Structural Filler Material 5

[YuleMsee]

Hi, we want to support an r.c slab to take a line load by the inclusion of an I beam underneath.
The soffit of the slab to be supported is very uneven and not level hence leaving spaces when the I beam is placed.
what can be used to fill the spaces and still provide an even structural support to the slab

 

[phamENG]

Non-shrink grout, like you'd spec between a footing and a baseplate.

 

[Epaenetus]

What’s the thickness of the gap? It appears to be a wide gap as per your drawing.

 

[hokie66]

I wouldn't try to fill the gap with grout. Just use different thickness shim plates. You don''t have to shim it full length.

 

[YuleMsee]

@epaenetus, the drawing is not to scale, from 5mm to about 25mm at the maximum
@hokie66, what would be your maximum gap spacing between the plates,the span is 5.2m

 

[hokie66]

I would tend to use plates about 100mm wide, spaced at about 500, so maybe 10 plates for your span, of thicknesses to suit. Then I would just provide a small weld on each to make sure they stay in place.

 

[phamENG]

hokie - is your aversion to grout/preference for shims an ease of construction thing, or is there something else?

 

[YuleMsee]

@hokie66 whats the reason as per @phamEng question

 

[GeorgeTheCivilEngineer]

If it's a one off (so won't cause a huge extra demand on material), you could drop the steel by 25mm and grout the whole length. This will make getting the grout in slightly easier and gives consistent support along the length.

 

[STrctPono]

If it needs to be supported continuously then I put my vote in for the non-shrink grout. If you can support it at say 1/4 points then I would just shim it at those locations.