Academics > Undergraduate Degree Programs > College of Engineering > COE Departments > Civil Engineering > Senior Design Projects List > Structural Geotechnical Design of Multistory Hotel in Al-Aziziyah with Steel Frame Skeleton
Structural Geotechnical Design of Multistory Hotel in Al-Aziziyah with Steel Frame Skeleton

Project Overview

The most important and most frequently used construction materials are that of concrete and steel with applications in multistory and industrial buildings, as well as bridges. These materials are compatible and complementary to each other; they have almost the same thermal expansion; they are ideal combination of strength, with concrete efficient in compression and steel in tension. Concrete also gives corrosion and thermal protection to steel at elevated temperature and additionally can restrain slender steel sections and members from local and lateral-torsional buckling.

There are several reasons for the favorable use of structural steel construction.

The first is that the speed of construction is faster. A structural steel building can be constructed in 80% of the time it takes to construct a reinforced concrete building. The steel is fabricated off site and assembled at the site later. Construction is thus not subjected to the vagaries of the weather. In fact, fabrication can commence even before foundation work begins.

Secondly, structural steel construction does not require a huge storage space on site. Prefabrication of 2 or 3 floors can be carried out off site and delivered as and when the site is ready. This is an important factor for buildings found in the city center where construction sites are congested and site access is limited.

Thirdly, the design of some buildings, especially commercial and institutional buildings, requires long spanning beams for column free space. Steel, which has a higher strength to weight ratio is highly appropriate for these buildings.

Lastly, steel fabrication involves higher technical skills when compared to reinforced concrete construction. It allows for greater degree of automation and less reliance on unskilled workers. Thus, it reduced the number of unskilled workers that the contractors need to employ.

This is also in line with the government's policy in reducing the number of foreign unskilled labors.

Structural engineering is concerned with analyzing and designing structural members. These members are supposed to resist and support different load variation and forms. In any structural project the designed structure must be the most economic, functional and safe structure. Moreover, the processing of any structural project initiates from the study of the architectural drawings leading to the decision of the possible structural systems to be considered.

According to the increase in tourism in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia as it is a coastal city that attracts tourists to enjoy the coastal facilities such as beach resorts. Also, it is known that Al Khobar as a coastal city holds several companies and firms that contribute to the economic cycle of the city so that has made it a desired destination for a lot of tourists, visitors, and investors that need to live in Al Khobar to convey their business affairs. Therefore, our project will provide 80 apartments with all their facilities that ensure the comforts of the hotel residents.


Project Objectives

This project is intended to analyze and design a sixteen-story hotel building considering the serviceability, safety and economy requirements. The followings are the specific objectives of current project:

  • Preliminary design of the structural members.
  • Modeling the whole building using ETABS software.
  • Perform structural analysis and design utilizing ETABS software.
  • Compare the structural performance of the building under wind and seismic loads
  • Geotechnical design of the appropriate foundation system.
  • Meet all ACI and Saudi Building Code requirements and standards in the designs

Presentation