
SCDM71-316 – Structures and Materials
SubmissionSummary
Due date 17:00 Wednesday, 27th of July 2022 (Week 11)
SubmissionType Individual or Pairs (No more than two students) SubmissionType iLearn submission through SafeAssign (plagiarism checking) Assignmentweighting 40% of the overall grade for this subject
Project details
This project requires you to interpret and evaluate a structure in the built environment. Engineers make decisions on materials, member shape and the connections for the individual members that make up a structure based on their understanding of how each of them performs under loading and over time. This project requires you to be that engineer and consider how these factors influence material choice and building shape.
You (an engineer) have been approached by a client who wished to build a tall timber building in Robina on the Gold Coast. The client recently visited United States where he was inspired by the innovative hybrid building named, “The Bullitt Centre” and now wishes for a very similar building to be built in Robina.
In preparation for the future development, you will need to assess“TheBullittCentre,hybridBuilding” from an engineering point of view. The following tasks are to be completed as you assess the structural performance of the building and prepare some details for the design and construction of the same building in Robina, Gold Coast, Australia.
Getting Started:
Some of the resources for the building have been provided on iLearn. This is not an exhaustive list and therefore you are encouraged to seek additional resources where necessary (e.g. other timber buildings) to assist with your understanding of how structures behave and in particular tall timber structures. You will need to review how each of these structures have managed durability and load paths (vertical and lateral) to complete your understanding of how the Bullitt Centre building has been designed.
The following prescriptive tasks have been prepared to guide you through your analysis of this building and the considerations required for its construction locally.
Respond to the following tasks in your report:
Introduction
- Provide a summary of the structure detailing the design philosophy of the structure (consider aesthetics, function and design statements) (~150 words) (3marks)
Loading
Deadloads
- Provide your understanding of the elements contributing to the dead load. Annotate onpictures/drawings of the existing Bullitt Centre building all elements that contribute to the dead load. For each element, also indicate the material used. Be sure to include items that are also considered super-imposed dead loads. You may need to use at least five different pictures to show all internal and external elements. (3 marks)
Dynamic loads
- The Bullitt Centre is an office building. What are the live loads that this structure has been designed for? Create a live loading plan for levels 1-3 of the building. Values are to be based on those from AS1170.1 Table 3.1. The live load plan should consist of a floor plan with different areas highlighted based on its usage (e.g. storage, kitchen etc.) and a legend indicating the associated design pressure (e.g. 3 kPa) based on the area’s use. (5 marks)
- Determine the VRfor the structure based on AS1170.2. You may assume the structure was built on the Bond University Campus. Ensure that you detail all assumptions/factors that you have used. (you only need to calculate the VR which is the regional wind speed. So, do not consider shielding, terrain, topography etc.) (3 marks)
Materials
Materialchoice
- The Bullitt Centre is a hybrid building with timber as predominate structural material of the building. Outline fivereasons why timber was chosen as the main material for the Bullitt Centre building. Each reason should be justified by references that support the claims. (~100 words per reason). (5 marks)
- Concrete and steel have also been used in the building. Identify where each material has been used and comment on why the element is made from concrete or steel instead of timber. In addition, evaluatehow issues common to the steel and concrete were/should have been managed. (6marks)
- The design of a building made primary from timber often requires extensive management strategies around the control of fire and durability. What strategies were employed by the designers of this building for:
- fire
- durability
In addition, for each issue above, describe other solutions available for the management/design of the specified issues that was not used in the Bullitt Centre building. (5 marks)
Structural material performance
- Your initial investigations for the supply of timber here on the Gold Coast have found that glue laminated timber (GLT) is difficult to obtain and therefore you are suggesting a new material as a replacement. This alternative material is laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Upon request from an Australian LVL manufacturer you have been provided with some compression testing data for the LVL product. Three LVL samples were tested using a compression test and the data is supplied with this task sheet under iLearn – Assessment folder.
You have been informed the GLT used in the existing Bullitt Centre building had an ultimate compressive capacity of 53 MPa and a Young’s Modulus of 12 GPa.
You are required to analyse the results of the LVL compression tests by presenting the stress- strain curve for the LVL samples and then making a recommendation if the glulam can be replaced by the locally sourced LVL.
Your recommendation (i.e. GLT or LVL) should be justified based on your analysis of the testing data and understanding of strength and stiffness.
(5marksfordatapresentationandsummaryand2marks forrecommendation/justification)
Structural elements and systems
VerticalSystem
- Describe the vertical structural system. i.e. how is the building transferring the dead and live loads to the foundations. Be sure to identify the key design elements. (3 marks)
Load path
- Describe in words the load path for the wind and then draw the load path on plan view for both main wind directions. (hint: You will first need to identify the stability systems for the structure and consider how the wind is transferred from the façade to the structural systems). (3 marks)
Stability
- How is stability provided to the building? You must consider both primary directions (i.e. longitudinal and cross wind directions) (3 marks)
- Give the most appropriate stability system if the entire building was made of timber. Describe how it would affect the architectural layout of the building should that method be adopted (e.g. floor to floor height). (3marks)
Earthquake
- If the earthquake loading became the critical loading case, suggesttwo earthquake design/management systems that could be realistically implemented into the structure. (3marks)
Flooring systems
- This structure uses a floor system made up of NLT panels resting on Glulam beams supported by columns. How could the structure be different if a “flat-plate” system like that used in the Brock Commons Tallwood House was adopted? (3 marks)
- Your client is interested in having a very large open space room on level 2 of the proposed structure in Robina. Describe how incorporating this feature would influence the design? (3marks)
Tributary areas
- According to the plan of 4th level, drawthe tributary areas for glulam columns. (4 marks)
Connections
- Steel connecters are used to connect glulam beams to glulam columns. Describe beam-column connection in detail and then give three reasons this type of connection was chosen (e.g. size/type of force, constructability). Then discuss the load path through the connection andidentify the types of forces (e.g. tearing) in each element of the connection. (4 marks)
Soils and Footings
Footingsystems
- Describe the likely footing system of the building. Details of the foundation may be difficult to find for this building so you may provide your recommendation for the footing system. How would the footing system be different if the structure was entirely made from concrete? (3marks)
Geotechnical testing
- Choose two soil tests that wound need to be performed before the foundations are designed for the Gold Coast structure. In detail, describe: (4marks)
- the purpose of each test
- how to perform the test (including the equipment/materials required) and
- how the test will influence the foundation preparation and footing system Pictures/sketchesarerecommended,theresponseshouldbelessthan150wordandoccupyupamaximumonepagepertest.
Other considerations
Deflection
- Considering the serviceability criteria of deflection, identify the limits (e.g. rafter = span/300) for all relevant building components of the Bullitt Centre building. Use the limits prescribed by the Australian Standards. (See Table C1 AS1170.0) (3 marks)
Architectural features
- Consider one architectural feature that are considered rare or unique to the building and discuss reasons such feature was chosen and discusshow the engineer overcame the difficulties associated with such features (3 marks)
Indirect actions
- Creep, thermal actions and shrinkage are indirect actions experienced by buildings. Createa set of management strategies for these three issues in the context of the Bullitt Centre. (hint: there is only some evidence of the management of these in the provided literature so you may need to consider how other buildings have managed these issues and suggest if the solution is appropriate for the Bullitt Centre building). (5 marks)
- Research task – Life cycle assessment
The Bullitt Centre is an energy efficient office building. Conduct a ‘life cycle assessment’ of the energy usage in the Bullitt Centre. In responding to this task, you should firstly define ‘life cycle assessment (LCA)’ and the purpose of conducting one. Your response to this task should be approximately 1000 words and you should use at least 3-4 sources, but more is encouraged. (6marks)
Additional Assignment and formatting information:
- The remaining 10 marks is attributed to formatting, sentence structure, use of concise and effective language and presentation throughout your assignment. Hint: all figures and table need a number and a description!
- Where you cannot find information on a certain topic specific to the Bullitt Centre building, you will need to research how other high-rise timber buildings have design for said topic.
- There is no set word limit for this assignment. Tasks will be marked based on the appropriate formatting and expectations as outlined in rubric.
- A marking rubric will be provided which will detail the expectations for each response.
- Concise ‘short-sentence’ style responses are encouraged where appropriate while some may require a paragraph style response.
- You are encouraged to use sub-headings to make your report easier to read.
- As part of a research assignment, you are expected to use referencing (including in-text citation and a suitable reference list). Harvard referencing style is preferred. You will find information on this on the library website.
Library Support – 10% of your marks are for referencing, presentation and expression!
This may be the first research-based assignment for many of you at Bond University, so we encourage you to use the resources available at the library when referencing and writing your report. While they cannot help with the actual content, they can help you find reliable sources and help you structure your sentences and report.
The person to contact is:
Assignment checklist
- Title page
- Report summary (or executive summary) – max 200 words
- Contents page
- Written report with clear and appropriate headings, relevant and necessary photos/imagery,
sketches, figure titles, in-text referencing etc.
- Reference list
- Appendix (information in the appendix will NOT be marked but can be used to support your answer)
Note: There is no need for assignment cover sheet due to the electronic submission.

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