conn. new reinf. conc slab with exist. con. pad

[katinsley]

Hello,
I am a new engineer (graduated May 2002) so everything I am working on is new to me. My question is related to a slab that I am designing to hold a "pre-engineered" building, a set of rails, and to eventually be simply a concrete paved parking lot. My slab will sit around an existing pad supporting a diesel generator (the new slab forms a U-shape around the existing). The wall of the building will cross both the new and the existing slab. I am not sure of the column spacing, as a different group is taking care of acquiring it through a bid process, but I believe that a column will be sitting within the existing pad. Should I use a shear bar of some kind to link the pad and my slab together, or would it be better to simply leave it as just a jointed connection? Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ginger]

You could do either, depending on how you wish to design your structure over the top. A word of caution: be sure to provide a movement joint through your structure directly above the interface between new and old foundations if you do not structurally connect them together.

 

[katinsley]

Thank you for responding. I am researching dowel installation now. I hadn't even thought about the effects on the structure. This is going to be a "temporary" building--but it is going to be temporary for 5 years in southern Kentucky. So, it and the slab will definately undergo thermal expansion and contraction. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I am open to any tips and insights anyone is willing to pass on!!