Structural System

Structural System

The Structural System will depend on

functional, technical and aesthetic requirements,
and it is important to take a global approach
when considering optimum design solutions.

Factors Affecting Choice of Structural

Systems
The design should ensure a coordinated approach including
structure, envelope, services and finishes.

The principal decisions regarding structure relate to column

layout, foundation conditions, integration of building services,
and external wall construction.

The design of steel framed buildings encompasses not only the

structure, but also the building envelope, services and finishes.
All these elements must be coordinated by a firm dimensional
discipline which recognizes the modular nature of the
components to ensure maximum repetition and standardizations
in the predetermined grid layout.

Types of Structural System

Followings are the three types of Structural System:

Load-bearing wall construction

Skeleton framing

Combination of the two

Factors Governing Types

Selection

Economics not necessary the one that

requires the least structural materials

Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical

and other costs may be affected

1.

Load Bearing Walls

Load Bearing Walls serves as:

Facades

Enclosures

Separators

Fire barriers

Carry floor & roof loads

to the foundation

Load-Bearing Wood
Walls:

One to three storey buildings

(Houses)

2 x 4 or 2 x 6 construction

Studs on 16 to 24 centers

Top & Bottom plates

Headers

Max. Wall ht. (Unsupported) =

15

Load-Bearing Masonry Walls:

10 Storeys or More

Thickness of Walls vary depending on height

Trapezoidal cross section

Lintels or arches at openings

Load-Bearing
reinforced concrete
Walls:

Thinner than Masonry

Solid or Cavity

Load-Bearing Walls
are used for:

Exterior

Interior Partitions

Wind Bracing

Service Core Enclosure

Load-Bearing Partitions:

Short intervals

Carry Floor/Ceiling Loads

Load-Bearing walls:

Can serve as Shear Walls = Resists Wind &

Earthquake (Seismic) Loads

2. Skeleton Framing
Skeleton Framing serves
as:

Columns carry Foundation

Lateral Forces resisted by

Columns and Diagonal Braces, or
Rigid Frame

Horizontal Structural Slab or

Deck:

Floor/Ceiling/Ducts

Flat Plate Construction

Flat Slab reinforced concrete

Slab Band Construction

Two Way Slabs

Beam & Girder Construction:

Wood joist or Rafters on 16 to 24 centers W/lumber

or Plywood Decking

Open Web Steel Joist

Light, Rolled-Steel Beams

Pre-cast Concrete Planks

Heavier Load / Longer Spans:

One Way Ribbed Concrete Slabs

Two Way Waffle Slab

Pre-stressed Concrete Planks, Tees, Double Tees or

Girders

Laminated Wood Girders

Structural Steel Beams & Girders

Multi-Storey Medium
Span
Structures

Multi-Storey Buildings

Why Multi-Storey Buildings are made?

Large Urban Population

Expensive Land
o

Multi-Storey Buildings make more efficient use of land:

Higher the building (More Storeys ) Larger the ratio of the building
Floor area to the used land area
o

Technological competition (very High buildings)

Until the end of the 18th century most buildings of

several storeys in the Western World were made of:

Continuous Walls of brick or stone masonry supporting the roof

Floor from timber beams

o

The same structural system used in the Roman City of

Herculaneum

Multi-Storey buildings beginnings

Beginning of the 19th century forefront of

industrial revolution in England:

Demand for large factory buildings of several storeys and large clear
floor areas

Cast iron available in bulk

Cast iron columns used instead of bearing walls and cast iron beams in
stead of timber floor joists.

Elevator invented in USA in 1870, enabling much

taller office and apartment buildings to be
constructed

Most multi-Storey buildings in USA were still

making use of masonry walls instead of columns

Forms
Followingsof
areMulti-Storey
the three Forms ofBuildings
Multi-Storey Buildings:
1.

Non Continuous Columns with Continuous

Beams

2.

Continuous Multi-Storey Columns and

Beams

3.

Cross - Wall Construction

1. Non Continuous Columns and

Continuous Beams:

Single Storey columns are jointed at each floor level. Pre-cast

edge beams or internal spine beams are erected over these
columns and are connected using high strength dowel bars in
grouted dowel tubes cast in the both the beams and columns.

2. Continuous Multi-Storey Columns

and Beams

Multi-Storey Columns up to four storeys tall are commonly

used as perimeters columns with integrated corbel details.
For buildings taller than four storeys, columns in two storey
lengths are used at higher levels with designed tie
connections at the column joints. Columns can be
manufactured economically in the lengths of up to 14m.

3. Cross Wall Construction

Cross Walls Multi-Storey Structures consists of flooring and

Load-Bearing walls, where the walls support the floors and the
structure above. Lateral stability is provided transversely across
the building by the cross-wall system and longitudinally by stairs
and lift shaft cores, which are also formed by pre-cast wall
panels. This type of construction is ideal for buildings of cellular
structure, for example Hotels, Office or Apartment Blocks.

Benefits

Unaffected by the site weather conditions

Competitive Pricing

Factory Production to exacting quality standards

Speed of erection

Efficient and economic structure, based on earlier completion

period

Reduced down-stand beam depth which maximize floor to

ceiling height

Increase design flexibility to cater for all situations

Excellent sound insulation and fire resistance, inherent in all

pre-cast products.

Structural Elements
Followings are the Structural Elements used in
Multi-Storey Building:
Columns

Beams

Plates

Arches

Shells

Catenaries

Columns:

Columns are elements that carry only axial force either

tension or compression or both axial force and bending
(which is technically called a beam-column but practically,
just a column). The design of a column must check the axial
capacity of element and buckling capacity.

Beams:

A Beam may be:

Cantilevered supported at one end only with a fixed connection

Simply supported (supported vertically at each end but able to rotate

at the supports)

Continuous (supported by three or more supports)

Combination of the above (Supported at one end and in the middle)

Beams are elements which carry pure bending only. Bending
causes one section of a Beam (divided along its length) to go into
compression and the other section into tension. The compression
section must be designed to resist buckling and crushing, while the
tension section must be able to adequately resist the tension.

Plates:

Plates carry bending in two directions. A concrete flat slab is an

example of a plate. Plates are understood by using Continuum
Mechanics, but due to the complexity involved they are most
often designed using a codified empirical approach, or
computer analysis.

They can also be designed with yield line theory, where an

assumed collapse mechanism is analyzed to give an upper
bound on the collapse load. This is rarely used in practice.

Shells:

Shells derive their strength from their form and carry forces in
compression in two directions. A dome is an example of Shell.
They can be designed by making a hanging-chain model, which
will act as a catenary's in pure tension and inverting the form to
achieve pure compression.

Arches:

Arches carry forces in compression in one direction only

which is why, it is appropriate to build arches out of masonry.
They are designed by ensuring that the line of thrust of the
force remains within the depth of the arch.

Catenaries:

Catenaries derive their strength from their form and

carry transverse forces in pure tension by deflecting (just
as a tightrope will sag when someone walks on it). They
are almost always cable or fabric structure. A fabric
structure acts as catenaries in two directions.

Large Span Structure

Structural Forms

Followings are the structural Forms used for large

span structure:

Beam Structures

Portals and Arches

Masted Structures

Space Frames

Umbrella Structures

Cable Structures

Beam Structures

Structures consisting of beams supported on columns are simple

and commonly used, especially where the minimum internal
volume is required.

Portal and Arches

Arches, which can take a variety of forms, are efficient

structures for long span roofs.

Masted Structures

The concept of Masted Structures is not new, but they have only
recently become popular as a means of providing lightweight
structures for general use.

Space Frames

Space Structures are efficient three-dimensional structural

assemblies which can take a variety of forms.

Umbrella Structures

The final option for consideration is the umbrella or tree structures

in which the roof cantilevers from a central column and can be
repeated and joined to other similar assemblies at each or any side
to form a continuous structures

Cable Structures

Cables Good resistance in tension, but no strength in compression

Tent:

A cable structure consisting of waterproofing membrane supported

by ropes or cables and posts

Cable must be maintained in tension by pre-stressing in order to

avoid large vibrations under wind forces and avoid collapse

Cables : Roof Structures

Cables in a cable supported roof

must be maintained in tension
easily achieved if the roof is
saddle-shaped
Example: Hyperbolic paraboloid
with curvatures in opposite sense
in directions at right angles
o Cables hung in direction BD
o A second set of cables placed
over them, parallel to direction
AC and put to tension
o Cables from the second set press
down on those from the first one.
Putting them into tension as well :
Fullytensioned network

o
o

Example: One of the first doubly

curved
saddle-shaped
cable
supported roof was the Dorton
Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina,
build in 1952.
The building was dimensions of
92m x 97m.
The roof is suspended between
two parabolic arches in reinforced
concrete intercrossing each other
and supported by the columns.
The cable network consists of 47
pre-stressed cables with diameter
varying from 19mm to 33mm.

Cables: Suspension Bridge

Suspension Bridges:The simple design of early bridges:

Cables ( catenaries)
Light deck
Hangers suspending the deck on catenaries
Lack of stability in high winds
Very flexible under concentrated loads, as the form of the cable
will adapt to loading form

Example: Capilano Suspension Bridge, Canada.

Continue:
Improved behavior under traffic and wind loads:
Stiffening trusses at the level of the deck that distributes
concentrated loads over greater lengths

Alternatively: restrain vertical movement of the catenaries by

inclined cables attached to the top of the towers or below the deck

Example: The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan: 1991m span

Example: Golden Gate Bridge, California, USA: 1280m span

Example: Brooklyn Bridge, USA ( The largest from 1883 until

1903): 486m span

Famous Collapse:
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, USA, collapsed on November 7, 1940
due to wind-induced vibrations. It had been open for traffic for a
few months only before collapsing.

Cables-Stayed Bridge

A cables-stayed Bridge consists of one or more piers, with cables

supporting the bridge deck
Basic idea: reduce the span of the beam (deck) several times
compared to the clear span between the piers
Steel cable-stayed Bridges are regarded as the most economical
bridge design for the spans ranging between 200m and 400m
Shorter span: truss or box girder bridges
Larger spans: suspension bridges

Example: Rio-Antirio Bridge in Greece, longest span: 560m. Total

length: 2880m.

Example: The Millau Viaduct, France. Longest span: 342m. Total

length: 2460m.