Building Technical Regulations and Construction Systems

Posted on Dec 4, 2024 in Design and Engineering

Technical Regulations T2

Introduction

Object:

1. The CTE regulates the basic quality requirements that buildings must satisfy to meet safety and habitability requirements.
2. The CTE requires basic requirements of structural safety, fire safety, safety of use, hygiene, health and environmental protection, noise protection, and energy saving and thermal insulation.
3. The basic requirements for building functionality are governed by specific regulations.
4. The basic requirements must be met in the design, construction, maintenance, and conservation of buildings and facilities.

Scope of Application:

1. Public and private buildings.
2. New construction building works.
3. Extension, renovation, or rehabilitation works.
4. Rehabilitation means: structural adequacy, functional suitability, remodeling of a building to create or modify the surface or number of dwellings.
5. Change of use.

CTE Contents:

1. Part 1: Contains the general rules and conditions for applying the CTE and the basic requirements that buildings must meet.
2. Part 2: Formed by the basic documents (DB) to fulfill the basic requirements of the CTE.

Building Use and Conservation:

1. The building and its facilities must be used appropriately according to the instructions, refraining from incompatible use.
2. The building must be maintained in good condition with proper maintenance.

Structural Safety

Objective: Establishes rules and procedures to fulfill the basic requirements for structural safety. The proper application of all the DB ensures that the basic requirement of structural safety is satisfied: ensuring the building has adequate structural behavior against foreseeable actions and influences during construction and intended use. (SE1-Resistance and Stability. SE2-Serviceability).Scope of Application:

1. The DB establishes principles and requirements for the mechanical resistance and stability of the building, including its durability.
2. The DB-SE precepts apply to all types of buildings.
3. Bearing capacity refers to a building’s fitness to ensure the required reliability, overall stability, and strength for a certain time, called the service period. The ability to ensure proper operation, user comfort, and maintain visual appearance is called fitness for service.
4. In the absence of specific indications, a service period of 50 years is adopted.

Basic Documents: Specify parameters and procedures whose compliance ensures satisfaction of basic needs and the improvement of minimum quality standards for the basic requirement of structural safety.Documentation on the DB-SE:

• Project Documentation Includes:
  1. Report including program requirements, describing the building’s features and intended use that determine the structural safety requirements.
  2. Structure Plans.
  3. Specifications including the technical prescriptions.
• Final Work Documentation: Complete plans of all elements, as well as supporting documentation consistent with the CTE.

Structural Analysis Dimensioning:

1. Structural Verification.
2. Verification must account for the effects over time.
3. Should include all foreseeable conditions and circumstances during implementation and use.
4. Dimensioning situations fall into: Persistent normal condition, transient temporal condition, and extraordinary exceptional condition.

Limit States:

• Ultimate Limit State: Loss of balance of the building considered as a rigid body, and failure by deformation or instability.
• Serviceability Limit States: Deformations, vibration, and damage due to deterioration.

Classification of Actions:

1. Permanent Actions: They act at all times.
2. Variable Actions: They may or may not act.
3. Accidental Actions: Low probability of occurrence.

Verification of Serviceability: Appropriate behavior concerning deformation, vibration, or damage is considered met if, for relevant dimensioning situations, the effect of the actions does not reach the established limit values.Deflections:

1. When considering the integrity of constructive elements supported by the horizontal structure of a floor or deck, it is sufficiently rigid if, in any of its parts, with any combination of characteristic actions, considering only the deformations occurring after commissioning, the deflection is less than:
   • 1/500 in floors with fragile walls or rigid pavement without joints.
   • 1/400 in floors with ordinary walls or rigid pavements with joints.
   • 1/300 in the rest of the cases.
2. When considering user comfort, the deflection is less than 1/350.
3. When considering the work’s appearance, the deflection is less than 1/300.
4. Where damageable elements react sensitively to deformations, appropriate constructive measures must be taken to avoid damage.

Horizontal Displacement:

1. When considering the integrity of the supported construction elements, the overall structure has sufficient lateral stiffness if, for any combination of characteristic actions, the displacement is less than:
   • Total displacement: 1/500 of the building’s total height.
   • Local displacement: 1/250 of the floor height.
2. When considering the appearance of a work, the overall structure has sufficient lateral stiffness if, for any quasi-permanent combination of actions, the displacement is less than 1/250.
3. Generally, it is sufficient to satisfy these conditions in two substantially orthogonal directions to the floor.

Vibrations: A building behaves well regarding vibration due to dynamic action if the frequency of the dynamic action deviates sufficiently from its natural frequencies. Calculating the natural frequency must consider the possible contributions of enclosures, partitions, cladding, flooring, and other building elements.

Effects of Time:

• Durability: Ensure that the influence of chemical or biological actions on the building does not compromise its bearing capacity.
• Fatigue: Generally, fatigue limit state testing is not required in buildings except for the lifting equipment’s internal structural elements.
• Rheological Effects: The DB for the various materials includes, where appropriate, the necessary information to account for the variation in rheological effects over time.

NCSE Seismic-Resistant Construction Standard

Purpose: To provide criteria for considering seismic action in the design, construction, reform, and conservation of buildings and works in Spanish territory.Purpose of the Application Criteria:

1. Avoid loss of life.
2. Reduce damage and economic costs that future earthquakes may cause.

Scope of Application: Applies to the design, construction, and maintenance of new buildings and will be considered in reforms or rehabilitation.Seismic Hazard Map: Defines the country’s seismic hazard. Expressed as a function of acceleration due to gravity (g).Design and Construction Requirements:

1. Symmetry of mass distribution and rigidity.
2. Dimension proportionality.
3. Lightweight and low center of gravity.
4. Resistant, light materials with uniform elastic properties.
5. Closed perimeter with coupled edge elements, vertical and horizontal.
6. Strong, tied foundation.
7. Isolation of oscillations in non-structural elements.

CTE-DB-SI Safety in Case of Fire

Purpose: To establish rules and procedures to fulfill the basic safety requirements in case of fire. The correct application of the basic requirements SI-1 to SI-6 ensures that the basic fire safety requirement is satisfied.Basic SI Requirements:

• SI-1 Internal Propagation: Limit the risk of fire spreading inside the building.
• SI-2 Exterior Propagation: Minimize the risk of fire spreading from the outside.
• SI-3 Occupant Evacuation: The building will have adequate evacuation means to allow occupants to leave or reach a safe place.
• SI-4 Fire Protection Facilities: The building will have adequate equipment and facilities to enable fire detection, control, and extinguishing, and alarm transmission to occupants.
• SI-5 Firefighter Intervention: Facilitate the intervention of rescue and fire-prevention teams.
• SI-6 Fire Resistance of the Structure: The supporting structure will maintain its fire resistance for the time required to meet the above basic requirements.

Uses: Residential housing, public residential, administrative, hospital, educational, commercial, public attendance, and parking.Fire Resistance of Building Elements: The capacity of a construction element to maintain its required supporting function, integrity, and/or thermal insulation for a specific period, as specified in the relevant test standard.Class: R (bearing capacity), E (integrity), I (insulation).Time: REI(t) – time that meets mechanical resistance, stability, integrity to the passage of flame and hot gases, and heat.Marking of Evacuation Means:

1. Exits of premises, floors, or buildings will have a sign marked “EXIT,” except in residential housing and other uses with retail premises smaller than 50m².
2. The sign “EMERGENCY EXIT” must be used in any exit scheduled for use only in emergencies.
3. Signs indicating evacuation routes.
4. Routes that are not exits should have a “dead end” sign.
5. Signs indicating occupancy.
6. Size depending on the observation distance.

Smoke Control: A fire smoke control system must be installed to ensure control over occupant evacuation in: parking, commercial or public spaces, and atriums.Fire Detection, Control, and Extinction:

1. The building must have fire protection equipment and facilities as intended: fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, emergency elevators, exterior sprinkler systems, automatic extinction installations.
2. Manual fire protection equipment must be properly signed.
3. Signs must be visible.

Previous Operations T3

Administrative Aspects

1. Pre-construction operations.
2. Project.
3. Contract.
4. Planning permission.

Site Fitting

Site Preparation:

1. Clearing.
2. Pipeline deviation.
3. Bulldozers.
4. Demolitions.

Actual Map of the Site.

Demolition

Terms of Execution:

1. Reference NTE-ADD demolition policy.
2. Legal permits.
3. Notification to adjoining buildings.
4. Background: plans to demolish the work, structural state of adjacent buildings, and affected services.
5. Demolition draft.
6. Safety conditions: before, during, and after demolition.

Element by Element Demolition:

Floor Joist Demolition:

1. Demolish slabs.
2. Expose reinforcement.
3. Cut reinforcement after suspending and felling adjacent openings in continuous slabs.

Beam Demolition: Must be felled or suspended.

Demolition by Thrust:Rules of Engagement:

• Do not operate two machines simultaneously without respecting safety distances.
• Never operate at altitudes above the machine arm’s maximum reach.
• Never climb on debris.

Demolition by Collapse:Performance Standards:

• Always isolate the building.
• No one inside the building.
• Complete demolition layered from top to bottom.
• Do not leave projecting items.
• Remove electrical connections.
• Empty fuel tanks.

1. Impact caused by gravity.
2. Impact forced by gravity.
3. Impact on walls by thrust.

Demolition with Explosives:

1. Demolition by controlled blasting.
2. Bore with explosive charges in the underlying supportive structure elements.
3. Upon explosion and load transfer to the frames, the whole building collapses and self-destructs.
4. The collapse can take three forms: vertical fulmination or fall by gravity, breakdown by tilting, or a mixed process.

Security Space:

• Personnel outside the blast zone during the explosion.
• Nearby buildings and towns act as barriers for workers.
• Safety zones: 50m circle.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Demolition with Explosives:

• Advantages:
  1. Economical but labor-intensive.
  2. Spectacular results.
  3. Shorter time.
  4. Small area of direct debris.
  5. Recommended for demolishing large buildings.
• Disadvantages:
  1. High levels of noise, dust, and vibration.
  2. Not applicable in prestressed concrete or steel construction.
  3. Project requires a mining engineer.

Containment Walls and Basements T5

Concept

Containment Structure

Terminology

Types of Walls

Gravity and Cantilever Walls:

Buttress Walls: A wall thickening, usually outwards, used to transmit lateral loads to the foundation.

Reinforced Earth: Earth mass with metal reinforcement to withstand movement.

Basement Walls

Structural Analysis

Stability Conditions:

1. Overturning.
2. Sliding.
3. Deformation.
4. Sinking.

Assembly Provisions

Constructive Aspects

Contraction Joints: Used to control crack locations caused by concrete contraction. Restricts movement.Expansion Joints: Used to avoid cracking due to thermal dimensional change in concrete.

Structural Systems T7

Introduction

Static Conceptions:

1. Evolve based on load types (gravitational, wind, seismic, dimensional variations, ground thrust).
2. Profusion of standards: difficulty reflecting in the pipeline.
3. Gravitational loads.

Wind Loads: Aspects not considered in the standard:

• Load distribution in bearing components.
• Application to high-rise buildings.
• Masking effect of existing buildings.
• Aerodynamic design of the building.

Seismic Loads: Seismic standard. Current trend is controlled damage and accessibility. Improving deformation capacity without reaching breakage.

Structural Systems Against Vertical Loads

Concept of Slab:

1. Slab: Works in flexure and torsion.
2. Support: Works in compression, biaxial flexure.
3. Slab Modeling: solid reinforced slabs, massive post-tensioned, lightweight, composite decking.

Concept of Lattice: Prefabrication as a way to industrialization, seeking design and construction economy, develops another structural model.

• Beam: Works in flexure.

Lattice Concept:

• Lintels worked in flexure.
• Stands work in flexure and compression.

Unidirectional:Main Elements:

1. Ribs (joist, semi-joist, etc.): Resistant to unidirectional flexure.
2. Fill (entrevigado): Lightening and load transmission to the ribs.
3. Finishing material layer (compression): Multiple functions.

Reinforced or Prestressed Concrete Ribs:

Wood Ribs:

Metal or Mixed Ribs:

Ceramic Ribs:

Entrevigado Types:

Truss System:

• Supports: masonry, brick factory, smelting, steel rolling, reinforced concrete, high-strength concrete.
• Lintels: Timber, steel sheet, reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, mixed wood, glued-laminated.
• Current Status of Lattices: increased lighting, increased loads and variability, decreased inertia, increased steel quality, deformability, and cracking.

Unidirectional T8

Concept

Type of structural elements resistant to flexure (joists, ribs, etc.) arranged in one direction, bending in one direction.

Constitutive Elements

Beams, prestressed honeycomb slab, entrevigado section, upper concrete slab.

Beam Slabs: Constructive system consisting of:

1. Precast concrete, ceramic, or prestressed joists.
2. Entrevigado sections with lightening or decking function in the resistance.
3. Reinforcement: longitudinal, transverse, and distribution.
4. In-situ concrete poured for filling ribs and forming the upper slab.

Prestressed Hollow Core Slabs: Construction system consisting of:

1. Precast prestressed concrete hollow core slabs.
2. Reinforcement placed on site.
3. In some cases, concrete poured on site to fill side seals and form the top slab.

Waffle Slabs T9

Concept

A floor type made up of a grid of reinforced concrete ribs of small width and short distance apart, so loads are transmitted in both directions simultaneously. This system allows removing beams, solidifying only areas close to the supports. These solid masses are called capitals and receive and distribute loads from the pillars.

Disposition

Manufacturing Works T10

Concept

Construction made of stone, brick, concrete, and general stone materials.

Applications

Structural elements, fences, distribution elements.

Functional Requirements

Resistance, habitability, durability, appearance.

Parts

Edges:

1. Soga: Dimension corresponding to the longest side.
2. Tizon: Dimension for the medial side.
3. Thickness: Dimension for the smallest side.

Faces:

1. Table: Larger face of the piece (Tizon x Soga).
2. Stretcher: Medial face of the piece (Soga x Thickness).
3. Header: Smaller face of the piece (Tizon x Thickness).

Tackles

Arrangement and bonding of elements in wall materials. Wall tackles can be classified according to the material used and the arrangement of the parts.

Adhesive Material (Mortar)

Concept: Combination of binders and aggregates, used as a binding material. Used in its construction: cement, lime, gypsum, sand, water, additives.Demands: Mechanical resistance, adhesion, consistency and plasticity, impermeability, and durability.Mortar Types:

• Cement Mortar: Resistant, waterproof, recommended for general use.
• Gypsum Mortar: Interior use only, does not expand.
• Lime Mortar: Slow setting, aerial and hydraulic types.
• Bastard Mortar: Cement + lime, widely used, better plasticity and water retention.

Wall Types According to Their Form

Organization According to Type of Wall Construction

Terms of Gear in Resistant Walls

1. Avoid continuity of the wounds.
2. Thick bricks are used for thickness.
3. Continuous stretcher perpendicular to the wall.
4. Whole bricks.
5. Maintain verticality to prevent collapses.

Types of Gears According to Factory Thickness

• Half-foot wall.
• One-foot wall.
• Foot-and-a-half wall.
• Two-foot wall.

Quarrying

The art of carving stone for use in buildings.Types: Granite, dolomite, limestone, sandstone.Terms: Appearance and texture, homogeneity, absorption, friction, fire resistance, resistance to mortar. According to stone type, size, and shape.

Masonry

The construction of walls by manually placing elements like brick, block, carved stone, etc.Types: Drywall, to bones, mortar, stone and mortar, ordinary, carious, concluded, in hopscotch, history, executioner.

Ashlars

Carved stone, usually parallelepiped-shaped, forming part of the stonework.