Thinner concrete slabs cut resource use without reducing strength

Researchers at TU Wien in Austria are working on new ways to manufacture thinner topology-optimised reinforced concrete slabs that use fewer materials whilst remaining strong.

Concrete flooring requires a large amount of cement, whose production is responsible for about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. Any process that reduces the number of materials used in concrete flooring slabs will reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry,

A research team at TU Wien has developed a way to reduce the number of materials used in concrete slabs by up to half, without compromising their strength.

Standard concrete slabs are solid, flat and straightforward to produce. However, only a portion of the floor is required to bear heavy loads. The system being developed at TU Wien calculates the load-bearing requirements of each section of the floor, then designs slabs with more materials in high load-bearing areas and less in parts that are not required to withstand heavy pressure. This results in load-bearing slabs with ribs that follow the areas where loads have to be supported.

Computer models have previously been developed to design structures that respond to load-bearing patterns, but the manufacturing of these slabs has been expensive and complex. The TU Wien team has developed a way to use the digital design data directly in an efficient manufacturing process.

The researchers have successfully produced full-size concrete slabs using this technology. They have demonstrated that efficient concrete floors can be produced with less concrete.