PREENGINEERED BUILDINGS

ABSTRACT:
Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) concept is a new
conception of single storey industrial building
construction. This methodology is versatile not only
due to its quality pre-designing and prefabrication,
but also due to its light weight and economical
construction. The concept includes the technique of
providing the best possible section according to the
optimum requirement. The pre-engineered steel
building system construction has great advantages
to the single storey buildings, practical and efficient
alternative to conventional buildings, the System
representing one central model within multiple
disciplines. This paper deals with the
construction ,various types, analysis ,design and
application of pre engineered buildings.
KEYWORDS: Pre engineered buildings, framing
system, design.
INTRODUCTION:
Technological improvement over the year
has contribute d immensely to the enhancement
of quality of life through various new products and
services. One such revolution was the pre
engineered buildings. Through its origin can be
traced back to 1960s its potential has been felt only
during the recent years. This was mainly due to
the development in technology, which helped in
computerizing the design and design.
Though initially only off the shelf products were
available in these configurations aided by the
technological development tailor made solutions are
also made using this technology in very short
durations.
A
recent
survey
by
the
Metal Building Associations (MBMA) shows that
about 60% of the non residential low rises building
in USA are pre engineered buildings.
Although PEB systems are
extensively used in industrial and many other non
residential constructions world wide, it is relatively
a new concept in India. These concepts were
introduced to the Indian markets lately in the late
1990s with the opening up of the economy and a
number of multi nationals setting up their projects.
The market potential of PEBs is 1.2 million tones
per annum. The current pre engineered steel
building manufacturing capacity is 0.35 million
tones per annum. The industry is growing at the
compound rate of 25 to 30 %.With respect to design

of the structure and aesthetic appearance India is

way behind. Indian manufacturers are trying to
catch up; comparatively PEBs is a new concept in
India. Beside, in fabrication and other areas of PEB
India is very good. As compared to other countries
Indian codes for building design are stringent but
safer. IS standards are upgraded continuously. In
India, American codes are also followed.
Pre engineered steel buildings can be
fitted with different structural accessories including
mezzanine floors, canopies, fascias, interior
partitions etc. and the building is made water proof
by use of special mastic beads, filler strips and
trims. This is very versatile buildings systems and
can be finished internally to serve any functions and
accessorized externally to achieve attractive and
unique designing styles. It is very advantageous
over the conventional buildings and is really helpful
in the low rise building design.
Pre engineered buildings are generally low rise
buildings however the maximum eave height can go
upto 25 to 30 metres. Low rise buildings are ideal
for offices, houses, showrooms, shop fronts etc. The
application of pre engineered buildings concept to
low rise buildings is very economical and speedy.
Buildings can be constructed in less than half the
normal time especially when complemented with
the other engineered sub systems.
The most common and economical type of low rise
buildings is a building with ground floor and two
intermediate floor plus roof. The roof of low rise
buildings may be flat or sloped. Intermediate floors
of low rise buildings are made of mezzanine
systems. Single storied houses for living take
minimum time for construction and can be built in
any type of geographical location like extreme cold
hilly areas, high rain prone areas, plain land
obviously and extreme hot climatic zones as well.
PRE ENGINEERED BUILDINGS:
Pre-Engineered Building concept involves
the steel building systems which are predesigned
and prefabricated. As the name indicates, this
concept involves pre-engineering of structural
elements using a predetermined registry of building
materials and manufacturing techniques that can be
proficiently complied with a wide range of
structural and aesthetic design requirements. The
basis of the PEB concept lies in providing the
section at a location only according to the
requirement at that spot. The sections can be
varying throughout the length according to the

bending moment diagram. This leads to the

utilization of non-prismatic rigid frames with
slender elements. Tapered I sections made with
built-up thin plates are used to achieve this
configuration. Standard hot-rolled sections, coldformed sections, profiled roofing sheets, etc. is also
used along with the tapered sections. The use of
optimal least section leads to effective saving of
steel and cost reduction. The typical PEB frame of
the structure considered for the study is as shown in
Figure 1

Frames of pre engineered buildings are made from

a extensive inventory of standard steel plates
stocked by the PEB manufacturer.PEB frames are
normally tapered and often have flanges and webs
of
variable thicknesses along the individual
members. The frame geometry matches the shape of
the internal stress(bending moment)diagram. Thus
optimizing the material usage and reducing the total
weight of the structure
.

SECONDARY FRAMING SYSTEM

FIG 1
PRE ENGINEERING BUILDING CONCEPT:
PRIMARY FRAMING SYSTEM:
In conventional steel building ,millproduced hot rolled sections (beams and columns)
are used. The size of each member is selected on the
basis of the maximum internal stress in the
member .Since a hot rolled section has a constant
depth ,many parts of the member (represented by
the hatched area), in areas of low internal stresses
are in excess of design requirements.

"Z" shaped roof purlins and wall girts are

used for secondary framing .they are lighter than the
conventional hot rolled "I" or "C" shaped sections
in conventional steel buildings .
Nesting of the "Z" shaped members of the
frames allows them to act as continuous members
along the length of the building. This doubles the
strength capacity of the "Z" shaped members. At the
laps where the maximum internal stresses normally
occur.

TYPES OF FRAME
There are Several types of main frames
used in PEB buildings, The choice of the type of
main frame to be used is dependent on :1. Total width of the building.

2. The permitted spacing between columns in the

transversal direction according to customer
requirements and the function of the building.
3. The existence of sub structure (RC or masonry)
4. The architectural requirements of the customer
specially the shape of the gable.
5. The type of rain drainage (internal drainage
availability).
6. Any customer special requirements.

however, the seismic loads and wind loads are

calculated manually for the present work as per IS
codes. The software also provides Loading for
Joints, Members/Elements including Concentrated,
Uniform, Linear, Trapezoidal, Temperature, Strain,
Support Displacement, Pre stressed and Fixed-end
Loads. It also provides the facility of Combination
of Dynamic forces with Static loading for
subsequent design.
LOADS CONSIDERATION:
Frame design can handle different types of
loadings as described below:
All the building dead loads due to sheeting,
purlins, etc. and the self weight of the frame
.Imposed live load on the frame with tributary
reductions as well. Collateral load such as false
ceiling, light fixtures, AC ducting loads, sprinkler
systems and many other suspended loads of similar
nature.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN:

STAAD Pro software can be used for
analyzing and designing of the pre-engineered
buildings. It gives the Bending Moment, Axial
Forces, Shear Forces, Torsion, Beam Stresses of a
steel structure so that the design can be done using
tapered sections and check for the safety.
STATIC ANALYSIS:
In the present work, using the Staad Pro
software, 2D/3D analysis has been done using
Stiffness Matrix Method. All the components of
Pre-engineered building are tapered using the inbuilt option of the Software. The software provides
options for hinged, fixed, and spring supports with
releases so as to analyze as per our requirement.
Herein this work, fixed supports are assigned to the
structures. It also facilitates Linear, P-Delta
Analysis, and Non-Linear Analysis with automatic
load and stiffness correction. Multiple Analyses can
also be done simultaneously which reduces the
time. It also has an option of assigning members as
tension-only members and compression-only
members for truss structures
.
DYNAMIC ANALYSIS:
Dynamic analysis has been done in the
present work taking seismic loads and wind loads
into consideration .The software provides automatic
load generation for seismic and wind forces,

Wind loads input such as basic wind speed

or basic wind pressure that will be converted to
deign wind pressure as per the building code
specified by the user and shall be applied to the
different members of the building according to the
coefficients mentioned in the codes prescribed by
the user. The standard building codes like MBMA,
UBC, ANSI, IS:875 part 3 etc are used fro this
purpose.
Crane and non crane loading can be specified by
the user and the program has the capability to
handle these special loads and combine them with
the other loads as required.
Seismic loads corresponding to the
different zone categories of various international
codes can also be defined and combined with other
load cases as required .Temperature loads can also
be specified in the form of different differential
temperature value on centigrade and specifying the
appropriate coefficient for the thermal expansion
.Load combinations with appropriate load factors
can be specified by the user as desired.
DESIGN CODES:
Following are the main design codes generally
used:
AISC : American institute of steel construction
manual
AISI : American
iron
and
steel
institute
specifications
MBMA : Metal building manufacturers code

ANSI : American national standards institute

specifications
ASCE : American society of civil engineers
UBC : Uniform building code
IS : Indian standards
DESIGN CRITERIA:
DESIGN METHOD:Allowable stress design
method is used as per the AISC specifications.
DEFLECTIONS: Unless otherwise specified, the
deflections will go to MBMA, AISC criteria and
standard industry practices.
PRIMARY FRAMING: Moment resisting frames
with pinned or fixed bases.
SECONDARY FRAMING: Cold formed Z sections
or C sections for purlins or girts designed as
continuous beams spanning over rafters and
columns with laps.
LONGITUDANAL STABILITY: Wind load on
building end walls is transferred through roof
purlins to braced bays and carried to the
foundations through diagonal bracing.
DESIGN SOFTWARE:The latest software that is
used for design is STAAD 2007.

height is possible by pre designing for future

expansion.
4) Buildings can be supplied to around 80M clear
spans.
5) As buildings are manufactured completely in the
factory under controlled conditions the quality is
assure
6) Buildings are supplied with high quality paint
systems for cladding and steel to suit ambient
conditions at the site, which results in long
durability and low maintenance coats.
7 Buildings can be supplied with polyurethane
insulated panels or fibre glass blankets insulation to
achieve required U values.
8)Building can be supplied with various types of
fascias, canopies, and curved eaves and are
designed to receive pre cast concrete wall panels,
curtain walls, block walls and other wall systems.
9) As the complete building package is supplied by
a single vendor, compatibility of all the building
components and accessories is assured. This is one
of the major benefits of the pre engineered building
systems.
CONVENTIONAL BUILDING
ENGINEERED BUILDING:

VS

PRE

The main difference of conventional building with

peb is the reduction in the self weight of the
structure.

APPLICATIONS:
Pre engineered buildings have their applications in
buildings like schools ,bridges ,indoor stadium
roofs, outdoor stadium canopies, railway platform
shelters, metro stations ,workshops, warehouses,
gas stations, factories.
ADVANTAGES:
1) Buildings are typically delivered in just a few
weeks after approval of drawings. Foundation and
anchor bolts are cast parallel with finished, ready
for the site bolting. Our study shows that in India
the use of PEB will reduce total construction time
of the project by at least 50%. This also allows
faster occupancy and earlier realization of revenue.
2) Due to the systems approach, there is a
significant saving in design, manufacturing and on
site erection cost. The secondary members and
cladding nest together reducing transportation cost.
3) Buildings can be easily expanded in length by
adding additional bays. Also expansion in width and

The above figure shows how well the amount of

steel is optimized in pre engineered buildings and
amount of steel consumed in conventional
buildings.

and over.
PROPERT
Y

PEB BUILDINGS

CONVENTI
ONAL
STEEL
BUILDINGS

STRUCT
URE
WEIGHT

Pre
engineered
buildings are on the
average 30% lighter
because
of
the
efficient use of steel.
Primary
framing
members are tapered
built up section.
With
the
large
depths in areas of
higher stress.

Primary steel
members are
selected hot
rolled
T
sections.
Which are, in
many
segments of
the members
heavier than
what
is
actually
required by
design?
Members
have
constant
cross section
regardless of
the varying
magnitude of
the
local
stresses
along
the
member
length.

Secondary members
are light weight roll
formed Z or C
shaped members.

Secondary
members are
selected from
standard hot
rolled
sections
which
are
much
heavier.

Quick and efficient:

since PEBs are
mainly formed by
standard
sections
and
connections
design,
time
is
significantly
reduced.
Basic
design based on
international design
codes are used over

Each
conventional
steel
structure is
designed
form scratch
with fewer
design aids
available to
the engineer.

DESIGN

Specialized compute
r analysis
design
programs optimize
material required.
Drafting is also
computerized using
standard detail that
minimize the use of
project
custom
details.

Substantial
engineering
and detailing
work
is
required
from
the
very basic is
required by
the
consultant
with fewer
design aids.

Design shop detail

sketches
and
erection drawings
are supplied free of
cost
by
the
manufacturer.
Approval drawing is
usually
prepared
FOUNDATI
within in 2 weeks.
ON

Extensive
amount
consultant
time
devoted
the
alterations
that have
be done.

PEB
designers
design and detail
PEB
buildings
almost every day of
the year resulting in
improving
the
quality of designs
every time they
SEISMIC
RESISTANC work
E

As
each
project is a
new project
engineers
need more ti
me
to
develop the
designs and
details of the
unique
structure.

Simple design, easy Extensive,

to construct and heavy
light weight.
foundation
required.

of
is
to
to

The low weight

flexible frames offer
higher resistance to
seismic forces.

Rigid heavy
frames
do
not perform
well
in
seismic
zones.

2)Optimization of pre engineered buildings-bk

raghu prasad, sunil kumar,amaranth(international
journal of research and application)
3)Comparative study of analysis and design of pre
engineered buildings and conventional buildingahmad zende,kulkarni,aslam hutagi(international
jouranal of research and application)
4)www.engineeringcivil.com

CONCLUSION:
Thus from this paper it is evident that pre
engineered buildings are good in every aspects
when compared with conventional buildings and it
can be a best alternative to normal conventional
building.
REFERENCE:
1)Design concept of pre engineered buildings -syed
firoz,sarathchandrakumar,kanakambararao(internati
onal journal of research and application).

5)www.interarchbuildings.com
6)Design of steel structures ,s.k.duggal
7)Design of steel structures,bhavikatti