Soil information needed

for slab design

By Robert B. Anderson

he performance and useful life of a Flow chart provides a guide to soils

T concrete slab are greatly influ-
enced by the properties of the soil be-
information needed for design of
slabs on grade.

neath it. The soil and the slab are in

constant interaction to support the ap-
plied loads. The strength of the soil
and its ability to receive and distribute
loads are vital to the performance of
any concrete slab placed on it.
Since slab strength and performance
are so influenced by soil behavior, the
slab designer should seek full informa-
tion about the soil conditions on a giv-
en site. The flow chart in the figure
provides an orderly approach to ob-
taining basic soils information (Ref.
1).
To design a slab on grade, the engi-
neer needs a value for the modulus of
subgrade reaction—commonly re-
ferred to as k. But emphasis on the k
value sometimes results in oversimpli-
fication of the geotechnical engineer’s
report. Merely establishing the k value
for a particular site should not be used
as a rationale for bypassing a proper
geotechnical report. The engineer
should also note the nature and proper-
ties of the underlying soil, any soil Establishing the inch-diameter bearing plate and mea-
modification that may be necessary, subgrade modulus, k suring the plate deflection (Ref. 2).
and what fill soils are available. The modulus of subgrade Usually, however, k is estimated based
reaction— often called the subgrade on other soil properties.
Slab designer works modulus or k—is a soil property relat- The geotechnical report often in-
with geotechnical engineer ed to how the soil reacts to load. cludes a chart classifying soils at the
The floor designer should be in- When a slab and the loads placed on construction site according to the uni-
volved at the very beginning of any the slab put pressure on the subgrade fied classification system (Ref. 3). The
building planning process, which must soil, the soil deforms. It’s assumed chart may list a recommended value
include site considerations. Soil condi- that the deformation is proportional to for k for different soils, and this may
tions can be a significant economic the pressure. That is, soil pressure be confirmed as a logical value by the
factor when alternative sites are being equals a soil constant times the soils expert who wrote the report. As a
evaluated. deformation: rule, k values recommended in the uni-
Too often the team effort of floor de- p = ky fied soil classification system are rea-
signer and geotechnical engineer is where: p = soil pressure, psi sonable guidelines for use in design.
missing. This can lead either to costly k = modulus of subgrade re- Good soil support is indicated by k
overspending in obtaining geotechnical action values in the range of 200 pci and up-
information, unexpected construction y = deformation, inches ward. Such values are normally found
overruns due to errors or omissions in The subgrade modulus has units of in coarse-grained soils, such as sand
initial information, or costly repair work pounds per square inch (psi) per inch of and sandy soils or gravel and gravelly
after the facility is occupied and in use. deformation, commonly written as soils. Moderate to poor support is often
It is important that the floor designer be pounds per cubic inch (pci). found in fine-grained soils. Although k
engaged either before or simultaneously The k-value can be determined in values for these soils can be as high as
with the geotechnical firm. the field by placing loads on a 30- 100 to 200 pci, values of 50 pci or low-
er aren’t uncommon.
Special precautions
for fine-grained soils
Most subgrade difficulties are asso-
ciated with fine-grained soils, those
soils having more than 45% of the ma-
terial (by weight) passing a No. 200
sieve. When fine-grained soils are pre-
sent, you generally need a more careful
geotechnical evaluation. It can be seen
on the flow chart in Figure 1 that sev-
eral other properties should be investi-
gated with these materials. Additional
characteristics to evaluate would in-
clude (but not necessarily be limited
to) unconfined compressive strength
(Qu), moisture content (Wc), liquid
limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and plas-
ticity index (PI). These values assist in
predicting the performance of fine-
grained soils.
The difficulties encountered with
fine-grained soils can include instabili-
ty due to compressibility, volume
change due to a variation in moisture
content, and pumping under repeated
heavy loads on the slab.
Fine-grained soils also may make
construction more difficult. They dry
more slowly after a rain and rut easily
under construction traffic.
The design procedure for slabs can
be significantly more complex when
fine-grained soils are present in a large
quantity. Values for k from in-place
testing aren’t as reliable since long-
term movement is not taken into ac-
count during the testing. This can re-
sult in the need for a stiffened slab,
which is generally ribbed, thickened,
and more heavily reinforced with ei-
ther conventional rebar or post-ten-
sioning tendons. Some fine-grained
soil conditions may require the use of
a structural slab integrated with a sup-
port system such as pilings or drilled
shafts.
Modification of problem soils
When problem soils are encountered,
the most common alternatives are re-
moval and replacement with a more
suitable soil, selection of a stronger
structural support system, or modifica-
tion of the problem soil.
In some instances, compressible
materials may be modified with a sur-
charge that will preconsolidate the soil
and reduce detrimental settlement to a
tolerable degree. Such surcharges are
kept in place for a period of 6 months
or greater prior to construction and
then removed.
Highly sensitive plastic clays may
respond to lime stabilization that
changes shrinking and swelling char-
acteristics. Discuss such modification
procedures with the geotechnical engi-
neer.
Fill recommendations
When fill is required on a site or
when base courses are needed, granu-
lar materials are normally selected.
Reasons for using fill include:
• Controlling soil shrinkage and
swelling
• Increasing the subgrade modulus
• Protecting against frost action
• Improving drainage
Granular materials are also used as
a base course in order to prevent
pumping action.
One of the most widespread classifi-
cations for fill and base course materi-
als is the AASHTO system, developed
by the American Association of State
Highway
& Transportation Officials (Ref. 4).
These standards provide specifications
for materials and methods of sampling.
Selection of a fill classification for a
specific site should be the result of in-
put from both the floor designer and the
geotechnical engineer.
Reducing the designer’s risk
with limited information
Most designers at one time or an-
other have experienced pressure from
an owner (especially on small jobs) to
proceed with a floor design without
the benefit of a site-specific geotechni-
cal report. In the absence of geotechni-
cal information, it’s risky to proceed
with a slab-on-grade design. If the
floor designer is sufficiently familiar
with the site, reasonably conservative
design assumptions may be made
which are stated along with a dis-
claimer on all design drawings, re-
ports, and pertinent correspondence.
This helps to limit the designer’s lia-
bility for possible consequences of in-
adequate soils information, and read-
ing the disclaimer can often convince
New Floor Design Book
This article is based on sections
from the book Designing Floor
Slabs on Grade by Boyd Ringo
and Robert Anderson. Published
by The Aberdeen Group, the book
gives step-by-step procedures,
sample solutions, and commen-
tary for design of floor slabs. Cost
of the 200-page, soft cover book
is $69 plus $3 shipping and han-
dling.
For more information, or to or-
der the book, call 800-837-0870
or write to The Aberdeen Group,
426 South Westgate, Addison, IL
60101.
the client that he or she needs ade-
quate geotechnical backup.
For heavily loaded slabs—500
pounds per square foot (psf) or
more—or where the designer has no
personal knowledge of the soil condi-
tions, it’s wise to refuse to provide a
design without sufficient geotechnical
information.
References
1. B. C. Ringo and R. B. Anderson,
Designing Floor Slabs on Grade, The
Aberdeen Group, Addison, Ill., 1992.
2. E. J. Yoder and M. W. Witczak, Prin-
ciples of Pavement Design, 2nd ed.,
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1975.
3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “The
Unified Soil Classification System,”
Technical Memorandum 3-357, Water-
ways Experiment Station, Vicksburg,
Miss.
4. American Association of State High-
way Officials, “Standard Specification
for Highway Materials and Methods of
Sampling and Testing,” 1961.
Robert B. Anderson is president of
Robert B. Anderson Consulting Engi-
neers, New Orleans. His practice in-
cludes design of both conventional and
post-tensioned commercial, industrial,
and residential floors.
PUBLICATION #C920289
Copyright © 1992, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved