BUBBLE DECK SLAB

S.SANTHOSH PRABU
310616413015
M.E STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
BACKGROUND

Central portion of RCC solid slab

(simply supported)

Problems with inactive concrete:

additional weight,
span limitations,
material wastage,
energy consumption
HOLLOW CORE SLABS

 Pre fabricated one way spanning concrete elements with hollow

cylinders, replacing inactive concrete
Problems:
Strength in one direction only
Inflexibility
Reduced architectural possibilities
Lack of structural integrity
 INTRODUCTION

Bubble deck slab is a method of virtually eliminating all

concrete from the middle of a floor slab, which is not
performing any structural function, thereby dramatically
reducing structural dead weight.
• BUBBLE deck slab is a biaxial hollow core slab
invented in Denmark.
• Its flexible layout easily adapts to irregular and curved
plan configurations.
• The Bubble deck slab floor system can be used for
storey floors, roof floors and ground floor slabs.
• High density polyethylene hollow spheres replace the in-
effective concrete in the centre of the slab, thus decreasing the
dead weight and increasing the efficiency of the floor.
• By introducing the gaps leads to a 30 to 50% lighter slab which
reduces the loads on the columns, walls and foundations, and of
course of the entire building.
• The advantages are less energy consumption - both in
production, transport and carrying out, less emission - exhaust
gases from production and transport, especially Co2.
• Since the weight of the structure reduced, this type of
structure can useful to reduce earthquake damage.
• Bubble deck slab is composed of three main materials
they are steel, plastic spheres and concrete.
• 1) Concrete :The concrete is made of standard Portland
cement with max aggregate size of 20mm.No
plasticizers are necessary for concrete mixture.
• 2) Steel :The steel reinforcement is of grade Fy60
strength or higher. The steel is fabricated in two forms -
meshed layers for lateral support and diagonal girders
for vertical support of the bubbles.
• 3) Plastic spheres :The hollow spheres are made from
recycled high-density polyethylene or HDPE.
 Types of Bubble Deck
Type A- Filigree Elements
Type B- Reinforcement Modules
Type C- Finished Planks

Type A:- Filigree Elements

Type-A is a combination of constructed and unconstructed elements. A 60 mm thick
concrete layer that acts as both the formwork and part of the finished depth is precast
and brought on site with the bubbles and steel reinforcement unattached.

The bubbles are then supported by temporary stands on top of the precast layer and
held in place by a honeycomb of interconnected steel mesh.

Additional steel may be inserted according to the reinforcement requirements of the

design. The full depth of the slab is reached by common concreting techniques and
finished as necessary.
 Type B:-Reinforcement Modules
• A reinforcement module one which consists of a pre-assembled
sandwich of steel mesh and plastic bubbles, or "bubble lattice“.
• These components are brought to the site, laid on traditional
formwork, connected with any additional reinforcement, and then
concreted in place by traditional methods.
 Type C:- Finished Planks

• Is a shop-fabricated module that includes the plastic spheres,

reinforcement mesh and concrete in its finished form.
• The module is manufactured to the final depth in the form of a plank
and is delivered on site.
• Requires the use of support beams or load bearing walls. This class
of Bubble Deck is best for shorter spans and limited construction
schedules.
 Examples of Project
Millenium Tower Rotterdam
• The first high rise building erected with Bubble Deck filigree elements and
the second highest building in Netherlands, 34 stories and 131 meter high.
• Bubble Deck was chosen, in spite of being a completely new product,
because of its advantages in cost , construction time and flexibility and
because of environmental issues. Beams could be excluded resulting in two
more stories than planned in the beginning for the same building height.
Built in 1998-2000.
 MATERIALS STEEL –The steel
reinforcement is of MS or
HYSD can be used.

PLASTIC
SPHERES

• hollow spheres made

from recycled high density
polyethylene.

• Enough strength &

rigidity.

• Not porous.

• Doesn’t react CONCRETE-the concrete is made of

chemically with standard Portland cement with max
concrete or steel. aggregate size of
¾ inch.
WHY BUBBLE DECK SLAB ?
No compromise for strength&
serviceability

Flat slab technology

(no need of beams )

Longer spans

Pre fabricated
&
cast in-situ
 Shear
• The main difference between a solid slab and a voided biaxial slab refers to
shear resistance. Due to the reduced concrete volume, the shear resistance
will also be reduced.
• Near the columns, bubbles are left out so in these zones a Bubble deck slab
is designed exactly the same way as a solid slab. Shear resistance of Bubble
deck slab is 0.6 times the shear resistance of a solid slab of the same
thickness .
• In practice, the reduced shear resistance will not lead to problems, as balls
are simply left out where the shear is high, at columns and walls.
 Deflection

• Deflection of Bubble Deck is 5.88% more than

solid slab as the stiffness is reduced due to the
hollow portion.
• Strengthened Bubble Deck has low deflection
compare to un strengthened Bubble Deck slab.
• Conventional slab carried the stress of about
30.98 MPa by applying the udl load of about 340
kN and causes deflection of 12.822 mm.
• The Bubble Deck slab carried the stress of about
30.8 MPa by applying the udl load of about 320
kN and causes deflection of 14.303mm.
 Vibration
• RC slab structures are generally less susceptible to vibration
problems compared to steel framed and light weight skeletal
Structures, especially using thin slabs.
• However, Bubble deck slab is light and is not immune from
vibration in all cases so this must be checked just as it should be in
appropriate solid slab applications.
• The most effective weapons against vibration particularly resonant
vibration, are stiffness and damping.
• If we consider damping to be similar to solid slabs, and concentrate
on stiffness, we may observe that a Bubble deck slab can provided
over 2 times the stiffness obtained from a solid slab for the same
quantity of concrete used.
Advantages
• Structural
• Less weight. 15 M
• Increased strength.
• No need of beams.
• Only few columns required.
• Larger span.
• Free choice of Shape.
• Less foundation depth.
• Less excavation required.
• Construction
• Light in weight less equipment is required.
• Easy incorporation of ducts and pipes into slab.
• Less work on construction site.
• Engineering
• The biaxial flat slab system and columns are ideal for
structures with high resistance against Explosions.
• These slabs and column system acts as an elastic
membrane which transfer horizontal forces to stiff
vertical structures which is used for Earthquake
resistant designs.
• Environment
• Less material and energy consumption.
• Reducing Co2 emission up to 40 kg/m2.
• 1kg of plastic replaces 100kg of concrete.
• Every component can be recycled.
• Economy
• Savings in materials.
• Transportation costs reduced.
• Faster construction time.
• Buildings can be more flexible and easy in installations.
 Experimental studies

1.Shear strength- 80% of solid deck slab

2.Deflections - 5% more as solid deck
3.Weight - 40% less than a solid slab
4.Fire resistance - 65% of solid slab
 Scope of future use
• Used for constructing all types of building
especially sky scrapers.
• Best for larger span halls like theatres and
auditoriums.
• Pedestrian bridge decks.
• Used in parking areas as less number of
columns are required.
 Conclusion
• Weight reduction is 50% compared to solid.
• The bubble deck technology is environmentally green
and sustainable; avoiding the cement production allows
reducing global Co2 emissions.
• In comparative of conventional slab the volume of
concrete in bubble deck (continuous) are less required,
that is 25% approximate.
• Cost and time saving by using bubbles in the slab like
weight of slab, concrete volume indirectly load on the
beam and walls also decrease/ less so that building
foundations can be designed for smaller dead loads.
THANK YOU