Floor Construction : Large Pour Slab on Grade (Steel Fibre Reinforced)
When constructing slabs on grade, metal fibre can be used to replace conventional bar or mesh reinforcing. Advantages in the use of fibres in ground supported slab construction include:- Improved crack control due to fibres being present throughout the concrete matrix.
- Improved impact resistance due to presence of fibres near slab surface.
- Elimination of fixing mistakes in reinforcing including ensuring adequate cover.
- Fibres stocked in boxes on pallets require less storage space and are easier to move around than conventional reinforcing and or mesh.
- Potential program acceleration.
- Potential Labour savings.
The use of fibres in ground supported slabs can be divided into two sub-categories
- Jointed
When relatively low dosages of fibres are used to replace mesh the slab on grade must still be sawn into maximum 6m x 6m panels. Joints sawn into the slab collect shrinkage exactly the same as they would on a mesh reinforces slab.
- Jointless
At higher dosages of steel fibres sawn/ induced joints may be done away with. There are sufficient fibres within the concrete to transfer shrinkage to the construction day joints. Elimination of the induced joints results in long term savings in reduced joint maintenance costs and the elimination of potential curling on induced joints or loss of load transfer on dominant induced joints.
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