CME.17 – Light-Weighting Columns

• Farhan Anarwala
• Sanna Chand
• Erik Dienethal
• Jessie Jezierny
• Luis Juarez
• Caroline Koziel

Due to inflation and supply chain shortage in the raw materials market, construction costs have increased in the past 2 years. To combat this, the senior design team will explore the design of lightweight columns. Although the purchasing of materials is done by the linear foot, the decrease in weight of a building construction member can create beneficial rippling economic effects on the overall configuration of the structure aiding both the demand and supply of materials. The senior design team’s investigation focused on a four-story building with an area of 12,000 square feet. Abiding to the Chicago Building Code, American Association of Steel Construction, and the American Concrete Institute rulebooks, the design and lightweighting of the 3rd story columns were studied and determined in order to create free-weight in the configuration, thus allowing extra point loads such as a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to be included on the roof of the building in question. The potential materials studied for the columns were wood, steel, and concrete. Calculations, serviceability, and prospected future outcome for the project is discussed and detailed in this report as well as the lightest material for building. Furthermore, breakdown of economical impact on the proposed solution is discussed along with potential risks. This long-term solution proposes economic changes in the supply-demand chain, creating a positive outcome in the raw materials market for similar construction and structural projects.