UNIT-4

Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or

other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site
where the structure is to be located. The term is used to distinguish this process from the more conventional
construction practice of transporting the basic materials to the construction site where all assembly is carried
out.

The term prefabrication also applies to the manufacturing of things other than structures at a fixed site. It is
frequently used when fabrication of a section of a machine or any movable structure is shifted from the main
manufacturing site to another location, and the section is supplied assembled and ready to fit.

Prefabrication techniques are used in the construction of apartment blocks, and housing developments with
repeated housing units. Prefabrication is an essential part of the industrialization of construction. The quality
of prefabricated housing units had increased to the point that they may not be distinguishable from traditionally
built units to those that live in them. The technique is also used in office blocks, warehouses and factory
buildings. Prefabricated steel and glass sections are widely used for the exterior of large buildings.

Prefabrication of Residential Building

Advantages

• Moving partial assemblies from a factory often costs less than moving pre-production resources to
each site
• Deploying resources on-site can add costs; prefabricating assemblies can save costs by reducing
on-site work
• Factory tools - jigs, cranes, conveyors, etc. - can make production faster and more precise
• Factory tools - shake tables, hydraulic testers, etc. - can offer added quality assurance
• Consistent indoor environments of factories eliminate most impacts of weather on production
• Cranes and reusable factory support can allow shapes and sequences without expensive on-
site falsework
• Higher-precision factory tools can aid more controlled movement of building heat and air, for
lower energy consumption and healthier buildings
 • Factory production can facilitate more optimal materials usage, recycling, noise capture, dust
capture, etc.
• Machine-mediated parts movement, and freedom from wind and rain can improve construction
safety

Disadvantages

• Transportation costs may be higher for voluminous prefabricated sections (especially sections so
big that they constitute oversize loads requiring special signage, escort vehicles, and temporary
road closures) than for their constituent materials, which can often be packed more densely and
are more likely to fit onto standard-sized vehicles.
• Large prefabricated sections may require heavy-duty cranes and precision measurement and
handling to place in position.

A modular building is a prefabricated building that consists of repeated sections called modules. Modularity
involves constructing sections away from the building site, then delivering them to the intended site.
Installation of the prefabricated sections is completed on site. Prefabricated sections are sometimes placed
using a crane. The modules can be placed side-by-side, end-to-end, or stacked, allowing for a variety of
configurations and styles. After placement, the modules are joined together using inter-module connections,
also known as inter-connections. The inter-connections tie the individual modules together to form the overall
building structure.

Advantages

Modular buildings are argued to have advantages over conventional buildings, for a variety of reasons.

• Speed of construction/faster return on investment. Modular construction allows for the building
and the site work to be completed simultaneously. According to some materials, this can reduce
the overall completion schedule by as much as 50%. This also reduces labor, financing and
supervision costs. To save even more time and money, nearly all design and engineering
disciplines are part of the manufacturing process. Also unique to modular construction is the ability
to simultaneously construct a building's floors, walls, ceilings, rafters, and roofs. During site-built
construction, walls cannot be set until floors are in position, and ceilings and rafters cannot be
added until walls are erected.

On the other hand, with modular construction, walls, floors, ceilings, and rafters are all built at the
same time, and then brought together in the same factory to form a building. This process can
allow modular construction times of half that of conventional, stick-built construction.

• Indoor construction. Assembly is independent of weather, which can increase work efficiency
and avoids damaged building material
• Ability to service remote locations. There can be much higher costs to build a site-built house in
a remote area or an area experiencing a construction boom such as mining towns. Modular
buildings are also beneficial in providing medical and sanitary facilities where time, space, and
money are an issue.
 Modular housing unit in storage

• Low waste. With the same plans being constantly built, With the consistency, builders can design
systems that use common lengths of lumber, wallboard, etc., cut items with maximum efficiency,
or be able to order special lengths in bulk. While waste from a site-built dwelling may typically
fill several large dumpsters, construction of a modular dwelling generates much less waste
Materials minimized include: wood pallets, shrink wrap, cardboard, plasterboard, timber, concrete,
bricks, and cement.
• Environmentally friendly construction process. Modular construction reduces waste and site
disturbance compared to site-built structures. The controlled environment of the factory allows for
more accurate construction while allowing the extra materials to be recycled in-house.
• Flexibility. One can continually add to a modular building, including creating high rises. When
the needs change, modular buildings can be disassembled and the modules relocated or refurbished
for their next use reducing the demand for raw materials and minimizing the amount of energy
expended to create a building to meet the new need. In essence, the entire building can be recycled
in some cases.
• Quality. Combining traditional building techniques, quality manufacturing and third-party
agencies who offer random inspections, testing, and certification services for quality control,
commercial modular buildings are built in strict accordance with appropriate local, state, and
national regulations and codes. Due to the need to transport modules to the final site, each module
must be built to independently withstand travel and installation requirements. They also offer
superior damp and cold resistance when compared to timber and other materials, and are immune
to both compression shrinking and cold bridging. Modular units may also be designed to fit in with
external aesthetics of any existing building and modular units once assembled can be virtually
indistinguishable from a site-built structure.
• Improved air quality. Many of the indoor air quality issues identified in new construction result
from high moisture levels in the framing materials. Because the modular structure is substantially
completed in a factory-controlled setting using dry materials, the potential for high levels of
moisture being trapped in the new construction is eliminated.
Earthquake : it is used to describe any seismic event whether natural or caused by humans that generates
seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults but also by other events such
as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is
called its hypocenter or focus. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

How Earthquakes Impact Buildings

Before we look at the features of earthquake-proof buildings, it’s important to understand how earthquakes.
impact man-made structures. When an earthquake occurs, it sends shockwaves throughout the ground in
short rapid intervals that extend in all directions. While buildings are generally equipped to handle vertical
forces from their weight and gravity, they cannot traditionally handle side-to-side forces emitted by quakes

This horizontal movement vibrates walls, floors, columns, beams and the connectors that hold them together.
The difference in movement between the bottom and top of buildings exerts extreme stress, causing the
supporting frame to rupture and the entire structure to eventually collapse.

How to Make A Building Earthquake-proof

To design an earthquake-proof building, engineers work to reinforce the structure and counteract a potential
earthquake’s forces. Since earthquakes release energy that pushes on buildings from one direction, the strategy
involves having the building push the opposite way. Here are some of the methods used to help buildings
withstand earthquakes.

1. Create a Flexible Foundation

One way to resist ground forces is to “lift” the building’s foundation above the earth through a method called
base isolation. Base isolation involves constructing a building on top of flexible pads made of steel, rubber
and lead. When the base moves during an earthquake, the isolators vibrate while the structure itself remains
steady. This effectively helps to absorb seismic waves and prevent them from traveling through the building.

2. Counter Forces with Damping

If you’re familiar with shock absorbers used in cars, you might be surprised to learn that engineers also use a
version of them in earthquake-resistant buildings. Similar to their use in cars, shock absorbers reduce the
shockwaves magnitude and help reduce pressure on the building. This is accomplished in two ways:
vibrational control devices and pendulum power.

Vibrational Control Devices

This method involves placing dampers at each level of a building between columns and beams. Each damper
consists of piston heads inside a cylinder filled with silicone oil. When an earthquake occurs, the building
transfers the vibrational energy into the pistons, which push against the oil. The energy is then transformed
into heat, dissipating the force of the vibrations.

Pendulum Power

Another common damping method is pendulum power, used primarily in skyscrapers. To implement this,
engineers suspend a large ball from steel cables that connect to a hydraulic system at the top of the building.
When the building begins to sway, the ball acts as a pendulum and moves in the opposite direction to stabilize
the building. Like damping, these features are tuned to match and counteract the building’s movement in the
event of an earthquake.

3. Shield Buildings from Vibrations

Rather than just counteracting forces, researchers are experimenting with ways buildings can deflect and
reroute the energy from earthquakes altogether. Dubbed the “seismic invisibility cloak,” this innovation
involves creating a cloak of 100 concentric plastic and concrete rings and burying it at least 3 feet beneath the
foundation of the building.

As seismic waves enter the rings, ease of travel forces them to move through to the outer rings. As a result,
they are essentially channelled away from the building and dissipated into the ground.

4. Reinforce the Building’s Structure

To withstand collapse, buildings must redistribute forces that travel through them during a seismic event.
Shear walls, cross braces, diaphragms and moment-resisting frames are central to reinforcing a building.

Shear walls are a useful building technology that can help transfer earthquake forces. Made of multiple panels,
these walls help a building keep its shape during movement. Shear walls are often supported by diagonal cross
braces made of steel. These beams can support compression and tension, helping to counteract pressure and
push forces.
Diaphragms are also a central part of a building’s structure. Consisting of the building’s floors, roof and the
decks placed over them, diaphragms help remove tension from the floor and push forces to the building’s
vertical structures.

Moment-resisting frames provide additional flexibility in a building’s design. These structures are placed
among a building’s joints and allow columns and beams to bend while the joints remain rigid. Thus, the
building is able to resist the larger forces of an earthquake while still allowing designers the freedom to arrange
building elements.

Earthquake-Resistant Materials

While shock absorbers, pendulums and “invisibility cloaks” may help dispel the energy to an extent, the
materials chosen for a building are equally responsible for its stability.

Steel and Wood

For a material to resist stress and vibration, it must have high ductility, which is the ability to undergo large
deformations and tension. Modern buildings are often constructed with structural steel, a component that
comes in a variety of shapes and allows buildings to bend without breaking. Wood is also a surprising ductile
material due to its high strength relative to its lightweight structure.