Project data for concept development

This project is all about improving your understanding of the

conceptual behaviour of structures. It is not about detail design
process. In such situations experience engineers use “rules of
thumb” and broad key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate
whether the proposed structural concepts are sound, both, in lateral
stability and member capacity.
Such assessments involve and depend on;
1. Reasonable load estimates
2. use of deflection/deformation and strain
compatibility criteria
3. Basic stresses resulting from axial loads, flexural
moments and shear stresses
4. buckling analysis (where slenderness is a major
issue)
5. Compare stresses withing allowable limits
6. Reasonable safety margins
Loads – structural concepts need to be
analysed using the following loads
Gravity Loads
 Dead weights of roofing material for long span structures
0.2kPa - 0.35 kPa (excluding structural members)
 Seating areas (bowl) of long span structures use average
density of 500kg/m3 to estimate dead loads and 4kPa live
loads.
 Make an allowance of 0.3kPa for the self-weight of the
structural members on the roof. (later you may verify that
using self-weight function in SpaceGass program to evaluate
self-weight of the long-span roof structural members)
 High-rise building use average building densities – 380 kg/m3
Wind/Lateral Loads
 Wind pressures for long-span structures - upwind 0.64 kPa,
downwind (0.52kPa)
 Lateral wind pressures for both high-rise and long span
buildings – 0.85 (0-75), 1.2kPa (75m-150m), 1.9kPa(>150m)
 Robustness - 1.0% of weight as lateral loads

RMIT University 2
 Preliminary sizes
Following span:depth ratios may be used as trial sections in
the concepts.
 R/C Slabs -30

 R/C Beams – 20 to 25

 Trusses – 10 to 14

 Space frames, 15 to 20

 Uncoupled core boxes height:depth -10 to 14

 Arch use aspect ratio length:height - 6 to 8

 Cables/fabrics span:sag ratio – 10

Encourage to do more research on other parameters as well.

RMIT University 3
 Performance Indicators
Verify your structure using following KPIs.
 Structural Stiffness adequacy by limiting lateral drift to,
 Lateral Drift < Height/600
 Beam and slab vertical displacements < Span/250
 Cantilever beams and slabs < Span/125

 Limiting stresses within R/F concrete structural elements to

 Core wall tensile stresses < 8MPa – 15MPa(using elastic
modules)
 Shear stresses < 3MPa (using gross area)
 Tensile stresses in reinforcements < 400MPa (max 4-6% gross
area)
 Compression stresses < 0.5 concrete strength, f’c
 Limiting stresses within steel structural elements to
 Flexural & tensile stresses < 0.9 x Yield stress
 Shear stresses < 0.8 x Yield stress
 Compression stresses – ensure no buckling and limit stresses
0.6 x yield stress
RMIT University 4