Thermal Performance of Steel and Fibre Reinforced Concrete Composite Floor

Abstract

In general, steel and concrete composite floors tend to present a reduced functional performance (considering thermal and acoustic conditions), due to their low mass and to the high conductivity of the steel elements. By including components with high thermal insulation capacity in these structural systems, it is possible to maintain the structure lightness and not compromise the thermal performance. Within this work, the analysis is dedicated to a composite floor in which a fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) slab is associated with a concrete filled “U” type steel profile. The fibre reinforcement avoids the use of conventional reinforcement, with significant savings in term of fabrication time. Filler blocks are inserted, composed by thermal insulation material (EPS), between the “U” shaped steel profiles, which act as formwork during the casting phase and, after the concrete hardening, contributing to improve the system´s thermal performance. This system was evaluated through numerical assessment. The analysis enabled to determine the thermal transmittance (U-value) and to identify the critical zones in terms of thermal insulation efficiency. The performance of the proposed solution was also compared to other flooring solutions. According to the results obtained, the proposed composite floor presents a better thermal behaviour than other more traditional flooring systems.