Main Components

There are following major components in a preengineered building:

Primary or Main frame
Gable End framing or Wind columns
Secondary frame or Purlins, girts etc.
Roof & Wall Sheeting
Bracing system
Crane system
Mezzanine system
Insulations
Attachments like canopies, fascia etc
Doors, Windows, Ventilators
Accessories like Turbo vents, Ridge Vents,
Skylights etc.
Main Framing

Main framing basically includes the rigid steel

frames of the building. The PEB rigid frame

comprises tapered/straight columns and tapered

rafters (steel plate fabricated 'I' or 'H' sections are
referred to as built-up members). The frame is
erected by bolting the end plates of connecting
sections together.
Secondary frame or Purlins, girts etc.
Purlins, girts and eave struts are also known as
secondary cold-formed members. There is no
welding involved in their preparation. They are
prepared by press bending the HR steel coil giving
it the desired shape(Z- or C-shape).
Roof & Wall Panels
Metallic plain or color coated profiled steel sheets
are used as roof and wall sheeting. The steel
sheets are generally made from Zincalume or
Galvalume coils in thickness range of 0.47mm to
0.55mm. The base steel is either galvanized having
a zinc coating varying from a minimum Mass of
120 gsm./m2 to a maximum of 275 gsm./m2 (total
of both sides) or a base steel coating of zinc
aluminum (zinc 45%, aluminum 55%) of total
Mass of 150 gsm./m2 (total of both sides) are
available with permanent color coating. The color
coating is also available in various options in
polyester paint coating like regular modified

polyester, silicon modified polyester and super

polyester coatings. Special organic coatings like
PVF2 (Poly Vinyl Fluoride) are also made available.
These various color coatings on the base steel with
galvanized or zinc aluminum coating provides
suitable resistance for various kinds of
environment hazards. Metal roofing and siding
profiles can be manufactured to any length
limited only by transportation constraints (usually
to 12 meters). Lap joints with 150mm to 200mm
overlap virtually eliminate water ingress.
Profiling can be carried out at site itself with no
limit in lengths. This permits a totally joint-less run
of roofing, a major advantage to the designers to
create roofing with the minimum pitch. Machines
have been developed which permit rolling at the
eaves level so that even the task of lifting and
shifting the rolled profiles in to position is avoided.
Standing seam profiles with a pre-determined
height of up-stands can be chosen to
accommodate the expected run-off of water
without overflow on to the crest of the profile.
At the initial project planning stage, roof slope is a
key consideration for architects incorporating roof
systems into their designs. Slopes as shallow as
1:20 are possible ensuring sufficient drainage of
water and good long term performance of roof

panels.
These profile steel sheets are usually categorized
into two types depending upon the type of fixing
arrangement followed. These two types are known
as Through Fastened and second one is Standing
Seam.
Installation of this type of roofing & cladding
system can provide 30 years or more of troublefree service in most environments.
Insulations
These buildings can be properly insulated by
providing fibrous insulation slabs/rolls of noncombustible Rockwool, Aluminum foil laminated,
placed over a metal mesh bed created between the
purlins, and then the roofing steel sheet fixed over
it. The siding walls can also be insulated by
providing a double skin profile steel sheet wall
cladding having Rockwool Insulation slab
sandwiched in between and held in position with
the help of 'Z' spacers in between the two profile
steel sheets. In similar pattern a double skin
insulated roofing system can also be erected.
Sandwich Panels

Another alternative is to provide pre-fabricated

insulated panels, which comprises two single skin
panels (plain steel sheets zincalume color coated)
with polyurethane foam insulation in between.
These panels are intended for use as thermally
efficient roof and wall claddings for buildings e.g.,
in high altitude areas and cold storages. In
addition to the above sandwich panels also find
extensive use in residential as well as nonresidential buildings. The panels provide sufficient
insulation and noise reduction properties.
Nowadays large cold storage units (Potato, Onion,
vegetables, processed foods etc.) are also made
with this pre-engineered building technique.
Crane systems

These preengineered buildings can be equipped

with Overhead EOT cranes, Semi-gantry cranes,
wall mounted cranes, Mono rails and under slung
cranes for various material and equipment
handling operations inside. These buildings are
being designed for crane capacities ranging from
1MT to 250MT. The crane runway beams (Gantry
Girders) are simply supported built-up sections
with/without cap channels and with maintenance
platforms and ladders. Catwalks for crane
maintenance are usually mounted alongside the
crane beams, suspended under rigid frame rafters
or elevated above the top of the building roof.
Cranes at various levels can also be provided. PEB
vendors generally do not keep the supply of rail
and Crane Bridge with crane in their scope.
Mezzanine systems
Standard mezzanine structure consists of built-up
beams that support built-up, hot-rolled or coldformed mezzanine joists which in-turn support a
metal deck. A concrete slab is cast on the metal
deck as a finished surface. Steel checkered plates
may also be used as top surface. These
mezzanines are used for office space, storage or
equipment supports in industries. For commercial
buildings and highrise structures several types of

light weight panel boards are available as

horizontal surface.
Bracing system
Longitudinal cross bracing, used to provide lateral
stability to the structure against wind, seismic or
other forces, comprises of rods, pipes, angles or
cables with an eye bolt and an adjusting nut at
both ends, located near the outer flange of
columns or rafters and attached at the web of the
rigid frame.
Paints and finishes
Any desired finish can be achieved as per the
architect/client recommendations. Various choices
are synthetic enamel or epoxy based paints,
depending upon the environment inside and
outside the building.
Accessories, Attachments etc.
As per the functional and architectural
requirements, accessories are supplied in ready to
fit condition. Ventilation and lighting systems
should be properly designed in consultation with an
expert.
High Strength Materials

The standard mild steel used in civil engineering

construction have nominal yield stress values of
approximately 250MPa but the PEB industry is
using high tensile hot rolled steel plates and coils
of 345MPa. Recent revision of IS2062:2006 has
incorporated these high tensile grades of steel for
structural uses and there are a good number of
manufacturers like TATA, SAIL, etc. who are
manufacturing these in India. The new materials
like Fe540B gives yield stress as large as 410MPa
in plate thickness lower than 20mm. the galvalume
or zincalume roofing and wall sheets have
strengths in the range of 550MPa. Steel became
more popular in design and construction of larger
structures as well structures with unusual
geometry due to its large strength to weight ratio,
viability of economical fabrication, and ease of
erection.
A typical sample of material specs for a PEB
project, as defined and freezed in advance is
enclosed for ready reference. This indicates that
the client is assured of the quality of material that
is being supplied.
The