Project on

“EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON COMPARISON OF

CONVENTIONAL SLAB AND BUBBLE DECK SLAB BASED ON
STRENGTH AND ECONOMY”

Submitted by

ANNAPPA R A 1IC16CV400

DESH KARTHIK 1IC16CV403

MOUNISHA N 1IC15CV017

POOJA V 1IC14CV037

Under the guidance of

Mr. PUNITH

Assistant professor
 ABSTRACT
This project aims to propose a comparative study of includes Conventional slab and
Bubble deck slab type roof system.

Bubble Deck is a revolutionary method of virtually eliminating concrete from the

middle of conventional slab which does not perform any structural function, thereby
dramatically reducing structural dead weight by linking air and steel directly. Bubble
Deck slab uses hollow spherical or elliptical bails made by recycled plastic. A
Bubble Deck slab has a two-dimensional arrangement of voids within the slabs to
reduce self-weight. Key feature of the project is to carry out the design feature of
each slab which includes strength and economy. we will compare these
characteristics for better selection of the roof system suitable for proposing for
particular project different roof system which Through this project we will be able
to achieve adequacy on certain parameters.

Through this project we will be able to achieve adequacy on certain parameters like
strength and economy.
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………….

1. Introduction………………………………………………………
1.1 Normal conventional slab

1.2 Bubble deck slab

2. Literature review…………………………………………………
2.1 Neeraj Tiwari & Sana Zafar (2016)

2.2 P Prabhuteja & P Vijaykumar (2012)

2.3 Arati Shetkar& Nagesh Hanche (2015)

2.4 BHAGYASHREE G&S.M BARELIKAR (2016)

2.5 M.Surendar& M.Ranjitham (2011)

3. BENEFITS ……………………………………………………….
4. Methodology…………………………………………………….
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1NORMAL CONVENTIONAL SLAB

Fig.1 conventional slab

A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of Steel
reinforced concrete, typically between 4 and 20 inches (100 and 500 millimeters) thick, are most
often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.

Sometimes these thinner slabs, ranging from 2 inches (51 mm) to 6 inches (150 mm) thick, are
called mud slabs, particularly when used under the main floor slabs. In many domestic and
industrial buildings a thick concrete slab, supported on foundations or directly on the subsoil, is
used to construct the ground floor of a building. These can either be “ground-bearing” or
“suspended” slabs. In high rise buildings and skyscrapers, thinner, pre-cast Concrete slabs are
slung between the steel frames to form the floors and ceilings on each level.
1.2 BUBBLE DECK SLAB

Fig 2 Bubble Deck slab

Bubble deck slab is a biaxial technology that increases span lengths and makes floors thinner by
reducing the weight while maintaining the performance of reinforced concrete slabs. A
construction method by eliminating concrete from the neutral axis of a floor slab that is structurally
not performing, as a result dramatically reducing in dead weight. Hollow biaxial slabs, also known
as biaxial voided slabs, are reinforced concrete slabs in which voids allow to reduce the amount
(volume) of concrete.

The main disadvantage of concrete constructions, in case of horizontal slabs, is the high weight
which limits the span. For this reason, basic research in the field of reinforced concrete structures
have focused on enhancing the span, either by reducing the weight or overcoming concrete’s
natural weakness in tension.
 Fig.3 casting of bubbledeck slab

Due to the prefabrication, these are in expensive and reduce building time, but can be used
only in one-way spanning constructions, and must be supported by beams and/or fixed
walls. The slab has been especially popular in countries where emphasis of home
construction has been on precast concrete, including Northern Europe and socialist
countries of Eastern Europe. Precast concrete popularity is linked with low-seismic zones
and more economical constructions because of fast building assembly, lower self-weight
(less material), etc. In this article several types of the new innovative technology of
production hollow slab is introduced.

This new prefabricated construction technology using Bubble Deck slab is recently
applied in many industrial projects in the world. Bubble Deck slab uses hollow balls made
by recycled plastic and therefore it is an innovatory method of virtually eliminating the
concrete part in the middle of conventional slab which does not contribute to the structural
performance. This hence reduces significantly the structural self-weight and also leads to
30 to 50% lighter slab which reduces the loads on the columns, walls and foundations, and
of course of the entire building. Bubble Deck uses less concrete than traditional concrete
floor systems; it offers a more sustainable construction option, contributes less CO2 to the
atmosphere in the manufacturing process and also meets sustainability goals through the
use of recycled plastic spheres.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW:
2.1 Neeraj Tiwari & Sana Zafar (2016)
The Bubble Deck slab is a newly designed slab made by reinforcement mesh, hollow
HDPE ball, reinforcement mesh again at bottom. It is based on the patented integration
technique that is the connection of steel and air. It is a hollow deck in which HDPE sphere
ball act the purpose of reducing concrete that has no carrying effect. By adapting the mesh
width & the geometry of the sphere, a unique and optimized concrete construction is
obtained, with regular maximum use of both moment and shear zones. The reinforcement
mesh catches, distributes & fixes the spheres at exact position point, while the spheres
shape the air volume. It controls the level of reinforcement mesh and also stabilizes the
spatial lattice.

Bubble deck slab is the slab in which some amount of the concrete is replaced by the plastic
hollow bubbles which are made by the waste plastic material, which reduces the self-
weight of the structure. The main effect of the plastic sphere is to reduce the dead load of
the deck by l/3 in compare to solid slab having same thickness without effecting its
deflection behavior & bending strength. It locks spheres between the top and bottom
reinforcements meshes, thereby creating a natural cell structure acts like a solid slab. The
slab is cast with the same capabilities as a solid slab, but with considerably lesser weight
due to elimination of excessive concrete.

Spanning slab supported by columns. It generally regulates to allow maximum deflection

during service loading.

It consist of plastic spheres that is sandwich between two steel meshes. These members
are brought to site, placed on formwork and concreting is done by technical methods. This
type of slab is optimal for construction area with compact spacing because these modules
can be stacked on top of one another for storage until required.

This analysis proves that Bubble Deck technology is more useful and efficient than a solid
conventional slab in office floor system. The models of the slabs created for the analysis.
2.2 P Prabhuteja & P Vijaykumar (2012):
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. High density polyethylene hollow spheres replace the in-effective
concrete in 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 energy consumption – both in production, transport and carrying out, less
emission-exhaust gases from production and transport, especially CO2. The aim of this
paper is to discuss about various properties of Bubble deck slab based on the various studies
done abroad. Moment, deflection and stress distributions are verified using Finite Element
Method (FEM) in SAP2000.

The market of construction floors in the building industry consists mainly of massive
concrete floors, prefabricated filigree slab floors and hollow core slab floors. This situation
has not changed for more than 20 years. But this innovative slab construction technology
is proven to be more efficient than a traditional biaxial concrete slab in an office floor
system. The finite clement models of the office slabs created for this study in SAP2000
verify the prior analysis and experiments.

Bending stresses in the bubble deck slab are found to be 6.43% lesser than that of a solid
slab. Deflection of Bubble deck is 5.88% more than the solid slab as the stiffness is reduced
due to the hollow portion Shear resistance of bubble deck slab is 0.6 times the shear
resistance of the solid slab of same thickness. However required resistance can be achieved
by providing vertical reinforcement, weight reduction is 35% compared to solid slab.
2.3 Arati Shetkar & Nagesh Hanche (2015):

Bubble Deck is a revolutionary method of virtually eliminating concrete from the middle
of conventional slab which does not perform any structural function, thereby dramatically
reducing structural dead weight by linking air and steel directly. Bubble Deck slab uses
hollow spherical on elliptical balls made by recycled plastic. A Bubble Deck slab has a
two dimensional arrangement of voids within the slabs to reduce self-weight. The behavior
of Bubble Deck slabs is influenced by the ratio of bubble diameter to slab thickness. This
new prefabricated construction technology is recently applied in many industrial projects
in the world. This shows the effectiveness and feasibility of the application of Bubble Deck
in the construction. Voids in the middle of a flat slab eliminate 35% of a slab’s self-weight
removing constraints of high deed loads and short spans. Combination of recycled plastic
bubbles permits 50% longer spans between columns without any beams. This provides .
wide range of cost and construction benefits, Usually the Bubble Deck system combines
the benefits of factory manufactured elements in controlled conditions along with on-site
completion with the final monolithic concrete, resulting in a completed floor slab. This
paper presents a study on the properties and advantages of Bubble Deck slab system.

The Bubble Deck configuration gives much improved flexural capacity, stiffness and shear
capacity of at least 70% when the same amount of concrete and the same reinforcement is
used as in the solid slab, realizing 30-50% concrete economy, in comparison with the solid
slab.

Advantage of Bubble Deck system is the significant cost saving, because of the possibility
of obtaining great spans with less support elements. By using the hollow elliptical balls,
the better load bearing capacity in Bubble Deck can be achieved. Concrete usage is reduced
as l kg of recycled plastic replaces 100 kg of concrete. This avoids the cement production
and allows reduction in global CO2 emissions. Hence this technology is environmentally
green and sustainable. Reducing material consumption made it possible to make the
construction time faster, to reduce the overall costs. Besides that, it has led to reduce dead
weight up to 50%, which allow creating foundation sizes smaller.
2.4 BIHAGYASHREE G & S.M BARELIKAR(2016):

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. 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. The advantages are less energy consumption-both in production,
transport and carrying out, less emission-exhaust gases from production and transport,
especially CO2 and reduce the material, the load, lower the cost and it is also a green
technology.

In the bubble deck technology reduce the concrete volume by replacing the spherical
bubbles, these are locally available which in called as PEPSI balls, these balls are made
up of HDPE (High Density polyethylene). In this experimental program conventional slab
and bubble deck slab are cast with various bubbles arrangement which is continuous
arrangement of bubbles within whole slab and two types of alternative bubble arrangement
in the slab. And trying to enhance the increasing strength of that slab. This implies the
realization of a monolithic slab element, which will be subjected to static gravitational
loadings in order to determine the deformation(deflection), cracking and failing
characteristics. The resultant conclusions will be used in defining the failing mechanisms.

Weight reduction is 25% compared to solid slab. The bubble deck technology is
environmentally green and sustainable; avoiding he 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% approximately. In bubble deck slab
volume of concrete is reduced, so that the weight of slab is decrease, comparative to
conventional slab.

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.
2.5 M.Surendar & M.Ranjitham (2011)
The test was conducted to evaluate the structural behavior of the Conventional slab and
Bubble deck slab. The experiment was carried out using loading frame by applying the udl
load over the slab to know the ultimate load carrying capacity and deflection. Also finite
element analysis was carried by using ANSYS software to study the ultimate load carrying
capacity, stresses and deflection Based on the experiment, numerical and analytical studies
the following conclusions were made. Bubble deck slab gives much improved performance
than the conventional slab but slight variation was found in numerical and experimental
results shows the bubble deck slab can withstand 75% of load carrying capacity when
compared with conventional slab. Also, the experimental results are compared with
analytical results for the better, economic construction of slabs in day-to-day life. From the
results 45.238kg of concrete can be eliminated from 1000mmx1000mmx150mm of slab by
using 100mm ball which results in reduction in weight of slab. From these results it is
observed that the bubble deck slab is better in stress criteria and its weight than that of
conventional slab. The stress and deformation results were evaluated and compared the
bubble deck slab with conventional slab were observed using finite element analysis and
by experimental . At last the comparison has been made for bubble deck slab with the
conventional slab over its self weight. From the evaluation of these results, bubble deck
slab gives better performance than that of the conventional slab.
The Benefits:

Reduced overall cost:

Bubble Deck eliminates up to 35% of the structural concrete, when coupled with the reduced
floor thickness and façade, smaller foundations and columns, direct material construction costs
can be reduced by as much as 10%.

Faster Construction:

With virtually no formwork, no downturn beams or drop heads, and fast coverage using panels
typically 350ft2 each, means Bubble Deck floor cycles time is up to traditional construction
methods. Regardless of project size, architectural complexity, simply shore, place, and pour to
quickly install concrete decks.

Lower Risk:

Off-site manufacturing, fewer vehicle trips and crane lifts as well as simple installation all combine
to minimize operating risks as well as lower health & safety risks. As a result, major projects
around the world have chosen the Bubble Deck technology as the low-risk way to build large and
complex projects.

LEED Compatible:

The Bubble Deck system offers a wide range of advantages in building design and during
construction. There are a number of green attributes including: reduction in total construction
materials, use of recycled materials, lower energy consumption, reduced CO2 emissions, less
transportation and crane lifts make Bubble Deck more environmentally friendly than other
concrete construction techniques.
Other Benefits:

Bubble Deck provides greater noise isolation, thermal and vibration resistance. The precast
panels that act as a stay-in-place formwork have a high quality finish for exposed concrete
requirements. Mechanical electrical and plumbing MEP) can be integrated within the
Bubble Deck system.

Bubble Deck was used for the Life Sciences Building because of the larger spans that were
achieved compared to a site cast concrete structure without the need for post-tensioning or
pre-stressed sections. The total construction time for the structure was reduced and allowed
consultants o fist rack the design without the interior design finalized. The total time from
design inception to completion of structure was less than 12 months.
METHODOLOGY:
 Basic tests on cement, coarse aggregate and fine aggregate will be conducted.

fineness test…………………………………………………………

normal consistency…………………………………………………….

initial setting time………………………………………………………

specific gravity of cement……………………………………………...

specific gravity of coarse aggregate……………………………………

 Using the results of basic tests, mix design for M30 grade of concrete and Fe415
grade of steel for a slab will be made using IS 10262-2009.
 Then the design for conventional slab will be made using IS 456-2000.
 Casting of conventional slab
 Compression test, will conducted by casting cubes, cylinders and prisms.
 The test were done for 7 days and 28 days.
 All the slabs will be tested in SERVO CONTROLLED closed loop after 28 days
curing.