BLDGTEC 3

INTRODUCTION TO REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION METHODS

REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION METHODS:
GENERAL BUILDING and STRUCTURAL LOAD CONSIDERATIONS

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

The success of the construction of buildings and structures depend upon the proper identification and definition of
the elements that hold them up. Footings, columns, beams, floor slabs and other structural components allow
architecture to serve its intended function.
Architecture is based on sound judgment that is often founded on structural principles. It is hard to comprehend
architecture without regards to the human response to the structural systems and the strength of materials that
carry huge weights or loads against the pull of gravity.
The appreciation of buildings is the response felt in the presence of controlled structural forces.
The essence of architecture is the proper integration of:
1. External Form
2. Internal Space
3. Structure
4. Material
The successful design of any project requires appropriate answers to the following questions:
 What is a Building?
 What is a Structure?
 Is the Building or Structure strong enough?
 What are the Loads?

What is a Building?
Building- a more or less enclosed and permanent structure for housing, commerce, industry, etc., distinguished
from mobile structures and those not intended for occupancy. (Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Cyril
M. Harris)

The building is a balancing act in which the architect poises laws of structure against the pull of gravity. They are
easy laws to understand because our own bodies feel the same forces that act upon a building. (Structure: The
essence of Architecture; Forrest Wilson)

What is a Structure?
Structure – that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece work, artificially built
up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner. (National Building Code of the Philippines, 2005
Revised Edition)

Structure – the system of interconnected structural members that sustain and give form to a building. Also called
a frame, framework, shell, or skeleton construction. (Visual Dictionary of Architecture and Construction)

Structure – is a system for transferring loads from one place to another. In the case of building structures this
often means transferring the loads of people, furniture, the wind, etc. (as well as the self-weight of the building
itself) safely down to the foundation and hence into the ground. (Understanding Structures: Analysis, Materials,
Design; 3rd Edition; Derek Seward)

Is the Building or Structure strong enough?

The function of the building structure, in the simplest terms, is to hold the building up. It does this by supporting
building loads against the pull of gravity. Structures must also be strong enough to resist wind pressure, shock
waves, sonic booms, vibrations, physical impact loads and earthquakes. As a result of designing for these
possibilities as much as seventy percent (70%) of the building’s strength is needed to withstand forces that may
never be applied, or if they do occur will only affect the building for a very short period of time. Thus the major
portion of the structure is designed for emergency rather than normal conditions. (Structure: The essence of
Architecture; Forrest Wilson)

What are the Loads?

As what has been stated, the main function of the structure is to hold the building up by supporting the loads
against the pull of gravity. But before that, a clear definition of what loads are to be supported is required.

Load – a force or system of forces, carried by a structure, or a part of the structure. (Dictionary of Architecture and
Construction. Cyril M. Harris)
Three Sources of Loads
1. Natural Loads – occur due to the existence of the structure in the world;
2. Useful Loads – occur from the purpose of the structure;
3. Accidental Loads – occur from the misuse of the structure.

NATURAL LOADS
1. Gravity – the force that acts through a body in a line joining the body with the center of the earth.
However, at the local level these forces can be considered vertical.
2. Wind – due to regular and continuous changes in atmospheric pressure from place to place on the earth’s
surface air flows across the surface of the earth. Although the pattern of wind flow around buildings is
very complex, the resulting loads from the alteration of the wind flow are predominantly at right angles to
the surfaces of the building.
3. Soil Pressure – this occurs when the building is built with a basement or into a sloping site using the cut
and fill method.
4. Water Pressure – below the surface of the earth is a natural water level and if the siting of the building
interrupts this, an unnatural water table is created around and under the building. Not only are the walls
loaded by the water pressure but it also causes upward loads on the floor. There is a tendency for the
building to float, based on the physics of buoyancy.
5. Earthquakes – are caused by sudden internal movements within the earth’s crust. This causes a shock to
the system and results in shaking the crust of the earth over a certain area. The earth’s surface will
bounce up & down and move to & fro.
6. Temperature – as structures are often exposed to climatic factors, differential dimensional changes in the
structure may occur. All structural materials expand when heated and contract when cooled.
7. Ground movements – these pertain to dynamic vibrations on the ground affected by vehicular traffic,
mechanical equipment and the like.

USEFUL LOADS
These are loads that the building structure is designed to carry, such as people, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Useful loads can largely vary depending on the type of building occupancy that may have to carry vehicles, as in
parking garages or sleeping people, as in hotels and pension houses.
Majority of useful loads act vertically but sometimes they act horizontally or both, such as in water tanks and
swimming pools.

ACCIDENTAL LOADS
Accidental loads are considered in building structures within the framework of safety. Vehicular collision and
potential explosions (LPG, electrical transformers) are examples of possible accidental loads.

STRUCTURAL LOADS
The loads that the structure carry and transmit are Static Load, Dynamic Load and Impact Load.

 Static Loads are assumed to be constant in nature and are composed of:
1. Dead Loads – are relatively fixed and include the weight of the building structure itself plus the
weights of any permanent elements within the building, such as mechanical equipment.
2. Live Loads – are movable loads which may not be present all of the time. They include the
weights of the building occupants and furnishings.

 Dynamic Loads can be applied to a structure suddenly and vary in magnitude, duration and point of
application. Dynamic loads may include:
1. Wind Loads
2. Seismic Forces

 Impact Loads are the effects that a structure is subjected to when violent contact occurs with another
body, with an applied force of only momentary duration.

STRUCTURAL FORCES
In the structural analysis of buildings, it is helpful to review the simple principles of forces in equilibrium which is
the basic assumption upon which the building is based. Three conditions are necessary for a structural system to
be in equilibrium:
1. The sum of all vertical forces = 0
2. The sum of all horizontal forces = 0
3. The sum of all moments of all forces = 0
Force is defined as an action to which a body is subjected, tending to produce or producing alterations to its shape,
movement, or position in space. (Visual Dictionary of Architecture and Construction)

In engineering diagrams, forces are drawn as arrows showing directions. Their length indicates magnitude.

STATIC LOADS: DEAD LOADS and LIVE LOADS

NATURAL LOAD: GRAVITY LOAD

DYNAMIC LOAD: WIND

DYNAMIC LOAD: SEISMIC