Impact of reinforcement on shrinkage in the concrete floors of a residential building

Abstract

The type of floor in a building object results from the serviceability requirements, technical possibilities, and costs of its implementation. Concrete screeds constituting the structural layer of the floor can be made without reinforcement, with dispersed reinforcement, or reinforced with meshes of various materials. Due to the large surface dimensions, concrete screeds are susceptible to scratches as a result of occurring strains, service loads and unevenness of the floor. There are detailed recommendations on how to make floors, and on the materials used. However, the conditions in which floors are made often differ from those recommended. The article presents the results of measured strains on the surfaces of three screeds constituting the floor layer in a residential building. The screeds, which were made in identical environmental conditions, differed in the type of reinforcement used: steel mesh, dispersed polypropylene fibres, fibreglass mesh. In addition, strain measurements were carried out on concrete and fibre-reinforced concrete specimens made of the mix used to make the screeds. The results allowed the assessment of the effectiveness of the reinforcement used, the impact of environmental conditions on the values, and the analysis of differences in the course of strains in real elements and the specimens.

Keywords

• concrete screed
• concrete shrinkage
• fibre-reinforced concrete
• reinforcing mesh
• laboratory specimens