Precast Concrete I-Beam Deck with Pre-Stressed Wire Strands as Reinforcing Material

Abstract

A precast concrete I-deck is provided. The I-deck comprises a bottom slab member, or soffit, with a plurality of I-beams evenly spaced along the width of the soffit, the I-beams being parallel to each other along the length of the soffit. The I-deck has diaphragm members on either end, perpendicular to the I-beams Pre-stress wires are embedded in the soffit and I-beams between the diaphragms. The spaces between the I-beams may be used to run wiring, plumbing, or ducts, or they may be filled with a filling material. The I-deck may be used in bridging and support systems for roofing or flooring.

1 . A light weight pre-cast reinforced concrete deck for installation as a floor or roof in a structure with support members for supporting the deck, comprising:
 a soffit with a bottom and a top surface with two ends and two sides, with a diaphragm with a length on each end of the soffit that projects above the top surface of the soffit with an inside and outside surface, a plurality of spaced apart internal I-beams that are substantially parallel with each other projecting above the top surface of the soffit and extending between the diaphragms on each end, with an I-beam on each side of the soffit serving as a side beam, with the soffit and I-beams having a plurality of pre-stressed wire strands as reinforcing material embedded in the concrete extending between the diaphragms.   
   
   
       2 . The concrete deck of  claim 1  in which each internal I-beam consists of a web extending from top surface of the soffit and having a width, and a flange as a top member, with the flange extending beyond the width of the web, with the flanges and diaphragms having top surfaces which are in substantially the same plane with each other, said deck having a top member supported by the I-beams and diaphragms. 
   
   
       3 . The concrete deck of  claim 1  in which at least one load transfer member is embedded in each diaphragm which extends outside of the diaphragm for supporting the deck on a support structure. 
   
   
       4 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising a lightweight filling material located between the top surface of the soffit and the flanges of the I-beams. 
   
   
       5 . The concrete deck of  claim 4 , wherein the filling material is polystyrene. 
   
   
       6 . The concrete deck of  claim 4 , wherein the filling material is fiberglass. 
   
   
       7 . The concrete deck of  claim 1  in which the diaphragms have reinforcing material and the soffit has reinforcing material extending between the sides. 
   
   
       8 . The concrete deck of  claim 3  in which each diaphragm has at least two load transfer members, with said members being constructed from steel. 
   
   
       9 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising utilities for the structure which are at least partially located between the I-beams. 
   
   
       10 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising the inclusion of a support member embedded in the soffit for supporting a fixture hanging from the soffit. 
   
   
       11 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising a support attached to an I-beam for attaching to a wall for support of the wall. 
   
   
       12 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising a support resting on the top of at least one I-beam for supporting a fixture below the bottom of the soffit. 
   
   
       13 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising a top member placed on the top surfaces of the I-beams and diaphragm. 
   
   
       14 . The concrete deck of  claim 13 , where the top member is cast-in-place concrete. 
   
   
       15 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one additional diaphragm extending above the top surface of the soffit and extending between the two sides of the soffit. 
   
   
       16 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising that each of the diaphragms extending between the two sides of the soffit has at least one load transfer member constructed from steel. 
   
   
       17 . The concrete deck of  claim 1  in which each side I-beam has an outside surface in which a sheer transfer key is formed in the outside surface extending from one diaphragm to the other. 
   
   
       18 . A bridging and support system in a structure comprising:
 a. a plurality of light weight pre-cast reinforced concrete decks, each with a soffit with a bottom and a top surface with two ends and two sides, with a diaphragm with a length on each end of the soffit that projects above the top surface of the soffit with an inside and outside surface, a plurality of spaced apart internal I-beams that are substantially parallel with each other projecting above the top surface of the soffit and extending between the diaphragms on each end, with an I-beam on each side of the soffit serving as a side beam, with the soffit and I-beams having a plurality of pre-stressed wire strands as reinforcing material embedded in the concrete extending between the diaphragms; and   b. a plurality of support members in the structure with the deck resting between two support members on the diaphragms on each end.   
   
   
       19 . The bridging and support system of  claim 18 , wherein each diaphragm has at least one load transfer member constructed from steel embedded in each diaphragm which extends outside of the diaphragm for supporting the deck on a support structure. 
   
   
       20 . The bridging and support system of  claim 18 , in which each internal I-beam consists of a web extending from top surface of the soffit and having a width, and a flange as a top member, with the flange extending beyond the width of the web, with at least some of those flanges and diaphragms having top surfaces which are in substantially the same plane with each other, said deck having a top member supported by those I-beams and diaphragms where their top surfaces are in the same plane. 
   
   
       21 . The bridging and support system of  claim 18  in which each I-beam has a flange on the top of I-beam with a filling material located between the top surface of the soffit and the flanges of the I-beams. 
   
   
       22 . A method of forming a light weight pre-cast reinforced concrete deck for installation as a floor or roof in a structure with support members for supporting the deck, which has a soffit with a bottom and a top surface with two ends and two sides, with a diaphragm with a length on each end of the soffit that projects above the top surface of the soffit with an inside and outside surface, a plurality of spaced apart internal I-beams that are substantially parallel with each other projecting above the top surface of the soffit and extending between the diaphragms on each end, with an I-beam on each side of the soffit serving as a side beam, with the soffit and I-beams having a plurality of pre-stressed wire strands as reinforcing material embedded in the concrete extending between the diaphragms, comprising:
 a. preparing a form for pre-casting concrete;   b. placing the wire strands as reinforcing material in selected locations in the form and stretching the strands to predetermined load to pre-stress them;   c. pouring sufficient concrete into the form to form the soffit;   d. while the concrete poured in step (c) has not yet cured, pouring the concrete for the I-beams and diaphragms into the form and allowing the concrete to cure; and   e. cutting the wire strands and removing the concrete deck from the form.   
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22 , in which filling material is added to the top of the soffit after step (c). 
   
   
       24 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-cast concrete is self-compacting concrete. 
   
   
       25 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-cast concrete is semi self-compacting concrete. 
   
   
       26 . The concrete deck of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one additional diaphragm intermediate the diaphragms on each end of the soffit. 
   
   
       27 . The bridging and support system of  claim 18 , further comprising an aperture surrounded by I-decks with intermediate diaphragms.