ABUJA, NIGERIA
STRUCTURAL OPTION
TOBI JEWOOLA
SYNTRA TOWERS
PROPOSAL
STRUCTURAL DEPTH
SYNTRA TOWERS HAS A GRAVITY SYSTEM THAT CONSISTS OF A TWO WAY REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB WITH BEAMS SYSTEM AND A LATERAL SYSTEM CONSISTING OF 12 RECTANGULAR AND 18 L-SHAPED WALLS. IN THE FOUR TECHNICAL REPORTS PROVIDED PRIOR TO THIS PROPOSAL, IT WAS PROVEN USING VARIOUS ENGINEERINIG METHODS AND DESIGN AIDS AS APPLICABLE, INCLUDING AN ETABS MODEL, THAT THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE GRAVITY AND LATERAL SYSTEMS ARE SUFFICIENT FOR BOTH STRENGTH AND SERVICEBILITY. HOWEVER, IT WAS OBSERVED THAT THESE SYSTEMS WERE EXTREMELY OVERDESIGNED.
SYNTRA TOWERS IS LOCATED IN NIGERIA, A COUNTRY WERE CONCRETE IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE. STEEL ON THE OTHER HAND HAS TO BE IMPORTED. WITH THIS IN MIND, I WAS ABLE TO DECIPHER A PATTERN IN THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF THE BUILDING. IT WAS OBSERVED THAT CONCRETE MEMBERS WERE OVERDESIGNED IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE NEED FOR STEEL REINFORCEMENT IN MOST OF THE REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS. THIS LEADS TO EXTREMELY BOGUS BEAMS, COLUMNS, SLABS AND WALLS, AND A VERY INEFFICIENT STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.
THE PROPOSED SOLUTION IS A STEEL SYSTEM WITH COMPOSITE STEEL FRAMING FOR THE GRAVITY SYSTEM AND A COMBINATION OF SHEARS And BRACED FRAMES FOR THE LATERAL SYSTEM. A BUILDING IN NIGERIA MADE PRIMARILY OF A STEEL SYSTEM CAN BE PROBLEMATIC DUE TO THE LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF STEEL. THEREFORE, I HAVE DECIDED TO EXAMINE A HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES WHEREBY SYNTRA TOWERS WILL BE REDESIGNED IN THE US USING A LOCATION IN THE US THAT APPROXIMATES THE WIND AND SEISMIC CONDITIONS IN ABUJA. SINCE ABUJA IS NOT A SEISMIC ZONE LIKE EVERY OTHER STATE IN NIGERIA, A LOCATION WHEREBY WIND LOADS CONTROL SEISMIC LOADS WILL BE SELECTED. ADDITIONAL PROS OF EXPLORING A STEEL SYSTEM WILL EMERGE WHILE INVESTIGATING THE NEW STEEL SYSTEM AND COMPARING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING STEEL SYSTEMS INSTEAD OF CONCRETE SYSTEMS.
CONSTRUCTION BREADTH
REDESIGNING THE BUILDING USING STEEL WILL IMPACT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING. DUE TO THE LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF STEEL IN NIGERIA, I EXPECT CONVERTING THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEM TO STEEL TO IMPACT THE SCHEDULE AND COST OF CONSTRUCTION IF THE NEW DESIGN WAS BUILT IN NIGERIA. THEREFORE, COST AND SCHEDULE ANALYSES WILL BE PERFORMED ON THE NEW SYSTEM. THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING THE STEEL SYSTEM WILL BE COMPARED TO THAT OF THE CONCRETE STRUCTURE. COST ANALYSIS WILL BE EXECUTED WHILE COMPARING TWO SCENARIOS; THE NEW SYSTEM BUILT IN NIGERIA VERSUS IN THE US. LIKEWISE, THESE SCENARIOS WILL BE CONSIDERED WHEN ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF THE STEEL CONSTRUCTION ON THE SCHEDULE.
ACOUSTICS BREADTH
THE REDESIGN OF THE ROOF SYSTEM WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON NOISE CONTROL. THE EXISTING ROOF IS SUPPORTED ON AN 8 IN THICK ROOF SLAB. THE NEW STEEL WILL UTILIZE A LIGHTER WEIGHT STEEL DECK WITH STEEL JOISTS FRAMING. A STUDY ON HOW TO PREVENT NOISE CREATED BY THE MECHANIAL EQUIPMENT ON THE ROOF FROM DIFFUSING TO THE PENTHOUSE AND GYM BELOW WILL BE CONDUCTED. METHODS OF RAISING THE STC RATING OF THE ROOF ASSEMBLY WILL BE INVESTIGATED AND A FEASIBILE ROOF ASSEMBLY THAT LIMITS NOISE TRANSMISSIONS WILL BE SELECTED.
MAE REQUIREMENTS
THROUGHOUT THE REDESIGN OF SYNTRA TOWERS, TOOLS ACQUIRED FROM SOME GRADUATE LEVEL COURSES WILL BE INCORPORATED. TWO MAIN COURSES THAT WILL SERVE AS MAJOR RESEARCH TOOLS ARE AE 530, A COMPUTER MODELLING COURSE, AND AE 534, A CLASS FOCUSED ON THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS TYPICAL STEEL CONNECTIONS. PROPER USE OF THE COMPUTER SOFTWARE, RAM STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS, ETABS AND SAP 2000, WILL BE ENSURED USING KNOWLEDGE GARNERED FROM AE 530. DESIGN OF A BRACED FRAME CONNECTIONS WITH ALSO BE INVESTIGATED. AE 534 WILL SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF AN EFFICIENT BRACED FRAME CONNECTION THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE APPLIED TO THE FINAL DESIGN.
