In the high-tech age
of the twenty-first century, builders and building technology developers in
India no longer talk about the cost of building large structures (Apartments or flats). They are more concerned about their
life-cycle cost and environmental sustainability. They emphasize the aesthetic aspect as can be
seen from some of the structures which dot the skyline of our metropolitan
cities. The growth in knowledge oriented
sectors has led to the increase in the economy so that developers are investing (Apartments for rent in Bangalore) huge sums in the infrastructure.
The cost to the environment of
materials used is of utmost importance. Pre-engineered buildings are an example in which the construction cost
includes environmental plots cleanup cost. We
are familiar with the mess created by energy production facilities. One way to overcome this is through the use
of more fly ash for roads and buildings and houses. This can be mixed in ready mixed concrete to reduce waste on site
mixing. This also leads to quick
settling concrete so that scaffoldings can be quickly stripped for the next
operation.
According to the seismic rezoning of
the country, a city such as Chennai would be in Zone 3 seismic region. This leads to congestion of reinforcement in
the joints, and in order to overcome this, self-compacted concrete with special
admixtures are being used. Rebarring
technologies are improving so that walls are now stronger. New curing compounds are being utilized to
reduce water use.
It is a commonly
heard complaint about the big noise pollution at construction sites. To negate this, pre-case in piles are being
used by builders for pile driving work.
Corrosion too is a
great hazard. All new technologies do
not make for seismic safety. The use of
high-strength rebars for example may be harmful from the point of view of
seismic safety.
Newer technologies for houses are emerging in the use of high tensile steel and post-tensioning technologies
are gaining importance. The
post-tensioning technology is applied to get over the problem of the sagging of
load bearing beams and structures on account of excess weight. VSL India is using it for large slab
structures, bridges, stadia and dams. With this the steel reinforcement is lighter and the foundation load is
less. This technology which popularizes
the most tensioned slab saves both cost and time for the client.
Although
high-tensile steel should definitely be used in modern construction of tall
buildings and bridges, it is not as ductile as mild steel. Therefore it should be appropriately
designed. The key is to use high
strength steel which has good ductility. This is possible today with rapid advancement in the manufacture of
rebars. Steel which has an adequate
uniform elongation for protection against seismic and other dynamic loads is
ideal.
These
new concepts in building technology are incorporated into the system for economy and affordability as well as
seismic safety. They are setting the
trend for future construction.
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