Effect of Area Loading on Flexural Performance of Bubble Deck Slab

Abstract

Reinforced bubble deck slab is a structural slab that contains high-density polyethene (HDPE) hollow spherical plastic bubble balls forming a slab with less concrete volume compared to the normal reinforced concrete slab. Reducing certain volumes of concrete from 30 to 50% will affect the performance of the slab structure in particular the flexural and shear capacity. Thus, in this research the effect of area loading on the flexural performance of bubble deck slabs is investigated by considering the slabs to be one-way supported slabs. The square deck slabs used were 1200mm by 1200mm for the width and length with a thickness of 230mm. A total of 36 HDPE hollow spherical plastic bubble balls with a 180mm diameter were placed in the bubble deck slab specimens which reduce significantly the structural self-weight. In this paper, the experimental results of the flexural performance of the reinforced bubble deck slab, (BD slab) compared with a conventional reinforced concrete slab, simply supported, subjected to static area loadings, are presented. The effect of the load applied in the experiments on the flexural strength, bending stiffness and load-deflection behaviour of both types of slabs have been discussed including the crack propagation and crack pattern. In general, the conventionally reinforced solid slab, simply supported (SS) has a 60.6% higher resistance against bending deformation than the reinforced bubble deck slab.

Experimental and Theoretical Design of Reinforced Bubble Deck Concrete (RBDC) Slab: A Review

“…The experimental results encompass various aspects, including flexural strength, bending stiffness, load-deflection behavior, crack propagation, and crack pattern of both slab types under the applied loads [16]. The findings show that the RBDC slabs, which contained HDPE hollow spherical plastic bubble balls, exhibited improved flexural performance compared to the conventional slabs [16].…”

“…Maha et al, [15] Experimental: Static Load Testing with a maximum load of 1000 kN Comparing Reinforced Bubble Deck Concrete (RBDC) slabs with spherical and elliptical balls under identical bubble diameter to slab thickness ratios, the former exhibits a superior load-bearing capacity by approximately 3.7% and 9.7%, respectively. Nor et al, [16] Experimental: Static…”

“…Figure 3 illustrates the cross-sectional of spherical and elliptical hollow plastic bubbles. In the context of flexural performance, Nor et al, [16] investigated the influence of distributed area loading on RBDC slabs, contrasting their behavior with traditional reinforced concrete slabs. This study investigated how the application of area loading influences the bending capabilities of RBDC slabs, considering them as single-supported slabs.…”

“…This strategic placement significantly reduced the overall selfweight of the RBDC slabs. The primary aim of this study is to compare the experimental findings regarding the bending performance of the RBDC slab with those of a conventionally reinforced concrete slab with simple support, both subjected to static area loads [16]. The experimental results encompass various aspects, including flexural strength, bending stiffness, load-deflection behavior, crack propagation, and crack pattern of both slab types under the applied loads [16].…”

“…The primary aim of this study is to compare the experimental findings regarding the bending performance of the RBDC slab with those of a conventionally reinforced concrete slab with simple support, both subjected to static area loads [16]. The experimental results encompass various aspects, including flexural strength, bending stiffness, load-deflection behavior, crack propagation, and crack pattern of both slab types under the applied loads [16]. The findings show that the RBDC slabs, which contained HDPE hollow spherical plastic bubble balls, exhibited improved flexural performance compared to the conventional slabs [16].…”