Construction Cost Estimating

      

The process for computing the total loads on a column and equivalent footing

The engineering students usually find it difficult to compute loads for column and footings design. But, in this construction article, some useful information is given to make the process easy.

Types of loads on column:

1. Self weight of the column x Number of floors
2. Self weight of beams per running meter
3. Load of walls per running meter
4. Total Load of slab (Dead load + Live load + Self weight)

The columns are also based on bending moments which should be taken into consideration in the final design. To optimize the design for developing a standard structure, some leading advanced structural design software like ETABS or STAAD Pro should be used.

To make calculations perfect for structural loading, some fundamental propositions are necessary.

For Columns: Self weight of Concrete should be approx 2400 kg per cubic meter, that has the similarity with 240 kN. Self weight of Steel is approx. 8000 kg per cubic meter. Even if we consider a large column having size of 230 mm x 600 mm containing 1% steel and 3 meters standard height, the self weight of column is approx. 1000 kg per floor, which is similar to 10 kN.

In this article, self weight of column is considered as 10 to 15 kN each floor.

For Beams: The calculation is same as above. Here, it is assumed that each meter of beam contains dimensions of 230 mm x 450 mm without taking slab thickness. So, the self weight is approx 2.5 kN per running meter.

For Walls: Density of bricks fluctuates among 1500 to 2000 kg per cubic meter. For a 6? thick wall of 3 meter height and 1 meter length, the load is estimated per running meter that is equivalent to 0.150 x 1 x 3 x 2000 = 900 kg same as 9 kN/meter.

This method is applicable for computing load per running meter for different types of bricks.

For autoclaved, aerated concrete blocks like Aerocon or Siporex, the weight per cubic meter varies from 550 to 700 kg per cubic meter. If these blocks are applied for construction, the wall loads per running meter becomes as low as 4 kN/meter, which can minimize the construction cost considerably.

To get more information, go through the following link civilprojectsonline.com

The process for computing the total loads on a column and equivalent footing
Image Courtesy: runet-software.com