Composite Slab with Integrated Installation Floor Using Cellular Beams

The paper presents a new composite floor system using cellular beams. A major benefit of the novel system is the integrated installation floor, adding additional value to the floor without extra costs. The system is based on half cellular beams made of existing hot-rolled sections. The openings in the cellular beams allow placing all kind of installations in all directions, thus providing excellent flexibility to the user when changing installations. First the paper presents the general design and details of the construction of the novel floor system. Then the paper experimentally analyses the load-carrying and dynamic behaviour of two floor elements with a span of 7.2 m. The results are compared to common calculation models for composite slabs.