Cara Brogno CONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTS ACTIVITY_STRUCTURAL CONCEPT CASE STUDY BUILDING NAME: MSLE 1 – DESCRIPTION/ CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS A) FOUNDATIONS AND FOOTINGS
Existing strip footing (unknown material) being added into new reinforced concrete slab footing (20 mm bars, 250 mm spacing – (N20-250)). Strip footing – continuous spread footings of foundation walls Reinforced concrete slab – plate structure with tensile reinforcement Soil classification is unknown, however references indicate it may be clay (refer to foundation notes – general notes) B) PRIMARY STRUCTURE (HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL) C) SECONDARY STRUCTURE (HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL)
2 – GRAPHIC STRUCTURAL DIAGRAMS A) FOUNDATIONS AND FOOTINGS
B) PRIMARY STRUCTURE
(HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL)
New reinforced concrete slab over pre-existing strip footings
C) SECONDARY
STRUCTURE (HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL)
3 – IDENTIFICATION, DESCRIPTION & LOCATION OF STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
Cara Brogno A) Concrete with steel reinforcement to absorb tensile, shear and compressive stresses (slab) B) Brick (piers) – masonry unit of clay C) Steel (columns, beams and lintels) 4 – IDENTIFY 3 STRUCTURAL JOINTS A) Steel beam weld (perpendicular to masonry wall)
B) Column to steel beam connection – bolt
C) Welded steel connection
5 – IDENTIFY & EXPLAIN THE USE OF DIFFERENT STRUCTURAL FIXINGS
Cara Brogno A) WELD – joining structural steel members by heat
Fillet weld – join overlapping elements Groove weld – V groove filled with weld materials B) CONCRETE –
C) BOLT – threaded metal pins or rods, to be inserted through holes and secured by a
mating nut. Steel bolts may be used to fasten wood members – resist withdrawal and lateral loads better than nails and screws D) SCREW – Metal fasteners designed to be driven into wood, resist withdrawal loads,
are more brittle than nails, have a greater holding power and are more easily removed E) NAIL – metal, hammered into wood and other materials as a fastener
6 – SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: concrete A) CARBON FOOTPRINT
CO2e: 150kg per tonne (100 days) - For every pound of cement – approximately 0.9 pounds of CO2 - Concrete resource use – double that for steel - Water pollution impact – about half of that for steel - Overall smaller environmental impact than for steel B) EMBODIED ENERGY -
Has relatively low embodied energy
-
Contains recycled materials
Cara Brogno
C) RECYCLABILITY -
Concrete can be recycled – often used as road fill and used as aggregate in new concrete
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Concrete can also me made using other recycled materials, reducing the landfill for these materials and the extraction and processing of virgin materials
7 – ECONOMICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DECISIONS Concrete is somewhat of a sustainable material as it has relatively low embodied energy, can be made using recycled materials and is recyclable. It also has good longevity and may be reinforced to give very good structural strength and resist compressive and tensional forces. It saves on costs in the production of new materials, the material itself is low in cost and its longevity will mean that money will be saved on its replacement.
Cara Brogno
REFERENCE LIST: Ching, F.D.K 2008, Building Construction Illustrated, John Wiley &Sons Inc., New Jersey. Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World 2013, Portland Cement Association, Washington DC, viewed 5 September 2013, < http://www.concretethinker.com/Index.aspx>. Embodied Energy, Graph, TechEco Pty. Ltd., viewed 5 September 2013, < http://www.tececo.com.au/sustainability.embodied_energy.php>. The Concrete Advantage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Recyclability (nd), viewed 5 September 2013, <http://www.irmca.org/site/DownloadableContentHandler.ashx?mediaId=96d3e031-eb7a4256-9b8f-7d5565d4f469>.