UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
UEBA 2823 BUILDING STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
TRIMESTER MAY 2015
GROUP ASSIGNMENT REPORT

GROUP MEMBERS:

CHANG HUI YI
FOO
YONG

13UEB03218
SHENG

TAN YING KUAN

YONG SONG ZHE

13UEB04620
13UEB06752

13UEB05369

LECTURER:

PN. NURULAIN HANIDA BINTI MOHAMAD FODZI

SITE:

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AT KELANA JAYA

ASSESSMENT:

INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS AND PHOTO
CONCLUSION
REPORT STRUCTURE
TOTAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1.0

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3

1.1

Introduction to the Selected Site...............................................................................................3

1.2

Introduction to Structural System.............................................................................................5

1.3

Functions of Structural System.................................................................................................5

1.4

Structural Elements...................................................................................................................6

1.5

Types of Structure.....................................................................................................................6

2.0

OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS..........................................................................................8

2.1

General Observation and Analysis............................................................................................8

2.1.1

Type of structural systems and construction method.........................................................8

2.1.2

Structural pattern and spanning system...........................................................................10

2.1.3

Structural materials..........................................................................................................12

2.2

Vertical Elements....................................................................................................................13

2.2.1

Column............................................................................................................................13

2.2.1.1

Tributary Loads........................................................................................................17

2.2.1.2

Load Accumulation..................................................................................................18

2.2.1.3

Vertical Continuity...................................................................................................19

2.2.1.4

Type of Column Cross Section.................................................................................20

2.2.1.5

Design of reinforced concrete column.....................................................................21

2.2.2

Loadbearing Wall.............................................................................................................22

2.2.2.1
2.3

Bearing Walls...........................................................................................................23

Horizontal Elements................................................................................................................24

2.3.1

Floor Slab........................................................................................................................24

2.3.1.1

Types of slab.............................................................................................................25

2.3.1.2

Slab thickness...........................................................................................................25

2.3.1.3

Grade of concrete.....................................................................................................26

2.3.2

Beam................................................................................................................................26

2.3.2.1

Key variables of beam design..................................................................................27

1.1.1.1

Hollow beam............................................................................................................28

3.0

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................30

4.0

REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................31

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1

Introduction to the Selected Site

Our group had selected an apartment that consists of 5 stories which is located at SS4, Jalan SS4/4C
Kelana Jaya as a case study for this assignment. In this report, we are going to study and explain the
building structural system that found in the selected building.

CONDOMINIUM

SEMI-D

Figure 1.1.1

View of the construction site

First and foremost, for introducing the site, a row of Semi-D housing under progress is on our left
hand side, and the 5 stories of apartment on our right as shown in the Figure above. The floor where
we were standing on is the basement car park. Semi-D housing and the 5 stories apartment is located
at the same site and there are under a same developer. However, we are focus on the analysis of the
apartment in this assignment.

Error:

Reference

source not found and

Error:

Reference

source not found is the

location plan and the
site plan we got from
the site manager.
Figure .3Location Plan

Figure .2Site Plan

Figure 1.1.2

Construction site

Figure 1.1.2 shows that between the site and the electric transmission line, there is a drainage that
exists before the construction site. From the photo, Kelana Jaya LRT station is at the most right hand
side. Thus, the location of the housing area will bring convenience to the dwellers as public
transportation is easy to be obtained. We had visited the site and collected information from Ms
Joanne and Mr Ng from the site.

Figure 1.1.3

Apartment view

In Figure 1.1.3, it shows that the end product of the apartment which is designed by the architect.

Figure 1.1.4

Apartment view and the facilities

Figure 1.1.4 shows that the drawing of the view of apartment with the facilities after completion.
1.2

Introduction to Structural System

In a building construction, structure is a body or assemblage of bodies in space to form a system that
able to support the loads safely to the ground without exceeding the stress allowed in the members. It
is a system or sub-system which is means holding the components of a certain system and transfers
the load through the members of a structure to provide stability and durability of a building.
1.3

Functions of Structural System

The functions of structure systems are including:

I.

Carries the load of a building

The loads acting on the structure consists of dead and live loads. Dead loads are the load that
cannot change over the time in structure and their values are certain and constant. For
instance, the weights of the building materials and components of the structure (floor material
and material of roof); and the weights of fixed service equipment (HVAC and plumbing). Live
loads are the loads that are movable and their values are uncertain. For example, things that
permanently attached (Furniture and tables) and environmental loads that are created naturally

II.
III.

by the environment (wind, snow, seismic and lateral soil pressure).

Superposition principle
This principle is about keep the structure in static and dynamic equilibrium.
Transfers the load to contiguous structural components
Transfer the load safely to the ground and to the foundation of a building. This is to ensure and
maintain the strength of a building.
5

1.4

Structural Elements

The common elements from structure are beams, columns and tie rods.
Beam is the horizontal member of a structure, which is able to carry transverse loads that can resist
bending due to applied loads. A beam is in rectangular shape in cross-section. It carries the floor slab
or the roof slab and transfers all the loads including the weight of itself to the columns or wall.
Column is members that is generally vertical and resist axial compressive loads. Column transmits the
load from ceiling or roof slab and beam, including the weight of itself to the foundation.
Tie rods is a structural member that subjected to a tensile force. It is used to brace steel columns or
heavy timber beams or also to support canopies and awnings.

1.5

Types of Structure

Structural system is the combination of structural elements and the materials from which they are
composed. Each of the system is constructed one or more of four basic type of structure. The types of
structure can be categories as 4 of the following:
I.

Trusses
A truss is a structure that is composed of slender members joined together at their end
points to form a stable configuration. They are usually joined by welds or gusset plates. Its
member will either elongate or shorten when there are loads applied to the truss only at the
joints. Therefore, the member of an ideal truss is always either in uniform tension or in
uniform compression. Trusses are the most commonly used types of structures. This is due
to the light weight of their high strength. This kind of structure able to apply for variety
used, the range can be from supporting roofs of a building to serving as support structures

II.

in a space station.
Cables and Arches
Cable and arch are another two forms of structure which is used to stretch long distance.
Cables are usually flexible and carry the loads in tension. However, the disadvantage of
cables in building bridges is when the cables has span greater than 46meter. The cable will
become unstable and suddenly collapse. The arch archives it strength in compression,
since it has a revers curvature to that of the cables. In order to maintain its shapes, its
6

shapes will result in secondary loading involving shear and moment, which must be
III.

considered into the design.

Frames
Plane frames are also made up of beams and columns that carry axial load and moment;
the only difference is being they are rigidly connected at the joints. Major portion of this
course is devoted to evaluation of forces in frames for variety of loading conditions.
Internal forces at any cross section of the plane frame member are bending moment, shear

IV.

force and axial force.

Surface structures
A surface structure is made from a material that having a very small thickness compared to
its other dimension. The materials used for the surface might be very flexible and variable.
Nevertheless, sometimes the materials we used made rigid such as reinforced concrete as
well. These structures act like cables and arch since they support loads primarily in tension
and compression.

2.0 OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS

2.1

General Observation and Analysis

The study on the structure of this building is basically including two levels of analysis: macro-

level and micro-level. Macro-level analysis is concerning on the performance of the structure, by
incorporating all components as a whole. The interactions and connections between components and
components, elements and elements are the focus for this level of research. Under this session, type of
the structural system, structural pattern, structural material as well as spanning system will be
discussed. The next stage is micro-level analysis, which emphasizing on performance of every single
structural element and the variables that making them to have different performances. In this level of
analysis, structural members will be categorized into two general types vertical elements and
horizontal elements, and eventually be analysed independently.

2.1.1

Type of structural systems and construction method

Throughout the history of construction technology, several methods of constructions were

invented and it leads to variation of structure types. Conventionally, structures can be divided into 6
categories: mass structure, vaulted structure, frame structure, truss structure, shell structure and
suspension structure (Gmez, 2011). Undoubtedly, there are a lot of differences for all these

categories and there are many minor divisions under each category, but for the purpose of presenting a
concentrated study, further analysis will only focus on the category that this building fall under.
Based on observation from the structural drawings and on site visitation, the structure of the
entire building is understood as frame structure. As its name implies, frame structures are the
structures having the combination of beam, column and slab to resist both lateral and gravity loads.
These structures are commonly used to cope with the large moments developing due to the applied
loading. It is evidently characterized by its dominance of linear horizontal (beam) and vertical
(column) load supporting elements as shown in Error: Reference source not found.
It is a rigid structure frame as most of the structural elements are arranged in linear grid pattern
with no diagonal bracing element. Furthermore, it is a fixed ended structure frame as the entire
structure is fixed on the ground with piles as foundation.
For most of the structural elements, they were constructed by using in-situ concrete with timber
formwork. This is one of the common approaches of construction that being implemented in most of
the project in Malaysia.

Figure 2.1.5

Frame Structure

There are some reasons for this making such decisions on the structure type:
1. Frame structure is chosen due to its ease in construction. It is requiring unskilled labour and
low tech machines for construction and ultimately it brings faster yet cost saving construction
process (WebTechTix, n.d.). (WebTechTix)
2. Rigid frame allows the internal space to be used effectively; it is suit for construction that high
rising and having multiple storeys. The building is divided into several floor levels for
occupancy, rigid frame will minimize the space occupied by structure compare with braced
structure.
3. Fixed ended frame is chosen as the entire building does not require being flexible due to its
function. Unlike factories or stores that need certain extent of flexibility of structure, for
residential building it is better to enhance the stability of structure by fixing it to the ground.
4. In-situ concrete frame allows almost unlimited possibilities to the form of the building as well
as reduce the cost of transportation compare with precast concrete framing.

Figure 2.1.6

2.1.2

Formwork is used for casting in-situ concrete structure

Structural pattern and spanning system

Indeed, structural pattern has not much connection to the stability of the building; the

arrangement of the structural members in general is depends on the spatial quality that the architect
wish to create. Vertical supporting planes, bearing walls, series of columns, columns and beam
10

frames are some of the common patterns we could found in constructions. Another factors of
consideration in structural patterns is the spanning system, basically it is either one way or two ways
spanning system (Ching, Onouye, & Zuberbuhler, 2009, p. 41).
In terms of structural pattern, this construction is having series of columns as supports and most
of the spanning system is one-way spanning system. For supporting system, there is no load bearing
wall being used in the entire design other than lift wall. One of the main reasons of making such
decision is related to the selection of foundation system pile foundation is more effective in carrying
concentrated load from column compare with distributed load from load bearing wall.
On the other hand, one way system is chosen as the spanning system for most of the parts in the
structure. As its name implies, load is collected to pairs or more parallel horizontal elements before
transferred to column. This type of spanning system is typically suitable for building that is in
rectangular, linear layout with the ratio of the long to the short dimension of 1.5:1 (Ching, 2008, p.
19). As the site boundary restricts the design to be linear and rectangular form, one way system is
chosen to generate linear pattern of space.
Error: Reference source not found is showing spanning pattern of part of the ground floor
structure which is typically understood as one-way spanning. The space under the ground floor
structure, which most likely is car park driveway, is linear in shape.

Figure 2.1.7

Structural Plan (Ground Floor)

11

Load transferring direction

Linear pattern of space under the structure (Car park driveway)

Figure 2.1.8

2.1.3

Structural Pattern

Structural materials
In terms of structural design, selection of materials play significant role in ensuring the

durability and stability of the building. For structural members, steel, reinforced concrete and timber
are the three most common materials that being used in most of the occasions for a frame structure.
The selected building is applied reinforced concrete as its main structural materials.
Reinforced concrete is a composite material that contains concrete and rebar that responsible to
cope with compressive stress and tensile stress respectively. Since both concrete and steel bar are
controllable variable, unlimited types of reinforced concrete beam, column and slab can be designed.
Engineers could manipulate the grade of the concrete, the amount of cement, the thickness of the steel
bars, number of steel bars, etc. and all these combinations form infinite possibilities. This is probably
the reason of choosing reinforced concrete as structural material in this project, as well as many other
projects.
Other than this, reinforced concrete has plenty of advantages over other materials
(CivilToday.com, 2014):

Fire and weather resistance

The reinforced concrete building system is more durable than any other building system
Reinforced concrete can be economically moulded into a nearly limitless range of shapes
Low maintenance cost
Most economical construction material for footing, piling and surface
It acts like a rigid member with minimum deflection
Reinforced concrete requires less skilled labour for the erection of structure
12

2.2
2.2.1

Vertical Elements
Column

Column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits the
weight of the structure above to other structural elements below through compression. For the
purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other
compression members are often termed "columns" because of the similar stress conditions. Columns
are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In
architecture, "column" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and
decorative features. A column might also be a decorative element not needed for structural purposes;
many columns are to say form part of a wall.

Figure 2.2.9

Vertical structure which served as decorative function

Based on our observation, the column is reduced by its length and width when moving towards
another level of the floor. At the same time, the number and size of the rebar also reduced when
moving to higher floor. This is meant to reduce the load and the cost of materials.
13

The size and dimension of the columns is designed based on the calculation of the loading to
overcome the applied load and also based on the design of the building as well. All the columns and
the wall are using concrete G25 concrete. The load-bearing capacity of each column is 1800 kN to
2300 kN.
From our observation at the site, the shape columns designed in this construction site is rectangular
shape but not square in shape. The reason is because of the thickness of the column is same as the
wall. Thus, the columns will be hidden in the wall after plastering for aesthetic. This is the columns
are purpose for support the structure and transmitted the load to the foundation.

Figure 2.2.11

Columns are reduced by its

length and width when moving towards

14

Figure 2.2.10

The columns reinforcement schedule

another level of the floor.

Due to variation of loads, the columns are specifically designed in order to achieve highest efficiency
of performance. For instance, C9 is only required to support little amount of load of the balcony
(>350kN), thus only 8T12 steel bars is needed for the 250mm column; contrary, C3 is a continuous
column extended from stump until upper roof, more loads are stressing on it, thus 10T20
steel bars with double link bars is selected for that column. In addition, the dimension of
the column also amended to avoid buckling or crushing.
RF - URF

GF -

1F - RF

GF - 1F

LGF - GF

Other than position of the column within same level will affect the loadbearing
requirement, which level it is located will determine its capacity requirement as well. In
multi-storey building, gravity force accumulates and increases as they are directed
downward along columns or bearing wall. Therefore, design of the columns is different
15

STUMP

between upper most and lowest part as they deal with different amount of load. Taking column C3 as
example (details are on left), the column connected roof floor and upper roof is only erected by 6T12
steel bars with dimension of 200mm x 300mm; on the other hand, stump, which is connecting lower
ground floor and pile cap, requires 14T20 steel bars with 3 sets of link bar as well as amendment of
column size to 230mm x 600mm.

Figure 2.2.12

Extensions of steel bars at columns

The photograph on left shows extensions of steel bars at the end of the column. It is named as lapping
and serves function of connecting steel bars of columns at next level. The lapping with length of 40
is where two bars are tied together provides stronger connection.
Concrete that being used for majority of columns in this studied construction is G25. According to
contractor Mr Ng, G20 is the common grade of concrete in low rise building, but for high rise
building, at least G40 is required in order to ensure the load can be safely transmitted. In this case,
G25 is enough for the studied site which only has maximum floor levels of 5.
There is one feature column had been designed at the loading driveway of club house it is named as
Y column. Y column is characterized by its shape that is looks like an alphabet Y. However, it is only
designed for aesthetics purpose instead of serving structural function.
16

2.2.1.1 Tributary Loads

Determining the tributary area for loads on vertical supports must take into account the layout of the
structural grid and the type and pattern of horizontal spanning systems being supported. Bearing walls
and columns are designed to collect gravity loads from trusses, girders, beams, and slabs and redirect
these loads vertically down to the foundation.

The tributary area of the gravity

load on a particular column is
determined by the distance from
the column to adjacent vertical
supports, which is equivalent to
the length of the span of the floor
or roof structure being carried.
Columns located at outside
corners carry the equivalent of
one-fourth of the load of an
interior bay.

17

Inter
ior
colu
mn
Peri
mete

The tributary area for the load on an

interior column extends to line half
the distance to the nearest column
in all directions.
Perimeter columns carry a load
equivalent to the load imposed on
2.2.1.2
Load
Accumulation
half of an
interior
bay.

Omitting a column from the grid

essentially transfers the load it would
have carried to adjacent columns.
This also results in a doubling of the
floor or roof span and deeper
spanning members.

Columns redirect the gravity loads collected from beams and girders as vertical concentrated loads. In
multistory buildings these gravity loads accumulate and increase as they are directed downward along
bearing walls and columns through successive floors from the roof through to the foundation.

Roof load

Roof load plus the gravity load from the 5th floor

Roof and 5th floor loads plus the gravity load from the 4th
floor

Roof, 5th floor, and 4th floor loads plus the gravity load from
the 3rd floor

Roof, 5th floor, 4th floor, and 3rd floor loads plus the gravity
load from the 2nd floor

The total load on the column footing or foundation is the

sum of the gravity loads from the roof and all intervening
floors.

Figure 2.2.13

18

The lowest columns are supporting the

gravity load from the Roof and all the floors above.

2.2.1.3 Vertical Continuity

The most efficient path for gravity loads is directly downward through vertically aligned columns and
bearing walls to the foundation. This means that the same grid should control the placement of vertical
supports for all of the floor structures as well as the roof structure of a building. Any deviation in the
path of a vertical load requires that the load be redirected horizontally through a transfer beam or truss
to alternative vertical supports, resulting in an increased load and depth for the spanning member.
While a regular grid of vertically aligned supports is always desirable, a design program may call for a
spatial volume much larger than can be accommodated by the normal grid spacing. Illustrated on this
and the facing page are several options for accommodating exceptionally large spaces within a
building.

Figure 2.2.14

The desirable regular grid of vertically aligned.

19

2.2.1.4 Type of Column Cross Section

In general, the most efficient column cross sections for axial loads are those having an equal
radius of gyration about the x- and y-axes. Both axes are equivalent and thus result in the
same slenderness ratio for the column.
A circular cross section possesses an unlimited number of buckling axes, all being equal.
None is weaker or stronger than the others.
A square cross section has the same radius of gyration and slenderness ratio about the x- and
y-axes and so buckling could result about either axis.
A rectangular cross section has two different radii of gyration. The smaller radius of gyration
about its weaker axis produces a larger slenderness ratio, thereby resulting in a smaller axial
load capacity. This type of column is widely used in this building.
Whenever possible, vary required steel reinforcement rather than column size; when necessary, vary
only one dimension of a column at a time. With the aid of a variety of steel connectors, reinforced
concrete columns can also support a grid of timber or steel beams.

Figure 2.2.16 Site manager is explaining about the

rebar which extended from the column.

20

Figure 2.2.15

The rebar are

manipulating the strength of columns.

2.2.1.5 Design of reinforced concrete column

Concrete columns are designed to act together
with vertical and lateral reinforcement in
resisting applied forces.

Dowels tie column to supported

beams and slabs.

The continuity of the

concrete and the extension
of the steel reinforcing bars

Lateral reinforcement restrains

from columns to beams,

the vertical reinforcement and

plates, and slabs make rigid

strengthens the column against

moment-resistant joints

buckling.

possible.

Concrete columns may be

supported by isolated
footings, by a mat or
combined footing, or by pile
caps.

Rectangular columns: 8"

(205) minimum width and a

Dowels overlap vertical bars

40 bar diameters or 24"

minimum gross area of 96

(610); extend down into

sq. in. (61,935 mm2)

footing or pile cap far

enough to develop adequate
length for anchorage.

3" (75) minimum cover for

steel reinforcement when
concrete is cast against and

permanently exposed to

ensure that the allowable

earth

bearing

Contact area of footing

supporting

distributes column load to

capacity
soil

exceeded.

of

the

is

not

2.2.2

Loadbearing Wall

Others elements Loadbearing walls, retaining walls

For the studied project, walls is only functioning as envelop and mostly are done by masonry.
The only component that using

loadbearing

wall

is

lifts/elevators as it is necessary

to have strong structure, not

only to cover the lift but also

support the huge weight of lift

machine.
In Figure 2.2.2.1 shows the

exposed steel bars inside the

lift wall. Portions of them are

demolished due to redesign of

faade of the lifts that will be

covered by curtain glass.

For substructure, as the side is

sitting on a slopping area

Figure 2.2.17

towards the drainage, retaining

walls are built to creating a flat site. The foundation type of this construction is pile foundation.
Figures below showing the retaining walls to resist and support ground load.

Figure 2.2.19

Figure 2.2.18

2.2.2.1 Bearing Walls

A bearing wall is any wall construction
capable of supporting an imposed load, as from a
floor or roof of a building, and transmitting the
compressive forces through the plane of the wall
down to the foundation. Bearing wall systems can

Uniform load

be constructed of masonry, cast-in-place concrete,

from joists or slab

site-cast tilt-up concrete, or wood or metal studs.

Bearing walls should be continuous from
floor to floor and be aligned vertically from the roof
to the foundation. Because of this continuity, bearing
walls can act as shear walls and provide lateral

Concrete
or masonry
bearing wall

resistance against earthquake or wind forces acting

parallel to the plane of the walls. However, due to

Header to

their relative thinness, bearing walls are unable to

span opening

provide significant shear resistance to lateral forces

acting perpendicular to their plane.
In addition to resisting the crushing or
buckling from gravity loads, exterior bearing walls
are subject to bending from horizontal wind loads.
These forces are transferred to horizontal roof and
floor planes and then to lateral force- resisting
elements acting perpendicular to the bearing walls.

Concentrated loads from

beams
Bearing wall
4560 angle of load
distribution

Concentrated loads develop at the top of a

wall when the columns or beams they support are
spaced at wide intervals. Depending on the wall
material, the concentrated load is distributed along an
angle of 45 to 60 as it moves down the wall. The
resulting footing load will be non-uniform, with the
largest forces directly under the applied load.

Concrete footing

2.3
2.3.1

Horizontal Elements
Floor Slab

Floor systems are the horizontal planes that must support both live loadspeople, furnishings,
and movable equipmentand dead loadsthe weight of the floor construction itself. Floor slabs
are the plate structures that form a platform between the beams where allows occupancy and
activities. The horizontal spans may be traversed by nearly homogeneous slabs of reinforced
concrete or by hierarchical layers of steel or wood girders, beams, and joists supporting a plane
of structural sheathing or decking. For our studied building, it is using concrete slab, a plate
structure that reinforced to span either one or both directions of a structural bay. It was used
because of its non-combustibility feature and it can be used in all types of construction.

Figure 2.3.20

Roof Plan

Figure 2.3.21

Floor Plan

2.3.1.1 Types of slab

It can be classified by its span direction, either one-way or two-way direction. Based on the
structural drawing shown above, it is using two-way slabs with beams method, which is a twoway slab of uniform thickness reinforced in two directions and cast integrally with supporting
beams and columns on all four sides of square or nearly square bays. Two-way slab and beam
construction is effective for medium spans and heavy loads. A principal advantage of concrete
slab-and-beam systems over flat slabs and plates is the rigid frame action that is made possible
by the column-beam interaction for resisting lateral loads.

2.3.1.2 Slab thickness

The rule of thumb for slab design is span/28 and 100mm for its minimum depth. Normally a
typical floor slab thickness is about 150mm, but for the building it has made certain parts of
adjustment to fit with its purpose.

For instance, floor slab thickness of the

Apartment 125mm

apartment house is reduced to 125mm

meanwhile swimming pool slab
thickness is increased to 200mm. The
reason of this variety is due to live load
stress on the slab is different according to
location. For apartment house, it is only

Swimming pool 200mm

required to support occupants and

furniture weight; however swimming

pool is required to carry huge weight of water.

2.3.1.3 Grade of concrete
Other than slab thickness, grade of the concrete being used for the slab structure is another
indicator of its loadbearing capacity. Different concrete grade in range of G25 to G35 is selected
according to the possible load that might effect on the structure. Notably G30 of concrete is
chosen for swimming pool floor; G25 concrete is selected for common slab.
Additionally, other than those floor slabs that required carrying huge amount of load such as
emergency driveway and swimming pool, common places are sitting on floor slabs that able to
carry distributed load of 4 kN/m2 to 5 kN/m2. According to UBBL forth schedule, floor slab of a
residential building should be made to carry distributed load of 2 kN/m2, thus the studied
construction is way more meeting the requirement of UBBL.

2.3.2

Beam

All floor and roof structures consist of linear and planar elements, such as joists, beams and
slabs, designed to carry and transfer transverse loads across space to supporting elements. Beams
is defined as horizontal linear spans of a building that playing role in distributing load across the
space above to supporting elements. It is crucial to design a beam to be strong in tension as it has
to cope with deflection that might happen from effect of loading.

The efficiency of a beam can be increased by

configuring the cross section to provide the required
moment of inertia or cross section modulus with the
smallest possible area, usually by making the
section deep with most of the material at the
extremities where the maximum bending stresses
occur.

2.3.2.1 Key variables of beam design

The design of a beam is depends on several factors namely: span length, activities that carried
above the structure, effect of loads such as bending, etc. In order to cope with these factors and
result higher structural performance, 2 key variables of a beam can be adjusted accordingly:
1. Materials of RC composition. Steel rebar is graded according to diameters, and the most
common size of rebar range between 12mm and 32mm. The thickest the rebar, the
stronger the beam structure. Placement of rebar inside a beam can be varied depends on
the load distribution more rebar for the side with higher load. Another material of RC
composition, concrete is graded according to load bearing capacity per area in unit of
N/mm. Common grade of concrete used in construction range between G20 and G40.
For this construction, most of the beams are constructed by using G25 concrete.
2. Dimension/size of the beam. Generally, the larger the size of beam, the stronger the
bearing capacity, thus, a long span beam is always wider and deeper than others.
Specifically, doubling the beam width will reduce bending stresses by a factor of 2, but
doubling the depth reduces the bending stress by a factor of 4.
Other than by adjusting the variables stated above, the most effective way to provide stronger
loading capacity is halving a beam span whenever it is applicable. This is because of a
continuous long span will result into reduction of space as structure becomes large in size. Usage
of large amount of steel rebar for a single beam also impractical unless it is a need for large

space.
The horizontal structure of the visited building mainly is designed in line with rule of thumbs of
concrete construction, namely: beam span (column spacing) is range between 6.706 m and 8.23
m (column spacing designed for space configuration is not counted), which is in line with
standard of 6m to 9m.

lift10 meters
The span of the longest beam of entire structures Entrance
is longer of
than

Car park drive way

GB295GB186GB173

However, there is one exception at the podium level two beams is spanning longer than 10 m.
The reason of designing them span longer than usual length instead of providing an addition
Figure 2.3.1.5.1Long spanned beams

column as support is due to placement of new column will either block the entrance of lift or the
driveway. Therefore, make it long spanned by thicker and stronger rebar as well as larger beam
dimension (850mm x 900mm) is the best solution in this case.
2.3.2.2 Hollow beam
There is one special feature of

horizontal

implemented in this construction at

the faade wall of lift

tower hollow beam.

beam is characterized by

Hollow

its void core. The reason of

beams for supporting the faade

structure

implementing

hollow

wall

is

requirement on weight reduction.

The

faade

suspended from ground, which

means there is no other

support below it. By minimizing

the weight of the above

Suspended

because
wall

of
is

structure, load act on the cantilever hollow beams will be reduced therefore structure at the
bottom part does not required increment of size. Hollow beam is constructed by putting two thin
beams in close distance.

3.0 CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the significant main components of each structural system of the building and
correlate with architectural design were being identified and explained in this assignment. The
character of a multi-stories building structure is to transmit the applied loads to the foundations.
The structural frame transfers the load from their point of application to the foundations. In our
point of view, it should combine the structural efficiency with least effect on the economy and
the purpose of the other elements of the building. Hence, when selecting the structural grid, it
explains the column positions and it is very essential to the decision for design. From this
assignment, we learnt that structural analysis is very crucial and important as it will affect the
stability and durability of a whole building.
The structural grid is being defined mainly by the positions of column and the spanning of major
beams between them. The formation of this kind of structural grid is very critical in making
design evaluation and the following points should be considered:

A column should be usually placed at every intersection of two grid lines.

A main beam has to be positioned along every grid line.
Ideally grid lines should be orthogonal. It means the two sets of parallel lines forming a
rectangular grid, and the spacing between grid lines should be regular for circular
buildings radial and circumferential grids are often used.
In practice the shape of the building or the site may require some variation, irregular
spacing or skewed grid lines which cannot be avoided. However, these can generally be
concentrated in small areas, and allow the main part of the building to be set out in
accordance with a regular orthogonal grid.

The safe performance of a structure must be assessing cautiously as if there is collapse or failure
on a structure, it entire building will be unserviceable. This means that the particular building is
unsafe due to unexpected design scenario, or we can judge it as an unwise design.
Structural engineering is the science and art of planning, designing, and constructing safe and
economical structures which that will serve their intended functions and purposes. After this
assignment, as architecture students, we will be more considerate of the structural system that
needed in our architectural design in the future so that we are able to build a building not only
based on the aesthetic but also be mindful of the structural system.

4.0 REFERENCES
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Tie Rods: http://www.portlandbolt.com/products/rods/tie-rods/
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