CONCRETE ADVICE No.

44
(April 2012)

Curling of ground floor slabs

Deryk Simpson BSc CEng MICE

Curling is quite common and can be a significant problem in internal ground supported
concrete floors. It is characterised by the upwards lifting of slab corners and edges and
at joint and cracks. The serviceability of the floor may be affected due to changes in the
floor surface regularity, affecting mechanical handling equipment (MHE) ride quality, and
cracking due to a reduction of slab support at bay edges.

1 Mechanism 3 Concrete constituents

Curling is caused by the differential The higher the water content of the concrete
shrinkage of the concrete. The exposed the greater the amount of drying shrinkage.
top surface loses more moisture than the
bottom, resulting in higher shrinkage in the Modern flooring construction techniques tend
upper section thus causing the floor to curl to require high consistence concrete. The use
upwards. This can occur over several of water to achieve higher fluidity will increase
years following construction depending on shrinkage and so increase the potential for
the ambient conditions. It tends to be curling.
largely unpredictable and cannot be totally
eliminated. Admixtures, water and cement
Water reducing admixtures allow less water to
If the curling is prevented, by say loading be used yet maintain the required concrete
on the slab, tensile strains can be induced consistence. Beneficially, as the water content
in the upper section of the concrete. If the is reduced the free water cement ratio reduces
tensile capacity of the concrete is and strength increases. A reduction in cement
exceeded it may crack. However cracking content can therefore be made.
is more likely to be caused by the
unsupported curled section being subject Balancing the requirements for strength and
to load. This can also lead to slab rocking consistence using appropriate mix
and corner and/or edge cracks. proportioning and admixture should reduce
water and cement content (paste volume) and
thus the potential for shrinkage.

2 Minimising shrinkage Care must be taken as some types of water

reducing admixture may actually increase the
(1)
potential for shrinkage of the concrete .
Any steps taken to reduce concrete
Beware that that the use certain water
shrinkage will reduce curling. The main
reducers cause the setting properties of the
factors influencing drying shrinkage are
concrete to vary between batches. This can
the volume of cement paste compared to
cause problems with power-trowelling finishing
that of the aggregate and the concrete’s
process.
water content. In essence, high cement
contents should be avoided and the water
content should be as low as practicable.
 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 44

The addition of water on-site to increase the

consistence above the mix design value should not be 4 Moisture content
undertaken. This, not withstanding potential concrete
performance consequences, will increase the degree For curling to occur there must be a moisture
of shrinkage and hence, the degree of curling. gradient through the concrete. The top of the slab
experiences greater drying shrinkage than the
As the cement paste is typically the only component bottom of the slab and it is this differential shrinkage
of concrete that undergoes significant shrinkage, high which causes curling. A slab on ground will only dry
cement contents potentially produce concrete with a out from the top and so all slabs on ground will have
higher drying shrinkage. For most industrial concrete a moisture gradient, at least initially. As a slab dries
3
floors cement contents of between 300 and 350 kg/m out only very slowly it may take many months or
are typical and not excessively high. If a particularly years to significantly reduce the moisture gradient.
hard surface abrasion resistance is required, then the As the moisture gradient is reduced, theoretically, the
use of dry shake finishes rather than high cement potential for continued curling reduces.
(2)
contents in the concrete is preferable. A maximum
(2)
0.55 w/c ratio is suggested , though lower ratios are If moisture is rising from below into the slab the
sometimes used in floor concretes. moisture gradient will never disappear. On wet
subgrades a normal polythene membrane may not
Aggregate be adequate to prevent the ingress of moisture
The aggregate may directly or indirectly affect curling. vapour into the slab and the adoption of installing a
Aggregates vary depending on their mineralogical vapour barrier below the slab may be considered.
composition and some (such as those from the
Midland Valley of Scotland) are known to have high Concrete industrial floor slabs should always be
levels of drying shrinkage. The use of, if possible, cured to ensure a durable abrasion resistant surface
aggregates with a low drying shrinkage is beneficial and delay the onset of drying. However, good curing
but in practice, economic and supply considerations practice will have little effect on the potential long
will determine the aggregate source. If the properties term shrinkage.
of aggregates are not known, it is recommended that
(3)
data is obtained using the test in BS EN 1367-4 . The use of impermeable sealers and coatings may
minimise drying and potentially reduce long term
Generally the drying shrinkage of concrete will reduce curling.
with larger aggregate sizes as less paste volume is
necessary. The largest possible sized aggregate is Creep in the concrete will reduce the amount of net
(4)
recommended. In the UK this will mean 20mm tensile strain in concrete but the reduction of strain
maximum size aggregate. by creep is only effective for prolonged or slow rates
of strain. Rapid rates of drying may increase the risk
A good overall combined grading of the fine and of curling, due to the potential high strains generated
coarse aggregate will give optimum packing and the and lack of creep.
minimum effective surface area reducing the water
demand for a particular consistence. Particularly the
water demand of the aggregate can be reduced by
avoiding the use of fine sands and mixes with 5 Floor slab design
excessively high fines contents.
Thickness
Shrinkage compensating materials The differential shrinkage in the slab produces an
The use of shrinkage compensation admixtures or upwards bending moment which lifts the bay edges.
cements will have a significant influence on overall The self weight of the slab effectively provides a
shrinkage but the economics of such admixtures or downwards bending moment countering the lifting
cements for a particular floor would need to be moment and also promotes creep. Thus the risk of
investigated prior to their use. Shrinkage curling generally decreases as the slab thickness
compensation admixtures or cements may also have increases. Additionally, curled thin slabs are at a
the added benefit of increasing the spacing between higher risk of corner and/or edge cracking under
contraction joints. loading than curled thick slabs.
 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 44

Subgrade
The restraint and stiffness of the subgrade have an Therefore the risk of curling increases with wider
effect upon the potential for curling. High interface gaps, i.e. as a free edge. The width of any cracks or
restraint on the subgrade may increase the risk of tied joints can be limited by the provision of adequate
curling by reducing the potential for overall slab reinforcement. Load transfer devices may also be
contraction and so increasing the differential used across joints to minimise vertical movement.
contraction between the bottom and top of the slab. This is particularly important in large bay construction
The interface restraint should be minimised by using a or jointless floors were there are fewer joints at which
slip membrane and having a flat subbase surface. If curling can occur but which have corresponding high
the subgrade is very stiff, such as in unbonded tensile strains in the top of the slab.
overslabs, it will not deform under loading to
accommodate the curved profile. This leads to longer
unsupported lengths of curled edges and increased
risk of corner and/or edge cracking under loading. 4 Remediation

Reinforcement
Current UK practice is to provide reinforcement in the Where serviceability is affected the departures from
bottom of ground floor slabs. Larger percentages, say the required level across joints can be corrected by
over 0.25% of continuous bar reinforcement in the grinding. Under-slab grouting may be necessary to
bottom of the ground floor slab may act in the same restore support and prevent break off of curled
way as interface restraint and limit shrinkage of the edges. The provision of additional sawn contraction
bottom portion of the slab, thus theoretically joints may also be beneficial.
increasing the risk of curling. Reinforcement in the
upper portion of the slab would minimise curling, but Curling should be monitored as part of the
is unlikely to be used due to time and cost maintenance regime and dealt with as required.
implications, unless it is considered absolutely
necessary to limit curling in a particular area of floor. To minimise the potential for curling in internal
concrete floor slabs:
Another potential method of minimising curling is by • Do not use a high cement content
post tensioning which can be designed to impart a • Minimize the water/cement ratio
small positive moment in the floor to resist the drying • Use the largest appropriate size of coarse
upward negative bending moment. aggregate
• Minimize the moisture differentials in floor slab
Joints • Ensure there is an adequate provision of stress
When a slab curls rotation occurs at the slab edge. relief joints and reinforcement to control crack
Any gap at a joint or crack will narrow at the bottom and joint widths
and widen at the top. If the gap is small the space at
the bottom will close and may limit the potential
rotation.

REFERENCES
1. Neville A M. Properties of Concrete, fifth edition, Longman, 2011
2. Concrete Society Concrete industrial ground floors Technical Report 34, 3rd edition, Camberley, 2003
3. BS EN 1367-4:2008 Tests for thermal and weathering properties of aggregates. Determination of drying
shrinkage
4. Concrete Society Non-structural cracks in concrete Technical Report 22, 4th edition, Camberley, 2010
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Issued April 2012

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