A Study of Affordable Roofing Systems with Composite Slab

Abstract

Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing cost are deemed affordable to a group of people within a specified income range. Structural roofing system contribute substantially to cost of construction of housing unit in normal situation, hence any savings attained in roofing system will reduce the cost of construction of housing unit. In the study undertaken, the roofing system consists of primary beams and secondary beams perpendicular to each other. The infill proposed is a composite slab panel consisting of decking sheets, galvanized iron(G.I) sheets of trapezoidal and corrugated cross section at bottom with a layer of concrete above it. The rectangular composite panelsconsidered in the study have a least width of 0.5m and 0.75m with an aspect ratio varying from 1.00 to 2.00. The rectangular composite panels are designed using M20 grade concrete and reinforcing steel of yield strength 415 N/mm2. The cost analysis is made for the roofing system and the proposed roofing system indicates a cost reduction 40% when compared to a conventional reinforced concrete (RCC) slab of same size. The weight of the beam systems and the panels are found to be relatively less and can handled easily by two to five masons thus reducing the labour cost. The beam systems and panels are precasted and can be easily placed thus eliminating need of shuttering, leading to faster construction of slab. The proposed roofing system is cost effective with a greater speed of construction compared to conventional roofing system.