Warehouse in Incheon

Building use

Warehouse

Country/Region

South Korea

Overview

In this project, the following requirements were to be satisfied:
– Minimize the depth of beams and the size of columns to secure warehouse space while satisfying the building height restrictions of the law
– Minimize floor deflection and vibration
– Also the structure must be clean without protrusions as there is no finishing material on the face of columns

Basic information (construction date, number of stories, gross floor area, adopted design code, engineer(s), Contractor(s), etc.)

Construction date: 2020-2022
Number of stories: 7
Gross floor area: 140,000m2
Adopted design code: Korean Design Standard
Engineer(s): ACT Partner Co., Ltd. for Structural Design
Contractor(s): SUNGDO Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.

Issue and/or innovation

1. Avoid the exposure of column splice
2. Increase the serviceability of beams in limited space

Reason for composite solution

During construction, it is possible to install members safely and quickly without additional temporary materials (i.e. Temporary Support, etc.), and after construction, safety, serviceability and required member strength can be secured even with relatively small cross-sectional sized members. (increased the space utilization)

Specific solution/technical details

1. Column Splice
Since the column splice is usually made at a position of about 1m above from the floor level, the splice joint is exposed unless there is a finishing material. Especially if lower floor column size is bigger than that of the upper floor, it is not good to see. So the client requested that we hide the splice joint of columns. As a solution to this problem, details to do within the thickness of the slab were applied instead of splicing the columns at about 1m above the floor. The application of this detail provides additional benefits in addition to the advantage of not exposing the complex joints. In other words, by using the plate installed between the upper and lower columns as a diaphragm for the beams joined to the column, the amount of required members was reduced and the efficiency was improved.
2. Efficiency of Beam Shape
In general, if serviceability and safety are satisfied in the design of a building, it is common to limit the depth of structural members, especially beams, to maximize the space efficiency. While overcoming these limitations, an efficient cross section was applied to secure the required bending capacity as well as to satisfy the serviceability requirements. That is, among the elements constituting the composite beam, the channel-shaped member (we call it ‘A Cap’) is buried inside the slab and connected to the ‘U’ shape beam. ‘A cap’ of this shape not only replaces the shear connector, but also contributes to the stiffness of the cross section, thereby enhancing the bending capacity of the beam, as well as deflection, especially before the concrete is cured and composited with the steel member, that is, significantly reduces the deflection during the construction. Since the deflection of a composite beam is calculated as the sum of the deflection during construction and that of in use, by reducing the deflection during construction it can be achieved, an effective result in improving the serviceability of the composite beam.