COST COMPARISON OF RCC AND RBC SLAB SYSTEM

FOR ONE KANAL HOUSE

Introduction: Project Approach: Codes:
The project is to compare the cost of two Development of spread sheet in excel Building code requirements for structural
slab systems for one Kanal house. The for slab design. concrete, ACI 318, American Concrete
slab systems are Reinforced Concrete Design of slab panels (RCC & RBC)
(RCC) slab and Reinforced Brick (RBC) Cost estimation of slab panels Institute, MI, USA, 2011.
slab system as shown in fig.1 Cost comparison of two slab Systems.

Objective:
The objective is to design & compare Framing Plan of House:
cost of both the slab systems using
engineering aspects, considering safety
as suggested by the codes, difficulties in RBC Slab

field work and operational problems

throughout the life of slab system.
Comparison is done for different size of
slabs so that results should be brief and
cover a wide range of slab panels. RCC Slab
Figure 1: Bottom View of Slabs

Methodology:
Decide length of panel and end conditions.
Decide loading condition & service loads.
Determine thickness of slab based on deflection control criteria.
Calculate self weight and then calculate design shear & moments. Covered Area:
Ground Floor = 3130 ft2
Check the slab for shear. First Floor = 2793 ft2
Calculate required reinforcement, decide bar # & spacing.
Make drawings and bar bending schedule then estimate the cost. Figure 3: Placement of Bricks Figure 2: Framing Plan of House

Slab Design Spread Sheet: Comparison Table & Graph:

(A part of input and output from sheet)
Input Data Comparison of Material's Quantities and Cost for Designed Slab Systems
Units SI Slab Material RCC
General Information Material Steel Concrete Cement Sand Aggregates Bricks Total Material % age
Project name Final Year Project Date 12-06-14 Slab Type
Units kg cu.m bags cu.m cu.m No. Price (Rs/-) Difference
Slab Name FS3 Remarks Normal Loading
Geometric Information
Unit Price 78 --- 530 706 2120 8 %
Slab is Cantilever No
Clear Longer Span 2438 mm Clear Shorter Span 3124 mm Quantity 5890 63.69 396 28 56 0
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RCC 807,786.6 0.00
XXXXX

XXXXX

Supporting wall Thickness 228 mm Price 459,382 --- 209,802 19,784 118,818 0
Edge Conditions
Cover to Steel 20 mm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RBC Quantity 5833.03 69.54 432.23 30.60 61.20 6216
End Conditions All Edge Continuous 885,129.4 +9.57
Material Information (1-Brick) Price 454,977 --- 229,084 21,603 129,739 49,728
fy 280 MPa fc' 17 MPa
Concrete Density 2400 Kg/m3 Brick Density 1900 Kg/m3
RBC Quantity 5858.10 68.13 423.44 29.98 59.95 6978
Recommended Value = 2400 Recommended Value = 1900 885,440.7 +9.61
Brick Compresive Strength 12 MPa Recommended Value = 12 (2-Bricks) Price 456,932 --- 224,422 21,163 127,098 55,826
Loading Information
Floor Finishes 177 Kg/m Live Load 200 Kg/m
RBC Quantity 6269.34 62.67 389.50 27.57 55.15 9919
Partition Dead Load 0 Kg/m 911,175.9 +12.80
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(3-Bricks) Price 489,008 --- 206,435 19,467 116,912 79,355

Output Data
# 10 @ 320 mm c/c
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reinforcement Detail
# 10 @ 320 mm c/c

# 10 @ 320 mm c/c

# 10 @ 320 mm c/c

Temperature Steel # 10 @ 320 mm c/c Depth

110 mm
Results:
Shorter Direction Steel +ve Steel
-ve Steel
# 10 @ 320
# 10 @ 320
mm c/c
mm c/c For normal loading thickness required for RBC slab is greater than that of RCC slab.
Due to more thickness, amount of material required for RBC slab is more than RCC.
Longer Direction Steel +ve Steel # 10 @ 320 mm c/c # 10 @ 320 mm c/c
-ve Steel # 10 @ 320 mm c/c

Estimation of Quantities
Item Quantity
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unit Unit Rate Cost # 10 @ 320 mm c/c
In RBC restricted bar spacing is available due to involvement of bricks, causing use of
Concrete 1.40 Cu.m Dry Volume
Cement 5.65 Bags 530 2994 Discription Quantity Unit Rate Cost higher no. of bars resulting in extra steel provided than required.
Volume of Concrete Cu.m 0.91 20000 18179
Extra cost of bricks is added in RBC slab.
Sand 0.40 Cu.m 706 282
Aggregate 0.80 Cu.m 2120 1696 Steel 280/300 MPa per Kg 61.41 78 4790
Steel 61.41 Kg 78 4790
Total Material Cost (Rs/-) 9763 Total Cost of Slab (Rs/-) 22970
Due to above mentioned reasons RCC slab is economical than the RBC slab.

Recommendations: References:
RCC slab system should be adopted in structures as it is economical, require less Building code requirements for
finishes, less maintenance and have more life than that of RBC slab. structural concrete, ACI 318, American
RBC slab system should be avoided as it is not recommended by any code. Concrete Institute, MI, USA, 2011.
In any case, if RBC slab is provided its material (specially bricks) should be properly Concrete Structures (Part I & II) by
tested and placed in slab to achieve max. shear strength, avoid corrosion of steel (due Prof: Dr. Zahid Ahmad Siddiqi.
to interaction b/w steel and brick) and to achieve lowest possible permeability. Indian Practical Civil Engineers Hand
Cantilever RBC slab should not be used as lower portion of concrete is utilized in this case. book By P. N Khanna.

Project Advisor: Dr. Rashid Hameed (Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department UET Lahore.)
Group Members: M. Saleem M. Nouman Adnan Jamil Saqib Latif
2010-CIV-232 2010-CIV-244 2010-CIV-245 2010-CIV-260

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, PAKISTAN