Experimental study on the shear behaviour of precast concrete hollow core slabs with concrete topping

In typical precast construction practice of floor slabs using precast concrete hollow core unit (HCU), in-situ concrete is cast on top of the HCU to obtain smooth and even floor finish. The surface of the HCU is seldom given proper treatment prior to casting the concrete topping. The texture and surface moisture condition of the HCU just before receiving concrete topping may affect the overall strength of the slabs when the concrete topping and the HCU act compositely during service. This paper presents the experimental study on shear-flexure capacity of composite slabs using HCU and concrete topping. Full scale three point load test are carried out on 14 composite slab specimens with different surface roughness and surface condition of the HCU before casting the concrete topping. The surface roughness considered is smooth and rough, while the moisture conditions are dry, ponded and optimum wet. The effect of the longitudinal joint between the HCU panels is also considered. The experimental results are also compared with predicted values using the available equation in Eurocode 2 and an equation published by a previous researcher. The results of the experiment show that the HCU surface condition and longitudinal joint affect the stiffness and shear-flexure strength of the slabs. The optimum HCU surface condition which can produce highest stiffness and shear strength is rough and wet conditions, while the longitudinal joint between HCU panels reduces the slab shear strength. The interfacial horizontal shear is not the factor that governs the strength and behaviour of the slabs. The equation available in Eurocode 2 gives non-conservative prediction of the shear strength. In contrary, the equation published by the previous researcher gives conservative prediction of the shear strength.