Jon Webster
Structural Option
Advisor: Dr. Boothby
Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics
Philadelphia, PA
Structural Depth
The building will be redesigned from a two way flat plate concrete slab to a composite steel system. With the change to a steel structure several of the columns in the building will be able to be eliminated due to the greater spans allowed by a composite steel system. The columns that will be removed have not yet been finalized, posing difficulty with deciding on preliminary member sizes. However, it is likely girders will be approximately W21×55 and infill beams will be approximately W18×40 at 8’ on center. The slab will be 4” of lightweight concrete on 2” 20 gauge metal deck. The lateral system will remain as cast in place concrete shear walls encompassing the elevator tower. However, if it is determined that there needs to be additional lateral support, steel moment frames will be designed. The gravity system will be designed by hand using loads obtained from ASCE 7-10 and structural values from the AISC steel manual and manufacturer’s metal deck catalogs. The lateral system will be analyzed and designed in ETABS.
Construction Breadth
The change of the structural system of the building has an impact on the construction cost and schedule. A revised schedule will be created using Primavera P6 and compared to the duration of the existing system’s construction schedule. In addition, an estimate of the cost of the proposed structural system will be created using Timberline and compared to an estimate of the existing system. I will attempt to obtain the existing structural system’s schedule and estimate from the project team, however, if either cannot be obtained it will be created using the aforementioned programs.
The proposed composite steel floor system will allow more sound transmission than the existing concrete slab. Due to this, the acoustical properties of both systems will be analyzed. If the difference in quality is significant, some potential solutions will be researched and proposed.
Acoustics Breadth
Proposal
Revised Proposal