Improving Efficiency of Steel Use in Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Nigeria: A Case Study of a Building in Abuja

Imran Rufai, Muhammad Sani Aminu

Abstract


Reinforced concrete is one of the world’s major types of structural frames. In Nigeria, it is by far the most popular. There have been growing concerns over the cost of reinforced concrete structures; both financially, and to the environment. By all accounts, it is desirable to reduce the use of material, wherever possible. Steel is the major structural component of reinforced concrete, so it is especially important to scrutinise its use. Recognising that construction practices vary widely, a case study of a typical building structure in Abuja, Nigeria, has been carried out. The structural calculations and drawings of the as-built structure were obtained and subjected to scrutiny. With the aid of the software, Protastructures 2018, it was found that up to 29% of the steel could be saved with a slightly modified design. The key savings were in slabs, where 10mm reinforcement was found sufficient for most cases; and then in the link in both beams and columns, where 8mm links were found sufficient. It was found that employing extra labour for better quality control is cheaper than the overly conservative design practices currently widespread in Nigeria. Hence, there is a lot of room in Nigeria for more efficient designs, which could save a large amount of material, cost less, be more environmentally friendly, and employ more labour.


Full Text:

PDF

References


S. Miller, A. Horvath and P. Monteiro, "Readily implementable techniques can cut annual CO 2 emissions from the production of concrete by over 20%", Environmental Research Letters, vol. 11, no. 7, p. 074029, 2016. Available: 10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074029.

H. Van Damme, "Concrete material science: Past, present, and future innovations", Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 112, pp. 5-24, 2018. Available: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.05.002.

M. Afzal, Y. Liu, J. Cheng and V. Gan, "Reinforced concrete structural design optimization: A critical review", Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 260, p. 120623, 2020. Available: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120623.

D. Okpala and A. Aniekwu, "Causes of high costs of construction in Nigeria. Journal of construction engineering and management", ASCE, vol. 114, no. 1, pp. 233-234, 1988.

O. A. and R. D., "Infrastructure Delay and Cost Escalations: Causes and Effects in Nigeria.", in Sixth international postgraduate research conference, Delft University of Technology and TNO, 2006.

A. Elinwa and S. Buba, "Construction Cost Factors in Nigeria", Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 698-713, 1993. Available: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1993)119:4(698).

S. Murali and s. Yau, "Causes and effects of delays in the Malaysian construction industry", International Journal of Project Management, vol. 25, pp. 517-526, 2007. Available: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.007.

M. A.H., R. I.A and A. A.A., "Preliminary study on causative factors leading to construction cost overruns", International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 57-71, 2011.

P. Olayeni, P. Lawal and L. Amusan, "Developing Infrastructure in Nigeria: Why is the Cost so High?", Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 11, 2022.

O. Aje, K. Odusami and D. Ogunyemi, "The impact of contractors' management capability on cost and time performance of construction projects in Nigeria", 2022.

G. Ojo and S. Odediran, "Significance of Construction Cost Estimating Risks in Nigeria", International Journal of Civil Engineering and Construction Science, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-8, 2015.

A. Olotuah, "Recourse to earth for low-cost housing in Nigeria", Building and Environment, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 123-129, 2002. Available: 10.1016/s0360-1323(00)00081-0.

T. Nwofor, S. Sule and D. BUDU Eme, "A comparative study of BS8110 and Eurocode 2 standards for the design of a continuous reinforced concrete beam", International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 76-84, 2015.

B. Cresswell Riol, Standard Method of Detailing Structural Concrete, 3rd ed. London: Institution of Structural Engineers, 2007.

"Steel weight and unit weight of steel bars", Civil Guide, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://civilsguide.com/what-is-the-unit-weight-of-steel-bars/.

G. Bamigboye, O. Olaniyi, D. Olukanni, A. Ede and I. Akinwumi, "Diameter Inconsistency, Strength and Corrosion Characteristics of Locally-Produced and Imported Steel Reinforcing Bars in Ilorin, Nigeria", International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa, vol. 29, pp. 90-97, 2017. Available: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/jera.29.90.

"Civil Engineer Salary in Nigeria | PayScale", Payscale.com, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.payscale.com/research/NG/Job=Civil_Engineer/Salary.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.