Structural Evaluation and Remediation of Floor Slab Deflection

A 4-story reinforced concrete structure built above an underground parking garage shows some slab deflections, and the deflections of the concrete floor slabs are proposed to be alleviated by the application of light-weight topping material in conjunction with localized strengthening of the slabs. The application of light-weight concrete topping on the existing slab has been simulated and its performance to anticipated loads has been analyzed. The application of light-weight topping material imposes additional weight on the exiting floor slabs. This added weight on the existing slabs causes over-stressing of the slabs. This over-stressing can be alleviated by enhancing the load carrying capacity of the existing slabs. Additional load carrying capacity in the existing slabs can be developed by localized strengthening of the slabs utilizing techniques such as the application of fiber-reinforced composites on the bottom surface of the slabs, and application of fiber-reinforced composites adequately complements the capacity of the existing slabs to bear the additional load imposed by light-weight leveling material. Additional moments in the beam and columns induced by the application of the light-weight topping material were tabulated and compared with capacity. The moment D/C ratios of the beam and columns are well the range of acceptable limits, and the beam and columns are not overstressed by the application of the surcharge.