Structural Feasibility of a Pre-Cast Building System

Abstract

This paper is based on a case study on a model house, which is to be built with slabs, beams and columns, constructed using pre stressed concrete and wall panels constructed out of Expanded Polystyrene. The proposed system is a solution to the fast growing issue of increased demand for housing and buildings and will contribute towards sustainable development with its cost effectiveness and optimized usage of resources. The beams, slabs and columns are pre-stressed in the form of pre-tensioning and Dowell bars are used at the beamcolumn junctions. As for the wall panels, a mix design would be carried out to identify the optimum cement, fly ash, sand, Expanded Polystyrene proportions. Seismic design has become an integral component in modern day engineering and hence, its implications on a pre-stressed concrete structure and a method to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed system in terms of its ability to withstand the effect due to earthquakes are proposed in the paper.