At the end of this class, student will be able

to : Understand about the multi-storey framed

structures and floor system
Know the types of material available for multistorey framed structures and factors that influence
the choice of material to be used

What is Multi-storey Building?

A multi-storey building is a building that has
multiple floors above ground in the building.

Multi-storey buildings aim to increase the

area of the building without increasing the
area of the land the building is built on,
hence saving land and, in most cases, money
(depending on material used and land prices
in the area).

Abu Dhabi Investment

Authority Tower

International Commerce Centre,

Hong Kong

NO. OF STOREYS
Multi-storey building consists of buildings
of more than 1-storey.
MATERIAL
Construction materials may differ
depending on the number of storey of the
building.
Timber can be used for building not more
than 3-storeys high.

Steel
Reinforced Concrete
Timber

Availability of material / labour

Cost
Speed of erection
Method of construction
Transportation
Possibility of standardizing the sizes of the
structural members
Size and nature of site
Modification
Fire resistance required

For buildings of more than 5-storeys high, steel

is the most suitable material to be used.
Steel is:

Light in weight - easy to transport; less load on

foundation
Inorganic - will not decay, bend, crack or peel off
High strength & durability safety structure;
Quality control - prefabricated in the factory under
effective quality control less manpower, faster
construction

Less maintenance;
Cost effective;
Not at risk to delays

Heavier; dead load;

Non-recyclable;
High risk in crack & mould growth;
Higher total cost;
Duration of work long, risk to delay
Flexible design

Element

Steel

Concrete

Site
Made under factory condition
consideration BS/MS
Fabricated off site

Strict supervision on site

Work carried on site

Cost and
speed of
erection

Combination of skilled and

unskilled
Site space required for
storage and mixing
Cheaper in cost but longer in
construction

Erection by skilled- labour,

quickly and accurately
Early completion but may be
limited due to the large
number of complicated
connections

Design
Extension need to expose by
consideration the removal of any fire
resisting casing

Flexibility in design
monolithic in nature and not
confine to standard sections
but limit to the cost of
formwork

Fire
resistance

Requires protective cover

varying in nature and
thickness / sprayed asbestos

Provide a substantial degree

of fire resistance varied by
the cover thickness

Type of
construction

Dry construction
Clean site

Wet construction
Messy site

FLOOR SYSTEM
The principal structural elements of a typical
multi-storey building comprise floors, beams
and columns. A wide variety of alternative
forms and arrangements can be used in multistorey steel framed structures.
Floor slabs:
Several
different
types of slab
can be used,
in either
composite or
non
composite
form.

COMPOSITE FLOOR SYSTEM

The system consist of simply supported universal

Beam acting compositely with a thin concrete slab
(concrete topping) supported on metal deck
Metal decking, which spans between secondary
steel beams usually spaced at between 2.5 and 3m
centres.
Steel stud are welded through the decking onto the
flange of the beam below to form a connection
between steel beam and concrete slab
Concrete is then poured onto the decking, usually
by pumping, to make up the composite system.
Metal decking acts both as permanent formwork for
the concrete, eliminating the need to provide props,
and as tensile reinforcement for the slab.
Steel bars are included in the slab to prevent
cracking and to provide reinforcement in the event
of degradation of the decking in a fire.

Slimdek is a proprietary shallow floor system. It is a

composite system comprising of an asymmetric slim
floor beam contained within the depth of the slab.

There are many types of steel decking

available. Some of the advantages of the
composite metal deck system are:

act as permanent shuttering which can eliminate

the need for slab reinforcement and propping of
the construction.
The floor deck serves as a working platform
during construction and as formwork for a
sitecast concrete slab
reduce the overall depth of structure. Provides up
to 2 hours fire resistance (500C collapse)
without additional fire resistance and 4 hours
with added thickness or extra surface protection.

 light, adaptable system that can be cut awkward

shapes and can easily be drilled or cut out for
additional service requirements. Reduce frame
loading and foundation cost.
Simple, rapid construction

NON - COMPOSITE FLOOR

SYSTEM

For shorter spans, precast

concrete floor slabs can be
used with steel beams. The
precast units may be
supported on the top flange
of universal beams or on
the bottom flange

Universal beams supporting pre-cast floor

units have advantages over other forms of
construction.
This system offers:
Fewer floor beams since pre-cast floor
units can span up to 6 to 8 m. without the
difficulty. No propping is required.
Shallow floor construction can be obtained
by supporting pre-cast floor units on shelf
angle.
Fast construction because no time is
needed for curing and development of
concrete strength.

Disadvantages:
Composite action not readily achieved
without a structural floor screed.

Heavy floor unit are difficult to erect in

many location and require use of special
machines.
Small opening can be cut in the field,
narrow openings parallel to slab span are
preferred, engineering analysis is required
for wide opening

Apart from the method of construction, the

appropriate choice of building materials is
amongst the important factors in the
construction of multi-storey buildings. The
material for structural frame can be made
from steel, in-situ reinforced concrete and
pre-cast concrete.
Compare the choice between steel structures
to pre-cast concrete frame based on the
principal factors considered in their selection.