Eco-friendly and cost-effective slab for an office building

Abstract

It is very popular to use prefabricated concrete elements instead of cast-in-situ slabs in many different construction buildings. The background of this thesis is to study how this apply to large construction buildings as well. The thesis has addressed three different influencing factors that have laid the foundation for choosing the right slab between flat slab and hollow-core slab. The main influencing factors are structural analysis, cost, and the environment. The purpose of this report is to formulate guidelines that make the choice between hollow-core slab and flat slab easier. Each project will have different prerequisites. It is therefore expected that propulsion, cost, and environmental gas emissions will vary depending on the individual project. The thesis contains calculations of the process at the construction site, while the process outside the construction site is only discussed. Furthermore, the thesis refers to ideas on how it can be optimized about the influencing factors the thesis has addressed. A case study was conducted where calculations and information obtained were used to analyze and select the best slab for an office building. To compare the results, the starting point was to design slabs with an area of 384 m2. The case section presents the material-elements that were selected on ISY Calcus. Results from manual calculation and software’s are added as an attachment. Except, results from ISY Calcus and Excel are shown through bar diagrams and tables. A summary of the literature and calculation analysis shows that hollow-core slabs provide lighter weight, longer spans, reduced winter costs, and less progress in the workplace. The disadvantages are factors that are more individual from project to project, and one of the primary factors is transportation. A flat slab will be the better choice for projects with a realistic completion plan and a simple foundation. Through careful analysis of the calculations, it was concluded that the hollow-core slab would be the most profitable to use for an office building, despite the lowest environmental emissions and costs.