Composite concrete profiled steel sheet slabs are a popular form of construction for suspended floor slabs as they are simple and economical to design and construct.
Concrete slab on metal deck cracking.
However visible cracking is one aspect that occasionally causes problems and complaints from building occupiers.
Lloyd concrete services the contractor should ask the engineer if it s ok to run laser guided screeds on the deck.
While the concrete shrinks the steel frame does not causing high tensile stresses in the concrete which ultimately lead to cracks.
Engineers who design slabs on metal deck aren t thinking about the contractor.
Cracking in composite concrete metal decking floor slabs.
Although a crack free floor is always desirable random cracks are to be expected in the kind of floor described.
If the crack is larger or growing larger an active crack or one side of the crack is higher than the other then you may need to have the work reviewed by a structural engineer.
Cracking is usually the first sign of distress in concrete.
It is however possible for deterioration to exist before cracks appear.
Generally they are found to be satisfactory in service.
Cracking can occur in both hardened and fresh or plastic concrete as a result of volume changes and repeated loading.
They don t have any real design guidance concerning deflection or crack control or how the tolerances can be different between the concrete and the steel.
Any concrete floor cast on a metal frame and deck is severely constricted.