Charleston Apartments
Charleston, SC
Shangmi Xie | Structural
Dr. Aly Said
Structural Proposal
Revised
Structural Proposal
1/14/2019
Structrual Depth
The existing structural system for Charleston Apartments has been proved to meet the requirements in the codes and standards by spot checks provided in the previous notebook submissions. The existing gravity system is 8” two-way post-tension concrete slab and existing lateral system is 16” special reinforced concrete shear wall.
Three possible alternative structural systems were proposed with preliminary design. The three alternatives are two-way concrete slab system, non-composite steel frame system and hollow plank slab on steel girder system. By comparing the depth, weight, cost and sustainability among the existing system and three alternative systems, the two-way concrete slab system has been chosen for further investigation and design. The shear wall will be redesigned based on the loads.
The goal of the proposed design is to not change the original building story height and column locations. The two-way concrete slab system has the least change in depth compared to the other two alternative solutions. In addition, there is a learning goal with the proposed redesign solution is that to perform a detailed comparison between the normal reinforced concrete system and the post-tension concrete system.
Construction Management Breadth
Redesigning the structural system will result a different construction schedule and cost. This will be a great aspect to compare the post-tension concrete system with the normal reinforced concrete system. The investigation and creating construction schedule for both systems will be done first. Then the total cost including the material and construction will be calculated as a whole project using 2018 RS Means as the reference.
Acoustical Breadth
The architectural acoustics performance will be checked at critical spaces and possible improvement will be proposed. According to the preliminary investigation, there are several apartments on the third floor might have potential problem since they are close to the common area and they are right above the parking deck. In addition, since the mechanical condensing units are all located on the roof, the apartments on the top floor will also need to be checked where might have potential influence by vibration sounds. The quiet and private spaces are preferred for residents. Therefore, it will need investigation for existing material with sound isolation properties and possibly changing or adding material or device.
MAE Coursework
The graduate level coursework will be incorporated into this thesis project. A 3D model of both existing and redesigned lateral resisting structural system will be created by using ETABs which is learned from AE 530 – Computer Modeling of Building Structures. Seismic reinforcement design for concrete shear walls will be provided which is learned from AE 538 – Earthquake Resistant Design of Building.