Strengthening concrete slabs rest on soil grade using steel fibers

Muthanna Journal of Engineering and Technology

Volume (12), Issue (2), Year (30 December 2024), Pages (80-89)

DOI:10.52113/3/eng/mjet/2024-12-02/80-89

Research Article By:

Ola Mazen Makki, Enaam kareem jawad and Jaafar Salman Abdulsada

Corresponding author E-mail: ola.mazen@qu.edu.iq


ABSTRACT

Concrete slabs are the most construction members which is in touch with soil. The applied load on concrete slab causes a deformation in slab and soil which making a relative movement between the two medias and that’s what named by soil-structure interaction. Improving concrete slab strength allows the designer to get the required strength without increasing slab thickness and necessary for safety purposes when the slab exposed to unexpected loads.  The study investigated this interaction by casting three concrete slabs and applied a static load on them to discuss their behavior and the soil response. Three plain square slabs of 600 mm sides and 40 mm thickness were casted and tested to investigate the concrete enhancement. The first slab is conventional while the second was of 0.5% percentage of steel fiber and the third specimen was of 1% of steel fiber. It was concluded that, the center of slab deflects downward, while the corners go upward then settles. Adding Steel fiber enhance the concrete compressive strength. The development in slabs bearing capacity were enhanced by 44.7% and 67.03% after adding 0.5% and 1% of fibers respectively.

Keywords: Slab, Foundation, Soil, Soil-Structure interaction, Steel Fiber.

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