AR 17 63

Building Materials and

Construction - V

Mohammed Shibin N
Assistant Professor, Al Salama Institute of Architecture, Perinthalmanna,
Kerala, 679338, India. email: ar.mohammedshibin@gmail.com
Course Objectives

The Building materials and construction course for students of

architecture would,
• Introduce to the student the advanced structural concepts in
Architecture.
• Help them understand the details and application of advanced
construction methodologies.

Course Outcome
• An understanding of the properties of various building materials and
their applications.
• Exposure to advanced construction techniques used for constructing
various components of a building.
MODULE 2

Advanced structural concepts in architecture

Pre stressed concrete structures: Precast pre stressed construction.
Two-way waffle slab, Two-way flat plate, Pre tensioning, Post
tensioning, Hollow core slabs, T beam and slab.

Tensile structures: Concept of tensile structures, classification, uses,

materials used. Application of cable structures in architecture.

Plate structures: Definition, classification and application, folded

plates, flat slab and coffered slab.

Special Structures: Concept, Classification and Application of

Pneumatic Structures, Kinetic Structures and Mobile Structures, Portal
frames: Definition, and Application.
Sketches : folded plate, Post tensioned slab, Pre tensioned slab, Portal
frame.
PRE STRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

 Precast pre stressed construction

 Two-way waffle slab

 Two-way flat plate

 Pre tensioning

 Post tensioning

 Hollow core slabs

 T beam and slab.

 PRE STRESSED CONSTRUCTION

PRE CAST- CAST IN SITU-

PRE STRESSED CONSTRUCTION PRE STRESSED CONSTRUCTION

Pre tensioning Post tensioning Pre tensioning Post tensioning

PRE CAST CONCRETE
• Concrete elements ,casted and cured at plant and then transported
to the site

• Plant casting increases efficiency and quality control

• Durable and permanent steel forms used many times

• Reduce in formwork cost

• allow concrete members to be casted and cured in 24 hours

PRE STRESSED CONSTRUCTION
• Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural
weakness in tension.
• It can be used to produce beams , floors , bridges with a longer span
than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete.
Reinforced concrete:

• Concrete is strong in compression weak in tension.

• Steel in strong in tension
• Reinforced concrete uses concrete to resist compression and to
hold bars in position and uses steel to resist tension.
• R.C beams allows crack under service load.
PRE STRESSED CONSTRUCTION
Prestress is defined as a method of applying precompression to control
the stresses resulting due to external loads below the neutral axis of
the beam.
 A form of concrete that is ‘prestressed’ by being placed under
compression prior to supporting any loads.

 Compression is produced by tensioning of high strength ‘tendons’

located within the concrete to improve the performance

 Tendons may be single wire, multi wire strands or threaded bars

 Improves structural capacity and serviceability as compared to

conventional concrete.
PRE TENSIONING

• A method of prestressing concrete in which the tendons are tensioned before

concreting.
• Pre-tensioning is done by stressing a wire, strand or bar, PRIOR to concreting.
• As these stressed elements are embedded and bonded in the concrete, no
anchorages are required to hold back the tension forces in it.
• Pre-tensioning is predominantly done in precast yards. End blocks supported
by piles are required to be erected to hold back these prestressing forces.
POST TENSIONING
• For post-tensioning, wire, strand or bar is installed and stressed to its intended
forces AFTER concreting has taken place. Anchorages and wedges are used to
hold back the forces
• Afterwards, once the concrete has gained strength but before the service loads
are applied, the cables are pulled tight, or tensioned, and anchored against the
outer edges of the concrete.
• Prestressed concrete is used in a wide range of building and civil structures
where its improved performance can allow for longer spans, reduced
structural thicknesses, and material savings compared with simple
reinforced concrete.

• Typical applications include high-rise buildings, residential slabs, foundation

systems, bridge and dam structures, silos and tanks, industrial pavements
and nuclear containment structures.

Sydney Opera House

Ocean Heights Dubai Marina
TWO-WAY WAFFLE SLAB
• A two-way waffle slab is a concrete slab made of reinforced concrete with
concrete ribs running in two directions on its underside.
• The name waffle comes from the grid pattern created by the reinforcing ribs.
Waffle slabs are preferred for spans greater than 40 feet (12 m), as they are
much stronger than flat slabs, flat slabs with drop panels, two-way slabs, one-
way slabs, and one-way joist slabs.
Section of a waffle slab including beam, ribs, and column head
• A waffle slab can be made in different ways but forms are needed to
give the waffle shape to the slab.

• The formwork is made up of many elements: waffle pods, horizontal

supports, vertical supports, cube junctions, hole plates, clits and steel
Bars.

• First the supports are built, then the pods are arranged in place, and
finally the concrete is poured.
This process may occur in three different approaches, however the
basic method is the same in each:

 In situ: Formwork construction and pouring of concrete occur on site,

then the slab is assembled (if required).

 Precast: The slabs are made somewhere else and then brought to
the site and assembled.

 Pre-fabricated: The reinforcements are integrated into the slab while

being manufactured, without needing to reinforce the assembly on
site. This is the most expensive option.
Advantages of waffle slab

The waffle slab floor system has several advantages:

 Better for buildings that require less vibrations – this is managed by
the two way joist reinforcements that form the grid.
 Bigger spans can be achieved with less material, being more
economical and environmentally friendly
 Some people find the waffle pattern aesthetically pleasing
 Greater load capacity than traditional one-way slabs
 If holes are provided between the ribs, building services can be run
through them.
Disadvantages of waffle slab

 Greater quantities of formwork materials are needed, which can be

very costly
 Waffle slabs are thicker than flat slabs, so the height between each
floor must be greater to have enough space for the slab system and
other building services
 Waffle slabs are preferred for flat topographical areas not sloped
sites
TWO-WAY FLAT PLATE
A flat slab is a two-way reinforced concrete slab that usually does not have beams
and girders, and the loads are transferred directly to the supporting concrete columns
 A flat plate is a one- or two-way system usually supported directly on columns or
load bearing walls.
 It is one of the most common forms of construction of floors in buildings. The
principal feature of the flat plate floor is a uniform or near-uniform thickness
with a flat soffit which requires only simple formwork and is easy to construct.
Advantages of Flat Slab
Flexibility in room layout.
•Partition walls can be placed anywhere.
•Offers a variety of room layout to the owner.
•False ceilings can be omitted.

Reinforcement placement is easier.

• As reinforcement detailing of flat slab is simple, it is easier to place.

Building height can be reduced.

• As no beam is used, floor height can be reduced and consequently
the building height will be reduced.
• Approximately 10% of the vertical member could be saved
• Foundation load will also reduce.

Less construction time.

• Use of big table framework helps to reduce construction time
Disadvantages of Flat Slab
Span length is medium.
• In flat plate system, it is not possible to have large span.

Higher slab thickness

• Compared to typical reinforced concrete two way slab system, the
thickness of flat plate slabs are higher.
HOLLOW CORE SLABS
 Hollow-core is a prestressed concrete flat slab containing continuous hollow
voids that run throughout its length. It is lighter in weight and lower in cost
than conventional cast-in-place concrete. The two most popular applications for
hollow-core are floor and roof deck systems.

 typically used in the construction of floors in multi-story apartment buildings.

 Precast hollow-core elements is also known as the most sustainable floor/roof

system and has far smaller CO2 footprint.
Advantages of Hollow core slabs
• Large span length
• Reducing the need for excessive steel and masonry.
• Reducing the amount of beams and columns needed for support
• Increasing valuable space
• Fire Resistance
• High Sound Resistance
T BEAM AND SLAB
• A T-beam is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with
a T-shaped cross section.
• The top of the T-shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member
in resisting compressive stresses.
• The web (vertical section) of the beam below the compression flange serves to
resist shear stress.
• The T-beam has a big disadvantage compared to an I-beam because it has no
bottom flange with which to deal with tensile forces.
• One way to make a T-beam more efficient structurally is to use an inverted T-
beam with a floor slab or bridge deck joining the tops of the beams. Done
properly, the slab acts as the compression flange.
Advantages :
 Since the beam is casted monolithically with the slab, the flange
also takes up the compressive stresses which means it will be
more effective in resisting the sagging moment acting on the
beam.

 Better head room, this is direct outcome of the first point since
the depth of the beam can be considerably reduced.

 For larger spans, t beams are usually preferred rather than

rectangular beam as the deflection is reduced to a good extent.
Disadvantages :
 There is a considerable increase in the shear stress at the
junction of the flange and the web of the beam due to the
change in cross section. So casting should be done very carefully
to ensure both are bonded well.

 Since the beam slab is monolithic (rigid), it becomes very weak

in resisting lateral shear forces. (cracks develops quickly). Hence
usually in earthquake prone zones using t beams for high rise
building is reinforced with mechanical stiffeners in the junction.