EFFECT OF FLOOR TILES ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF SLABS

DINANURJILLA BINTI DILLAH

This report is submitted to Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

(UNIMAS) as to fulfill the requirements of Bachelor Degree with Honours

(Civil Engineering) 2009

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS

Judul: EFFECT OF FLOOR TILES ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF

SLABS

SESI PENGAJIAN: 2005 – 2009

Saya DINA NURJILLA BT DILLAH

(HURUF BESAR)

mengaku membenarkan tesis * ini disimpan di Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, Universiti Malaysia

Sarawak dengan syarat-syarat kegunaan seperti berikut:

1. Tesis adalah hakmilik Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

2. Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk

tujuan pengajian sahaja.

3. Membuat pendigitan untuk membangunkan Pangkalan Data Kandungan Tempatan.

4. Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dibenarkan membuat salinan tesis

ini sebagai bahan pertukaran antara institusi pengajian tinggi.

5. ** Sila tandakan ( ) di kotak yang berkenaan

SULIT (Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarjah keselamatan atau kepentingan

Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972).

TERHAD (Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang telah ditentukan oleh organisasi/

badan di mana penyelidikan dijalankan).

TIDAK TERHAD

Disahkan oleh

(TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA)

Alamat tetap: 10, LORONG SIMPOR 4, TAMAN

TRINORA, 93050, PETRA JAYA,

KUCHING, SARAWAK ASSOC. PROF DR ALM MAUROOF

(Nama Penyelia)

Tarikh: 15 JUNE 2008 Tarikh:

CATATAN * Tesis dimaksudkan sebagai tesis bagi Ijazah Doktor Falsafah, Sarjana dan Sarjana Muda.

** Jika tesis ini SULIT atau TERHAD, sila lampirkan surat daripada pihak berkuasa/organisasi

berkenaan dengan menyatakan sekali sebab dan tempoh tesis ini perlu dikelaskan sebagai

SULIT dan TERHAD.

APPROVAL SHEET

Final Year Project Report as follows:

Title: Effect of floor tiles on the behaviour of slabs

Author: Dina Nurjilla bt Dillah

Matric number: 13963

Read and approved by:

__________________________ _____________________

Assoc. Prof. Dr ALM Mauroof Date

Project Supervisor

ii

DEDICATION

Especially to my beloved abah and mak,

My lovely brother and sisters, and dearest friends,

Thanks for all your supports.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to thank God for his blessings for me to complete my

final year project. To my supervisor, Assoc. Prof Dr Ahmed Lebbe Mohammed

Mauroof, thank you so much for all your guidance, critics, encouragement and supports

throughout everything regarding this project.

Special thanks to Mr Nur Adha b Abdul Wahab, the technician of Concrete

Laboratory for helping me to conduct the testing for my experimental specimens. Not

forgetting my dear friends, Mohd Azri b Jaludin, Rohaya bt Abdul Wahab and Siti

Zarini bt Mohd Jizi for helping me during the lab session until I finished up the testing

for all the specimens. To my other friends, your helps and guidance for me to complete

this study really brighten up my life.

Finally, I am also thankful to my parents who always give me their endless

support while doing this project.

Thank you everyone. I do appreciate it.

v

ABSTRACT

Floor tiles might always been assumed as the aesthetical value on the slab. There

are various types of floor tiles available in the market. The quality of the floor tiles are

depending on how it is being manufactured and also the type of the tile itself. For this

study purposes, the strength of the floor tiles especially the compressive strength are

discovered. Floor tile in this study was just as an aesthetical value but it to enhance the

strength of the slab. The analysis of this study is to find the difference in term of

strength, ultimate moment and deflection values between the slab without floor tiles and

the slab after the installation of floor tiles. The experimental testing on both slabs had

been conducted and as a result, the slab with addition of floor tiles on obtained the

higher strength than the slab without the floor tiles. Other than experimental testing,

manual calculation in designing the slab was taken into account too. The manual

calculation was in accordance to the BS8110 : Part 1 : 1985. The analysis of the design

also shows that slab with the floor tiles cast on it has higher ultimate moment as

compared with the normal slab. Both of the testing and calculation prove that floor tiles

help to increase the strength of the slab.

iv

ABSTRAK

Jubin lantai sentiasa dianggap sebagai nilai estetik di atas lantai. Terdapat

pelbagai jenis jubin lantai yang terdapat di pasaran dewasa kini. Kualiti jubin lantai

tersebut bergantung terhadap bagaimana jubin tersebut diproses dan juga jenis jubin

tersebut. Untuk tujuan kajian projek ini, kekuatan jubin lantai terutamanya kekuatan

mampatan dikaji. Jubin lantai di dalam kes ini bukan hanya sebagai nilai estetik malah ia

membantu dalam menambah kekuatan lantai trsebut. Analysis pembelajaran untuk

projek ini ialah untuk mencari perbezaan kekuatan, momen lentur dan pesongan di

antara lantai yang tidak berjubin dan juga lantai yang dipasang jubin di atasnya. Ujian

eksperimen telah dijalankan ke atas kedua-dua lantai tesebut dan sebagai keputusannya,

lantai yang telah dipasang jubin mempunyai kekuatan yang lebih tinggi berbanding

dengan lantai yang tidak berjubin. Selain ujikaji tersebut, pengiraan secara manual juga

telah diambil kira. Pengiraan secara manual tersebut bergantung kepada BS8110 : Part 1

: 1985. Berdasarkan hasil pengiraan dan analisis di dalam mereka bentuk lantai, lantai

yang mempunyai jubin di atasnya ternyata mempunyai nilai momen mutlak yang lebih

tinggi daripada lantai yang tidak berjubin.Kedua-dua ujikaji dan pengiraan membuktikan

bahawa jubin lantai membantu menambah kekuatan lantai.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

PAGES

Approval Sheet

Title

Dedication ii

Acknowledgement iii

Abstrak iv

Abstract v

Table Of Content vi

List Of Figures xi

List Of Tables xiii

List Of Symbols xv

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Floor tiles 1

1.3 Slab 2

1.4 Objective 3

1.5 Relevance of the project 4

vii

1.6 Scope of the study 4

1.7 Outline of chapters 5

CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 Properties of floor tiles 7

2.2.1 Terrazo tile 7

2.2.2 Marble Terrazo tile 9

2.2.3 Granite Terrazo tile 10

2.2.4 Test For Marble Terrazo and Granite Terrazo tile 12

2.2.5 Ceramic tile 13

2.2.6 Single-fired perlite based ceramic tile 15

2.2.7 Double-fired prlite based ceramic tile 16

2.3 Methods of manufacture 17

2.3.1 Terrazo tile 17

2.3.2 Materials for Terrazo tile 17

2.3.3 Manufacture of Terrazo tile 19

2.3.4 Ceramic tile 22

2.3.5 Tile forming process 23

2.3.6 Heat treating process 24

2.3.7 Ceramic tile production process 25

2.4 Previous researches 28

viii

2.4.1 Exploitation of iron ore tailings for the development of

ceramic tiles

28

2.4.2 Airflow distribution through perforated tiles in raised-floor

data centers

30

2.5 Conclusion 32

CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 33

3.2 Analysis of the design load 33

3.3 Analysis of the design diagram 36

3.3.1 Loading diagram 36

3.3.2 Shear force diagram 37

3.3.3 Bending moment diagram 37

3.4 Design formulae for designing the slab 38

3.4.1 Determine the K value 38

3.4.2 Slab with no compression reinforcement 40

3.5 Slab reinforcement steel and cover 41

3.5.1 Main reinforcement steel 42

3.5.2 Distribution or secondary reinforcement steel 43

3.5.3 Cover 44

3.6 The checking of shear 44

3.7 The checking of deflection 46

ix

3.8 Crack control 49

3.9 Floor tiles added on concrete slab 50

3.9.1 Strain and stress distribution of the concrete with floor tiles 51

3.9.2 The expectation from the analysis 53

3.10 Conclusion 53

CHAPTER 4 : RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Introduction 54

4.2 Mixing design of the cube and slab 54

4.3 Compression test 56

4.4 Deflection test 58

4.4.1 Deflection slab without floor tiles 61

4.4.2 Deflection with floor tiles on the slab 63

4.4.3 Comparison between slab with no tiles and slab with

installation of floor tiles

65

4.5 Conclusion 66

CHAPTER 5 : CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion 67

5.2 Recommendation 69

x

REFERENCES 70

APPENDIX

APPENDIX A 73

APPENDIX B 89

xi

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE TITLE PAGE

2.1 Water absorption (%) versus Heating Temperature (0C) for

all samples

30

2.2 Schematic Of A Raised-Floor Data Center, Showing Perforated

Tiles, CRAC Units, And Under-Floor Obstructions

31

3.1 Simply Supported One-Way Slab 34

3.2 Loading Diagram 36

3.3 Simplified Stress Block For Concrete At Ultimate Limit State 38

3.4 Strain And Stress Distributions In A Singly- Reinforced Beam

Cross-Section At Ultimate Limit State (Compression

Reinforcement Is Not Required)

40

3.5 The Illustration Of Uniform Load Acting On The Slab Together

With The Tiles

50

3.6 Stress And Strain Distribution 51

4.1 Machine For Deflection Test 58

4.2 The Dead Load Applied On The Specimen 59

4.3 Slabs With Floor Tiles Casted On It 60

4.4 Deflection Test On The Slab Without Floor Tiles 61

4.5 Graph Of Load Applied (kN) versus Deflection (mm)

(Slab With No Tiles)

62

xii

4.6 Deflection Test On The Slab With Floor Tiles 63

4.7 Graph Of Load Applied (kN) versus Deflection (mm)

(Slab With Floor Tiles)

64

4.8 Graph of Load Applied (kN) versus Deflection (mm) for both

conditions (slab with and without floor tiles)

65

xiii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE

TITLE PAGE

2.1 Properties Of Terrazzo Tile And Its Value 8

2.2 ASTM Standards And Test Method 8

2.3 Properties Of Marble Terrazo Tile And Its Value 10

2.4 Properties Of Granite Terrazo Tile And Its Value 11

2.5 Test Method For Marble Terrazo And Granite Terrazo Tile 12

2.6 Test Methods for Tension Test of Ceramics 13

2.7 Test Methods for Compression Test of Ceramics 14

2.8 Properties Of The Single Fire Ceramic Tile 15

2.9 Properties Of The Double-Fired Ceramic Tile 16

2.10 Mix Proportion For Terrazo Work For In-Situ Works 19

2.11 Batch Composition of the Tile Body 29

3.1 Load Combination And Value Of γf For The Ultimate Limit State 35

3.1(a) K’ Value And Redistribution Condition 39

3.2(a) Strength Of Reinforcement 42

3.2 (b) Minimum Percentage Of Reinforcement 43

3.3 Form And Area Of Shear Reinforcement In Solid Slabs 46

3.4 Basic Span/Effective Depth Ratios For Rectangular Or Flanged

Beam

48

4.1 The Mixing Proportion per m3 Of The Structure 55

xiv

4.2 Mixing Proportion For The Three Cubes Of 150 X 150 X 150

mm

56

4.3 The Value Of The Compression Strength For Each Cube 57

4.4 Mixing Proportion For The Four Slabs 60

xv

LIST OF SYMBOLS

Ø - diameter of reinforcement bar

c - concrete cover

ε - strain

σ - stress

L - length

B/b - width

H/h - height

M - moment

V - force

Fcu - characteristic concrete strength

Fy - characteristic steel reinforcement strength

MPa - MegaPascal

kN - kiloNewton

As - area of reinforcement

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This chapter is introducing what is the project is all about. The title of the project

is ‘Effect of floor tiles on the behaviour of slabs’. The explanation of what is the floor

tiles and also the behaviour of slab, which is known as floor in a common word, will be

clarified in this chapter.

1.2 Floor tiles

A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone,

metal, or even glass. The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn,

from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of baked clay. Tiles are

usually used for covering floor, wall, as well as roof or other objects such as tabletops.

Typically, floor tiles are laying down into mortar which consisting the materials

such as sand, cement and often a latex additive for its extra adhesion. In modern life, the

spaces between the tiles are filled with sanded or unsanded floor grout but

2

conventionally, mortar was used before the floor grout exists. Basically, floor tiles are

divided into two criteria;

i. light duty tiles

ii. heavy duty tiles.

Light duty tiles are commonly used for residential use while the heavy duty tiles

are designed to withstand heavy traffic and loading. Usually the heavy duty tiles are

used for driveways, office area, retails outlets and so on.

Different kinds of floor tiles have its own strength (compressive or tensile) that

had been tested using the American Standard Testing Material (ASTM). ASTM had

conducted various types of testing, including the testing for the floor tiles. One of the

testing that had been carried out by the ASTM regarding floor tiles is breaking strength

of ceramic tiles, which the standard test method is C648.

1.3 Slab

Concrete slab is designed according to the British Standards (BS) 8110. Slab can

be classified into two types;

i. one-way

ii. two-way spanning slab

3

The types of slabs are depending on the ratio of the longer dimension to the

shorter dimension, ly/lx or the support condition. If the ratio of the ly/lx is greater than 2,

so the slab is considered as one-way spanning slab while if the ration is less than 2, the

slab will be considered as two-way spanning slab.

The flexural members of concrete slab are similar to beams but it is simpler than

the beams because the breadth of the slab is already fixed and the unit breadth of 1m is

used in the calculations. According to British Standard Institution (1985), the shear

stresses are usually low in a slab except when there are heavy concentrated loads and the

compression reinforcement is seldom required.

Slab can be classified into simply-supported and continuous slab. But for the

study purposes, this project will be focusing on the simply supported slab. Simply

supported slab is designing the slab as one slab.

1.4 Objective

The objective of this study is to determine the enhancement of the slab strength

due to the addition of floor tiles on it.

4

1.5 Importance of the project

Concrete slab strength normally being affected by the mixing proportion of the

concrete. Mixing proportion of the normal concrete includes water/cement ratio and also

the amount of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water needed. All of the

elements affect the strength of the concrete after the curing process for 28 days.

There is a way on how to increase the strength of the slab – by casting the floor

tiles on it. Floor tile is just not as an aesthetical value on the slab, but it also helps to

contribute to the strength of the slab. There is no previous research about the effect of

floor tiles on the behaviour of slabs. So, this study would help to determine how much

the floor tiles could enhance the behaviour of slabs in term of strength.

1.6 Scope of the study

This project is to identify the difference of the slab’s behaviour in term of

strength and also the ultimate moment. There were four slabs with the same mixing

proportion and compressive strength that had been tested for the deflection test. Two of

those slabs were casted with floor tiles on it. The comparisons between both conditions

(slab without floor tiles and with installation of floor tiles) were carried out. The

comparisons were including the value of deflection and the maximum loads that the

slabs could sustain. The manual calculation also was carried out in order to show the

difference in ultimate moment for the slabs (both conditions).

5

1.7 Outline of the chapters

Chapter 1 in this study is introducing what is the study is all about. The

definition of floor tiles and slab is discussed. The main objective, importance and scope

of the study also included in this chapter.

For the literature review, all of the properties of floor tile especially the strength

of the floor tiles and how it being manufactured is discovered. As there is no research

done regarding this topic, the previous research is discussing about the related study of

this topic (about floor tiles) that had been conducted before.

All of the steps and methods to analyze the normal slab is in the chapter 3

(Methodology). The analysis for the slab with addition of floor tiles and

expectation/outcome in this analysis also available in this chapter

Chapter 4 discussed the results and analysis. All of the results from the

laboratory work especially for the compression and deflection test has being analyzed

and discussed. Comparison between slab with and without floor tiles is carried out after

by using experimental program and also manual calculation.

Finally, Chapter 5 concludes all of the result and analysis that had been carried

out. This chapter also has recommendation in order to improve the study for the future

analysis.

6

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This study is never been carried out before. Thus, there is no review regarding

this study. As the literature review for this study purposes, the properties of the floor

tiles and how it manufactured is discussed. However, previous researches that related to

the tiles and slabs also included in this chapter. There are two types of floor tiles that

have been discovered for the purpose of this project. The floor tiles are terrazzo and

ceramic tile.

However, terrazzo tile is divided into two types;

i. Marble Terrazo tile

ii. Granite Terrazo tile

For the ceramic tile, it also divided into two;

i. Single-fired perlite based ceramic tile

ii. Double-fired perlite based ceramic tile

7

2.2 Properties of floor tiles

Properties of floor tiles are different due to the type of tile. The properties of

floor tiles that will be determined are terrazzo and ceramic tile.

2.2.1 Terrazo tile

For the terrazzo tile, the thickness should be in 5 mm. The nominal size of the

tile that has been determined is 300 x 300 mm (12 x 12 inches). Unified Facilities Guide

Specifications (2006) stated that this type of tile should be of the noticed colours, which

also consist of the granite or marble chips embedded in a flexible or rigid thermoset

resin matrix.

There are various test methods that had been conducted by American Society

Testing Material to obtain the value for terrazzo tile’s properties. The value of

compressive strength for the tile is 20 MPa. Hence, the minimum percentage of the tile

to absorb water is 0.7%. The abrasive wear that had been tested by ASTM C 501 is in

Index 28 and the tile’s coefficient of friction value is 0.5 wet. For flame spread and

critical radiant flux, these properties are classified into various type of class. For flame

spread, the class is A while for the critical radiant flux, the class is I.

The properties and its values and also the standard test method by American

Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) can be summarized in the Table 2.1 and

Table 2.2.