Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
(OP)
Design of Slabs on Grade
We are in the process of designing a large warehouse with both Forklift traffic and heavy post loads from pallet storage systems.
We have a initial thickness design of the concrete slab following the methods outlined in PCA publication “Slab Thickness Design for Industrial Concrete Floors on Grade” as well as WRI Charts as used in Ringo/Anderson’s Book “Designing Floor Slabs on Grade”. These elastic methods give slab thicknesses in the range of 10 + inches.
Peter Higgins cited an article by Shentu “Load-Carrying Capacity for Concrete Slabs on Grade” (ASCE Journal of Structural Engineers 1997), that results in thinner slabs (Less then 8 inches), however I have NOT been able to find any reference to the usage of this method in design practice. The current ACI Report on “Design of Slabs-on-Ground” ACI 360R-06 (2006 publication) does NOT reference this ultimate, non-elastic method.
My question is, there anyone using a method other then the conventional PCA or WRI methods to size Slabs-on-Grade for Storage Rack Post Loads, and if so what is their basis and background.
Advise and guidance is welcomed on this matter.
We are in the process of designing a large warehouse with both Forklift traffic and heavy post loads from pallet storage systems.
We have a initial thickness design of the concrete slab following the methods outlined in PCA publication “Slab Thickness Design for Industrial Concrete Floors on Grade” as well as WRI Charts as used in Ringo/Anderson’s Book “Designing Floor Slabs on Grade”. These elastic methods give slab thicknesses in the range of 10 + inches.
Peter Higgins cited an article by Shentu “Load-Carrying Capacity for Concrete Slabs on Grade” (ASCE Journal of Structural Engineers 1997), that results in thinner slabs (Less then 8 inches), however I have NOT been able to find any reference to the usage of this method in design practice. The current ACI Report on “Design of Slabs-on-Ground” ACI 360R-06 (2006 publication) does NOT reference this ultimate, non-elastic method.
My question is, there anyone using a method other then the conventional PCA or WRI methods to size Slabs-on-Grade for Storage Rack Post Loads, and if so what is their basis and background.
Advise and guidance is welcomed on this matter.





RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
Also - did you account for granular subbase and its upgrading effect on your k value? This makes a big difference in thickness.
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
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RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
It looks to me like amount of steel reinforcement is not a big consideration in these designs??
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
Dik
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
and i never understood just how bad forklifts were until i did a few designs. hard wheel forklifts are about as bad as it gets, so any slight irregularly will be pounded by the wheels day in and day out...especially at joints.
discuss the issue with your project geotech. some soils here suck as subgrade materials while some do fairly well if you can find them on the jobsite. so the geology may have an effect on the k value. the differences between wheel loads and storage rack support will also change things a little.
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
For the joint design, is the primary concern to ensure that the dowels are spaced close enough to transfer the load? Are there other concerns?
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
Deterioration of the joints due to lack of support for the edges is also a big problem when you have hard forklift wheels. There are a lot of ideas of how to solve this problem. In the past, a lot were armoured with angles, but that was tedious and did not always work. There are proprietary systems now which do a good job. The one which I have had experience with is by Lesa Systems. This company also supplies the dowel types I mentioned above. And they also specialise in repair systems for failed joints. Joint protection is not cheap, but "pay me now or pay me later".
This is from an Australian perspective, but I think you would have similar products in the US.
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
RE: Design of Slabs on Grade for Warehouses
Aberdeen Group
426 S Westgate St
Addison, Illinois 60101
Phone 630-543-0870 (from an old publication)