Voided biaxial slab

Imagine you have a bunch of Lego blocks that you want to stack on top of each other to make a tower. But, in order for the tower to be really strong, you want to make sure that the blocks at the bottom are holding up the blocks on top.

Now, imagine that instead of just stacking them on top of each other, you arrange the blocks in a pattern where some of them are sitting on top of other blocks, but there are also some gaps in between the blocks. This is kind of like what a voided biaxial slab looks like - it's a special kind of concrete floor that has spaces or "voids" built into it.

The reason for doing this is because it makes the slab lighter and easier to handle during construction. But, it also has some other benefits. By creating these voids, you can reduce the amount of concrete that you need to use which can save money and make the building more sustainable.

To make a voided biaxial slab, you first lay down a lot of small plastic balls or "void formers" on top of the ground. These are kind of like the gaps between the Lego blocks that we talked about earlier. Then, you pour in the concrete to fill in the spaces around the void formers.

Once the concrete dries, you're left with a flat surface that has a bunch of voids in it. These voids can be formed in different patterns, depending on what the floor is going to be used for. The result is a lighter, stronger floor that is better for the environment and saves money.