Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab

Received: 7 August 2025     Accepted: 18 August 2025     Published: 11 September 2025
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Abstract

A flat plate floor system is a concrete system that has uniform thickness. They are generally cast-in-place or they may be casted at the ground level and lifted into their final position by the use of jacks at the columns. This system can be post-tensioned. Flat plate post tensioned concrete slabs are widely used in office buildings, institutional structures, parking structures, apartment buildings, and hotels. Therefore, it is important to have a good understanding of the behavior of these elements that form the fabric of the total structural system. The main goal of this work was to perform a design evaluation on a constructed scaled post-tensioned 4 ft x 4 ft flat plate concrete slab with American Concrete Institute (ACI) design provisions. The 28 days compressive strength of concrete was 5000 psi. The slab thickness was 1/2 in, and 1/16 in post-tensioning cables inside a plastic sheathing were used as the reinforcement. The slab was loaded using a designed water tank of 4 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft dimensions. The water depth generated the distributed load on the slab and a dial gauge measured the slab deflections. Distributed load and deflection data were collected. The design evaluations were carried out with respect to deflections, stresses, shear and flexural capacity using a developed ACI provisioned spreadsheet and experimentally obtained load and deflection data. The scaled constructed concrete slab satisfied the ACI design provisions.

Published in Engineering and Applied Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11
Page(s) 114-122
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Load, Scaled, Post-Tensioned, Flat Plate, Concrete

References
[1] The Constructor, “Flat Plate Floor System-Features and Advantages”. Available from
[2] Mota, Mike., et, (2022), “High-Performance Concrete Flat-Plate Floor System,” Concrete International.
[3] Buildings, “Concrete Floor-Two-Way, Plate”. Available from
[4] EB3 Construction, “A Deep Dive into Concrete Slab Systems and Construction Best Practices”. Available from
[5] Structures Design Guidelines., (2023), “Structures Manual,” Vol. 1, Florida Department of Transportation.
[6] Malta Chamber of Construction Management, “Usage of Flat Slab in Construction Industry”. Available from
[7] Housing, “Flat slab: What is it, types advantages and disadvantages”. Available from
[8] The Constructor, “Flat Slab-Types of Flat Slab Design and its Advantages”. Available from
[9] Hemali, P., (2024), Flat Slab: Types, Advantages, and Design Techniques,” Construction Guide.
[10] Benchmark Fabricated Steel, “The Advantages of Flat Concrete Slab”. Available from
[11] Brick and Bolt, “Types of Flat Slab-Benefits and Design Guide in Construction”. Available from
[12] ACI Committee 318, “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-23) and Commentary (ACI 318R-19),” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 2023, 623 pp.
[13] Standard Specification for Portland Cement., (2024), ASTM C150/C150M-24 American Society of Testing Materials.
[14] Standard Specification for Portland Cement., (2023), ASTM C33/C33M-18 American Society of Testing Materials.
[15] Portland Cement Association., (2021), “Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures,” 17th Edition.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Faruqi, M., Vargas, C. (2025). Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab. Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10(5), 114-122. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11

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    ACS Style

    Faruqi, M.; Vargas, C. Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab. Eng. Appl. Sci. 2025, 10(5), 114-122. doi: 10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11

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    AMA Style

    Faruqi M, Vargas C. Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab. Eng Appl Sci. 2025;10(5):114-122. doi: 10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11,
      author = {Mohammed Faruqi and Carlos Vargas},
      title = {Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab
    },
      journal = {Engineering and Applied Sciences},
      volume = {10},
      number = {5},
      pages = {114-122},
      doi = {10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eas.20251005.11},
      abstract = {A flat plate floor system is a concrete system that has uniform thickness. They are generally cast-in-place or they may be casted at the ground level and lifted into their final position by the use of jacks at the columns. This system can be post-tensioned. Flat plate post tensioned concrete slabs are widely used in office buildings, institutional structures, parking structures, apartment buildings, and hotels. Therefore, it is important to have a good understanding of the behavior of these elements that form the fabric of the total structural system. The main goal of this work was to perform a design evaluation on a constructed scaled post-tensioned 4 ft x 4 ft flat plate concrete slab with American Concrete Institute (ACI) design provisions. The 28 days compressive strength of concrete was 5000 psi. The slab thickness was 1/2 in, and 1/16 in post-tensioning cables inside a plastic sheathing were used as the reinforcement. The slab was loaded using a designed water tank of 4 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft dimensions. The water depth generated the distributed load on the slab and a dial gauge measured the slab deflections. Distributed load and deflection data were collected. The design evaluations were carried out with respect to deflections, stresses, shear and flexural capacity using a developed ACI provisioned spreadsheet and experimentally obtained load and deflection data. The scaled constructed concrete slab satisfied the ACI design provisions.
    },
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Diagnostic Load Test of a Scaled Post-Tensioned Flat Plate Concrete Slab
    
    AU  - Mohammed Faruqi
    AU  - Carlos Vargas
    Y1  - 2025/09/11
    PY  - 2025
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11
    T2  - Engineering and Applied Sciences
    JF  - Engineering and Applied Sciences
    JO  - Engineering and Applied Sciences
    SP  - 114
    EP  - 122
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1468
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eas.20251005.11
    AB  - A flat plate floor system is a concrete system that has uniform thickness. They are generally cast-in-place or they may be casted at the ground level and lifted into their final position by the use of jacks at the columns. This system can be post-tensioned. Flat plate post tensioned concrete slabs are widely used in office buildings, institutional structures, parking structures, apartment buildings, and hotels. Therefore, it is important to have a good understanding of the behavior of these elements that form the fabric of the total structural system. The main goal of this work was to perform a design evaluation on a constructed scaled post-tensioned 4 ft x 4 ft flat plate concrete slab with American Concrete Institute (ACI) design provisions. The 28 days compressive strength of concrete was 5000 psi. The slab thickness was 1/2 in, and 1/16 in post-tensioning cables inside a plastic sheathing were used as the reinforcement. The slab was loaded using a designed water tank of 4 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft dimensions. The water depth generated the distributed load on the slab and a dial gauge measured the slab deflections. Distributed load and deflection data were collected. The design evaluations were carried out with respect to deflections, stresses, shear and flexural capacity using a developed ACI provisioned spreadsheet and experimentally obtained load and deflection data. The scaled constructed concrete slab satisfied the ACI design provisions.
    
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, Kingsville, United States

  • Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, Kingsville, United States

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