Technical Bulletin Series ECTB F-2

TUF-STRAND SF Slab on Ground Design for

temperature and shrinkage crack control

The design of a concrete slab on ground is typically performed by a registered professional. However, when the design
has been determined that a certain concrete thickness is adequate to resist all loading conditions applied to a slab on
ground system, it is possible to calculate a fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) dosage directly from the specified temperature
and shrinkage steel reinforcement with the FRC system acting as an equal or better reinforcing option under the same
loading conditions. The use of fibers in this type of slab on ground system can be, and have been, successfully
implemented to the point where a more durable and economical floor system has been achieved.

For slab on ground projects where distributed steel has been specified for the control of
temperature and shrinkage cracking, the use of TUF-STRAND SF may be warranted
L
and calculated to provide an equivalent capacity as the originally specified steel. This
assumes several conditions such as the existing reinforcing having been correctly
placed in the top third of the concrete slab, that the steel is not required to support Shrinkage
structural loading and that all other concrete placement and finishing practices have
been properly applied.

Design methodologies for distributed steel, such as the PCA Design method to resist
cracking temperature and shrinkage stresses in concrete, can determine the appropriate Subgrade drag

amount of reinforcing steel, represented by the value As, within a concrete section. To
calculate the appropriate dosage of TUF-STRAND SF, flexural toughness testing on
FRC, as measured by ASTM C1609, can be used to determine an equivalent tensile
capacity. The performance of this standardized test measures the percentage of post- FLw
As (required) =
crack tensile strength with respect to the concrete flexural strength. Once the required 2 fs
toughness performance has been established, the appropriate dosage of fiber can be
determined.

100% As Fy
fWWM = Performance of conventional reinforcing
75% øs x b d
ASTM C 1609 beam test
fFRC = FS x fr Re3 Performance of fiber reinforcing with Safety Factors
100 - set these two equations as equal and solve for Re3

Example Solution: Slab on Grade project is currently using a single layer of WWR 4x4 4/4 reinforcing placed near the top
of a 6” thick slab. Concrete strength is 5000 psi, with an approximate tensile strength of 575 psi. Steel reinforcing strength
is Imperial Grade 75 – 75,000 psi.

(0.12 in2/ft) (75,000 psi) Re3 therefore;

fWWM = = 109 psi fFRC =109 psi = (0.667) (575 psi)
1.15 x (12”) (6”) 100 Re3 = 28.4

Set this value equal to the required FRC performance Fiber dosage must provide a minimum toughness value of 28%
as calculated by ASTM C1609. For TUF-STRAND SF, this will
be approximately 4 lbs/yd3 (2.4 kg/m3)

The Euclid Chemical Company has developed computer spreadsheets and mobile based calculators to provide easy
conversions of single layer conventional reinforcing to appropriate dosage rates of TUF-STRAND SF. An advanced
analysis can also be performed for the complete design of a slab on ground system using fiber reinforced concrete. For
more information, please contact Euclid Chemical.