CATAPANG, JOHN WALTER C

3 CE-4
ASSIGNMENT #1

1. Define Structural Design.

Structural design is a highly specialized area of civil engineering. It is the methodical
investigation of the stability, strength and rigidity of structures. The basic objective
in structural analysis and design is to produce a structure capable of resisting all applied
loads without failure during its intended life. Mainly, is the process of proportioning the
structure to safely resist the applied forces and load effects in the most resource-effective
and friendly manner. If improperly designed, elements of a structure would fail causing
serious consequences such as large expenses or ultimately losses in lives which cannot be
compared with any cost.
Once the architectural engineer sets the function and layout of the structure, the role of
the structural engineer begins which can be summarized in the following steps to develop
a safe, functional and economic structures.
2. Discuss the Design Procedure.
 STEP 1: CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
Initial design of the building elements (e.g. slabs, beams, columns …etc.) is
performed based on code recommendations.
Starting from selecting the appropriate columns’ locations and orientation which
should not interfere with the architectural drawings. Followed by selecting the
type of structural system.
 STEP 2: DETERMINING THE INTERNAL FORCES OF EACH ELEMENT
First, an analysis model is created for the building with its initial dimensions as
determined from STEP 1 on an analysis software such as SAP 2000. All the loads
that act on the structure have to defined in the model such as dead loads, live
loads, wind and earthquake loads. Lastly from the model, the internal forces on
each element will be calculated.
 STEP 3: INTERATIVE DESIGN
The design process became so easy by using some spreadsheets or any other
software that facilitates the design.
Next, the analysis model should be modified to the new dimensions obtained
from the previous design and the analysis is re-run. Internal forces are obtained
and design is made again based on the new forces.
This iterative process is repeated until the element design be the same in two
following iterations.
 STEP 4: FOUNDATION DESIGN
After the final dimensions of members are found, the foundation system type
can be selected taking in consideration, the bearing capacity of the soil and the
loading coming from the structure.
  STEP 5: DRAFTING

On this final step, structural plans are created. These plans should be fully
detailed such that the construction process in the site can proceed smoothly and
not delayed due to missing data in the drawings.

3. Advantages and Disadvantages of using Steel as structural member.

 ADVANTAGES
o Steel is comparable to other structural materials such as timber and
reinforced concrete. It offers the builder the answer to almost all
structural problems particularly where the ratio of the strength to weight
must be kept high.
o High Strength - high strength of steel per unit of weight means that the
weight of structures will be small (of great importance for long-span
bridges, tall buildings, and for structures having poor foundation
conditions)
o Uniformity - Properties of steel do not change appreciably with time as
do those of a reinforced-concrete structures
o Elasticity - Steel behaves closer to design assumptions than most
materials because it follows Hooke’s Law up to fairly high stresses.
o Permanence - steel frames that are properly maintained will last
indefinitely - research on some of the newer steel indicates that under
certain conditions no painting maintenance whatsoever will be required
o Ductility - Property of the material by which it can withstand extensive
deformation without failure under tensile stresses - The ductile nature of
the usual structural steels enables them to yield locally at those points,
thus premature failures.
o Toughness - They have both strength and ductility

It is very durable. Structural steel structures can withstand external pressures

such as earthquakes, thunderstorms, and cyclones. A well-built steel
structure can last up to 30 years if maintained well. Structural steel is
relatively cheap compared to other building materials. Steel is tensile. It has
a high strength to weight ratio which means it has high strength per unit
mass.

 DISADVANTAGES
To use steel successfully the designer must be completely familiar not
only with the strong points but also with the weaknesses of the material.
o Maintenance Costs - steels are susceptible to corrosion when freely
exposed to air and water and must therefore be periodically painted
o Fireproofing Costs - structural members are incombustible but their
strength is tremendously reduced at temperatures commonly reached in
fires - steels are excellent conductor - steel frame of a building must be
fireproofed for the building to have an appreciable fire rating.
 o Susceptibility to Buckling - the longer the and slender the compression
members, the greater the danger of buckling
o Fatigue - undesirable property of steel is that its strength may be reduced
if it is subjected to a large number of stress reversals or even to a large
number of variation of stress of the same character.
o Steel has a high expansion rate with changing temperatures. This can be
detrimental to the overall structure.

4. Type of Loads

 Dead loads

The first vertical load that is considered is dead load. Dead loads are
permanent or stationary loads which are transferred to structure
throughout the life span. Dead load is primarily due to self-weight of
structural members, permanent partition walls, fixed permanent
equipment and weight of different materials.
The calculation of dead loads of each structure are calculated by the
volume of each section and multiplied with the unit weight. Unit
weights of some of the common materials are presented in table below.

Sl. No Material Weight

1 Brick Masonry 18.8 kN/m3

2 Stone Masonry 20.4-26.5 kN/m3

3 Plain Cement Concrete 24 kN/m3

4 Reinforced Cement Concrete 24 kN/m3

5 Timber
5-8 kN/m3

 Imposed loads
Live loads are either movable or moving loads without any
acceleration or impact. These loads are assumed to be produced by
 the intended use or occupancy of the building including weights of
movable partitions or furniture etc.

Number of floors (including the roof) to be carried by Reduction in Total Distributed

member under consideration Imposed Loads in %

1 0

2 10

3 20

4 30

5-10 40

Over 10 50

 Wind loads

Wind load is primarily horizontal load caused by the movement of air

relative to earth. Wind load is required to be considered in structural
design especially when the heath of the building exceeds two times
the dimension’s transverse to the exposed wind surface.

 Snow loads

Snow loads constitute to the vertical loads in the building. But these
types of loads are considered only in the snow fall places.

 Earthquake loads

Earthquake forces constitute to both vertical and horizontal forces

on the building. The total vibration caused by earthquake may be
resolved into three mutually perpendicular directions, usually taken
as vertical and two horizontal directions.

The movement in vertical direction do not cause forces in

superstructure to any significant extent. But the horizontal
 movement of the building at the time of earthquake is to be
considered while designing.

 Earthquake loads

5. Common Structural members/shapes.

 Wide Flange Shape (W)

W Shapes American wide flange I or H shape steel beams e.g. W460 x 95
standards for; d = 460mm(nominal depth); mass = 95kg/m Consists of
two rectangular-shaped flanges connected by rectangular web plate
Symmetrical about the x (stronger) and y axes
 American Standard Beam (S)
S-Shapes formerly called I-beams and American Standard Beams
Difference between W and S Shapes The flange width of S-Shapes is
narrower than the W-shapes The inner face of the flange of the S-Shape
has a slope of 16.7⁰ The theoretical depth of the S-Shapes is the same as
its normal depth, e.g. S 310 x74 is an I-beam with nominal depth of
310mm and mass of 74kg/m.
 American Standard Channel (C)
C – Shapes channel shapes (American Standard Channels) Properties:
Inner face of the flange has the same slope as S-Shapes Example: C 230 x
22 means a C Shape with nominal depth of 230mm and a mass of 22
kg/m.
 Angle (L)
 Angle beams take an L shape, with angle beams come in equal or unequal
leg sizes. An unequal leg l beam may have one leg of 2x2x0.5 and one leg
of 6x3x0.5.

 Structural Tee (WT or ST)

A tee beam, or T beam, is a load-bearing beam with a T-shaped cross
section. The top of this cross section is the flange, with the vertical web
below. Tee beams can withstand large loads but lack the bottom flange
I-Beam, giving it a disadvantage in some applications.
 Pipe Section
Structural steel pipes are important for a variety of construction
applications, lending strength and stability. Pipes are hollow, cylindrical
tubes that come in a variety of sizes. Engineers often use steel pipes to
meet the needs of water, oil, and gas industry projects.
 I-Beam
An I Beam, also known as an H beam or a universal beam, has two
horizontal elements, the flanges, with a vertical element as the web. The
web is capable of resisting shear forces, while the horizontal flanges resist
most of the beam’s bending movement. The I shape is very effective at
carrying shear and bending loads in the web’s plane. The construction
industry widely uses I beams in a variety of sizes.
 Hollow Steel Section (HSS)
HSS is a metal profile that has a hollow, tubular cross section. HSS units
can be square, rectangular, circular, or elliptical. HSS structures are
rounded, with radiuses that are about twice the thickness of the wall.
Engineers commonly use HSS sections in welded steel frames for which
units experience loading in different directions.