TERA Joint

High quality floor joint system

Distributed by

For Australian markets

June 2012
P : 1300 763 288
E : [email protected]
Peikko® TERA Joint

Benefits of Peikko® TERA Joint

t
Advanced ‘leave-in-place’ concrete slab formwork system with integral
load transfer capability and edge protection
t
Excellent straightness tolerances
t
High precision cold-drawn steel edge protection rails with ‘sharp’ edges are
used to eliminate any weakness or friability at the edge of the concrete slab
t
Fast and precise installation with accessories
t
Helps to ensure a trouble-free floor for the life-cycle of the building
t
Joint uses a significant percentage of sustainable material in its
construction
CONTENTS

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM .......................4

2. DIMENSIONS AND MATERIALS ......................4
3. MANUFACTURING ..........................................6
3.1 Manufacturing method 6
3.2 Manufacturing tolerances 6
3.3 Quality control 6

4. CAPACITIES ....................................................6
4.1 Capacities of the TERA Dowel 6

5. APPLICATION ..................................................7
5.1 Limitations for application 7
5.2 Design principles 7
5.3 Joint and dowel types 8
5.4 Load-transfer 8
5.5 Joint spacing and detailing 8
5.6 Isolation details 8
5.7 Single dowels and sleeves 8
5.8 Accessories 9
5.9 Example 9

6. INSTALLATION ................................................9
6.1 Installation tolerances 9
6.2 Installation of the floor joints 10
6.3 Installation of the single dowels and sleeves 15

7. INSTALLATION CONTROL ..............................15

7.1 Installation control of the floor joint 15
7.2 Installation control of the single dowels and sleeves 15

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 TERA Joint

1. DESCRIPTION OF
The TERA Joint system also acts as self-contained
THE SYSTEM leave-in-place formwork requiring no stripping after
pouring saving significant time and manpower.
Peikko® TERA Joint floor joint system offers the Using this system means faster and easier floor slab
best practical and technical solution for today’s construction, better quality floors and maintenance-
high quality concrete ground floor slabs. The sys- free joints. They can be used in ground-supported
tem ensures adequate load transfer in expansion, or suspended slabs starting from 100 mm slab
contraction and construction joints and eliminates thickness.
resistance to joint opening and movement in both
horizontal plane directions. The system also pro- The system consists of the armoured joints them-
vides extremely durable edge protection to the selves along with easy to use junction pieces and
concrete slabs, particularly when subjected to installation accessories.
traffic
The plate dowels and sleeves are also available
The load transfer is achieved by high strength steel separately for use with traditional timber formwork
plate dowels which are combined with rigid release as a solution to the problem of slab locking caused
sleeves to allow free slab movements in both longi- by conventional dowels.
tudinal and perpendicular directions, eliminating the
principle cause of shrinkage cracks.

Figure 1. Peikko TERA Joint system in ground floor slab

and section of TERA Joint

A-A

2. DIMENSIONS AND MATERIALS

Table 1. Materials and standards.
Plastic
Sheet metal Flat bars Plate dowels Headed studs
sleeves
TERA Joint AS 3679 GRADE 200 AS 3679 GRADE 200 AS 3679 GRADE 400 AS 3679 GRADE 200 ABS

TERA Joint HDG AS 3679 GRADE 200 EZP AS 3679 GRADE 200 HDG AS 3679 GRADE 400 HDG AS 3679 GRADE 200 HDG ABS

TERA Joint
AS 3679 GRADE 200 EZP UNS S30400 / S31600 AS 3679 GRADE 400 HDG UNS S30400 / S31600 ABS
stainless
EZP = electro zinc plated, HDG = hot dip galvanized.
4
 Version: July 2012 AU

Table 2. Dimensions [mm] of TERA Joint

80 L
h

c/c

dowel centres advisable slab

type height h dowel size length L weight [kg]
c/c depth
TJ6-90-3000-RD 90 31,2 100-120
TJ6-115-3000-RD 115 32,4 125-140
TJ6-135-3000-RD 135 375 33,9 145-170
TJ6-160-3000-RD 160 or 35,1 170-195
6 x 130 x 150 430 3000
TJ6-185-3000-RD 185 or 36,3 195-225
TJ6-215-3000-RD 215 500 37,8 225-250
TJ6-230-3000-RD 230 38,5 240-270
TJ6-245-3000-RD 245 39,2 255-300
TJ12-135-3000-RD 135 40,7 145-170
TJ12-160-3000-RD 160 375 41,9 170-195
TJ12-185-3000-RD 185 or 43,1 195-225
12 x 150 x 150 430 3000
TJ12-215-3000-RD 215 or 44,6 225-250
TJ12-230-3000-RD 230 500 45,3 240-270
TJ12-245-3000-RD 245 46,0 255-300

Table 3. Dimensions [mm] of TERA X-Junction

type height h width L1 width L2 weight [kg] compatible with

80
L1 TJX-90 90 6,3 TJ6-90
TJX-115 115 6,7 TJ6-115
L2 TJX-135 135 7,0 TJ6-135/TJ12-140
80
TJX-160 160 7,4 TJ6-160/TJ12-165
400 400
h TJX-185 185 7,8 TJ6-185/TJ12-190
TJX-215 215 8,2 TJ6-215/TJ12-220
TJX-230 230 8,5 TJ6-230/TJ12-235
TJX-245 245 8,7 TJ6-245/TJ12-250

Table 4. Dimensions [mm] of TERA T-Junction

type height h width L1 width L2 weight compatible with

80
L1 L2 TJT-90 90 4,9 TJ6-90
TJT-115 115 5,3 TJ6-115
TJT-135 135 5,6 TJ6-135/TJ12-140
80
TJT-160 160 5,9 TJ6-160/TJ12-165
160 400
TJT-185 185 6,3 TJ6-185/TJ12-190
h

TJT-215 215 6,7 TJ6-215/TJ12-220

TJT-230 230 6,9 TJ6-230/TJ12-235
TJT-245 245 7,1 TJ6-245/TJ12-250
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 TERA Joint
Table 5. Dimensions [mm] of TERA Dowel and Sleeve

TJS-R sleeve advisable

dowel type thickness t length l width w
type joint opening

TJD-R TJD-R6 6 130 150 TJS-R6 0-15

L TJD-R12 12 150 150 TJS-R12 15-20

W

3. MANUFACTURING The ultimate punching shear capacities are based

on full scale tests and include partial safety factors
3.1 Manufacturing method 1,6 for loads and 1,5 for concrete. These provide
global safety factor 2,4 against concrete failure.
Flat bars Cold drawn to size, mechanical All values are for plain concrete without additional
cutting and punching shear reinforcement. In punching shear capacity
Plates Mechanical cutting and precision values it is assumed that the dowel is located at
folding the level of half slab thickness. Punching shear cal-
Welding Spot welding and drawn arc stud culation method for reinforced concrete by TR34 is
welding not suitable for defining punching capacity for TERA
Sleeves Injection moulding dowel. The same capacities are valid for armoured
rails and single dowels with sleeves.
Welding class C (ISO-EN 5817)
Allowed load transfer capacities are obtained by
dividing the ultimate capacity values by 1.6.
3.2 Manufacturing tolerances
Straightness (vertical direction) ±2.0 mm/m 4.1 Capacities of the TERA
Length ±2.0 mm
Height ±3.0 mm
Dowel
The following tables show the ultimate capacities
for a single plate dowel. If capacities for other joint
3.3 Quality control openings or concrete grades are needed please
contact your local Peikko Technical Support.
The quality control involved in producing the steel
parts conforms to the requirements set by the Finn- Table 6. Design capacities in shear, bearing and bending
ish Code of Building Regulations. Peikko Finland Oy [kN] of the TERA Dowels according to TR34
is under the Inspecta Certification for quality control.
joint opening x

Combined Psh
Bending Pbend
Bearing Pbear
Shear Psh

and Pbend
(C32/40)

Dowel
4. CAPACITIES type

TERA dowels are designed according to the Techni-

cal Report No. 34 of British Concrete Society. The
ultimate load transfer capacities are calculated for
TJD-R6 10 150 110 83,3 75
shear, bearing and bending. Combined shear and
bending has to be checked case by case with fol-
lowing equation.
TJD-R12 10 300 130 333,4 221,1

Papp Papp
! 1. 4
Psh Pbend TJD-R6 20 150 90 41,7 45,7
t

Papp = applied load per dowel

Psh = ultimate shear capacity per dowel TJD-R12 20 300 110 166,7 150
6 Pbend = ultimate bending capacity per dowel
 Version: July 2012 AU

Table 7. Comparison of the most common dowels with Intermediate values of the punching shear can be
10 mm joint opening interpolated.

TERA Dowel TJD-R12 130

5. APPLICATION
TERA Dowel TJD-R6 75,0
5.1 Limitations for application
10mm triangular plate 61,3
The load transfer capacities of the floor joints have
25mm round bar 53,5 been calculated for static loads. In the case of dy-
namic and fatigue loads, greater safety factors have
6mm triangular plate 50,0 to be used individually for each case.

20mm square bar 42,7 TERA Joints are designed to open up to 20mm. If
wider joint openings are designed the capacities
20mm round bar 31,6
have to be reduced appropriately.
16 mm round bar 18,4
The standard joints are without any surface treatment.
If protective painted, hot dip galvanized, stainless or
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
acid proof joints are needed due to exposure condi-
Table 8. Comparison of the most common dowels with tions please contact your local Peikko Sales Office.
20 mm joint opening

5.2 Design principles

TERA Dowel TJD-R12 110
The capacity values of the dowels do not take ac-
10mm triangular plate 44,5
count of the sub-base support pressure which is
TERA Dowel TJD-R6 41,7 the worst-case scenario.

25mm round bar 40,0 The effective number of dowels can be defined accord-
ing to sections 9.10.1 and 9.4.6 of the UK Concrete
6mm triangular plate 31,6 Society TR34 Third Edition published March 2003.
20mm square bar 23,9
TR34 recommends that the load transfer should be
20mm round bar 22,7 determined from the capacity of the dowels within
a distance of 0,9l either side of the centre-line of
16mm round bar 12,8 the applied load.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 For defining the number of effective dowels the

modulus of subgrade reaction [k] and radius of rela-
Measuring design capacity [kN] of single dowels tive stiffness [l] are required.
in shear, bearing C32/40, bending and combined
shear and bending acc. to TR34. Punching capacity Figure 2. The effective number of dowels
is not included in the comparison charts.
P
Table 9. Design punching shear capacities [kN] of the
TERA Dowels according to full scale tests
Pp C25/30

Pp C28/35

Pp C30/37

Pp C32/40

Pp C35/45
Punching

Punching

Punching

Punching

Punching

Slab
depth 0,9 l 0,9 l
[mm]

100 4,0 4,3 4,4 4,6 4,8

150 7,7 8,1 8,4 8,7 9,1

200 12,5 13,2 13,6 14,1 14,7

250 18,3 19,4 20,1 20,7 21,7

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 TERA Joint
5.3 Joint and dowel types Slabs should also ideally be no more than 50 m in
length/width. Greater sizes than this require special-
The correct joint type is selected according to slab ist techniques and materials.
depth. It is recommended to order joints at least 10
mm shallower than the slab depth to ensure easy TERA Joint is recommended for all types of free-
installation. movement joints and also as a substitute for sawn
joints. If used in place of saw cuts, the joint open-
TERA dowels are selected according to designed ings will be small and the load-transfer capacity
joint opening. Joints TJ6 and dowels TJD6 are for higher and similar everywhere. Also the importance
openings up to 15 mm. Types TJ12 and TJD12 are for of timing of sawing can be ignored. The joints are
openings from 15 to 20 mm. It is recommended to designed to open up to 20mm during shrinkage of
use the thicker dowels always in suspended slabs. adjacent slabs.
Wider joint opening is also possible however account
must be taken of reduced capacity. 5.6 Isolation details
Fixed elements such as columns and walls should
5.4 Load-transfer be isolated to avoid any restraint on the slab. The
fixed elements should be separated from the slab
The punching shear capacity of the concrete is by a flexible compressible filler material of at least
the limiting factor in most cases. All punching ca- 20 mm in thickness.
pacities given in this brochure are for un-reinforced
concrete. If additional reinforcement or fibre rein- Figure 4. Example of isolation
forced concrete is used, the punching capacity can
be increased and should be considered by the slab
designer in each case.

In TR34, section 9.10.1 it is recommended that no

more than half of the applied load should be trans-
ferred via dowels. The slab itself should be designed
to carry the rest of the load. In practice the capacity
of a slab at edges is about 50% of the capacity at
the centre of the slab. At corners the capacity is
about 25%.

Figure 3. Load transfer

P
5.7 Single dowels and sleeves
Single TJD dowels and TJS sleeves can be used with
formwork as a substitute for traditional dowel sys-
tems. They allow better slab movements in both lon-
gitudinal and perpendicular directions. The sleeves
are delivered with nails and protective tape.

Figure 5. TERA dowels and sleeves

5.5 Joint spacing and

detailing
The joint spacing and aspect ratio of slab areas
should be designed according to usual recommen-
dations. For example individual slabs should ideally
have an aspect ratio of 1:1 (square) but if this is not
8 possible then the ratio should never exceed 1:1.5
 Version: July 2012 AU

5.8 Accessories
TERA junction pieces are selected according to Modular X- and T-pieces are connected to rails with
joint type. Prefabricated junction pieces allow easy standard bolt and nut connections.
and fast installation in difficult joint intersections.

Figure 6. TERA T-junction

5.9 Example Thus the dowels cannot carry the full load 80 kN,
the edge of the slab itself should be checked for its
This example demonstrates how the load transfer capacity to carry the remaining load 46,4 kN.
capacity of the TERA dowels can be checked. It is
assumed that there is one point load at the joint.
The loadings and design data for the example are
as follows: 6. INSTALLATION
t
Slab depth, h=175 mm, concrete C32/40 6.1 Installation tolerances
t
Joint opening, x=10 mm
t
Dowel centres, c/c=375 mm Joints should be installed as precisely vertical as
t
Maximum wheel load, P=50 kN, safety factor practical and checked with a spirit level to ensure
for dynamic actions 1,6 proper function of the dowels during slab move-
t
Value of modulus of subgrade reaction for well ment. The levelness and straightness of the joint in-
compacted sand, k=0,05 N/mm2 stallation should be according to the requirements
t
Radius of relative stiffness, l=744 mm of the floor slab design and again checked using a
t
Minimum ultimate capacity per dowel, standard laser level device.
Pp=11,2 kN

Effective number of dowels according to TR34:

2 0,9 l 2 0,9 744mm

n 3
c/c 375mm
t

Ultimate design load:

Pd P 1,6 50kN 80kN

t

Required load transfer capacity:

Pd n Pp 80kN 3 11,2kN 46,4kN

t

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 TERA Joint
6.2 Installation of the floor Figure 7. Step 1 - Sub-base level
joints
The joints shown include optional reinforcing bar fitted to
the shear studs which is available if required.

Step 1. Sub-base level

The sub-base must be made as accurate and level
as possible to the requirements on the slab draw-
ing. The tolerance of the level has to be taken into
account when ordering joints. Typically the Joint
height will be 10 mm to 25 mm less than the slab
depth.

Step 2. Joint location

The required layout, position and height of the joints Figure 8. Step 2 - Joint location
will be specified on the floor slab drawing which
must be followed closely. String lines are placed to
identify the position of joints according to the slab
layout drawings. String lines usually run between
columns or from junction pieces to column/wall.

Step 3. Joint installation

1. Joints are placed sequentially away from junction

pieces or from column/wall

a. If Junction pieces are used the first joint is

connected to the junction piece at the overlap
section using a dowel bush, plastic bolt and
Figure 9. Step 3 - Joint installation.
steel nut.
b. If junction pieces are not used the first joint
is placed adjacent to column or wall (allowing
for isolation material (min. 20 mm closed cell
foam).

2. The joints are placed in the correct position ac-

cording to the string line and the height adjusted
using spacers, wedges or equivalent means until
correct (Figure 11). The height should be verified
by laser level at both ends and the joint should
be set vertical using a spirit level which can be
placed across the top edges.

3. The joint can then be fixed in position using pins.

Figure 10. Step 3.2 - Positioning joint
Fixing pins should be 14 mm – 16 mm diameter
and at least 300 mm longer than the joint height
(Figures 9 and 20).

t
For slabs up to 200 mm deep 4 pins per joint are

required, (up to 300 mm 6 pins per joint). The
pins should be spaced equally along one side of
the joint, (ideally the side without sleeves) and
if possible on the opposite side to the first pour
if applicable.

t
Other pin arrangements are also acceptable

10 including placing pins on both sides of the joint.
 Version: July 2012 AU

If pins are placed on both sides then care must

be taken to ensure minimal restraint of the joint Figure 11. Step 3.2. Adjusting height level
in the finished floor.

t
Alternate pins should be placed vertically and

fixed approximately half-way along the length of
the studs and at an angle of approximately 30
degrees to the vertical away from the joint and
fixed at the end of the studs. This ensures ex-
cellent stability and if it is possible to do the first
pour on the opposite side to the pins then it will
allow them to be sawn through before pouring
the second side reducing any resistance to joint
opening.

t
Pins should always be placed so that they finish

level with the stud and if necessary any excess Figure 12. ‘T’ support as vertical support.
pin above the level of the stud should be re-
moved prior to pouring.

t
If required further vertical support can be provid-

ed without additional lateral restraint by the use
of ‘T’ supports which can be placed and welded
to the studs in the same manner as the support
pins. These ‘T’ supports are deliberately over-
length so they can be held above the pin while
welding preventing possible weld-spatter burns
to the hands. Once fixed in place the tops can
easily be cut to the same height as the studs
(Figure 12).
Figure 13. Placing pins.
t
Pins can be simply driven into place with a suit-
able impact gun and chuck (Figure 13).

t
Alternatively holes can be drilled to suit the

pin and permit easy installation with a ham-
mer. The holes should be drilled with a bit
approximately 2 mm smaller than the pin
diameter and to a depth of at most 100 mm
less than the final depth of the pin. For ex-
ample a 250 mm slab using 235 mm joints
and 600 mm pins should use a hole drilled to
approximately 250 mm – 270 mm deep.

t
Pins are then welded to the adjacent stud se-

curing the joint into position (Figure 14).
Figure 14. Welding the pins.

4. The joints must be adequately fixed so that the

divider plates can not move under the pres-
sure of the applied concrete. This may require
bracing the divider plates on the opposite side
to the first pour to prevent them being able
to move when the concrete is poured. The
need for bracing is very dependant on joint
(and slab) depth. Shallow joints (<150mm)
may not require bracing at all but its impor-
tance increases with depth of joint.

11
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 TERA Joint
One method of bracing is to simply use timber
spacers placed between the support pins and Figure 15. Using timber spacers
divider plates. These spacers can easily be made
from the Joint packaging materials but must
be removed prior to pouring the second side.
They can of course be re-used and then discard-
ed at the end of the project (Figure 15).

A further method is to use the Peikko metal ‘T’

supports which can be welded between sup-
port pins and the divider plate providing bracing
in two directions unlike the timber blocks which
only resist the concrete pressure against them.
These pins remain in-situ eliminating the need
to remove them before pouring the second side
however they must only be fixed on the opposite
side of the joint to the sleeves to prevent any Figure 16. ‘ T’ support as spacer.
connection between the slabs and so possible
restraint on the joint opening (Figure 16).

5. Subsequent joints are aligned, fixed at the over-

lap using dowel bushes, plastic bolts and nuts,
adjusted and fixed in the same manner (Figure
17). The joints should be fixed so that the ends
of adjacent top strips are not touching but have
a clearance gap of between 1 mm and 2 mm to
allow for longitudinal movement (Figure 18).

6. The final joint in any run will usually require being

cut to length.
t
The gap between the column/wall and the
Figure 17. Connecting joints.
penultimate joint is measured taking account
of suitable isolation material.
t
The final joint is cut to length and installed in
the same manner as previous joints.

7. If the joint layout requires a run of joints between

two junction pieces and the distance between
them is not a full multiple of 3 metres then there
will need to be a cut joint in the run (Figure 19).
t
Joints should be placed running from the junc-
tion pieces to some point approximately equidis-
tant from both when the gap is less than 3 m.
t
The gap should be measured accurately
between the top strips on either side of the
joint and the measured value subtracted from
Figure 18. Clearance gap.
3000 mm to give Lr (the length of joint to be
removed in mm).
t
The final joint should have a section cut from
the centre equal to Lr keeping both overlap
sections at the ends intact.
t
The two pieces are then installed in the usual
manner to each side of the gap and the square
ends of pieces A and B simply butt-welded
together at the joint.It is advised to clamp the
square ends carefully during welding to ensure
a perfectly straight connection between the
two pieces. Centre section should be retained
12 for further use for example in doorways.
 Version: July 2012 AU

Figure 19. Cut joint run

B 3000 - L = Lr A

A+B=L

8. If required by the design ‘X’ or ‘T’ junctions Figure 20. Line of Joints fixed with pins placed both
should be placed according to the required layout sides.
and set to the correct height using a laser level
or equivalent.
t
The junction pieces are placed in the cor-
rect position and the height adjusted using
spacers, wedges or equivalent means until
correct
t
The height should be verified by laser level
and the junction should be set horizontal
using a spirit level in two perpendicular
directions
t
The junction pieces can then be fixed in posi-
tion using pins as described in section 3 (p.
11). ‘X’ junctions require 4 pins and ‘T’ junc-
tions 3 pins.

9. As an alternative and if pins are not available then Figure 21. Line of joints fixed with concrete ‘dabs’.
the joints and junction pieces can be positioned
and held in place by concrete ‘dabs’
t
The joints and intersections must be posi-
tioned accurately and supported.
t
The dabs should be placed at 1 m spacing
along the joint lengths or at the centre of the
intersection pieces.
t
Dabs should be sufficient to support the rails
during pouring and levelling of the concrete
ideally conical in shape and poured up to at
least half the depth of the rail.
t
Dabs should be allowed to harden sufficiently
before removing support.

13
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 TERA Joint
Step 4. Pouring concrete
Once rails are correctly positioned pouring of con-
crete can commence. Concrete should be poured
to the level of the rails with particular attention to
consolidation around the dowels and sleeves. All
plate type dowels require close attention to filling
around the dowels to eliminate the possibility of
air entrapment. This should be done with a suitable
vibratory poker. Both sides of joints can be poured
at the same time if required.

Clarifying installation animation is available from www.

peikko.com or from your local Peikko Sales Office.

14
 Version: July 2012 AU

6.3 Installation of the single Step 3. Pour concrete as normal around dowel
sleeves paying particular attention to the fill around
dowels and sleeves the sleeves. All plate type dowels require adequate
To install single dowels and sleeves: vibratory poking around them to eliminate the pos-
sibility of air entrapment
Step 1. Mark a horizontal line on the formwork at
the level of half slab thickness (h/2) and mark the Step 4. After concrete has hardened adequately
required spacing (d) of the sleeves along this line. and the formwork removed, the nails should be
flattened and the dowels inserted into the sleeve
Step 2. Nail the sleeves firmly through the nail holes pockets. The dowels should be inserted fully into
at the marked locations on the formwork. Remem- the sleeves.
ber to check the installation control check list before
pouring concrete.
7. INSTALLATION
CONTROL
7.1 Installation control of
the floor joint
Check list before casting the floor slabs:
t
Correct location and height level of rails and
junction pieces
t
Rails are adequately fixed in position to sub-
base in vertical and horizontal direction
t
Where required the joint divider plates
should be braced to prevent the possibility of
movement under the pressure of the poured
concrete as outlined in section 6.2
t
Sleeves are placed on each dowel properly
with the flange flat against the divider plates
t
Isolation material correctly placed around
columns and other fixtures

7.2 Installation control

of the single dowels and sleeves
Check list before casting the floor slabs:
t
Correct centre distance between sleeves according to the design
t
Sleeves installed horizontally and at the correct half-slab height level
t
Sleeves fixed properly and firmly to formwork 15
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