ii) Some of the factors
that help to increase the warping in floor slabs are firstly,
the positive increase in the moisture and temperature gradi-
ents; secondly, the increase in the concrete modulus of elas-
ticity, and finally, the decrease in the modulus of subgrade
reaction. (iii) Warping of floor slabs causes reduction in
the contact area, and partial support by the subgrade. The
reduction in the contact area helps the slab to sink deeper
into the ground due to its own weight. (iv) The increase in
the stiffness of the horizontal restrains of SOG decreases
the warping and increases the tensile and compressive
stresses in the slab. (v) Coupling soil nodal springs has
minor effect on warping of floor slabs.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to express his appreciation to Ms Kay
Roberson for her help in formatting this manuscript.
References
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of concrete and concrete roads', Bulletin 532, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1917
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ground', ASCE J Soil Mech. 1959, SM3, 35-58
3 Older, C. 'Highway research in Illinios', Proc ASCE 1924, 50,
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4 Westergaard, H. M. 'Analysis of stresses in concrete roads caused
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