8/13/2019 Fulton Building Presentation

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General Aspects

The hand sketch illustrates the Civil Engineering Research Laboratoriesbuilding, which is

part of the Civil Engineering Division at University of Dundee. It has an approximate

structural height of about 20 m. The plan dimensions are around 45m X 15m, with the ground

floor level having a typical height of about 12 m, and the basement a height of 7-8 m. The

building is intended to serve the research activities performed either by the university staff or

the students working on their final year projects. The circulation inside the building is done

through a lateral stair; while for lighting purposes, windows are provided at each side of the

building and at the roof level (double curved encased windows).

Structural System

As it can be visible from the sketch, the load bearing structure of the building is made

by a steel frame. The main columns, the exterior ones, have a concrete coating, while the

interior columns are of regular UB section. The main exterior columns support the main

beams onto which secondary steel beams are placed. The main beams are made out of two

inclined members, which are welded at the middle. The interior and the exterior columns at

the right side of the building, support two crane girders spanning along the entire length of

the building, onto which two cranes are located so that the heavy technical equipment andmaterial located at the ground floor can be moved. The exterior walls are brickwork walls,

while the roof is made from concrete precast plates.

The weight of the precast roof plates is taken by the secondary, longitudinal beams,

which in return, transmit to the main, transversal beams. The weights of the precast slabs,

secondary and main beams are transmitted through the columns to the foundation. An

additional load comes in the form of the weight of the crane girders, as well as the load given

by the cranes and the equipment that they transmit. The crane girders are simply supported by

means of hangersto the interior beams, which at the top are bolted to the main beams. This

bolted connection provides support against shear failure, as the interior columns have the

tendency to be pushed by the weight of the crane loading (the interior columns are not

designed to support the main beams).

The inclination of the roof means that the rain water can easily be evacuated from the

roof. The slabs are designed to withstand large industrial live loads, caused by the heavy

equipment and material being operated in the building.