Optimization of voids in concrete ceilings: A geometrical approach

Abstract

The task to reduce the material consumption in the building industry is urgent. Conserving concrete saves nature and money. To reduce the consumption of concrete in buildings we design hollow bodies in ceiling structures. In a free geometrical optimization process we restrict to those forms which can be fabricated in half shells. Our main goal is the best concrete saving ratio with respect to the restrictions of the building process. We show some possible forms and focus later on the better possibilities, the crossing channels. A smoothing step to avoid edges that cause stress peaks will raise the concrete saving even higher. We evaluate the use in technical applications under some questions like the concrete ventilation or the problem-free traversing in the fabrication process.

Keywords

• voided biaxial slab
• hollow ceiling
• form optimization
• concrete structures
• smooth structures
• half shell fabrication
• finite elements analysis
• cross channel technology
• concreting