Selection of optimum structural roof system in Saudi Arabia for a conference hall without interior columns in terms of cost and feasibility

The major challenge in civil engineering has been and will always be the design and construction of structures that fulfill the technical and investment market requirements for the criteria of cost, reliability, maintenance, environmental sustainability and aestheticism. This study deals with structurally analyzing and designing a 20 m × 40 m conference hall without interior columns contained within a two story building using the structural floor systems of concrete waffle slab, composite steel concrete and hollow core slab. The Design was carried out with adherence to several design manuals and Saudi building codes. The comparing between the three floor systems in terms of cost & feasibility was carried out. Throughout the study, several information and charts were produced regarding the systems’ comparison factors of structural deflection, depth on foundation, systems’ cost, aestheticism, and contractibility & maintenance. Finally, the results concluded that the hollow core slab system is the most technically superior and feasible alternative in the proposed case. Its relatively low cost, low structural depth and deflection mark it as ideal for long span heavily loaded structures.

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