LOG BOOK

RACHAEL MCVEA

636656

WEEK 1 07/03/2014

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Considerations:

Strength- weak or strong

Stiffness- stiff, flexible, stretchy or floppy

Shape- mono dimensional, bi dimensional or tri dimensional.

Material behaviours- isotropic or anisotropic.

Economy and sustainability- travel, efficiency.

Structural Forces

Force- Any influence that produces a change in the

shape or movement of a body. (Newton, Clare, Basic

Structural Forces, 12/03/2014)

Tension Forces- Stretch and elongate the material.

Compression Forces- Shortens the material, opposite

to tension.

Load Paths- The path a load takes to distribute the

force evenly to the receptors. This is the most direct

route and is met with a reaction force that is equal and

opposite. (Newton, Clare, Load Path Diagrams,

11/03/2014)

3 FORMS OF CONSTRUCTION

1: MASS CONSTRUCTION

2: FRAME CONSTRUCTION

3: TENSILE CONSTRUCTION

MASS CONSTRUCTION

Static structures, supported by the foundation of the Earth, built with generally heavy duty

materials.

Two types of Mass Construction:

Small Module- Concrete blocks,

bricks, mud/clay, adobe, rammed

earth.

Large Module- Precast concrete.

Figure 1: Irving, Mark, 8/03/2014

Strengths

Small Module

Creates a bond, which in turn spreads the load of the mass, this bond makes the structure

stronger.

Allows shape to be developed in the structure by use of smaller materials.

Create patterns, ultimately the smaller module materials allow for more flexible creativity

and design.

Large Module

Faster in the sense of putting the building together.

Cheaper; reducing construction time on site as more trades can work at the one time and

are not held up by time consuming materials.

Quicker to make and erect.

Made off site and brought to site ready to be used.

Limitations

Small Module

Time consuming, slow process to put a wall of bricks up.

Requires scaffolding and ladders once the height of the construction exceeds a human.

Holds up other trades on site, hence costing more money.

Hard to transport large loads of them around the site without needing special equipment

Large Module

Very limited designs, curves are difficult and expensive.

Incredibly heavy, requiring special transport to site as well as a crane on site to erect.

Site Analysis- Process of studying contextual forces that may influence the construction of the land

and the building to which will be erected there, its shape, lay out, orientation. (Ching, Frances D.K,

Building Constructed Illustrated, 2008)

Important definitions

DDA- Disability and discrimination act.

PPE- Personal protection equipment.

UB- Universal beam

UC- Universal column

Pfc- Parallel flange channel

Bricks

Pressed

Clay pressed into moulds and placed in an oven, this

however created variations in the bricks because of

the different temperatures within the oven. E.g. a

brick in the middle would be baked more

thoroughly than a brick towards the edge. “Frog,”

divot in the middle, helps to increase the depth of

the mortar, assisting with the joining process.

Extruded

Made by forcing a bar through the clay, which reduces the amount of clay used to produce the

bricks, therefore they’re not just cheaper but create a cohesive bond between bricks when mortared

in. (Readers Digest, 11/03/2014)

Forces Considered in Construction

Dead - Static, e.g. furniture.

Live- Humans

Gravity

Wind

Water in the ground

Seismic

CLASS TASK

DESCRIPTION: BUILD A TOWER AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE,

MUST HAVE A DOORWAY FOR THE PLASTIC DINOSAUR

TO FIT THROUGH AND AN ENCLOSED CEILING.

MATERIALS: SMALL MDF BLOCKS.

Fig 2: Irving, Mark, 07/03/2014

As a group we

figured out how

many blocks

high the

dinosaur was,

telling us how

high our door

would need to

be. Our group

discussed the

possible shape

and structure,

and after

dismissing a

square base, as

we were not sure how we would enclose

the roof, and dismissing a pyramid as that

would not give us the height we desired,

we all agreed on a round cylindrical shape.

We began construction, creating that cohesive “bond” of bricks by laying them via Stretcher bond, as

this creates the best bend strength (Boral). We left a space for the doorway to fit and figured further

up in our construction we would be able to slowly bring the bricks in closer till they eventually met.

As we reached about 7 bricks high we came to realise that a single layered wall would be

very

unstable and could easily topple over. We needed a firm foundation for the tower to gain

the required height we wanted. Therefore, we began again, this time creating a double

layered wall, with that same bond however. However, we did aim in the future to slowly

bring the bricks in, not just to close the doorway but to allow us to enclose the roof also.

We knew if we did this procedure too early the tower wouldn’t reach the height we

desired and wouldn’t have a stable base to sit upon.

As we got higher we very slowly brought the entrance bricks closer together, inching them a few

millimetres inwards every new layer. We were easily able to slip a few individual bricks in the cracks

to finally join the doorway together. This needed to be strengthened above the doorway before we

could bring the bricks in to create our roof; therefore we made sure there were at least 10 layers of

bricks above the doorway, so it would not weaken under the above weight. The tower started

reaching higher and higher and we began to now slowly inch the bricks inwards in order to be able

to conceal the roof. As was done with the doorway, we slowly each row brought the bricks in, only

millimetres, to allow the cylinder to get smaller.

Time began to run out on us so we quickly worked to ensure our tower had a roof upon

it. This meant bringing the blocks in and getting it as high as possible. If time had not have been a

restraint, I believe the solid base of our structure would’ve allowed us to extend our tower to the

ceiling, however it became thin when we needed to create height and enclose the roof and this

section would not have been able to extend to the ceiling. By the end our tower reached to about

my chest and was incredibly stable because of the foundations we had created. The only reason it

became a thin tower was to get that roof on top that the brief had asked for, otherwise the thick

solid beginnings could’ve taken us to all sorts of heights.

OTHER GROUPS WORK

Other groups in the Constructing

Environments class took quite different

approaches. Some were similar to our group

in a round structure; others however chose

square foundations and aimed for high and

skinny. Some just went for the artistic

approach, however all stood up. The square

structure had an incredibly solid base, but as the tower was tall and thin, it was vulnerable to the

forces. The artistic structure looked quite weak and fragile and didn’t quite get the height required

or achieve a closed ceiling. And the structure of similar stature to ours stood firm, creating height as

well as a closed ceiling.

DEMOLITION

Our solid structure allowed us to pull of huge amounts of blocks without the structure collapsing,

literally like a game of Jenga, we were able to remove blocks from all areas and our structure still

stood up. We removed that whole outer wall and were left with another, thinner, but still quite

sturdy structure.

WEEK 2 14/03/2014

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS

A building is a combination of a number of systems and subsystems that must coordinate with one

another as well as with the building as a whole. These physical systems organise the ordering and

construction of a building. (Ching, Frances D.K, Building Construction Illustrated, 2008)

Enclosure system- how you protect a building from the elements.

Structural System - Frame, column & beam, mass construction.

Service system- Anything providing amenity to the building; electrical, mechanical,

hydraulics

ENCLOSURE SYSTEM

Shell or envelope of a building, consisting of the roof, exterior walls, windows and doors. (Ching,

Frances D.K, Building Construction Illustrated, 2008)

SERVICE SYSTEMS

Provide essential services to the building; water supply, sewage disposal, heating and air-

conditioning, electrical system controls, vertical transportation systems (lifts), fire-fighting systems

and perhaps recycle and waste disposal systems. (Ching, Frances D.K, Building Construction

Illustrated, 2008)

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

SOLID- Early buildings, mud, bricks, stone. Compression arches.

SURFACE- Sydney Opera House.

SKELETAL- Frames, efficient.

MEMBRANE- Tension, shade sails, sports stadiums.

HYBRID- Structural frames covered in different materials.

(Newton, Clare, Structural Systems and Forms, 14/03/2014)

Structural Systems:

Primary member- large beam which spans the shortest distance.

Secondary member- Rafters, run perpendicular to primary

member.

The more distance you cover with a beam the wider and heavier

the beam needs to become, this can cause issues of being too

heavy. To overcome this you turn the beam into a truss to

lighten it.

Considerations

Performance requirements- structural, fire resistance, comfort, protection from elements,

compatibility, easy maintenance.

Aesthetic qualities- proportion, colour, surface qualities.

Economic efficiencies- budget, affordability (initial cost and maintaining cost)

Environmental impacts- embodied energy, constructability efficiency.

(Newton, Clare, Structural Systems and Forms, 14/03/2014)

ESD= Environmental Sustainable Design

Examples:

Recyclability- Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Carbon footprint- Measure of greenhouse gases used.

Local materials

Thermal mass -Use of a material to store energy. Eg. Concrete slab.

Water harvesting -Collection and use of rain water.

Insulation

Wind energy

Solar power

Material efficiency

Night air purging - bringing outside air inside in the evening to

remove stale air

Newton, Clare, ESD and Selecting Materials, 14/03/2014

Structural joins

Every load must have a responding force of equal strength.

Roller joint- Only resists vertical forces

Pin joint- resists both vertical and horizontal

Fixed joint- Resists vertical, horizontal and rotational forces.

(Cantilever- one point of support. E.g. a tree or wing of a plane.

Embodied Energy= How much energy is in the item. Moving it, maintaining it,

running of it, getting rid of it.

Base Metals- Elemental (periodic) E.g. aluminium.

Alloy metals- Combinations. E.g. bronze= copper + zinc

Aluminium is stronger than steel and lighter but is expensive and requires a lot

of embodied energy.

Fig 3: Newton, Clare, Structural Connections,

14/03/2014

CLASS TASK

DESCRIPTION: BUILD A TOWER OUT OF SELF-CUT BALSA WOOD STRIPS.

Using our 43 strips of balsa wood to develop the highest tower possible proved harder than first

thought. The balsa is flimsy and easily bent and snapped, this lead us to choose a triangle based

design that would allow us to have a sturdier structure and high structure.

As we had just learnt that day, trussing was an effective way of stabilising a building, thus we

implemented this into our design, to reduce those bends and snapping of the balsa. The use of

masking tape to join the balsa led to many difficulties also, it was heavy and difficult to use on such

small pieces of balsa, leading to breaks and messy joins. The base developed strongly, however as

we began to run out of balsa we came to realise the higher we got the more unstable it would

become after we triangulated the roof, leaving us not much room for movement.

In a last bid attempt to extend our

tower to the ceiling we created a

very long and very thin piece of

balsa which was stuck to the top of

our building and extended almost

to the ceiling. If we had not of

finished the base off so soon by

adding a triangular roof we may have been able to create a

sturdier structure that stood as high as it did as an actual

structure. In the end our structure did extend quite high but

officially the singular pieces of balsa don’t count as a

structure, next time a higher and sturdier foundation

would’ve enabled us to continue building a “structure” as

high as the thin balsa. The thin balsa also didn’t prove strong,

swaying in the slightest of movement. Out in the elements it

would’ve snapped off very quickly.

OTHER GROUPS

A common theme of most groups was the idea of

trussing their structures to strengthen them. The

group with thicker balsa was more successful in this.

The group with short and thick balsa however created

a very unstable structure that wouldn’t stand on the

floor.

RESOURCES

www.readersdigest.com.au

http://www.boral.com.au/images/common/clay_bricks_pavers/pdfs/1_307.pdf

Ching, Frances D.K, Building Construction Illustrated, 2008

Newton, Clare, Constructing Environments ELearning, 2014.