1.

General considerations on construction design and execution

1.1. Factors determining the conformity of a construction

Constructions are fixed structures that are generally used where they were built, being
directly related to the land on which they are located.
The most important factors determining the design and execution of a construction are the
following:
- Human being - who needs relatively the same physiological and hygienic conditions
everywhere around the world (volume, dimensions, temperature, humidity, light, sound level,
etc.) determined by his anatomy and physiology to ensure the best conditions for health,
activity, rest and recreation.

- Human activity - the diversity of functional and technological processes that continually
increases with the economical, social and technical development determine the size and
shape of the built environment, the way of partition and distribution, horizontal and vertical
binding between the various spaces, the degree of lighting, actions (mechanical, physical,
chemical and sometimes biological) arising from functional or technological processes etc.

- Natural factors - which affect constructions by physical, chemical, biological and mechanical
actions, whose type and intensity depend on the following: climate conditions (wind,
temperature, rainfall) and location-related data (physical and mechanical properties of the
land, hydro-graphical network, level of seismicity etc.).

1.2. Buildings’ main parts

- Building infrastructure - the part of the building placed under the ±0.00 level, which comes
in direct contact with the ground, providing stability to the construction.
- It includes:
• foundations;
• constructive elements of the basement;
• slab above basement.
Through foundations the infrastructure transfers all loads acting on the building to the
ground.

- Building superstructure - includes all the vertical and horizontal construction elements
located above the ± 0,00 level, including roof.
The superstructure is made of building elements whose role is to create the users necessary
space delimited in horizontal and vertical plans by walls and slabs.
The superstructure takes over the whole loading that acts upon the building, transmitting it to
infrastructure.
The vertical movement between different levels of the building is achieved by stairs.
Any building that is more than three stories high may be equipped with passenger elevators.

1
 Fig. 1

1.3. Buildings’ component elements

The entire building (both infrastructure and superstructure) is made of :

- load-bearing elements: foundations, beams, slabs, columns, frames, diaphragms, frames with
diaphragms (mixed structures), truss (farms), arches, reticular structures (reticular network),
stairs etc.;
- non load-bearing elements (with the purpose to achieve the needed comfort) which have
partition or closing function and can be removed without prejudicing the structure integrity.

1.4. Classification of constructions

a) Destination criteria

• Buildings (civil buildings, industrial buildings, agrozootechnical buildings)

Civil buildings have a wide range of purposes, the most important being the following:
habitation, education, health, administration, commercial, sport, culture etc.
Some of these functional processes require relatively reduced areas (dwellings, hotels,
hostels, hospital accommodation buildings, administrative buildings etc.), medium areas
(schools, kindergartens) or large areas (theaters, exhibitions or sport rooms, stadiums, sport halls
etc.)
Industrial buildings (plants, factories, production halls, workshops, warehouses etc.) are
mainly used to ensure space for the appropriate performance of the technological processes from
all industrial branches.
Agrozootechnical are intended for production and service processes as well as all additional
activities in the agrozootechnical and agrarian sectors.

2
• Engineering buildings (hydro-technical constructions, land lines, industrial constructions)

Cover various fields:

- Land lines (roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, towers for antennas etc.);
- Hydrotechnical constructions (dams, canals etc.);
- Special industrial constructions (chimneys, tanks, silos, industrial water-cooling tower etc.);
- Electricity constructions (hydroelectric power plants, nuclear power plants etc.);
- Sports constructions (ski jumps, skydiving tower etc.).

b) Quality criteria

• Lifespan
▪ very high: > 100 years,
▪ high: 50 – 100 years,
▪ medium: below 50 years,
▪ small: below 25 years.
• Fire safety
▪ 5 degrees of fire resistance,
▪ 3 degrees of fire risk,
▪ 5 categories of fire risk.

Comfort degree: thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, facilities, installations quality, finishing.

c) Other criteria

- according to the structural resistance, by height, according to the cost etc.

1.5. Technical conditions

1. Essential conditions

• durability
Durability is determined by the material resistance from which the structural elements are
made under the destructive actions of the environment: freezing-thawing, humidity, chemical
aggressiveness, biological action etc.
o high (≥ 50 years)
o normal (20 - 50 years)
o reduced (below 20 years)
• fire resistance
The fire resistance is determined by the materials fire resistance from which the building
construction elements are made.
The normative P 118-99 defines a number of specific concepts, such as combustibility, the
risk of fire, fire resistance, fire behavior, fire stability etc.

2. Mechanical conditions - ensure the resistance of constructions under external actions.

• stability and structural rigidity;
• resistance to shock;
• level of cracking etc.

3
3. Physical conditions - relate to interior comfort and hygiene conditions.
• insulation and sealing elements against heat transfer;
• insulation elements against the influence of air currents (wind);
• insulation against weather conditions (rainfalls);
• sound insulation elements;
• natural lighting etc.

4. Aesthetic conditions (architectural aspects, interior design etc.)

The architectural requirements are achieved through volumetric and proportion features,
vertical and horizontal distribution of spaces, decorations, finishes etc. They are generally set
forth by architect.

5. Economic conditions - refer to the maximum reduction of the execution and maintenance
costs.

1.6. Technical prescriptions in constructions

Technical prescriptions are technical and economic documents for constructions and related
building services, which establish the optimal way to solve the problems that frequently occur in
the design, execution and reception of buildings and building services.
The main technical specifications are: standards, regulations, technical norms, special
technical requirements, projects and catalogs etc.
Standards are technical specifications, which include principles and information fully studied
and verified both theoretically and practically, referring to materials, construction elements or
components, building services and any other necessary equipment with large applicability at
national level. At international level, comparable prescriptions are developed by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), many of them treated as formal requirements in
Romania.
Regulations are technical principles, which establish the necessary specifications of non-
standardized or partially regulated products and elements by standards.
Norms are technical principles that complete and detail the elements presented in standards,
thus setting out guidelines and application methods in design and execution.
Technical instructions provide additional information completing the standards and the
regulations, especially on various restricted issues.
Technical requirements are developed by designers for special works which, by their nature,
require certain amendments of the generally implemented technical principles.
Technological sheets establish the way of organizing and developing various construction
work processes by applying the most effective methods.
Type projects contain a set of written and drawn parts, with details, for construction
execution.
Catalogs include data for precast elements, specifying the elements’ characteristics (size,
composition, load capacity etc.) and execution details.

4
1.7. Exigencies and performance criteria

Performance concept – organized system used in construction quality characteristics

establishment, according to the user requirements.

The first stage in the performance analysis is to establish the users’ exigencies for a
construction, according to the type of performed activities, considering any possible changes
over time.
Residential buildings, for example, have the following exigencies:

▪ safety exigencies;
▪ comfort exigencies;
▪ economic exigencies.

Second stage – determining the performance exigencies of building elements.

Thus, for non bearing elements, for example, there are the following exigencies:

▪ stability (wind pressure or accidental shocks);

▪ fire safety;
▪ water leakage;
▪ hygrothermal (resistance to heat transfer, condensation risk etc.)
▪ acoustic (sound insulation);
▪ visual (made through windows),
▪ economic (quality/affordable price, maintenance, inexpensive repairs etc.)
▪ aesthetic etc.
Each performance exigencies is characterized by one or more performance criteria, which is
expressed by regulated values.
The way of assessing and achieving the performance criteria is to compare each actual
performance (real) of a proposed or achieved solution to the regulated values (data in official
regulations).

1.8. Legislation on the constructions design and execution in Romania

The design, construction, reception and exploitation of buildings must meet a set of technical,
economic and legal conditions that include: laws, government decisions (orders), standards,
normatives, technical instructions, internal norms, special technical conditions, technological
sheets etc.

LAW no. 10-1995 (republished in M.O. nr. 765/2016) regarding the quality in constructions,
in which the following applicable fundamental requirements are presented:

a) mechanical strength and stability;

b) fire safety;
c) hygiene, human health and environment;
d) safety and accessibility in exploitation;
e) protection against noise;

5
 f) heat insulation and energy saving;
g) sustainable use of natural resources.

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

6
1.9. Building design

Building design represents the materialization in a set of documents of the functional,

technological, structural, architectural, aesthetic and comfort-related intentions of an investor in
compliance with the quality, economic conditions and rules required by the current legislation,
implying a collaboration process among engineers, architects, builders, building services
engineer and environmental specialists.

Design phases

Project assignment
The project assignment sets forth:
- the functional features and the specific constructive requirements;
- guidelines on the investment;
- land-related data (settlement, position, size, surface, orientation, access, existing buildings on
site etc);
- utilities information (electricity, water, sewage etc).
The project assignment is usually accompanied by a site plan of the land and of any existing
buildings.
Technical project - P.T.
During this phase, the technical and economical data necessary for the adoption of the
constructive and building services solutions are presented, by specifying information regarding
the structural and nonstructural building element characteristics.
Execution project - P.E.
This phase will solve:
- the general plan, including buildings, transport routes, network facilities disposal in plan etc;
- the architectural, construction and building services projects of the buildings, by specifying
the plan dimensions, vertical and horizontal sections;
- construction and building services projects for water supply, sewerage, heating, cooling and
ventilation, electrical installations, technology, telephone and radio.
Cost estimation details - D.D.E.
This phase includes drawing parts with the execution necessary details, pre-estimations,
estimations by type of works and object.

Project presentation

The design activity conducted under the above phases is reflected in:

a) Written parts, including:

- approvals required to start the execution process according to the existing regulations;
- geotechnical study;
- technical support reports of the architectural, resistance and building services solutions;
- notes and calculation of the resistance structures, facilities etc.;
- pre-estimation, cost estimations (general and by type of work), calculation of the
technical-economic indices, prices analyses, labor requirements etc.;
- doors/windows lists, precast elements lists, transport costs etc.;

7
 - technical support concerning site organization, execution technology (if a separate project
is not established on implementing the works technology), staging graphics etc.;
- technical and economical indices.
b) Drawing parts, including:
- cadastral plans;
- location plans;
- site plans (scale 1:500, 1:1000);
- a general plan of the land with an indication of the work execution area (scale 1:500,
1:1000);
- a general profile of the land (scale 1:500, 1:1000);
- floor plans, fully dimensioned with the equipment or furniture location (scale 1:50);
- sections (scale 1:50);
- elevations (scale 1:100);
- resistance plans (foundation plan, roof plan, reinforcement plan etc. - scale 1:50, 1:100);
- building services plans (scale 1:50, 1:100);
- architectural, construction, building services details (scale 1:1; 1:2; 1:5; 1:10).

Building design includes several successive phases:

Development of the functional layout

The functional layout is a graphical representation (sketch) showing all the spaces needed
and the connections between them.
It can refer to an apartment, a part of the building, entire building or group of buildings,
focusing on the connections needed to ensure the optimum functional comfort and the optimum
technological flow.

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Architectural part

The architectural part is the materialization of the functional layout. Knowing the required
dimensions for each room, these are designed through the delimitation by the building elements
(walls and slabs).
Parallel to the architectural part, the building structure is designed according to the room
sizes, following an orderly disposal of the vertical load-bearing elements (columns, diaphragms)
to the modular axes whose position follows the modular coordination method.
8
Constructive design

The constructive design consists in establishing the elements (structural and nonstructural)
that form the building so that they meet all the imposed exigencies (durability, fire resistance,
strength, stability, thermal, acoustic, waterproof insulation, aesthetics, economy).

Building services design

The building services design is made according to the building destination, arranged as to be
necessary as few pipe columns as possible.

Building technology execution design

The implementation of building technology is established at this stage of design. The

organizational site plan is also developed.

1.10. Structures for civil buildings

Classification

▪ According to space organization:

- with rigid structure (honeycomb type, cell type);

- with flexible structure;
- hall type.

Fig. 4

▪ According to height:

- ground floor;
- low height (G.F. + 1L... G.F. + 4L);
- medium height (G.F. + 8L... G.F. + 15L);
- great height (over G.F. + 15L).

9
▪ According to load bearing elements:

- with load-bearing walls (diaphragm) of masonry;

- with monolithic reinforced concrete diaphragms;
- with large precast panels;
- with reinforced concrete frames;
- mixed (frames and diaphragms);
- with central core;
- with space networks;
- thin coatings;
- suspended structures etc.

▪ According to plan shape:

- rectangular shaped buildings – bar type;

- square, dot or tower shaped buildings (if they are higher);
- L, T, U, circular, curve, shaped buildings etc.

Fig. 5
▪ According to elevation shape:

- with constant height;

- with setbacks.

Fig. 6

10
 ▪ According to execution technology:

- monolithic structures;
- precast structures;
- mixed structures.

▪ According to building height and width ratio (H/B)

- this is a criterion for assessing the structural behavior to the horizontal loads.

▪ According to lateral rigidity – according to the fundamental period of structure vibration

(T):
- rigid structures if T < 0,35-0,45 s;
- semi-rigid or semi-flexible structures if T=0,9-1,0 s;
- flexible structures if T > 0,9-1,0 s.

1.11. Conformation of civil building structures

The aim of structural conformation is to observe some structural principles useful in

designing simple structures with a better behavior to the horizontal loads actions, especially
earthquakes.
Through the structural conformation the execution of both horizontal and vertical load-
bearing elements is simplified.

Constructive rules

- orderly disposal of the vertical bearing elements using the modular coordination aiming
to reach a regular structure;
- the plan shape should preferably be regular, compact and symmetrical (the irregularities
should be avoided in volumes, masses, loads and rigidities distribution to limit the
adverse effects of the general torsion under seismic action);
- the vertical bearing elements should have constant stiffness;
- the openings in bearing walls and diaphragms must be superimposed as vertical rows and
the openings in a row should have the same dimensions;
- buildings with irregular configurations in plan (L, T, U etc.), as well as areas of different
heights and weights should be separated in regular portions;
- different shape of rectangular plan have to be compact and symmetrical with rigidities in
the two directions as close in value;
- the slabs should be rigid in their plan;
- building infrastructure must form a rigid system.

11
2. Building modular coordination. Tolerances

2.1. The modular system

Any building irrespective of the period it was built is characterized by certain construction
principles. The modular coordination is an agreement, which unifies and limits the construction
size ensuring functional and economic requirements.
The modular coordination is the dimensional coordination based on the use of a fundamental
module as well as of the derived modules.
In our country, as well as in most countries of the world, the value of the basic module M was
set at 10 cm.
The following derived modules can be used: multi modules (3M, 6M, 12M, 15M, 30M, 60M)
and sub modules (M/2, M/5, M/10).
In order to establish the vertical (columns, diaphragms) and horizontal (beams, slabs)
construction element positions and the relationships existing among their dimensions, the
modular reference system is used.
The modular reference system consists of reference plans and modular reference lines (at the
plans intersections) forming the modular network.
The modular reference lines position coincides with the vertical structural element position,
taking into account the plan dimension of the structural elements.
The modular lines appear in all the horizontal plans of construction: foundation plan, ground
floor plan, current floor plan. The modular vertical lines are visible in vertical sections, but
generally they aren’t represented in drawings.
Modular series are strings of numbers, resulting from the multiplication of the module with
the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, …n of the form 1M, 2M, 3M…nM, M being the chosen module.

Fig. 1

The position of the modular reference lines coincides with the position of the vertical
structural elements. However, it is necessary to clarify the position of these axes considering the
dimensions of the following elements:

12
 a) In case of diaphragms:
• for internal transversal and longitudinal diaphragms, modular axes coincide with the
geometrical median axes of diaphragms;
• for external diaphragms, the position of modular axes is determined by the condition that the
resistance slab should follow identical bearing conditions on the outline.
b) The columns are set in two main directions of the building as rows for which the position of
modular axes is determined as follows:
• for interior rows the modular axes coincide with the median axes of the beam between the
columns;
• for external rows, the position of modular axes is determined in relation to the beam location
between columns, considering the identical bearing conditions of the resistance slab on two
opposite sides.
Usually the modular dimensions for vertical coordination are:
• distances between the finished faces of two successive floors (storey height);
• distances between the floor and ceiling finished faces (room light).

Fig. 2 Fig.3

Dimensions in the modular system

• The distance between two modular axes is called modular dimension (or modular distance).
• The distances between the main modular axes are general coordination dimensions in
horizontal plan for horizontal structural elements.
• Technical dimensions are unmodulated dimensions due to economic or technological
reasons, independent of the modular coordination.
• The construction elements are characterized by nominal, manufacturing and real dimensions.
• Nominal dimensions (lengths of beams, dimensions of slab panels etc.) are equal to the
coordination dimensions. Nominal dimensions can be modulated.
• Manufacturing dimensions (or constructive dimensions) result from the nominal dimensions,
by deducting the mounting joint.
• Due to the element’s execution inaccuracies, the real dimensions (obtained through
measurements) differ, more or less, from the manufacturing dimensions.

13
 Fig. 4

2.2. Tolerances in constructions

The algebraic difference between the effective dimension and manufacturing dimension is
called dimensional deviation. If the dimensional deviations exceed certain limits set for various
specific cases, those items cannot be used.
Thus, there is a superior limit deviation (the algebraic difference between the maximum
dimension and the manufacturing dimension) and an inferior limit deviation (the algebraic
difference between the minimum dimension and the manufacturing dimension).
The tolerance in size represents the difference between the accepted limit dimensions:

T = DM – Dm = /Ai/ + /As/ (1)

Fig. 5

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

14
3. Walls

Walls are plane (sometimes curved) vertical elements with the functional role of horizontal
parting the functional units and subunits of buildings.
Considering their functionality, walls are: external or outer walls and internal or inner walls.
• The external walls have the function of closing in the internal space, separating it from the
surrounding space.
• The internal walls separate the inner rooms, by functionality and architectural design.
Walls can also be: structural (the load-bearing and self-supporting walls which form the main
part of the structure) and non-structural.
• The load-bearing walls take over vertical (gravity) loads from the slabs, loads from their own
weight and horizontal loads (from wind and earthquake). Through the foundations these
loads are passed further to the ground.
• The self-supporting walls are subjected to horizontal loads (from wind and earthquake) and
self weight (loads due to slabs are not transmitted to them). Through the foundations these
loads are passed further to the ground. The main role of this type of walls is to stiffen the
building and to increase the bearing capacity to horizontal loads (they are also called bracing
walls).
The structural walls (bearing and self-supporting) are also called diaphragms.

Fig.1
• The non-structural walls which have partition or closing function only, are supported by slabs
and beams. The structural elements (slabs and beams) take over their weight and pass it
further to the vertical resistance elements (bearing walls or columns).
• The non-structural infill walls are supported by frame beams. They are situated inside the
frame, between columns and beams.
Functionally, there are internal non-structural walls (they split the internal rooms) and
external non-structural walls (separating the inner of the outer environment).
Regarding the materials and execution technology, walls can be made of masonry,
monolithic concrete, precast concrete, wood or other materials (glass, plastic materials etc.).
Wall’s technical conditions are consequences of their functional and structural role.
Thus, functionally, the external walls must provide protection against cold, snow, wind, to
noise as well as they must provide natural light. The walls must also fulfil important exigencies,

15
such as: essential exigencies (durability, fire resistance), mechanical exigencies (for structural
walls), aesthetic and economic exigencies.
The internal walls have fewer exigencies, their main role being that of separating the inner
space.

3.1. Masonry walls

Masonry is a construction element constituted of masonry stones bound among them with
mortar and arranged according to specific rules. Masonry stones can be of natural or artificial
origin.

3.1.1. Natural stone masonry

Natural stone used for masonry is recommended to be porous. This induces easier
processing, transportation (because of lower density) and better thermal insulation.
Regarding the shape and dimension, natural stone masonry may be constituted by: raw,
carved, crafted stone, cyclopean or mixed masonry.
• Raw stone masonry is formed of irregular or lightly carved quarry stone or river boulders,
limestone shells or calcareous tufa. The wall thickness is, usually, at least 60 cm for raw
broken irregular stone and river boulders and 50 cm for raw stratified stone. It is usually used
for foundations, retaining walls etc.
• The raw polygonal stone masonry is built only with quarry stone. The visible face of these
stones has a polygonal shape. The stones are arranged so that in one point there are no more
than 3 converging joints.
• The carved stone masonry is formed of quarry stones with a rectangular shaped visible face;
it is roughly carved, with as regular as possible edges.
• The crafted stone masonry is built with quarry stones cut into regular shapes.
According to the processing method, there are ashlar stone, mosaic stone and shaped stone.
The ashlar stone and mosaic stone are partially worked on their visible face, at 3-7 cm in depth,
while the shaped stone is fully worked on at least five faces.
All these types of masonry are manufactured with woven vertical joints. Woven masonry
means that the vertical joints do not form one straight line across the height of the building.

Fig.2

16
3.1.2. Artificial stone masonry

Artificial stones are: fired clay based units (bricks and ceramic blocks), lightweight aggregate
concrete units (small blocks with vertical gaps), autoclaved aerated concrete units (blocks and
plates). During execution, the following must be considered:
✓ The horizontal joints must be levelled (plane), and with a constant width (of 12 mm);
✓ The vertical joints (width=10 mm) must be woven (usually after each row).
Artificial stone masonry buildings (clay brick, autoclaved aerated concrete) represent a
traditional, old constructive system. However, it is still used because of several advantages:
- good thermal and noise insulation, low risk of condensation and good comfort conditions;
- large freedom regarding diversity and division (diverse types of buildings, multiple
possibilities of solving the architectural layout);
- no need of large capacity machines for transport and assembly;
- simple execution;
- small thermal bridges and simple correction;
- reduced consumption of reinforcement bars and falseworks.
It also has some disadvantages:
- limited possibilities of industrialization;
- low mechanical resistance, the stories number of a building is limited;
- weak response to seismic loads.
Considering the masonry walls, one can have: simple masonry, mixed masonry, reinforced
masonry and complex masonry.
a) Simple masonry walls are formed by a single type of stones. The necessary thickness
depends on the role played by the walls.
For the bearing walls, this thickness must provide:
- support for slabs;
- walls resistance and stability;
- noise and thermal insulation (for external bearing walls).
For an internal bearing wall, the necessary thickness also results from the supporting
condition of the slab panels (or precast strip slabs):
d = 2a + r (1)
The depth of support (a) depends on slab loads, span, tolerances and constructive system. It
can range between 5-10 cm. For a monolithic slab, r = 0 (the necessary thickness is thus 10-20
cm, taking in account technological and constructive conditions) and for precast concrete slabs,
r = 8 cm (hence, d =18-28 cm).

Fig.3

17
 For buildings with masonry bearing walls, according to P100/1-2013, the structural walls
have a minimum thickness of 24 cm.

Fig.4 Fig.5

b) Mixed masonry walls are formed by a load-bearing layer (made of brick masonry, solid
bricks or with holes) and one or two layers of thermal insulation exposed to the outer surface
of the external wall.
The insulation layers are non-load bearing; these are built with materials as light as possible.
There can be an unventilated air layer or a thermal insulating layer in between the element
layers to increase the resistance of the wall to heat transfer.
The intermediate layer may be made of bulk material (slag, porous waste etc.), mineral wool
thermal insulating plates or lightweight aggregate concrete.

Fig.6

c) Reinforced masonry walls are formed by masonry with horizontal reinforcements placed in
horizontal joints at a certain vertical distance, or by vertical reinforcements placed internally
(in vertical continuous joints) or externally, to increase the bearing capacity of masonry and
its response to dynamic loads.

d) Complex masonry walls are the result of embedding reinforced concrete columns; the result
is an improvement in the bearing capacity to seismic loads.

18
3.2. Monolithic concrete walls

The walls made of monolithic concrete are used as load-bearing or self-supporting walls.
Advantages:
- high durability;
- high load bearing capacity, used in multi-storey buildings;
- good cooperation;
- good productivity by using large metal formworks;
- smooth surfaces as a result of casting the walls in metal formworks that reduces the labour
cost and time.
Disadvantages:
- reduced heat resistance;
- the execution technology is more difficult in cold season;
- high consumption of materials (cement, steel formworks) and skilled labour.
Walls structure
The internal walls are made of a single layer. Their thickness results from the resistance
calculations and is at least 15 cm.
The external walls are made of two or three layers with the bearing layer at least 15 cm
thick.
Two layered structure walls - the structural layer (inward disposition) with thermal
insulation layer is the most common system due to their advantages regarding to the execution
and hygro-thermal behaviour.
In terms of hygro-thermal behaviour, the porous layer located at the external side favours
vapour permeability in the cold area of the wall and reduces the condensation risk if the outer
rendering has a low compactness.
Three-layered structure walls - technologically speaking, is difficult to build them and they
require vapour barriers, whether the structural layer is located inward or outward.
Due to the concrete thermal inertia, the inward disposition (the warm area of the wall) of the
structural layer, favours the thermal regime of the room.

Fig.7 Fig.8

19
3.3. Precast concrete walls

The precast elements for walls increase productivity and reduce execution time
(disadvantages related to joints and thermal bridges correction).
Type of panels: small size precast panels (smaller than the room walls), medium size and
weight precast panels (their size being equal to the room walls), high size and weight precast
panels, precast spatial elements equal to the room size.
Panels’ structure
Internal wall panels (especially load bearing walls) are made up of a single layer, 14-16 cm
thick, required for slab panels resting and loads taking. They can be made of heavy concrete or
granulite lightweight concrete. Manufacturing holes, plugs, dowels etc. needed for installations,
woodwork etc. will be provided in panels.

Fig.9

The panels are reinforced with steel reinforcing mesh (one, respectively two meshes for
buildings with more than G.F.+4L.) or welded wire mesh fabrics with the outline provided with
straight anchors or loops needed for strengthening joints. To the outline are equipped with
stamps and thresholds.
The exterior walls made of large precast panels are realized in one, double or triple layered
versions.
Single-layer panels are made of light concrete of 30-40 cm thick with better thermal
resistance as compared to heavy concrete. The new exigencies on thermal resistance are not met
for the specified thickness.
Large double layered panels can be achieved with the concrete layer, of 12 cm thick,
positioned on the inside or outside for load-bearing walls or with a reduced thickness of 4-6 cm
and stiffening ribs for non load-bearing walls. The thermal insulating layer can be made by
pouring a lightweight concrete (after the load-bearing concrete layer execution) or through
insulation boards (autoclaved aerated concrete, mineral wool, expanded polystyrene) embedded
in cast concrete layer. Depending on the insulating layer position (internal and external), the
external plaster must have certain porosity or vapour barriers should be provided.
Large triple layered panels are the most common. They consist of an inner bearing layer of
12-14 cm thick, an insulating layer (resulting from hygro-thermal conditions) and an outer layer
of 4-7 cm as protection for the insulation layer.

20
 The total thickness of the panel will be up to 30 cm for diaphragms or up to 25 cm for non
load-bearing panels when effective thermal insulation materials are used. Since the external layer
is compact, a vapour barrier is required on the warm side of the thermal insulation material.
The external panels are provided to the outline with straight anchors or loops, thresholds and
stamps to ensure the structural continuity through cast in situ concrete.
Thermal bridging problem occurs both in the layers interlocking and joining area. For the
triple layered panels, the layer interlocking can be made with reinforced concrete ribs, concrete
plates, steel anchors or combined ribs and steel anchors.
The thermal bridges in joints area must be corrected with efficient materials (polystyrene,
mineral wool etc.), which are arranged along the vertical and horizontal joints in the form of
strips.

Fig.10

Fig.11
Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

21
4. Non-structural walls
The non-structural walls are not a part of the building's resistance structure.

The non-structural walls may be:

− internal (with the function of separating the interior spaces);

− external (with the function of separating the inner of the outer environment).

The non-structural walls must comply with the functional exigencies that are consequences
of their partitioning and closing role, but also to some minimal resistance and stability
requirements (although these are non-structural walls) for bearing some local loads (thrust,
sanitary installations, the weight of some hanging objects etc.).

4.1. Internal non-structural walls

The internal non-structural walls can be made of:

• solid brick masonry which can be placed on their shorter or longer edge (bricks with their
nominal thickness of 7.5 or 12.5 cm) or efficient brick masonry;
• special bricks with horizontal holes, with groove and tongue of 7.5 or 12.5 cm thick;
• precast vertical strips with thicknesses of 7.5 or 12.5 cm. These strips can be made of
autoclaved aerated concrete units, plaster (solid or with holes), concrete (with holes),
lightweight concrete, wood etc.
The strips length is equal to the height of the room.
• plaster boards;
• pressed glass tiles (Nevada) offering the advantage of being translucent. Similarly, there may
be glass brick walls with a certain resistance to heat transfer;
• vertical U-shaped profiles (profilit) of translucent glass that can be fitted in single or double
rows (providing thus thermal and acoustical insulation);
• superior wood products, made of chipboards or plywood boards, immovable, demountable or
mobile, with one or more air layers in between or with a layer of mineral wool etc.;
• plastic materials with a low specific weight and a good acoustic insulation. The walls have a
good behavior to humidity and can be precast; they may be homogenous or layered (one
sound insulating layer and two exterior plates glued together).
• mobile partition walls may be folding or sliding on rollers placed on the floor or on the
ceiling (horizontally or vertically);

Internal non-structural walls are placed directly on the slab before the finishing layers, except
mobile walls.
If the partitioning walls are placed directly on the ground surface or in direct contact with the
soil, they are supported by a concrete layer (if made of lightweight materials), by a poorly
reinforced concrete or by local thickenings and constructive reinforcements for heavier walls.

22
 Fig.1 Fig.2

Fig.1 Fig.2

4.2. External non-structural walls (perimeter walls)

The external non-structural walls can be made of:

• Autoclaved aerated concrete walls (non-structural walls).

External non-structural walls (perimeter walls) can be made of autoclaved aerated concrete
blocks or plates with a thickness of 35-40 cm (depending on the comfort and climatic conditions)
or with a thickness of less than 30 cm (for buildings that have no thermal insulation
requirements). Autoclaved aerated concrete strips can be assembled as large panels using
metallic ties.
• Brick masonry walls.
• Walls made of large precast panels, two or three layered with identical structure as the load-
bearing panels. The concrete layers have a lower constructive thickness (5-6 cm).
Curtain walls
• The curtain walls are lightweight non-structural walls that play the role of outer covering the
building.
• The resistance elements that constitute the curtain wall are laminated or cupped metallic
profiles made of steel or aluminum in which opaque or transparent panels are placed.
• The opaque panels are usually sandwich panels with a thermal insulating core.
• The glass panels are made of simple or colored regular glass, double glazing or special glass.

Fig.3

23
Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

24
5. FLOOR SYSTEMS

5.1. Introduction

Floors can be defined as horizontal constructive components with the role of creating a
functional vertical division of the building.
Depending on their position, floors can be classified in current or intermediate floors, attic or
terrace floors and floors over the basement (building with basement). The floor over the
basement and terrace floors (or attic floors) are built to close in the building.
The main structure of current floors consists of two distinctive parts: the resistance elements
(or the slab) and the finishing layer (regularly formed by a support layer and flooring).
The slab has the role of transferring the vertical and horizontal loads to the vertical bearing
components such as load bearing walls or columns.
The finishing layer is the non-structural component of the floor system and has the role of
equalization, sound insulation, finishing and circulation.
The lower part of the slab is called ceiling. This can be achieved by finishing the raw slab or
in form of suspended ceiling, with the purpose of masking the slab beams and creating the
necessary space for all sorts of building services (especially for ventilation and air conditioning).

Fig.1
The slabs, also have a role in the structural resistance of the buildings, are part of the
resistance structure of the building itself and have a dual function:
• to receive and transmit gravitational loads (vertical loads) to the vertical load bearing
elements;
• to realize the cooperation of the vertical load-bearing elements under horizontal loads from
wind or earthquake.
The vertical loads (including their own weight) are taken by the slab’s resistance elements.
Depending on the constructive composition, the resistance elements must have a suitable
bending stiffness so that the maximum amount of deflection (sag) remains within the allowable
limits, ensuring thus a normal exploitation of the building.
The cooperation between the vertical load bearing elements is possible if the slab has a
proper stiffness in plan (horizontal plan) so that it would not deform horizontally under loads
generated by wind or seismic action.
The floors must correspond to the requirements (capital, mechanical, physical, aesthetical
and economical) which are imposed, with respect to the importance of the building or the
microclimate conditions, etc.
5.2. Criteria of classification

• In terms of the materials used in their construction: wood, masonry, metal, concrete or
combined materials;

25
• Considering the support system: load bearing walls (masonry or concrete), frame beams,
beams, columns;
• Taking into account the ceiling shape: plane, curved, ribbed, etc.;
• Considering the type of the resistance components: flat slabs, strips with holes, large panels,
beams and filling elements, etc.;
• According to the reaction to impact noise: simple and double acoustic screen;
When the floor vibrates independently of the slab, it is called floating floor.

5.3. Wooden floors

Wooden floors are currently used in residential or buildings of minor importance in the rural
environment and in some traditional tourist buildings located in mountain areas.
To increase their durability, the wooden elements are protected against fire and rot with
antiseptic and fireproof chemicals.
The floor slab is made of wooden beams (or superior wood products) and structural
planking.
The wooden beams spaced at distances of 60-100 cm on the shorter side of the rooms, rest
on load bearing walls through hardwood flanges made of planks, impregnated or protected with
two layers of cardboard glued with bitumen. The ends of the beams are protected with antiseptic
chemicals and waterproof insulated with bituminous substances. The mounting slots have an air
space of 3-4 cm thick for ventilation.
The floor slab can be completed with a thermal and sound insulation filling.
Over the structural planking a finishing layer can be provided.
The ceiling can be smooth (with apparent boards or plastered) or it can have visible beams.

Fig.2

26
 In the case of floors with large spans and heavy loads there must be mounted special
elements which join the wooden beams between them on the entire width of the floor.

Fig.3

5.4. Masonry floors

Masonry floors were used in monumental buildings and have only a historical role.
The main resistance element is the masonry vault or dome, of various geometric shapes and
static schemes.
Masonry floors can be made of arches disposed in one direction, which load on massive
masonry walls, or of arches arranged in two directions, having masonry columns as intermediate
supports.
Vertical loads within masonry floors are mainly taken by the masonry of the vault or dome,
while the pushing forces within the vault are taken by buttresses or metal thrusts.

Fig.4

5.5. Metallic floors

5.5.1. Floors with metallic beams and filling elements
The metallic beams are set parallel to the shorter side of the room, spaced at 1-3 m (between
axes) depending on the loads and filling components.
The floor beams rest on load bearing walls through bearings or other beams.
In order to ensure the spatial co-operation of the structure, the beams must be anchored in
the walls.

27
 Transverse metallic ties must be used to prevent the beams from buckling within the floor
plane (lateral buckling).
The classical solutions are: beams made of I laminated profiles, U and L profiles completed
in the bottom side in order to support the filling components, rail profiles or beams made of tie
plate or angles assembled with rivets or welding.
A modern solution is represented by the panels made of corrugated or folded sheet-metal
and concrete filling.
The filling elements take over the loading between the beams and transmit it to the beams on
which they rest.
They can be made of masonry or plain concrete vaults, reinforced concrete slabs, precast
slabs with or without filler (for sound or thermal insulation), ceramic blocks.

Fig.5

The masonry vaults are supported by the bottom flange of the profiles and are spaced at
1.5-2.0 m, having a thickness of ½ brick.
For distances of 2.5-3.5 m between beams, the vaults are as thick as a brick. Horizontal
stresses of the first and the last span are taken by metallic ties.
The plain concrete monolithic vaults are spaced at approx. 2-2.5 m and are 10-15 cm thick
and rest on the bottom flange of the beams.
Plain or reinforced concrete slabs are placed either on the top or on the bottom of the beams,
at 1-1.5 m for plain concrete slabs and 2.5-3 m or more for the reinforced concrete slabs.
For the cast in situ slabs, poured at the bottom of the beams, acoustic and thermal insulation
(by using filling materials) can be provided.
The prefabricated slabs can be made of simple concrete, reinforced concrete, plaster or
ceramic materials, the distance between the beams depending on the loads, the type and the
resistance of the slabs.
Filling prefabricated blocks can be made of lightweight concrete, baked clay or plaster. The
distance between the beams is small (40-60 cm).
Ribbed or corrugated metal plates require the association with a general concrete layer,
leading to a reinforced concrete slab, the sheet-metal working as a tensed reinforcement.
The cooperation between the sheet-metal and the concrete layer is given by the metal plates
welded on a ribbed or corrugated sheet-metal or by the local (smaller) folds of a corrugated
sheet-metal.

28
 Fig.6

Efficient beams solutions:

• light beams having a full web of buckled sheet-metal leading to a lower steel
consumption of about 30% compared to the same load bearing laminated profiles;
• expanded beams (with an empty web) made by cutting slits in the web profile and
stretching it in the height direction or by cutting the web profile using a certain profile as
a model and by welding it in a shifted position;
• welded trusses made of laminated profiles and reinforced concrete, leading to a reduction
of the steel consumption of about 45% compared to the same load bearing laminated
profiles.

5.5.2. Floors made of sheet-metal panels

The panels are made of 1-3 mm thick sheet-metal by stamping. They can be used in high
civil constructions (over 15-20 levels) with a resistance structure made of metal or reinforced
concrete frames.
The solution is advantageous due to the large-span floors (up to 12 m), the sheet metal
panels (which rest on the frame beams) having the role of a lost formwork and steel
reinforcement.
However, measures of constructive cooperation between the panel and the concrete layer are
required. The height (h) of the panel is based on the span and on the size of loads; it can exceed
20 cm.

29
 Fig.7

5.6. Cast in situ reinforced concrete floors

The monolithic reinforced concrete floors are cast in place, at each level, in final position,
using different types of formworks.
Advantages: bearing capacity and high durability, good behaviour as a horizontal slab,
adaptability to various constructive shapes.
Disadvantages: intensive usage of formworks, intensive usage of skilled labour, requiring of
cold weather protection measures.

5.6.1. Floors with plain slab

From the statically point of view, the structural slab is continued on two directions, resting
on masonry or monolithic concrete load-bearing walls, respectively on frame beams.
If the sides ratio ranges between 0.5-2.0, the slab works on two directions. If the mentioned
ratio is not within this range, then the slab works only in its short-direction.
The minimum thickness of the slab is 1/40-1/45 from the short side of the largest structural
cell defined by perimetral structural walls, but it is necessary to be of 10-12 cm, from rigidity
conditions.

Fig.8

30
5.6.2. Floors with slabs on one-way beams
The floors with slab resting on one-way system of beams are used in rooms with spans of
6-12 m. The distance between the beams (l) is established according to the load size.
Usually l=2-3 m, so the slab works only along the longitudinal direction of the room, the
static schema being as of a continuous slab.
The beams are solicited by loads resulting from the adjacent spans.
They are placed on the shorter direction of the room, resting on load-bearing walls or
reinforced concrete columns.
The beams height depends on the size of the loads, the distance between beams and on their
span, usually being of 1/10-1/15 from the span with a width of about 1/2 from their height.

Fig.9
5.6.3. Floors with slabs on dense ribs
The floors with reinforced concrete slab on dense beams with smaller cross sections (called
ribs) are used for spans of 6-12 m. The ribs distance (between axes) is of maximum 1 m.
The ribs are placed on the shorter direction of the room (opening of 6-9 m), resting on load-
bearing walls or beams.
They have the height of about 1/25 of the span and the width of the section is at least 6 cm.
The minimum thickness of the slab is 1/12 of the span.

Monolithic reinforced concrete floor with dense ribs.

Fig.10

31
5.6.4. Floors with slabs on two-way beams

The floors with slab on two-way system of beams are used for heavy loads (exceeding
1000 daN/m2). They are made of the following:
• Principal beams placed on the shorter direction of the room with the span of 6-12 m, which
rests on load-bearing walls or reinforced concrete columns. The distance between the
principal beams is 4-6 m and the beams height is 1/10-1/15 of the span;
• Secondary beams (named ribs) disposed longitudinally that rest on the principal beams. The
distance between the ribs, which corresponds with the slab span, measures 1,5 - 2,5 m, while
the height of the secondary beams is approx. 1/20 of the span;
• The continuous slab which rests on the secondary beams and works after one direction
(parallel to the principal beams). The thickness of the slab is 1/35 - 1/40 of the span, but it
must meet rigidity conditions.

Fig.11

5.6.5. Floors with slabs on a beam network

The floors are made of beams set in plane on both directions of the room, forming a network
of orthogonal beams that rest on load-bearing walls or beams. The room span (L2) can be of
6-12 m and the length (L1) of maximum 1.5XL2 (otherwise, the longitudinal beams have a
reduced rigidity, and the loads are transmitted to the transversal beams).
The distance between the beams (l1 and l2) is of 1.5-2.5 m, forming square shaped (l1=l2) or
rectangular shaped (l1 ≠ l2) coffers. If the ratio between the length and width of the room exceed
1.5, the beams are arranged at 45 degrees, resulting oblique beam networks and square coffers.
The height of the beams is the same on both directions being determined by the loads and
coffers size (1/20-1/30 of the span).

Fig.12

32
5.6.6. Floors without beams

In this category are included floors resting on columns, directly (flat slabs) or by means of
capitals.
In the flat slab case, the slab with a thickness exceeding sometimes 20 cm rests directly on
the columns. For reducing its own weight, in the central area of the slab, light units can be
encapsulated during the slab pouring process, resulting a coffered slab with a lower concrete
consumption.
The floors with capitals are used especially in industrial buildings, but also in civil ones:
workshops, warehouses, food warehouses etc.
The floors consist of reinforced concrete slabs supported on columns through intermediate
elements named capitals.
The thickness of the slab depends on the loads and on the distances between columns, the
minimum thickness being 1/30-1/35 of the span and at least 13 cm (minimum 10 cm for roofs).

Fig.13

5.7. Floors made of precast reinforced concrete elements

The precast floors are used in all types of buildings (residential, social, administrative and
industrial).
Advantages: rapid execution, formworks removal, reduction of on-site finishing work.
Disadvantages: diminuation of the building overall stiffness depending on the type of the
precast floor, high precision needed during their mounting, limited utilization only when
modulated span dimensions are concerned.

5.7.1. Floors made of precast strips

The precast strips are reinforced concrete elements with longitudinal circular voids. The
floor is realized by adjoining the strips, tied together with flanges (bond beams), which rest on
load-bearing walls or beams following the short side of the room.
In seismic regions reinforced concrete sub-flanges are expected (concrete bond beams with
greater height than the strips thickness).

33
 Fig.14

For the facilities voids or when a whole number of strips does not match a structural cell, in
addition to the structural walls or in the structural cell field, monolithic strips can be provided.
Voids achieved by breaking the strips are allowed only if they do not exceed the diameter of
a longitudinal void (which is 5 cm smaller than the strip thickness).
Brick partition walls of 7.5 or 12.5 cm thick and other types of walls with similar weights
and thicknesses, rest directly on the strips, by specifying that for the 12.5 cm walls made of plain
brick or other materials, but similar in weight placed parallel to the strips position, monolithic
strips should be provided.
Also, for buildings located in seismic zones, special monolithic measures are required, by
providing an additional layer of concrete (3-6 cm) with steel reinforcements strongly anchored in
the monolithic bond beams.

5.7.2. Floors made of large precast reinforced concrete panels

Large precast panels with the sizes of a regular structural cell are destined to replace
monolithic slabs.
Nominal dimensions coincide with the modular dimensions, and the manufacturing
dimensions result from the resting elements conditions.
Panel thickness results from calculations and rigidity requirements, being of 13 cm for
dimensions up to 25 m2.

34
 For large spans or when adequate lifting equipment are not available, the panel is shared into
semi-panels.
On the contour, the panels are provided with thresholds and stamps, and with reinforcements
to ensure the slab rigidity and the vertical load bearing elements cooperation to horizontal loads.

Fig.15

5.7.3. Floors made of beams and filling elements

Various types of beams can be made of reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete or special
ceramic blocks assembled through prestressing.
These are placed parallel to the smaller side of the rooms at distances of 40-60 cm which can
reach up to 1.20 m if special filler blocks are used.
The beams span can reach up to 12 m. For large spans, the beams must be stiffened together
by pouring of monolithic ribs arranged in the beams plane and perpendicularly to the beams at
one third of the span.
The filling elements are ceramic or lightweight concrete blocks of hollow units and height
equal to the beams. They are placed at the bottom side of the beams which have an upside-down
T-shape section. Besides beams with T-shaped section, there are other shapes too (U, gutter etc.).
In seismic regions, a concrete covering is realised of at least 5 cm thick, reinforced with bars
of 6 mm diameter placed at 70 cm in both directions.

Fig.16

5.7.4. Floors with adjacent beams

Are mainly used for heavy loads.

For civil buildings are used beams with spans up to 6 m that generally form smooth surfaces
both at the top (floor) and at the bottom (ceiling) side.

35
 For cultural and industrial buildings are applied beams with either T-shaped section or
coffered, with spans of 6-12 m.
The beams are made of reinforced or prestressed concrete for loads over 500 daN/m2 or
spans over 6 m.
Ceramic beams can also be used, by assembling the ceramic blocks with reinforcement bars
provided on their lateral sides.
In seismic regions, since the adjacent beams do not work together, an additional layer of
concrete over the existing slab is needed.

Fig.17

5.7.5. Over concreted floors (plansee de tip predala cu suprabetonare)

These types of floors are an efficient semi-precast concrete solution, which allows
formworks removing, their role being performed by the precast slab that includes the needed
reinforcement bars for the tensed area of the slab.
Having a thickness of 5-7 cm, the precast slab is propped on temporary shoring until the
concrete is poured over the entire assembly to achieve the final resistance.
The joining between the precast slab and monolithic concrete is done through connectors,
such as loops or steel-concrete farms (plane or space).
The precast slab dimensions are up to 25 m2.
By over-concreting with 6-8 cm, a slab of high stiffness in horizontal plane similar to the
monolithic slab is achieved.

Fig.18

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

36
6. Stairs
Stairs are building elements that provide the vertical movement among different levels of a
building ensuring the current exploitation and in time evacuation of the occupants in emergency
situations (e.g. fire).
For the vertical access to different levels also can be used inclined planes (with slopes up to
0
15 ), escalators or elevators (passenger and cargo).
The component elements of stairs are: flights, landings and railings which are elements with
a functional role, indicating that flights and landings are load bearing elements.
The flight represents the inclined component of the stairs, consisting of load bearing element
and treads. The shape can be straight or curved. It is recommended to have minimum 3 and
maximum 18 numbers of treads in any flight.
The tread is characterized by the following geometrical dimensions: width (b), height (h)
and length (l). The length of the treads is equal with the width of the flight. The tread height is
called riser.

Fig.1

Free edges are called stringers. There are flights with two stringers (free flights), with one
stringer (one end is attached to the wall) and without stringers (flights located between two
walls).
The step line represents the horizontal projection of the normal traffic line and is placed at
50-60 cm from the inside stringer. It is represented by an arrow at the end of line showing the
ascending direction.
Landings are horizontal plans that interrupt the flight. The intermediate landings (between
levels) allow stairs to change directions and users to rest.
Railings are safety and secure circulation elements provided at the flights and landings
edges, equipped with a handrail (of wood, plastic etc.).

37
 Fig.2

6.1. Stairs classification

• Considering their position: external stairs (access to buildings) and internal stairs (access
within buildings);
• Following their destination: monumental stairs (performed on one or two levels of the
important building halls), principal stairs (ensure normal circulation in buildings and
evacuation in case of emergency), secondary stairs (for access to the basement, attic or other
services) and fire escape stairs (for public and industrial buildings).
• Considering their shape in plane: straight, rectangular, curved stairs and stairs with winder.
• According to the step height: low-height stairs (h ≤ 16,5 cm, used as principal stairs in
schools, kindergartens, hospitals, monumental stairs etc.), medium-height stairs
(16,5 ≤ h ≤ 17,5 cm, used as principal stairs in ordinary buildings), stairs with high steps
(17,5 ≤ h ≤ 22,5 cm, used as secondary stairs) and stairs with steep steps (22,5 ≤ h ≤ 30 cm,
used as vertical stairs for occasional uses: access to the roof, technical spaces, maintenance
etc.);
• From the viewpoint of the materials used: concrete, metal, wood, natural stone;
• Considering the static schema: stairs with independent treads, stairs with surface elements
(slabs) and spatial stairs.
6.2. Stairs functional design
The functional design of the stairs is established by determining the minimum width of the
flights and landings, as well as the treads dimensions to meet the requirements needed for the
optimal circulation.
To determine the treads number between two successive floors with the storey height ΔH, it
is imposed a tread height (rise size) h, so that the number n (even or odd) of the risers results
from the relation: H
n=
h

38
 The treads width b is based on the steps formula (Rondelet relation) which provides a
comfortable circulation: 2h + b = 62 – 64 cm (60 – 62 for children).
The width of flights and landings is determined according to the evacuation conditions in
emergency situations for people, in form of flows.
The number of flows (F) results from the relation: F = N/C, (conf. NP118),
where: N-no. of persons; C-single flow evacuation capacity.
Thus, the minimum width is 0,80; 1,10; 1,60; 2,10 and 2,50 m, for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 flows.

6.3. Types of stairs

Wooden stairs – can be made either only of treads, or treads and risers which rest on stringer
beams of planks, apparent or hidden. The flight soffit may be apparent or closed with exposed
boards or plastered.
Metal stairs – are fabricated either only of treads, or treads and risers made of metal sheet
that rest through angles on stringer beams executed of U laminated profile or heavy plate. The
treads edge can be reinforced with wide steel or angles. Also, there are stairs with metal stringer
beams of special shape on which wooden treads rest.
Reinforced concrete stairs – are used in all types of buildings because of their advantages:
load bearing capacity, stiffness, stability, wear resistance. This type of stairs can be made of cast
in situ reinforced concrete or precast concrete elements.
The stairs whose flight follows the treads shape are called stairs with orthopolygonal treads. The
treads and risers may be finished with cast mosaic or special tiles.
Precast concrete stairs are made of large precast elements – separated flights and landings, or
flights and half of one or both landings, as well as precast stairs with independent treads that are
installed on two stringer beams, on a central beam, or a central pillar.

Fig.3

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

39
7. Roofs

Roofs are constructive subassemblies placed on the top of the buildings. The functional
purpose of the roofs is to encase the top part of the building to protect the indoor environment
from temperature variations, humidity, rain, noise etc.
The roofs also fulfil a resistance role, undertaking the loads imposed on them.
The roof subassembly includes the following main elements, according to their functions:
• the resistance element with the purpose of taking the loads imposed to the roof;
• the roof covering that has a hydrofuge role;
• the thermal insulation necessary to provide the interior comfort conditions;
• vapour barrier, diffusion layers or ventilation channels in order to improve the hygrothermal
behaviour;
• roof fittings having the purpose to collect and to evacuate the rain waters, to encase the
perimeter, to evacuate the water vapours in the atmosphere, to provide natural lighting etc.

7.1. Roofs classification

The roofs can be classified according to many criteria:

a. By their hygrothermal behaviour they can be cold (with a space filled with air) or warm (or
compact).
b. Considering the roof shapes, they can have inclined plane surfaces (called slopes) designed to
increase the rainwater discharge or curved surfaces forming vaults, domes, ruled surfaces etc.
c. According to their inclination, the roofs can be:
• inclined roofs, having a high slope (21-150%) or medium slope (8-20%);
• flat roofs (terraces), non-circulated having slopes of 2-7% or circulated having slopes of
1.5-4%.
d. Considering the resistance structure, roofs can be made with:
• massive masonry, used especially in the antiquity and medieval times to build roofs of large
spans (halls, cathedrals etc.);
• the same resistance structure as the current slabs (terrace roofs);
• roof framing, in the case of roofs having attic;
• independent structures, in the case of large spans, built in several ways: beams (solid-webbed
or framing), surface elements made of pre-stressed concrete (π in-line or curved elements,
T elements etc.), spatial grids of bars, thin roofing, suspended roofs etc.
e. The design of the roof coverings leads to discontinuous coverings made up of small elements
with partially overlapping (tiles, cement-asbestos slabs, shingles, onduline etc.) and to
continuous coverings.

Fig.1

40
 Fig.2
7.2. Roof framings
The roof framing represents the resistance structure of the roofs, which is realised with the
purpose to undertake the roof loads and to create the roof slope and shape.
The design of the roof framing depends on the building plane dimensions and on the
resistance structure. If there are internal load bearing walls, the framings on seats are preferred
and if the bearing walls are disposed to the outside, framings with simple or double switch are
used, according to the span limitations.
When the spans are small, rafter framing without seats is preferred.

Fig.3

The main elements of the roof framing are:

• The roof battens placed perpendicularly to the slope direction, which serve as bearings for
the roof covering discontinuous elements (tiles etc.). The length between the roof battens is
given by the covering-element size. The roof battens seat on the rafters and take over the
snow and roof covering loads, the wind pressure and the accidental actions that emerge from
the roof maintenance.

41
• The roof decking is made of boards placed adjacently (in the same direction as the roof
battens), forming the flexible roof covering base, as in the case of sheet-metal or bituminous
coverings. The roof decking seats on the rafters and undertakes the same loads as the roof
battens.
• The rafters are inclined elements that form the main pitch of the roof. The distance between
the rafters is 60-80 cm, and it is required by the low stiffness of the battens and of the roof
boarding, which seat on the rafters. At the bottom side the rafters seat on the wall plates
located on the exterior load-bearing walls, and at the top they bear directly one on the other,
or on the ridge board. Depending on the building span there are built two, four or even more
current purlins, representing intermediate supports for the rafters.
• The purlins are made of wooden beams, representing seats for the rafters.
• The overhang purlins, also called wall plates, are placed along the exterior walls or on their
elevations. The current purlins seat on props.
• The props represent seats for the current purlins (intermediate). They are vertical elements
which stay on the transversal bearing walls, placed at 3-5 meters distance (equal to the
lengths between the bearing walls that they seat on). In the case of buildings having one or
two central longitudinal walls (on the transversal way having bracing walls at great
distances), there are built inclined props.
• The collars are made of two elements which connect the correspondent rafters of the two
slopes, straight to the props, forming an undeformable system. The collars do not undertake
direct loads, but they bear tensile stresses.
• The struts are elements which diminish the intermediate purlin span and reinforce the joints
in the longitudinal direction (i.e. in the direction of the purlin).
• The wind braces are elements which interlock the roof framing components, ensuring the
stiffness, the stability and the spatial interconnection of the roof framing.
• The chords are horizontal elements of the roof framing with trusses solicited to tensile
stresses.
• The principal rafters are inclined elements placed under the current purlin; they undertake
compressive stresses and direct the efforts to the edges.

Fig.4

42
 Fig.5

The floor over the last level is made of the following elements:

• The resistance element (the slab) having a similar structure as the current slabs.
• The levelling screed made of cement mortar.
• The vapour barrier which even if it is not required in the hygrotermal calculus, can be built in
as insulation against possible rain waters that can eventually get in the attic. In the case of
undemanding buildings, the levelling screed and the vapour barrier can be omitted.
• The thermal insulation made of bulk materials (cinder, porous waste, lightweight concrete
etc.) or boards (mineral wool).
• The circulation layer made of lightweight concrete, having a low cement content to keep a
porous structure and to permit the vapour migration from the inside to the atmosphere.

7.3. Roof coverings

The roof covering is the construction element placed on the top of the roof, having the role to
isolate it against rain waters. The roof covering must correspond to waterproof requirements, but
also to important issues, such as durability, fire safety, aesthetic and economic requests.
Based on the way the waterproofing is provided, there are:
• discontinuous roof coverings, made of independent elements, impermeable to water if it
flows fast (ceramic or concrete tiles, shingles etc.);
• continuous roof coverings (bituminous or rubberized).
Based on the roof covering support, there are:
• elastic or flexible roof coverings, which demand a continuous supporting layer (bituminous
and rubberized, or made of sheet-metal);

43
• roof coverings with supporting elements placed at short distances as the ones made of small
rigid panels (ceramics, wooden panels etc.);
• roof coverings with far-between supporting elements of high stiffness (corrugated or folded
sheet-metal plates or plastic materials).

7.4. Terrace roofs

Unventilated terrace roofs

Due to their economical and execution advantages, the terrace roofs are often used in all
types of civil buildings. They are part of the compact roofs without air layers.

The terrace roofs have the following configuration:

• The resistance element, represented by the raw slab, which is identical to the current slab.
• The vapour barrier (placed on a levelling layer), having the purpose of reducing the vapour
quantity that migrates to the outside in winter time and of reducing the condensation risk
under the covering. It is made of bituminous materials (a cardboard layer or canvas placed
between two bitumen layers), plastic or rubber foils.
• The thermal insulation ensures the necessary resistance to heat transfer. It can be made of
porous bulk material or of heat insulating boards. Its thickness is established based on
calculus and depends on the necessary resistance to heat transfer. The thermal insulation
layer must have a protection against the technological humidity coming from the pouring of
the upper layer.
• The pitching layer gives the necessary inclination required for the rain water discharge. Its
thickness is variable depending on the following: the slope size, the roof plan dimensions and
the number and disposal of the outflow tubes. It is made of lightweight concrete, also
contributing to heat insulation.
• The water proofing support layer, which ensures a flat rigid surface for the roof covering, is
made of cement mortar of 3-4 cm thick.
• The bituminous waterproofing is made of multiple layers of bitumen cardboard, canvas or
glass fibre fleece and layers of bitumen. Usually there are three layers of cardboard and
canvas and four layers of bitumen.
• In the case of circulated terraces, a 2-4 cm paving made of prefab tiles, placed on a sand
blanket with the joints between tiles sealed with bitumen is built.

Fig.6

44
 The layers are usually arranged in two ways:

1. with the pitching layer placed above the heat insulation;

2. with the heat insulation placed above the pitching layer.

Fig.7

In the first situation the pitching layer is placed above the heat insulation.

The advantage of this solution is the following:

• during the warm season the thermal energy, which intensively heats up the roof covering,
gets distributed in the supporting and pitching layer, decreasing the overheating of the roof
covering.
The disadvantage of this constructive solution is the following:
• the pitching layer suffers many thermal contractions and expansions, with pushing and
cracking effects on the perimetral elements of the buildings affecting their sustainability.
In the second situation, when the thermal insulating layer is placed above the pitching layer,
in the warm season the thermal energy is distributed in a much smaller volume of material,
respectively in the water proofing supporting layer, having as a result a higher heating of the roof
covering, compared to the first mentioned case, with adverse effects on sustainability.
The hygrothermal behaviour of the terrace roofs is disadvantageous comparing to the roofs
with attic (advantage of ventilation).
Due to their compact structure, the roof coverings can get very hot under the action of the
solar radiation in summer time, while in the winter – even if there is a vapour barrier – the
condensation phenomenon may appear under the covering.
In winter, the condensation freezes and with the extension of its volume, the roof covering
comes off from the supporting layer.
In summer, it turns into vapours, also extending its volume and forming bulbs under the roof
covering, which highly stress it, leading to possible breaking.
To reduce the effect of solar radiation, the terrace roofs are provided with gravel protection
layers or are painted in light colours.

45
 During the terrace roofs execution, there is a risk of water penetration between the vapour
barrier and waterproofing. It is recommended to begin the waterproofing construction only after
the pitching and supporting layer get dry.
To reduce the condensation risk and to eliminate the initial humidity under the roof
coverings, there are some constructive solutions used to evacuate the water vapours in the
atmosphere (diffusion layers, ventilation channels and ventilated air layers).

Terrace roofs with diffusion layers

The diffusion layers are built in the water vapours accumulation areas: under the roof
covering and under the vapour barrier.
These layers are made of perforated bitumen cardboard fitted on the bottom side with
adherent grained sand.
Between the grained sand a sort of water vapours and air migration is realised, linked to the
atmosphere through special devices called deflectors, placed on the surface of the terrace roof or
in the higher areas (on the contour, next to the attic).
Because the migration of the water vapours through the grained sand is diminished, the
diffusion layers efficiency is reduced.
The diffusion layers are efficient in the case of buildings with interior air humidity under
60%.

Fig. 8

Terrace roofs with air channels

The terrace roofs with air channels are recommended for buildings having the indoor air
humidity over 60% (up to 65-70%).
The air channels are built by including a grid of narrow and continuous channels in the floor
structure all over the terrace surface, which communicate with the atmosphere through deflectors
(each deflector covering a maximum size of 120 mp, placed on the terrace field at the main
channel intersection) and air holes placed on the roof edges, in the attics or in cornices.

46
 Fig. 9

Terrace roofs with ventilated air layer

These types of roofs represent a modern solution which consists in building a ventilated air
layer of reduced thickness in the thermal insulation layer (placed on the top floor).
The ventilated air layer communicates with the atmosphere through some ventilation holes
placed on the building contour and through deflectors placed on the roof.
The disadvantage of this system lies in the structural members needed to build the air layer,
the roof slope, and the covering frame.

Fig. 10
7.5. Roof fittings
Due to the roof multiple functions, a wide range of fitting elements can be used:
• For contour and joint protection (attics, cornices, overhangs),
• For rain water collection and evacuation (roof gutters, down pipes, outflow tubes),
• For lighting and ventilation,
• For water vapours evacuation (diffusion layers, air channels or ventilated air layers
(deflectors)).
The attic is an element on the terrace roof contour, made of masonry, precast elements, or
cast-in-place concrete, which exceeds the covering level at least 30 cm.
In the case of circulated terrace roofs a handrail on top of the attic or an attic of at least 90 cm
is built.

47
 The waterproofing is fixed to the attic or is lifted with min. 25-30 cm above the terrace level.
On the lifted part, the roof covering is protected with a rabitz plastering. The top part of the attic
is protected by a horizontal strip (fascia) made of galvanized sheet which is fixed along the attic
through steel cramps spaced at 50 cm.
In the case of terrace roofs having diffusion layers or air channels, the attic ensures the
communication with the atmosphere.

Fig. 11
The cornices and the overhangs are roof extension elements placed on the building perimeter.
They are designed to direct away the rainfall from the building and to sustain the discharging
devices, also having an aesthetic purpose.
The overhangs are used in case of inclined roofs. The cornices are used for terrace and
inclined roofs.
The collecting fitments for rain waters are represented by gutters and down pipes when the
water discharge is performed on the outside, respectively by inner flow tubes and vertical pipes
when the water removal is performed inside.
In the case of inclined roofs, roof gutters and down pipes are built, while for terrace roofs
both solutions are admitted.
Chimneys, ventilation conduits

Fig.12
Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

48
8. BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE: BASEMENT, WATERPROOFING SYSTEMS,
FOUNDATIONS

8.1. Basement

The basement is the partially or completely built space below the ground level. It can have a
utility or general purpose. The utility (technical) basement is usually built partially, being used
only for the installation pipes disposal.
It can take the form of a circulated central corridor throughout the building, with an useful
height of 1.80 to 2.00 m for the main pipe lines which provide cross (transverse) channels for the
visited (with a height of 1.00 to 1.20 m) or unvisited branched pipes, or it may take place
under the whole building (with a small increase in investment, but with benefits, regarding the
maintenance of installations and the use of basement, for operational purposes (storage space).
The natural lighting of basements can be achieved by using small height windows, ± 0.00
level being set at a certain height from the sidewalk.
If the basement is completely buried in the ground, the daylight and ventilation can be
achieved through window wells or other systems.

Fig.1

Fig.2

49
 Irrespective of the structure type, the basement is provided on the outline with monolithic
concrete walls or prefabricated large panels.
In case of structures having diaphragms, these are continued into the basement walls, whose
rigidity and load bearing capacity must be at least equal to those from the ground floor.
In case of frame structures, columns are continued to the foundations.
The exterior walls of the basement, made of monolithic concrete, are placed between
columns so that the outer face of the wall is in the same plane as the outside of the columns,
while the interior walls of the basement can be made of light materials (bricks which can be
placed on their shorter or longer edge, prefabricated panels) or monolithic concrete, their
position being determined by functional reasons.

8.2. Waterproofing systems

The action of water on the building elements leads to detrimental effects such as: dampness,
mould, degradation of materials etc.
To prevent it, the structural elements should be protected through waterproofing systems,
sealing systems with reduced thickness, disposed on the basement walls, foundations, floors etc.
Waterproofing systems are hidden works, which must be executed very carefully to avoid further
repair works (extremely difficult) during the normal exploitation of the building.
Sometimes, waterproofing systems are applied as an alternative to other protection methods
such as drainage, sheeting, flooring level raising etc.
Choosing the most appropriate waterproofing system will depend on a number of factors
including: admissible wetting category, resistance to cracking of the support element,
hydrological and geological conditions of the emplacement etc.
a) Admissible wetting category (floors or interior walls):
I – dry, when only isolated spots of moisture are allowed on a total area of max. 1% of the
interior elements area.
II – wet, when isolated portions of moisture without appearance of water drops are allowed on an
area of max 20% of the interior elements area.
III – wet, when isolated portions of moisture with appearance of water drops are accepted on an
area of max 20% of the total area of the walls (not allowed drops on the ceiling).
b) Resistance to cracking of the support element:
I - with crack widths up to 0.1 mm.
II - with crack widths from 0.1 to 0.2 mm.
III - with crack widths from 0.2 to 0.5 mm.
c) Hydrological and geological conditions (groundwater level, stagnation and accumulation in
filling areas of waters from infiltrations or precipitations, water chemical composition etc.).
d) Other factors: temperature action and mechanical stresses on waterproofing (pressures,
tangential efforts and vibration), building shape, existence of other nearby buildings etc.

50
8.2.1. Types of waterproofing systems

The waterproofing systems can be classified according to several criteria, such as:
a) According to the moisture source and water action mode on the building:
- against the natural moisture of the soil, provided to prevent the contact of the
underground construction elements with the ground humidity;
- against the ground water without hydrostatic pressure, provided to prevent water
penetration in the structural elements by capillary action;
- against the ground water with hydrostatic pressure, the water level being above the
waterproofed elements.
b) According to the materials and execution technology:
- from mortars and plasters with low permeability. They are rigid waterproofing systems
which crack when the substrate layer cracks or at high mechanical stresses;
- bituminous coatings and paints made from solutions, mastics or suspensions of bitumen.
They have low elasticity (deterioration when the substrate layer cracks);
- multiple layers of bituminous mastics with a total thickness of 1-2 cm, which are plastic
and can adapt to slow deformations of the substrate layer, but which crack in case of
sudden or alternate efforts;
- multiple layers of cardboard and bitumen cloth, fleece or woven glass fiber bitumen
placed between layers of bitumen, that are flexible and resistant to deformations;
- elastic (steel and aluminum sheets) or plastics (lead sheets) sheet-metal with very good
behavior, but expensive;
- mixed, as bituminous waterproofing applied on impermeable plasters, bituminous with
sheet-metal etc.
8.2.2. Waterproofing solutions against soil moisture and waters without hydrostatic pressure
The waterproof insulation is provided under the building walls (zero level), at the external
socles, under the floors located on the ground, in wet rooms (bathrooms, laundries) and at the
basement walls and floors.
The horizontal waterproofing located under the walls (zero level) is provided on the entire
thickness of the wall at a height of min. 30 cm from the sidewalk level.
It is made of classical materials (two layers of cardboard or bitumen fleece, bonded with
two layers of bitumen or bituminous mastic) or modern materials.
This is connected with the vertical waterproofing of the socle (prefabricated plates,
waterproofing plaster) at the sidewalk level through a bitumen layer.
The vertical waterproofing of the socle walls is connected with the horizontal waterproofing
located under the flooring at the buildings without basement.
The vertical waterproofing of the basement walls is connected on the outside with the
horizontal waterproofing at the foundation level.
For buildings with reinforced concrete structure, the horizontal waterproofing of the walls
(from the foundation and zero level) is achieved through waterproofing mortars.
In the structural masonry walls case, it is recommended that the horizontal waterproofing
located under the wall (zero level) to be rigid, made by cement mortar with admixtures for
sealing, which provide a connection between structural wall and socle.

51
 Fig.3

Fig.4

8.2.3. Waterproofing solutions against waters with hydrostatic pressure

This type of waterproofing is provided for building elements situated under the maximum
level of the groundwater (walls, raft foundation, floors).
Waterproofing, whose number of cardboard or bitumen cloth layers is determined
according to the water pressure, is lifted on the walls at least 30 cm above the maximum
groundwater level. Over this level waterproofing against water without hydrostatic pressure is
provided.
8.2.4. Waterproofing for wet rooms
Wet rooms waterproofing (bathrooms) is made according to the exploitation mode and
elements cracking group. For floors, a horizontal waterproofing under the flooring is ensured,
which rises at least 20 cm on the walls and columns.
52
8.2.5. Waterproofing at pools, tanks and canals

Pools, tanks and canals are provided with interior waterproofing against the stored or
transported fluids and with exterior waterproofing against the groundwater with or without
pressure (as the case) if these constructions are partially or completely buried in the ground.

Fig.5

Fig.6

Fig.7

53
8.3. Foundations

Foundations are structural elements which take the overall actions of the resistance structure
and transmit them to the foundation soil. The selection of a foundation depends on the following
factors:
- the characteristics of the foundation soil;
- the type of the resistance structures;
- the size of the loads;
- the slope of the land (ground).
The depth of the foundation is the depth from the natural ground level at the bottom of the
foundation that provides the transmission of the loads to the ground; it must be not less than the
frost depth and necessarily located in a good foundation soil, capable to take over the loads
transmitted by foundations.

Classification of foundations:

By depth:
- direct foundations - common foundations made on normal lands (shallow or surface).
- indirect foundations - used in special cases when bearing loads are high and the good quality
foundation soil is at greater depth.

Direct (surface) foundations:

- by material: made of concrete (plain, cyclopean, reinforced), natural or artificial stone,
stabilized earth, etc.,
- by the working mode: rigid (made of simple concrete or masonry) and elastic (made of
reinforced concrete);
- by the constructive form: isolated (under columns), continuous (under walls/diaphragms), on
networks of beams, circulars, rings, raft foundation etc.;
- by the technology of execution: monolithic and prefabricated;
- by the groundwater level position: above and below the groundwater level.
Indirect (deep) foundations can be on piles, caissons or large diameter piles.

8.3.1. Direct foundations

8.3.1.1. Continuous foundations

Continuous foundations are foreseen below load bearing and self supporting walls made of
masonry or concrete.
a) Continuous stiff foundations are used for structures made of masonry or concrete walls at
buildings with fewer levels. They are frequently made of plain concrete and seldom of natural
and artificial stone masonry and are available below load bearing and self supporting walls.
In the case of buildings without basement, foundations can be made by the same width until
± 0.00 level or can have an element with a smaller width between the land level and ± 0.00 level
called socle. The exterior wall at ± 0.00 level can be made withdrawn, at the same level or
externally in relation to the socle.

54
 Fig.8

The necessary foundation width is calculated, and for buildings without basement, the
minimum width is established from technological conditions depending on the excavation depth
(Df), being of 30 cm (for Df ≤40 cm), 40 cm (for 40 <Df ≤80 cm), 45 cm (for 80 <Df ≤120 cm),
50 cm (for Df> 120 cm).
These foundations are called rigid because they are not reinforced, but to reduce the tensile stress
the ratio between the width and height must be greater than the needed minimum value given by
the formula:
Hf
tg    tg  min
a
For plain concrete α min = 60°.
The above condition is important for foundations of buildings with basement for which the width
of the foundation should be at least 40 cm.
55
b) Continuous elastic foundations

This type of foundation is made of reinforced concrete, for buildings with more than 5 levels
with monolithic concrete diaphragms structure or large panels. In cross section, the footing
(foundation base) has the form of a prism, with flaring or increased height and flaring, depending
on the load size and mechanical characteristics of the foundation soil.

Fig.9

The foundation with a rectangular base is adopted in the case of relatively small loads.
To ensure the necessary rigidity and uniform distribution of pressure on the land, the
minimum height is required so that the ratio Hf / Bf is at least 0.20 - 0.25 (depending on concrete
class and maximum pressures on land).
However, the height of the foundation must be at least 30 cm and multiples of 5 cm.
Foundation with sloped (flared) base is used for foundations with larger widths to reduce the
concrete consumption.
In this case Hf ≥ 30 cm, Hf / Bf ≥ 0.20-0.25 and H’ = 1/3-1/2 of Hf, but at least 15 cm.
In cases of heavy loads or in the case of unequal land settlements, the stiffness and the
bearing capacity of foundation will be increased by heightening the base.
The continuity of all vertical reinforcement in foundations links together the walls with the
foundation and provides the necessary anchor length.

c) Continuous foundations with base and reinforced concrete bearing

In this case, the foundation is formed by a continuous plain concrete base and a continuous
reinforced concrete bearing.
These foundations are used especially at reinforced monolith concrete diaphragms structures.

56
 Fig.10

The reinforced concrete bearing height must respect the condition:

The foundation base dimensions must respect the condition:

2Hf
tg  =  tg  min
B f - Bc

If the resulting heights of the base are increased, the foundation can be built in steps,
respecting the above condition, the maximum number of steps being 3 and the minimum height
of a step 30 cm.
Between the bearing (Bc) and the base (Bf) width the following ratio should be fulfilled:
- when the base foundation is without steps:

Bc = 0,55 - 0,65
Bf
- or when it is with steps:

Bc = 0,40 - 0,50
Bf

d) Continuous foundations with isolated bearing support

These consist of reinforced concrete beams which take the weight of the walls and transmit it
to isolated foundations (plain concrete blocks). For buildings without basement the beam acts as
a socle. They are economically advantageous if the good foundation soil is over 2 m deep.
They are not recommended in areas with uneven settlements or in areas with high earthquake
rate.

57
 Fig.11

8.3.1.2. Isolated foundations

The isolated foundations are used in the case of concrete, masonry, metal or wood columns.

a) Foundations with reinforced concrete base

They are built in the form of a prism when the foundation surface is below 1 m2 or with a
sloped (flared) base when the surface is more than 1 m2.

Fig.12

The foundation stiffness condition is achieved by imposing a minimum ratio between height (Hf)
and length (L, Lf> Bf ) at values of 0.25 - 0.35 and height of at least 30 cm.
In the case of flared base foundation, the minimum height (H') will be 1/2-1/3 of Hf and at least
20 cm.
A concrete layer of 5-10 cm thick is laid under the foundation having an equalization role.
58
b) Isolated foundations with block and reinforced concrete bearing
They consist of a simple concrete block and a reinforced concrete bearing. The minimum
block height must be 40 cm. If the resulting heights are bigger, it can be executed in steps.
The minimum step height is 30 cm and the maximum number of steps is 3.
R.c. bearing conditions:

Fig.13

c) Prefabricated sleeve foundations

Are made of reinforced concrete prismatic or flared shape. The size of the foundations must
fulfill constructive conditions needed to ensure rigidity to which are added additional
requirements related to:
- the minimum size of the foundation walls,
- the space between the column and foundation walls,
- the minimum thickness below the column.
Besides the usual reinforcement with bars arranged in mesh shape at the bottom, the
foundation wall reinforcement must take the bending moment at the bottom of the column.

Fig.14

59
d) Isolated foundations under metal columns
They are designed as simple block or with plain concrete block and reinforced concrete
bearing. The metal column is provided with a base metal plate with bigger dimensions in plane
than the column horizontal section, which is attached to the foundation with screws.

Fig.15

8.3.1.3. Foundations on beam networks

In case of weak foundation soils, leading to isolated foundations with large areas or uneven
settlement risk, the foundation is made on beam network.
The network consists of reinforced concrete beams, arranged perpendicularly, at the same
height, the columns being located at the beam intersection. Increasing of the beams stiffness and
bearing capacity can be achieved through haunches.

Fig.16

60
8.3.1.4. Raft foundations

The raft foundation consists of a monolithic reinforced concrete slab laid down under the whole
building. All the vertical structural elements rest on the foundation which transmits the loads to
the foundation soil. This foundation shall be adopted in cases of heavy loads and weaker
foundation soils and where ground water is at relatively small depths. Bottom plate may consist
of a flat slab with high thickness (which can exceed 1m) or a slab with beams.

Fig.17

8.3.2. Indirect foundations

Indirect foundations (depth foundations) are adopted to transmit the loads to the good foundation
soil located at great depth (sometimes over 20-30 m).
a) Pile foundations
Piles are linear elements of reinforced concrete which are inserted into the ground through
various methods. All the piles are linked on top with a slab of monolithic reinforced concrete,
called raft foundation, on which the construction is built.
Prefabricated piles are inserted into the ground through beating, vibration and percussion or
screwing and water under pressure.
Monolithic piles are achieved by pouring concrete and introducing reinforcement. Drilling
can be performed without metal tube or with metal tube for protection.
The tube can be recoverable or unrecoverable (procedures: Franki, Benoto, Wolfholtz, Simplex
etc.).

Fig.18

61
b) Caissons are prefabricated concrete elements (boxes) with large sizes which enter into the
ground by digging and removing the earth inside them. At the top of the caissons is realised a
monolithic reinforced concrete slab (raft foundation).

c) Large diameter piles (columns) are tubular-shaped elements of large diameter, made of
reinforced concrete or metal, placed in the ground through vibrating or drilling-excavation and
then filled with reinforced concrete. The columns are inserted into the ground up to 40 m.
Reinforced concrete raft foundations are placed at the top of the columns.

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

62
9. BUILDING PHYSICS
9.1. Building comfort
Through their destination, buildings must perform a proper indoor ambiance according to
the user requirements, characterized by the necessary metabolism, physiological requirements
and technological conditions.
The interior microclimate is determined by a set of parameters such as: the temperature of
the air and surface elements (particularly of the closing elements), relative humidity, intensity of
air currents, noise, lightness, colour and quality of the finishing elements etc.
Building Physics is a technical discipline devoted to the physical phenomena in the built
environment, whose parameters define the interior microclimate and building comfort.
The thermal comfort, generally determined by the indoor air and building elements inner
surface temperature (walls, ceilings, floors) and by the relative humidity (which is closely
related to temperature) is the most important inner comfort component.
The thermal comfort importance results both from the great influence it has on life and
health quality and from the expenses necessary for its achievement, which explains the constant
concern of specialists (architects, builders, plumbers, physicists, doctors) for this field.
9.2. Hygrothermics
Hygrothermics is the part of building physics that studies the physical phenomena related
to temperature and humidity, both indoor and in the closing elements structure, using
theoretical and experimental methods for understanding the phenomena in all qualitative and
quantitative aspects to achieve the hygrothermal comfort of buildings.
Thermal regime
The inner and outer environment temperatures are changing over time. If at least one
environment temperature is variable, the non-stationary or variable thermal regime is set.
If the simplifying hypothesis according to which the temperatures of the two environments
do not vary over time is allowed, the stationary or permanent thermal regime is established.
Typically, in a simplified way, the hygrothermal design is made in stationary thermal
regime. The real, non-stationary thermal regime effect is inserted with the help of correction
factors or additional checks.
Isothermal surfaces and lines
The surfaces within a material environment that have the same value of temperature are
called isothermal surfaces. Lines joining points of temperature of equal value are called
isothermal lines.
9.2.1. Heat transfer through closing elements
9.2.1.1. Forms of heat transmission in stationary thermal regime
According to the first principle of thermodynamics, heat transfer (or thermal energy) occurs
from the areas of higher temperature to areas with lower temperatures. Heat transfer occurs if
there is a difference in temperature and cannot be stopped; it can only be reduced by interposing
insulating materials.
The amount of heat (Q) transmitted between two surfaces perpendicular to the direction of
propagation is determined by the relation:
Q =U A t  T [J] (1)
63
where: U - heat transfer coefficient,
A - the area perpendicular to the direction of propagation,
t - time considered,
ΔT - temperature difference between two surfaces.
The heat energy transmitted per unit time (second) is called thermal flow (Φ) and is
measured in watts.
 =U A  T [W] (2)
The thermal flow transmitted through a unit area (of 1m2) is called unitary thermal flow
(q) and is the heat flow density (or intensity).
q =U  T [W/ m2 ] (3)
From the relation above, the thermal transfer coefficient or transmittance expression is:
q
U= [W/ m2 K] (4)
T

Fig.1

Heat transfer is achieved by thermal conductivity, convection and radiation, the heat
transfer coefficients being defined for each case.

a) Thermal transfer through thermal conductivity occurs in solid medium, the thermal energy
being transmitted without transport of matter.
If the temperature difference between the two surfaces is equal to one-degree Kelvin per
meter (the heat transfer surfaces being at a distance of 1 meter) the heat transfer coefficient for
this case is equal to the coefficient of thermal conductivity (λ) and results in:
=q [W/m K] (5)
The thermal conductivity coefficient λ is the amount of heat that passes in a second through a
cube with sides of 1 m, made of homogeneous material, arranged perpendicular to the heat flow,
when the temperature difference between its faces is 1 K (or 1oC).

Fig.2

64
b) The thermal transfer by convection takes place in fluids, when the thermal energy is
transmitted with matter transport, such as the thermal transfer between the surface of a solid
body and the surrounding air, which is permanently moving.
Considering the unitary thermal flow in the case of heat transfer by convection, if the
temperature difference between a solid body and the surrounding environment or the temperature
difference between the faces of a hypothetic surface from a fluid is of 1 Kelvin degree (1 K), the
coefficient of thermal transfer by convection (αc) can be defined:
c= q [W/ m2 K] (6)
The coefficient of thermal transfer by convection is the unitary thermal flow for the
temperature difference of 1 K or the quantity of thermal energy which is transmitted by
convection on a surface of 1 m2 in time unit, for a temperature difference of 1 K.

c) The thermal transfer by radiation takes place between two zones with different
temperatures, which are separated by a medium that allows the radiation transfer (air, voids,
transparent solid bodie).
If the temperature difference of the two zones (for example between the surface of a solid
body and the surrounding environment) is of 1 K, then the unitary thermal flow is equal to the
coefficient of thermal transfer by radiation (αr):
r= q [W/ m2 K] (7)
The coefficient of thermal transfer by radiation is defined identically with the coefficient of
thermal transfer by convection, considering the type of the thermal transfer.
In the case of building elements, the thermal transfer by convection and radiation is
considered globally, thus the coefficient of thermal transfer by convection and radiation α is
defined:
 =  c + r [W/ m2 K] (8)

Fig.3

9.2.1.2. The thermal transfer through closing elements which are composed of one layer

It is considered a closing element composed of one layer, having the thickness d and the
coefficient of thermal transfer λ. Inside, the interior temperature is Ti and outside Te (Ti >Te).
To simplify, the thermal regime is considered stationary, and it means that temperatures Te
and Ti are constant.
The thermal resistance is defined as the property of mediums through which the heat is
propagated to withstand heat propagation.

65
Specific unidirectional thermal resistance
The thermal flow by convection and radiation takes place on the interior and on the exterior
surface of the element (Si, Se), transfer which is considered globally through the coefficients of
superficial thermal transfer: αi for the interior surface and αe for the exterior surface. The
resistances of superficial thermal transfer of these surfaces are defined as the inverse of these
coefficients: 1
1
Rs i = [ m2 K/W] Rs e = [ m2 K/W] (9)
i e
Thus, Rsi and Rse represent the resistance that the layer of air on the surface of a building
element opposes to heat exchanges with the surrounding environment.
The specific thermal resistance of a homogeneous layer is determined with the relation:
1 d 2 (10)
Rs = d= [ m K/W]
 
where: dj – material thickness [m];
λj – thermal conductivity [W/mK].
As the layers are crossed successively (in series) by the thermal flow, the resistance of the
wall at thermal transfer R is obtained by summing up the passed resistances.
R= + + [ 2 K/W]
(11)
Rs i Rs Rs e m
The inverse of the specific unidirectional thermal resistance is the coefficient of
unidirectional thermal transfer of the wall.
1 1
U= = [W/ m2 K] (12)
R Rs i + Rs + Rs e
The coefficient of unidirectional thermal transfer (U) is the unitary thermal flow for the
difference of 1 K between the interior (Ti) and exterior temperature (Te).
The temperature Tx in an arbitrary point P, inside the wall, situated at distance x from the
interior surface, is obtained by writing the equality of the unitary thermal flow that crosses the
entire element and the unitary thermal flow that crosses the wall from the inside to point P, using
the relationship:
- -
q =U  T = T i T e = T i T x
R Rx (13)
x
R x = R si + (14)


Results:
Rx
T x=Ti - (Ti -Te ) (15)
R

It is established that the formula written above is the equation of a straight line which
represents the variation of the temperature along the thickness of an element. It is stated that the
temperatures are introduced in the formula with their algebraic sign and if Te<0, inside the
parenthesis of the above relationship, the two temperatures are summed up.
There are jumps in the diagram of temperature caused by the resistances of superficial
thermal transfer, on the interior and exterior surfaces (Rsi and Rse).

66
 Fig.4

Inner surface temperature (Tsi) is calculated with the above relation for x = 0 and Rx= Rsi:

Rsi
T si =Ti -(Ti -Te ) (16)
R

9.2.1.3. Heat transfer through layered elements

It is considered a closing element consisting of three layers perpendicular to the heat flow,
with thicknesses d1, d2, d3 and thermal conductivity coefficients λ1, λ2 and λ3.
The indoor temperature is higher than the outdoor temperature (Ti> Te).

Layered closing element

Fig.5

Heat transfer resistances are taken successively (in series) by the thermal flow so that the
heat transfer resistance of the element is:
R = R s i +  Rs + R s e =
di
= Rs i +  + Rs e [ m2 K/W]
i
Rs = 
di
= (17)
i
d1 d2 d3
= + + [ m2 K/W]
1 2 3

It is found that through the thickness of each layer, the temperature varies linearly, with
greater slope when the heat transfer resistance of the layer is higher.
67
9.2.1.4. Heat transfer through elements with different areas
In practice, there are elements with different areas, for example, the closing walls. Thus, in
Fig. 6 an element with distinct areas I, II, III and corresponding surfaces AI, AII and AIII was
considered.

Closing element with varied areas.

Fig.6

The average specific thermal resistance of a building element is calculated with the
formula:
R’ m = 1 / U’ m = ΣAj / Σ (AjUj) (m2K/W) (18)
The corrected average thermal resistance R’m can be calculated for a closing element with
different areas.
Thus, considering an element with distinct areas I, II, III, the surfaces of this areas are AI,
AII and AIII. Each zone is layered.
For the entire element, the average heat transfer coefficient is determined as follows:

 Ai AI + AI I + AI I I + ...
 U i Ai
U ’m = = Ri = R I R I I R I I I [W/ m2 K] (19)
 Ai  Ai AI + AI I + AI I I + ...

The average transfer resistance through conductivity of the entire wall is:

1  Ai + + + ...
R’ m = = = AI AI I AI I I [ m2 K/W] (20)
U’m A AI + AI I + AI I I + ...
 i
Ri R I R I I R I I I

Distinct areas refer only to the opaque part. To calculate R’m for an entire building, for a
building level, or a specific room, the relation becomes:

R’ m = 1 / U’ m = ΣAj / Σ (AjUj j ) (21)

Where: j is the outdoor temperature correction factor corresponding to surface j.

68
9.2.2. Thermal resistance of air layers

The way in which the thermal resistance of air layers can be considered in the calculations is
specified in Normative C 107/3-05. The thermal resistance values for the unventilated air layers
are shown in Table III of Normative C107/3-05 and properties of air layers in Annex E of the
same norm.
For an envelope element with unventilated air layers, the specific unidirectional thermal
resistance will have the expression:

R = R s i +  Rs +  Ra + Rs e [ m2 K/W] (22)
9.2.3. Thermal bridges

In the case of stratified walls, from technological reasons, insulating layer interruptions can
come up (especially on the perimeter windows and joints) which led to thermal bridges (Fig.7),
characterized by low resistance to heat transfer, significant heat losses and low temperature on
their inner surface.

Thermal bridges: uncorrected (a) and corrected (b): 1 – closing panels; 2 – masonry with concrete column;
3 – thermal bridge correction
Fig.7

Corrected specific thermal resistance R’ and respectively corrected thermal transfer

coefficient U’ is determined by the relation:

U = 1 = 1 + 
( l ) +   [W/(m2K)] (23)
R R A A

Where:
R- the specific unidirectional thermal resistance corresponding to the A area;
l - the length of linear thermal bridges of the same type, from the A area.
Corrected specific thermal resistance R’ can also be expressed by the formula:
R = r  R [m2K/W] (24)
Where:
r - the reduction coefficient of unidirectional thermal resistance, calculated according to
Norm C 107/3-05, with relation: 1
r=
R    l +   [-] (25)
1+   
A

69
 Specific linear ψ and punctual χ coefficients of thermal transfer bring a correction to the
unidirectional calculation and consider both the presence of constructive thermal bridges and the
real behaviour, two-dimensional, respectively three dimensional, of the thermal flow, in the non-
homogeneous areas of the building components. They are determined based on automatic
numerical calculation of temperature fields.
Punctual thermal bridges resulting at the intersection of linear thermal bridges are usually
neglected in calculations.
In the preliminary phases of design and for buildings of minor importance or with low
repeatability, Normative C107/1-05 recommends for the reduction coefficient r, values within
the limits below:
r = 0,55 – 0,80 exterior walls;
r = 0,75 – 0,85 floors above the last leves;
r = 0,80 – 0,90 walls adjacent to joints;
r = 0,65 – 0,75 floors over unheated basements, soil floors, floors
above bowindows, crossing passanges.
The choice of the reduction coefficient value in the above limits is made by the designer,
which will consider the constructive composition of the building element, the percentage of
thermal bridges and their level of correction.

At intermediate design stages the determination of the corrected specific thermal resistance
is admitted with the approximation method given in Annex H of Normative C 107/3-05, which
consists in the determination of the arithmetic mean of thermal resistances calculated on zones
arranged parallel to heat flow and layers arranged perpendicular to the heat flow.
The method is taken after CEN / TC 89 N351E and ISO 6946.

At final design stages only, accurate methods are used:

- The method of the specific linear (ψ) and punctual (χ) coefficients to heat transfer.
- The method of planar and spatial fields of temperatures based on automatic numerical
calculation.

9.2.4. The thermal resistance of glazed areas

Glazed areas are necessary to ensure the natural lighting of the rooms, the visual comfort
and the building aesthetic.
In terms of thermal features, windows and skylights openings are weak areas in the thermal
insulation capacity of buildings. The heat losses increase the cost of the heating fuel, windows
being an important cause of the thermal comfort reduction.
Adverse effect of glazed areas on thermal protection of buildings is due to the low thermal
resistance of glazing (air layer resistance and thermal transfer resistances Rse and Rse) and cold
air entering through carpentry joints.
The unfavourable effect of glazed areas can be reduced thorough: limitation of the glazed
areas to the minimum necessary, correction of leaks by providing elastic sealing profiles,
displacement of three rows of panels, glazed windows, shutters that can be closed at night (and
even during the day for some rooms exposed to solar radiation) etc.

70
 For preliminary design calculations, the thermal resistances of all types of joinery can be
determined based on the provisions of Annex I of the Norm C 107/3-05, using EN ISO 10077-1
and ISO 10077-2 provisions.

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

71
12. ACTIONS ON STRUCTURES

12.1. Actions. Definition

An action is any cause able to generate mechanical stress in a construction.

Actions can be exerted directly onto the structural elements (the own weight of the building
elements, of the furniture, equipment, the action of the wind, etc.), or indirectly as imposed
deformations (displacement of supports, deformations due to thermal variations or dynamic
ground displacements during earthquakes, landslides, fires or explosions).
Direct actions upon the building elements and seismic actions represent loads that are
represented as forces and moments. Forces are distributed or concentrated.
The displacements of supports and foundations, and due to temperature variations are not
actions in the form of a force or moment, but they generate mechanical stress within buildings, in
a similar way as direct actions.

12.2. Efforts, mechanical stresses and deformations

Efforts are forces or moments that occur in building elements. Actions are the causes, while
efforts are the effects of these causes.
Efforts can be axial (tensile or compression), shear force, bending or torsion moments.
Each effort is characterized by the mechanical stress produced, thus:
− the axial stretching produces tensile stress;
− axial compression produces compression stress;
− the shearing force produces the shearing stress;
− the bending moment produces a bending stress;
− torsion moments produce shearing/twisting stresses.
In general, consequent to actions, mixed stresses occur in building elements (elongation
mixed with bending, bending and shearing, compression and bending or eccentric compression,
etc.).
The stresses in a building element can be source of actions for another element. As an
example, the stresses at the base of a column can be actions for the foundation of the respective
column.
The stresses in the elements (forces or moments) act all along the element section, being
called sectional stresses, which differ from unit stresses or tensions which act upon a section unit
area.
Unit stresses can be: normal (σ) and tangential (τ). Normal unit stresses are given by axial
stresses (of elongation, compression) and bending, while tangent unit stresses are produced by
torsion and shearing. The size of the unit stresses depends on the size of sectional stresses and
the cross-section characteristics (size and shape).

Eurocodes

• EN 1990 EUROCODE: Basis of Structural Design

• EN 1991 EUROCOD 1: Actions on structures
• EN 1992 EUROCOD 2: Design of concrete structures
• EN 1993 EUROCOD 3: Design of steel structures

101
 • EN 1994 EUROCOD 4: Design of composite steel and concrete structures
• EN 1995 EUROCOD 5: Design of timber structures
• EN 1996 EUROCOD 6: Design of masonry structures
• EN 1997 EUROCOD 7: Geotechnical design
• EN 1998 EUROCOD 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance
• EN 1999 EUROCOD 9: Design of aluminium structures

European Standards and Regulations regarding the evaluation of actions in constructions adopted
as national standards

• SR EN 1990:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design

• SR EN 1990/A1:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design
• SR EN 1990/NA:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-1:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-1: General actions – Densities, self-weight, imposed
loads for buildings
• SR EN 1991-1-1/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-1: General actions – Densities, self-weight, imposed
loads for builgings. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-2:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-2: General actions. Actions on structures exposed to
fire
• SR EN 1991-1-2/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-2: General actions. Actions on structures exposed to
fire. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-3:2005 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-3: General actions. Snow loads
• SR EN 1991-1-3/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-3: General actions. Snow loads. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-4:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-4: General actions. Wind actions
• SR EN 1991-1-1-5:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-5: General actions. Thermal actions
• SR EN 1991-1-6:2005 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-6: General actions. Actions during execution
• SR EN 1991-1-7:2007 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-7: General actions. Accidental actions
• SR EN 1991-3:2007 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 3: Actions induced by cranes and machinery.

12.3. Classification of actions

Any action is described by a model, whose size is mainly represented by a scalar with
various guiding values. Actions can be classified according to many criteria (by cause, intensity,
duration, etc.).

102
 As they vary in time, actions are classified into:
a) Permanent actions (G) are applied continuously at a practically constant intensity with respect
to time during the whole existence of a building. For example: direct actions, such as the own
weight of the building, the equipment attached to buildings and indirect actions due to concrete
contraction, differentiated settlements and prestressing.
b) Variable actions (Q) vary in time, that is neither monotonous, nor negligible of the parameters
defining the action. For example: variable actions on floors, beams or roofs, wind action or snow
loads.
c) Accidental actions (A) represent the short-term actions but of significant intensity, less
probable to be found in the structure during the designed lifetime of the building. For example:
vehicle impact and snow (only in case of exceptional snow congestion on the roof).
d) Seismic action (AE) represents the action on the structure due to the earth movement caused
by earthquakes.
Actions are also classified by the following criteria:
− by the nature of the structural response, they can be static actions and dynamic.
− by their origin, they can be direct and indirect.
− by their space variation, they are classified into fixed or free.

The characteristic value of an action Fk is also known as representative value.

The design value of an action Fd is the value obtained through the relation:

Fd =  f  Frep

𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑝=Ψ𝐹𝑘

γf - Partial factor for actions, considering the possibility of unfavorable deviations of the
action values from the characteristic values.
Ψ0 - Factor for the grouping value of a variable action.
Ψ1 - Factor for the frequent value of a variable action.
Ψ2 - Factor for the quasi-permanent value of a variable action.

12.4. Asessment of actions

Permanent loads

The overall own weight of the structure and non-structural elements is considered in
calculation, in combinations of actions, as a single action, computed on nominal dimensions and
characteristic values of specific weights, as weel as the in exploitation fixed element weights, the
weight of the land and fillings. The fixed service elements include
building services and technological equipment (elevators, escalators, etc.).
The characteristic values of the own weight, dimensions and specific weight are defined
according to EN 1990, 4.1.2.

103
Live loads

Live loads result from building exploitation, including: the normal use of the building by
people, furniture or moving objects (non permanent partition walls, etc.); vehicles, rarely
foreseen events (concentrations of people or furniture, etc.)
Live loads are modelled in the form of uniformly distributed loads, linear loads or
concentrated loads or groups of loads. To rate live loads, the floors and roofs are classified in
categories by their use. Heavy load equipments are not included.
The characteristic values of the live loads differ according to residential, social,
commercial or administrative areas. In Annex A of SR EN 1991-1-1:2004, values for the
nominal specific weights of deposited materials and products are given. In the national Annex of
SR EN 1991-1-1/NA:2006, specific provisions are given with respect to specific weights, own
weights and service loads for buildings.
The categories of loading areas established in Table NA.6.1 of SR EN 1991-1-
1:2004/NA:2006 should be designed using the characteristic values qk (uniformly distributed
loads) and Qk (concentrated loads), indicated in Table NA.6.2 for service loads on floors,
balconies, and staircases (category A, B, C and D), in Table NA.6.8 for service loads regarding
garages and vehicle traffic spaces (category F and G) and in Table NA.6.10 for roofs service
loads, category H.
The movable dividing walls own weight can be taken as a uniformly distributed load qk,
added to the live loads found in Table NA.6.2. This uniformly distributed load depends upon the
dividing wall own weight as follows:
− for movable partitions with self-weight ≤ 1,0 kN/m of wall length: qk=0,5 kN/m2;
− for movable partitions with self-weight ≤ 2,0 kN/m of wall length: qk=0,8 kN/m2;
− for movable partitions with self-weight ≤ 3,0 kN/m of wall length: qk=1,2 kN/m2.
Heavier partitions should be considered in the design taking account of:
− the locations and directions of the partitions.
− the structural form of the wall.
On roofs live loads, snow or wind loads are not applied simultaneously.
Live loads can be diminished for calculation purposes in the following ways:
− by the reduction factor αA for floors and roofs, function of the area A corresponding to
the main beam;
− by the reduction factor αn for columns and walls, function of the number n of floors
above the cross section that is calculated, where n does not comprise roofs floors covered
by snow and the floors of technical stories.
The reduction of the service loads by the coefficients αn is allowed for foundations.
− Coefficients αA and αn are not simultaneously taken in the calculus.

Snow loads (CR 1-1-3/2012)

The design code contains principles, rules of application and basic data required for snow
loads, harmonized with the SR EN 1991-1-3 standard, by considering the meteorological
information regarding the maximum annual snow loads in Romania.
The Code establishes design situations and snow load distributions for the design and
structural verification of buildings and other types of construction.
The Code does not include the following special cases:

104
 − Loads caused by the impact of snow that slips from one roof to another.
− Changing of the wind loads that may results from changing the size and the shape of the
construction due to the snow agglomeration.
− Loads from snow in areas where there are permanent snowfalls.
− Loads due to ice.
− Lateral loads due to agglomerated snow.
− Snow loads on bridges.
The characteristic value of snow loads on roofs shall be determined as follows:
− In the persistent/ transient design situations:

− In the accidental design situations where accidental snow accumulation is considered:

where:
• γIs - Importance-exposure factor to snow load (Tab. 4.1/CR 1-1-3/2012).
Importance-exposure class γIs
I 1.15
II 1.10
III 1.00
IV 1.00
• μi - Snow load shape coefficient.
The values of the coefficient μi (μ1, μ2) are given with respect to roof slope α [°], in one slope,
two slope or multi sloped roofs.
Tab. 5.1/CR 1-1-3/2012, Shape coefficient values for snow loads on single-pitch roofs,
double-pitched roofs and roofs with multiple pitches
Roof angle, 0
0    300
0
300 <  < 600   600
1 0.8 0.8 (60 - )/30 0.0
2 0.8 + 0.8  /30 1.6 -

Fig. 5.1. Shape coefficients for snow loads on single-pitch roofs,

double-pitched roofs and roofs with multiple pitches (CR 1-1-3/2012)

105
 Fig. 5.2, 5.3. The distribution of snow load (CR 1-1-3/2012)

In case of multi-span roofs, the distribution of snow load shape coefficients μ1 and μ2 is given
below.

Fig. 5.4/CR 1-1-3/2012

Fig. 5.5. The distribution of snow load shape coefficients for cylindrical roofs (CR 1-1-3/2012)

106
 Fig. 5.6. Recommended snow load shape coefficient
for cylindrical roofs (β ≤600) (CR 1-1-3/2012)

Fig. 5.6. The distribution of snow load shape coefficients

for roofs abutting to taller construction works (CR 1-1-3/2012)

Considering the local effects, three design situations are possible: drifting at projections and
obstructions, the edge of the roof, snowguards specified in CR 1-1-3 / 2012.

Ce - the exposure coefficient (Tab. 4.2/CR 1-1-3/2012).

Values of the exposure coefficient Ce

Type of exposure Ce
Full 0.8
Normal 1.0
Low 1.2

NOTE:
In the event of “Full” exposure, the snow can be blown in all directions around the
structure, on areas of flat ground with no shelter or little shelter due to the ground, trees or
taller structures.

107
 In the event of "Normal” exposure, the topography of the ground and the presence of
other structures or trees do not allow for significant blowing of the snow by the wind.
In the event of “Low” exposure, the structure is located lower than the surrounding
ground or is surrounded by tall trees and/or taller structures.

Ct – The thermal coefficient Ct can reduce the snow load on the roof in special cases when
the high heat transfer at the roof level (global coefficient > 1W/m2K), leads to melting snow.
In this case, the value for the thermal coefficient is determined by some special tests, with the
authority’s approval. In case of roofs having usual heat insulation, the value for the thermal
coefficient is 1,0.

sk - the characteristic value of snow load on the ground (Fig. 3.1/CR 1-1-3/2012, Ground
snow load map of Romania, representing characteristic values of snow load on ground, for
altitudes below 1000 m).

Thermal actions (SR EN 1991-1-5:2005 and National Annex SR EN 1991-1-5/NA:2008)

Representation of thermal actions

Daily and seasonal changes in shade air temperature, solar radiation, thermal radiation etc.
will result in variations of the temperature distribution within individual elements of a structure.
The magnitude of the thermal effects will be dependent on local climatic conditions, together
with the orientation of the structure, its overall mass, finishes (e.g. cladding in buildings), and in
the case of building structures, heating and ventilation regimes and thermal insulation degree.
The temperature distribution within an individual structural element may be split into the
following four essential constituent components:
a) the uniform temperature component, ΔTu
b) the linearly varying temperature difference component along the axis z-z, ΔTMY
c) the linearly varying temperature difference component along the axis y-y, ΔTMZ
d) the non-linear temperature difference component ΔTE. This results in a system of self-
equilibrated stresses which produce no real load effect on the element.

The deformations and therefore any resulting stresses, are dependent on the geometry and
boundary conditions of the element being considered and on the physical properties of the
material used. When composite materials are used, it must be considered that they are made of
materials with different coefficients of linear expansion.
To determ the thermal effects, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of a material
should be used. The coefficient of linear expansion for a selection of commonly used materials is
given in SR EN 1991-1-5:2005, Annex C.
Thermal actions on buildings, due to climatic and operational temperature changes shall be
considered in the design of buildings where there is a possibility of the ultimate or serviceability
limit states being exceeded due to expansion or contraction.
Volume changes and/or stresses due to temperature changes may also be influenced by
shading of adjacent buildings, use of different materials with different thermal expansion
coefficients and thermal conductivity, use of different shapes of cross-section with different
uniform temperature and due to humidity.

108
 Determination of temperatures

The climatic effects shall be determined by considering the variation of shade air temperature
and solar radiation. Operational effects (due to heating, technological or industrial processes)
shall consider the values of Tu and also the values of TM , and TP for every particular project.

Tu = T – T0
Where:
Tu is the uniform temperature component given by the difference between the average
temperature T of an element and temperature T0;
TM is difference between the temperatures on the outer and inner surfaces of a cross section, or
on the surfaces of individual layers.
TP is the temperature difference of different parts of a structure given by the difference of
average temperatures of these parts.
T is an average temperature of a structural element due to climatic temperatures in winter or
summer season and due to operational temperatures. In case of elements having multiple layers,
T is the average temperature for each layer.

Accidental actions (SR EN 1991-1-7: 2007)

The provisions of standard SR EN 1991-1-7: 2007, establish the method of accidental actions
evaluation.
Accidental actions in terms of impact may be caused by: impact with road vehicles, impact
with elevators, impact with trains, impact with ships or sudden landing of helicopters on roofs.
The actions caused by the impact are determined by means of a dynamic analysis or
represented as an equivalent static force that offers the same equivalent effects on the structure.
This simplified model can be used to verify the static balance, to check the strength and to
determine the deformations of the structure that has suffered the impact.
To attenuate the risk related to extreme events that occur in buildings and civil structures,
several of the following measures will be considered:
- Structural measures: the structure and the structural elements will be designed so as to have
resistance reserves or alternative ways of transmitting loads in case of local failures;
- Unstructural measures that include reducing the probability of occurrence of the event,
reducing the intensity of the action or reducing the consequences of failure.

Seismic action (P100-1/2013)

The norm P 100-2013 regulates the evaluation and calculation of constructions at seismic
action.
Fb =  I  S d (T1 )  m  

γI,e – the importance-exposure factor of the building;

λ – correction factor that takes into consideration the contribution of the fundamental mode, by
its effective modal mass associated with it;
λ = 0.85 if T1≤TC and the building is more than two storeys;
λ = 1.00 in all other situations.

109
Sd(T1) – ordinate of the design response spectrum corresponding to fundamental period T1
m – total mass of the building;

Wind action (CR 1-1-4/2012)

The code contains the principles, application rules, and databases needed for the wind design
of structures in Romania, harmonised with standard SR EN 1991-1-4, by considering the
meteorological information concerning the annual maximum values of the mean wind velocity.
The provisions of the code refer to the entire structure of the building, as well as to its
structural or non-structural elements (e.g. curtain walls, parapets, fixings, etc.).
The code shall apply to the design and inspection of:
- buildings and other structures with heights up to 200 m;
- bridges with a span of no more than 200 m.
The code does not contain provisions regarding the following aspects:
- assessment of wind action on lattice towers with non-parallel chords;
- assessment of wind action on guyed masts and guyed chimneys;
- assessment of combined wind-rain, wind-frost and wind-ice action;
- assessment of wind action during execution;
- calculation of torsional vibrations, e.g. tall buildings with a central core;
- calculation of bridge deck vibration generated by transverse wind turbulence;
- assessment of wind action on cable supported bridges;
- considering the influence of upper vibration modes in the assessment of the dynamic
structural response.

Wind velocity. Dynamic wind pressure

The instantaneous values of wind velocity and dynamic wind pressure shall contain a mean
component and a fluctuating component.
Both wind speed and dynamic wind pressure shall be modelled as random values. Their
mean component shall be modelled as a random variable; the fluctuating component shall be
modelled as a stationary random process, normal and of zero mean value.
The mean values of the dynamic wind pressure and velocity shall be determined based on
their reference values and of the ground roughness and orography.
The fluctuating component of the wind velocity shall be represented by the turbulence
intensity, which is used to define the peak wind velocity and dynamic pressure.

The reference value of wind velocity (reference wind velocity), vb is the characteristic wind
velocity averaged over a period of 10 minutes, calculated at a height of 10 m, regardless of the
wind direction, in open country terrain (terrain of category II with a conventional roughness
length, z0 = 0.05 m), which has an annual exceedance probability of 0.02 (which corresponds to a
value with the mean recurrence interval MRI = 50 years).
The wind action shall be horizontal and directional. If expressed directionally, the reference
value of the wind velocity, vb shall be multiplied by a directional factor, cdir which considers the
wind speed distribution in different horizontal directions. In the absence of directional wind
speed measurements, the directional factor shall be considered equal to 1.0.

110
 The reference value of the dynamic wind pressure (reference wind pressure), qb is the
characteristic value of the dynamic wind pressure, calculated using the reference value of the
wind velocity:
1
qb =   vb2
2
Where: ρ is the air density, which varies with altitude, temperature, latitude, and season. For
standard air (ρ=1.25 kg/m3), the reference pressure (expressed in Pascals) shall be determined
with the relationship:
q b Pa  = 0,625  v b2 m/s 

The reference values of the dynamic wind pressure in Romania are shown on the zoning map
given in Figure 2.1 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012). Table A.1 of Annex A contains the reference values
of the dynamic wind pressure for 337 towns and cities in Romania.
The zoning map with the reference values of the dynamic wind pressure given in Figure 2.1
(Code CR 1-1-4/2012) shall be valid for altitudes of up to 1 000 m. The reference value of the
dynamic wind pressure for a site located at an altitude z higher than 1 000 m can be determined
with relationship (A.1) given in Annex A.

Ground roughness. Mean wind velocity and dynamic pressure

The roughness of the ground surface shall be aerodynamically modelled by the roughness
length, z0, expressed in metres. This represents a conventional measurement of the turbulent
wind vortices on the ground surface. Table 2.1 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012) presents the classification
of the terrain categories as a function of the roughness length, z0.
The variation of mean wind velocity with the height above ground level caused by the
roughness of the surface shall be represented by a logarithmic profile. The mean wind velocity,
vm(z) at a height z above ground level depends on the ground roughness and the reference wind
speed, vb (without taking into consideration the site orography):
vm ( z ) = cr ( z )  vb

Where: cr(z) is the roughness factor for wind velocity.

The roughness factor for wind velocity, cr(z) models the variation of the mean wind velocity
with the height z above ground level for various terrain categories (with a roughness length z0),
as a function of the reference wind velocity:

  z 
k r (z 0 )  ln  pentru z min  z  z max = 200 m

cr (z ) =   z0 

 c r (z = z min ) pentru z  z min

where the ground factor kr is given by relationship

111
 0, 07
 z 
k r (z 0 ) = 0,189   0 
 0,05 

The values z0 and zmin are given in Table 2.1 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012). The values kr(z0) are
given in Table 2.2 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012).
If the orographic effects cannot be neglected, the mean wind velocity, vm(z) at a height z
above ground level shall be determined with relationship:
v m ( z ) = co  c r ( z )  v b

The wind turbulence intensity, Iv shall characterise the fluctuation of the instantaneous wind
velocity in the region of the mean velocity. The turbulence intensity at a height z above ground
level shall be defined as the ratio between the standard deviation σv of the fluctuation of the
instantaneous wind velocity, v(z,t) and the mean wind velocity at a height z, vm(z):
v
I v (z ) =
v m (z )

The turbulence intensity at a height z shall be determined with relationship:

 
 pentru z min  z  z max = 200 m
 2,5  ln z 
I v (z ) =  z 
 0


 I v (z = z min ) pentru z  z min

The values  are given in Table 2.3 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012).

The peak dynamic wind pressure, qp(z) at a height z above ground level can be expressed as
a function of the reference value of the dynamic wind pressure, qb (at 10 m, in open country
terrain – terrain category II):
qp (z ) = cpq (z )  qm (z ) = cpq (z )  cr2 (z )  qb

The exposure (or combined) factor, ce(z) shall be defined as the product between the gust
factor, cpq(z) and the roughness factor, cr2(z):
ce (z ) = cpq (z )  cr2 (z )

The exposure factor variation for various terrain categories is shown in Figure 2.2 (Code CR 1-1-
4/2012).
If the orographic effect cannot be neglected, the exposure factor, ce(z) shall also take into
consideration the factor c02 as follows:

112
 ce (z ) = c02  cr2 (z )  cpq (z )

The peak dynamic wind pressure at a height z above ground level, qp(z) can be expressed in
summary as a function of the exposure factor, ce(z) and the reference value of the dynamic wind
pressure, qb:
qp (z ) = ce (z )  qb

Wind action on buildings and other structures

To enable assessment of the wind action on structures, each importance-exposure class (I-IV)
shall be associated with an importance - exposure factor, γIw applied to its characteristic value.
The values of the importance - exposure factor, γIw for wind actions are:
- γIw =1.15 for structures belonging to importance-exposure classes I and II;
- γIw =1.00 for structures belonging to importance-exposure classes III and IV.

Wind pressure on surfaces

The wind pressure/suction which acts on the exterior rigid surfaces of a building/structure
shall be determined with the relationship:
we =  Iw  c pe  q p (z e )

where:
qp(ze) is the peak dynamic wind pressure determined at a height ze;
ze is the reference height for external pressure;
cpe is the aerodynamic pressure/suction coefficient for exterior surfaces;
γIw is the importance – exposure factor.

The wind pressure/suction which acts on the interior rigid surfaces of a building/structure shall
be determined with the relationship:
wi =  Iw  c pi  q p (z i )

where:
qp(zi) is the peak dynamic wind pressure determined at a height zi;
zi is the reference height for internal pressure;
cpi is the aerodynamic pressure/suction coefficient for interior surfaces;
γIw is the importance – exposure factor.

113
 The resultant (total) wind pressure on a structural element shall be the difference between
the pressure (towards the surface) and suction (away from the surface) on the two faces of the
element; the pressure and suction shall be considered with their sign. The pressure shall be
considered with the (+) sign and the suction shall be considered with the sign (-).

Wind forces

The wind force that acts on a building/structure or structural element can be determined in
two ways:
1. as a global force, using the aerodynamic force coefficients,
2. by adding up the pressures/suctions which act on the (rigid) surfaces of the
building/structure, using the aerodynamic pressure/suction coefficients.
The wind force shall be assessed for the most unfavourable wind direction for the
building/structure.
The global along-wind force Fw, which acts on a structure or structural element with a
reference area Aref positioned perpendicular to the wind direction, shall be determined with the
general relationship:
Fw =  Iw  c d  cf  q p (z e )  Aref

or by vectorial composition of the forces for the individual structural elements, using
relationship:
Fw =  Iw  cd  c
elemente
f  q p (z e )  Aref

Where:
qp(ze) is the peak dynamic wind pressure determined at a height ze;
cd is the dynamic response coefficient of the structure;
cf is the aerodynamic force coefficient for the building/structure or the structural element,
which shall include the frictional effects;
Aref is the reference area, positioned perpendicular to the wind direction, for
buildings/structures or their elements;
γIw is the importance – exposure factor.

The global along-wind force, Fw which acts on a building/structure or structural element can be
determined by vectorial composition of the forces Fw,e, Fw,i, calculated based on the external
and internal pressure/suction
- forces due to pressure/suction being applied to exterior surfaces
Fw,e = cd   w (z )  A
sup rafete
e e ref

114
- forces due to pressure/suction being applied to interior surfaces
Fw,i =  w (z )  A
sup rafete
i i ref

with the frictional forces, Ffr created by the friction of the air parallel to the exterior surfaces and
calculated with relationship:
F fr =  Iw  c fr  qp (z e )  A fr

Where:
cd is the dynamic response coefficient of the structure;
we(ze) is the wind pressure which acts on an individual exterior surface at a height ze;
wi(zi) is the wind pressure which acts on an individual interior surface at a height zi;
Aref is the reference area of the individual surface;
cfr is the friction coefficient;
Afr is the area of the exterior surface, parallel to the wind direction;
γIw is the importance – exposure factor.

Dynamic response coefficient of a structure

The dynamic response coefficient of a structure, cd takes into consideration the amplification
of the wind action effects due to structural vibrations that are quasi-resonant with the frequency
content of atmospheric turbulence, as well as the reduction of the wind action effects due to the
non-simulated occurrence of peak wind pressure on the surface of the structure.
Assessment of the dynamic response coefficient
Simplified assessment procedure
The dynamic response coefficient, cd can be determined in a simplified way, as follows:
- in accordance with the provisions stipulated in Sub-chapter 5.3, for parallelepipedal
buildings with a height of up to 30 m and planar dimensions of up to 50 m;
- cd =1 for facades and roof elements with a natural vibration frequency higher than 5 Hz;
- cd = 1 for chimneys with a circular cross-section and a height h < 60 m, which comply
with the condition h < 6.5d, where d is the chimney diameter.
In case of non-compliance with the conditions indicated above, the detailed evaluation procedure
will be used.

115
Detailed assessment procedure
In general, the dynamic response coefficient, cd shall be determined with the following
relationship:

1 + 2  k p  I v (z s )  B 2 + R 2
cd =
1 + 7  I v (z s )

where:
zs is the reference height for determining the dynamic response coefficient;;
kp is the peak factor for the maximum extreme response of the structure;
Iv is the wind turbulence intensity;
B2 is the non-resonant (quasi-static) response factor, which determines the correlation of the
wind pressure on the surface of the structure (determines the non-resonant response
component);
R2 is the resonant response factor, which determines that dynamic amplification effects of
the structural response, caused by the frequency content of the turbulence in quasi-
resonance with the fundamental natural vibration frequency of the structure (determines
the resonant response component).

Aerodynamic pressure/suction and force coefficients

Depending on the element or building/structure for which the wind action needs to be assessed,
the aerodynamic coefficients used can be:
- aerodynamic external and internal pressure/suction coefficients, cpe(i);
- aerodynamic external (total) pressure coefficients, cp, net;
- friction coefficients, cfr;
- aerodynamic force coefficients, cf.

Buildings
The aerodynamic external pressure/suction coefficients, cpe, for buildings and individual parts of
buildings shall depend on the size of the exposed area - A. These are given in tables, for exposed
areas, A of 1 m2 and 10 m2, for typical building configurations, with the notations cpe,1 for local
coefficients and cpe,10 for global coefficients.

116
 Fig. 4.2 Variation of the aerodynamic external pressure/suction coefficient with the dimensions
of the area exposed to wind A (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

Vertical walls of rectangular plane buildings

Facade Reference Shape of the wind pressure

height profile on the surface

qp(z)=qp(ze)

qp(z)=qp(h)

qp(z)=qp(b)

117
 qp(z)=qp(h)

hstrip ze=zstrip qp(z)=qp(zstrip)

qp(z)=qp(b)

Fig. 4.4 Reference heights ze and the corresponding wind pressure profile as a function of h and b
(Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

Fig. 4.5 Notations for vertical walls (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

118
 Area A B C D E

h/d cpe,10 cpe,1 cpe,10 cpe,1 cpe,10 cpe,1 cpe,10 cpe,1 cpe,10 cpe,1

5 -1.2 -1.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.5 +0.8 +1.0 -0.7

1 -1.2 -1.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.5 +0.8 +1.0 -0.5

 0.25 -1.2 -1.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.5 +0.7 +1.0 -0.3

NOTE: For buildings with h/d > 5, the total wind force shall be directly assessed, based on the
rules given in 4.6–4.8 and 4.9.2 for aerodynamic force coefficients.
Flat roofs
Roofs shall be considered to be flat if the slope α is within the range -50< α <50.

Fig. 4.6 - Notations for flat roofs (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

119
Single pitch roofs

Fig. 4.7 Notations for single pitch roofs (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

120
Double-pitched roofs

Fig. 4.8 Notations for double-pitched roofs (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

121
Quad pitched roofs

Fig. 4.9 Notations for quad pitched roofs (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

Multispan roofs
The aerodynamic pressure/suction coefficients for wind directions 0°, 90°, and 180° on each
span of a multispan roof can be calculated as a function of the aerodynamic pressure/suction
coefficient for each individual span. Areas F/G/J shall only be taken into consideration for the
upwind slope. Areas H and I shall be taken into consideration for each span of a multiple roof.
The reference height, ze shall be considered to be the height of the structure, h.

Fig. 4.10 Notations for multispan roofs (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

122
NOTE 1. In configuration b) two cases should be considered, depending on the sign of the
aerodynamic pressure/suction coefficient cpe on the first roof.
NOTE 2. In configuration c, the first and the last cpe shall correspond to cpe a single pitch roof,
whilst the second and all the other cpe shall correspond to cpe a double-pitched roof.
Cylindrical roofs and domes
The values cpe,10 and cpe,1 for different areas are given in Figures 4.11 and 4.12.

NOTE:

In area A, for 0 < h/d < 0.5, cpe,10 shall be obtained by linear interpolation.

In area A, for 0.2  f/d  0.3 and h/d  0.5, two values shall be considered for c pe,10; the diagram
does not apply to flat roofs.

Fig. 4.11 Aerodynamic external pressure/suction coefficients cpe,10

for cylindrical roofs with a rectangular plane shape (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

123
NOTE. cpe,10 shall be constant along circular arcs, sphere intersections, and planes perpendicular
to the wind direction; as a first approximation, cpe,10 can be determined by linear interpolation
between the values in areas A, B, and C along the circular arcs that are parallel with the wind. In
the same way, the values cpe,10 in area A can be obtained, by linear interpolation in Figure 4.12, if
0 < h/d < 1 and the values in area B or C can be obtained if 0 < h/d < 0.5.

Fig. 4.12 Aerodynamic external pressure/suction coefficients cpe,10

for dome roofs with a planar circular shape (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

Internal pressure
Internal and external pressure shall be considered to act at the same time (simultaneously).
The most unfavourable combination of external and internal pressures shall be considered for
every possible combination of openings and air leakage paths.
The aerodynamic internal pressure/suction coefficient, cpi, shall depend on the size and
distribution of the openings in the building envelope.
The openings of a building include small openings (such as: open windows, ventilators,
chimneys, etc.) as well as background permeability (which includes air leakage around doors,

124
windows, technical equipment and the building envelope). The background permeability is
typically between 0.01 % and 0.1 % of the area of the respective face.
A face of a building can be considered dominant when the area of all openings on that face is
at least twice the area of the gaps and openings on all of the other faces of the respective
building.
For a building with a dominant face, the internal pressure shall be taken as a percentage of the
external pressure which acts on the openings on the dominant face.
When the area of the openings on a dominant face is twice the area of the openings and gaps
on the other faces of the building, then cpi = 0.75 . cpe
When the area of the openings on a dominant face is at least three times the area of the
openings and gaps on the other faces of the building, then c = 0.90 . c
pi pe

where cpe is the aerodynamic external pressure/suction coefficient at the openings in the
dominant face. When these openings are in areas with different values of external pressure, an
area-weighted average coefficient cpe shall be used.
For buildings without a dominant face, the aerodynamic internal pressure/suction coefficient cpi
is given in Figure 4.13 (Code CR 1-1-4/2012) and shall be determined as a function of the ratio
between the height and the width of the building h/d, as well as the opening ratio  for each wind
direction , which shall be determined with relationship:

=
 ariilor golurilor unde c este negativ sau zero
pe

 ariilor tu turor golurilor

This relationship shall apply to the facades and roofs of buildings with or without internal
partitions. When it is not possible, or not considered justified to estimate the  value for
particular cases, then cpi shall be taken as +0.2 sau –0.3 (the value that leads to the most
unfavourable effects shall be taken into consideration).

Figure 4.13 Aerodynamic internal pressure/suction coefficients, cpi for uniformly distributed
openings (Code CR 1-1-4/2012)

125
Pressure on exterior walls or roofs with several skins
For exterior walls or roofs with more than one skin, the wind force shall be calculated separately
for each skin.
The permeability  of the skin shall be defined as the ratio between the total area of the openings
and the total area of the envelope. An envelope shall be defined as impermeable if the value  is
lower than 0.1 %.
If a skin is permeable, then the wind force on the impermeable skin shall be calculated as the
difference between the external pressure and the internal pressure. If several skins are permeable,
then the wind force on each skin shall depend on:
- the relative rigidity of the skins;
- the external and internal pressures;
- the distance between the skins.
The wind pressure on the most rigid skin shall be calculated as the difference between the
external pressure and the internal pressure.

Ultimate limit states (CR 0-2012)

Verifications of static equilibrium and resistance
a) STR: Internal failure or excessive deformation of the structure or structural members,
including footings, piles, basement walls where the strength of construction materials of the
structure governs;
b) GEO: Failure or excessive deformation of the ground where the strengths of soil or rock are
significant in providing resistance;
c) ECH: Loss of static equilibrium of the structure or any part of it considered as a rigid body;
d) OB: Fatigue failure of the structure or structural members
Verifications of static equilibrium and resistance
− When considering a limit state of rupture or excessive deformation of a section, member or
connection (STR and/or GEO), it shall be verified that:
Ed ≤ Rd
Ed is the design value of the effect of actions such as internal force, moment or a vector
representing several internal forces or moments;
Rd is the design value of the corresponding resistance.
− When considering a limit state of static equilibrium of the structure (EQU), it shall be
verified that: Ed,dst ≤ Ed,stb
Ed,dst is the design value of the effect of destabilising actions;
Ed,stb is the design value of the effect of stabilising actions

126
Combination of actions
− Combinations of actions for persistent or transient design situations fundamental
combinations)

− Combinations of actions for accidental design situations

− Combinations of actions for seismic design situations

Serviceability limit states (CR 0-2012)

It shall be verified that:
Ed≤Cd
where:
Cd is the limiting design value of the relevant serviceability criterion.
Ed is the design value of the effects of actions specified in the serviceability criterion, determined
based on the relevant combination.
Combination of actions
− Characteristic combination

− Frequent combination:

− Quasi-permanent combination:

127
Gk,j – Characteristic value of permanent action j ;
P – Relevant representative value of a prestressing action;
Qk,1 – Characteristic value of the leading variable action 1
Qk,i – Characteristic value of the accompanying variable action I
γg,j – Partial factor for permanent action j;
γP – Partial factor for prestressing actions;
γQ,i – Partial factor for variable action i (i = 1,2…)
Ψ0 – Factor for combination value of a variable action;
Ψ1 – Factor for frequent value of a variable action;
Ψ2 – Factor for quasi-permanent value of a variable action;
A – Accidental action;
Ad – Design value of an accidental action
AEd – Design value of seismic action.

128
Bibliography:
• Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela
MOGA, Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-
Napoca.
• STAS 10101/0-75 Acţiuni în construcţii. Clasificarea şi gruparea acţiunilor
• STAS 10101/0A-77 Acţiuni în construcţii. Clasificarea şi gruparea acţiunilor
pentru construcţii civile şi industriale
• STAS 10101/1-78 Acţiuni în construcţii. Greutăţi tehnice şi încărcări
permanente
• STAS 10101/2-75 Acţiuni în construcţii. Încărcări datorită procesului de
exploatare
• STAS 10101/2A1-87 Acţiuni în construcţii. Încărcări tehnologice din exploatare
pentru construcţii civile, industriale şi agrozootehnice
• STAS 10101/2A2-78 Acţiuni în construcţii. Încărcări datorită procesului de
exploatare. Încărcări datorate podurilor rulante
• STAS 10101/23-75 Acţiuni în construcţii. Încărcări date de temperatura
exterioară
• STAS 10101/23A-78 Acţiuni în construcţii. Încărcări date de temperaturi
exterioare în construcţii civile şi industriale
• CR 0-2012 Cod de proiectare. Bazele proiectării construcţiilor
• CR 1-1-3-2012 Cod de proiectare. Evaluarea actiunii zăpezii asupra
construcţiilor
• CR 1-1-4-2012 Cod de proiectare. Evaluarea acţiunii vântului asupra
construcţiilor.
• P 100-1/2013 Cod de proiectare seismică. Partea I: Prevederi de
proiectare pentru clădiri
• SR EN 1990:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design
• SR EN 1990/A1:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design
• SR EN 1990/NA:2004 Eurocod: Basis of structural design. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-1:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-1: General actions – Densities, self-weight, imposed
loads for buildings
• SR EN 1991-1-1/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-1: General actions – Densities, self-weight, imposed
loads for builgings. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-2:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-2: General actions. Actions on structures exposed to
fire
• SR EN 1991-1-2/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-2: General actions. Actions on structures exposed to
fire. NA
• SR EN 1991-1-3:2005 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-3: General actions. Snow loads
• SR EN 1991-1-3/NA:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-3: General actions. Snow loads. NA

129
• SR EN 1991-1-4:2006 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-4: General actions. Wind actions
• SR EN 1991-1-1-5:2004 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-5: General actions. Thermal actions
• SR EN 1991-1-6:2005 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-6: General actions. Actions during execution
• SR EN 1991-1-7:2007 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 1-7: General actions. Accidental actions
• SR EN 1991-3:2007 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures.
Part 3: Actions induced by cranes and machinery.

130
10. LIGHTING IN BUILDINGS

10.1. General notions

The natural lighting is characterized by the daylight coefficient, which is the ratio of the sky
areas seen through gaps of light from a given point, and the whole area of the sky, both projected
on a horizontal plane.
The natural lighting can come from the top (through skylights or holes in the roof), laterally
(through windows in the external walls) or combined.
The ratio between the minimum and maximum values of the natural light coefficient within
the boundaries of the work area defines the uniformity of natural lighting.
The conventionally working plan is horizontal, placed at 0.85-1.00 m from the flooring.
Natural light will lead to a minimum lighting (at the farthest point from the gaps of light), an
average lighting (points on the plane) and a maximum lighting (in points near the windows,
which will be considered only in rooms where high accuracy activities are pursued).
All habitable rooms should have adequate natural lighting. Indirect or artificial lighting is
admitted in vestibules, hallways, corridors, pantries, bathrooms and special purpose spaces
(showrooms, theatres, warehouses, etc.).
Natural lighting should be correlated with the sunshine and the heat loss, because too large
windows may lead to indoor air overheating conditions, respectively to low indoor temperatures,
thermal discomfort in the cold season, exaggerated consumption of fuel for heating etc.
A proper orientation of the buildings according to the intended use of the rooms and an
optimal choice of the window size, window blinds, shutters, etc. can remove these shortcomings.
Light – behavior

• reflected (the light beam strikes a shiny surface like a mirror, and the angle between the
radius and vertical normal is equal to that of normal and reflected beam);
• transmitted (a part of the light is absorbed by a transparent or translucent filter);
• refracted (the ray of light passes through two transparent materials with different densities
and is changing the direction);
• diffracted (light wave "bends", changes direction when passing near the edge of a small
opening, slots).

10.2. Factors determining natural lighting in architectural terms

• building orientation according to the cardinal points;

• spatial concept;
• windows size, position and characteristics;
• the ratio of windows area and floor area depending on destination/functions;
• reflection effects;
• light distribution - controlled by urban plan (height of the building determined according to
the angle of sky and street width) or windows sizing (to avoid contrast and glare
phenomenon);
• inner surface finishing (walls, floor, ceiling).

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10.3. Natural light optimization

This can be achieved by:

• spatial configuration - volume and design strategy of light control which enter within the
space (skylights, windows geometry, light redirection systems, different types of atrium,
courtyards);
• shading devices such as sun-blinds located on the south-facing façade, adjustable vertical
blades to the East and West and/or use of vegetation to allow natural light to interior spaces
while reducing glare and overheating;
• woodwork integrated systems or mounted on the ceiling for deflecting light/reflective
ceilings - in order to allow natural light to enter into the space depth (with a study necessary
to avoid excessive brightness or contrast);
• window selecting with respect to light transmittance;
• other strategies and technologies used to enhance indoor natural illumination

10.4. Contemporary technologies for the natural lighting control

• light tubes - devices that capture, transmit natural light through a system of reflective
surfaces and uniformly distribute it through a microprismatic distributor into indoor spaces;
• capture system with heliostat mirror - reflection system for light transmission into areas of
interest;
• holographic optical elements - elements included in the building envelope, performing solar
control, redirecting direct and indirect solar radiation;
• smart windows with crystal polymer film for glass reflectance control via a built-in glass
panel self-monitoring device;
• electro windows with variable light transmission;
• daylight control systems necessary due to its variable character and a control system required
for additional artificial light;
• design tools of natural lighting, used in the initial phase of projects for optimal sizing of
windows to achieve higher energy and ambient performance.

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11. BUILDING ACOUSTIC
11.1. Sound as physical phenomenon
• The elastic waves are mechanical perturbations produced in elastic environments which
consist in the displacement of particles from one side to the other of the equilibrium position,
creating alternative conditions of compression and dilatation.
• Elastic waves can appear under a large variety of forms, explaining a series of phenomena
like vibration of bodies, heat spreading through thermal conductivity, earthquake movement,
alternate electric current etc.
• Acoustic waves represent a particular form of elastic waves, respectively they are elastic
waves on a specific range (interval) of frequencies, called the audible domain, between
16 and 16.000 Hz.
11.2. Sound as physiological phenomenon
• The human ear has the capacity of perceiving as sounds the acoustic waves characterized by
certain frequencies and values of the acoustic pressure and intensity which limit the
audibility domain.
• For a normal listener, the domain of audibility is between the frequency of 16 and 16.000 Hz
(for frequencies under 16 Hz - infrasounds and for the ones over 16.000 Hz - ultrasounds),
respectively between the threshold of audibility and the one of painful sensation (fig.1).
• For the frequency of 1.000 Hz the threshold of audibility is characterized by the minimum
audible acoustic pressure (for the audible sensation), which is po = 2×10-4 bars= 2×10-5 N/m2
(for comparison, it is mentioned that the normal atmospheric pressure is of 106 μbars =
105 N/m2), respectively through the acoustic intensity Io = 10-12 W/m2 , and the threshold of
painful sensation through Pmax= 2×102 bars, respectively through Io = 1 W/m2.

Fig. 1. Domain of audibility: 1. threshold of audibility, 2. threshold of painful sensation

By the physiological point of view, sounds are characterized through height (pitch), strength
(intensity) and timbre.
11.3. The essential requirement „Protection against noise”
• Noises (unwanted sounds) are produced both outside and inside the buildings. They are
propagated in two ways:

94
- under the form of sound energy transmitted through air conduction (airborne noise);
- under the form of sound energy transmitted through solid conduction (structural noise,
impact noise).

11.3.1. Insulation against airborne noise

• For the sound insulation performance of a construction element to airborne noise, it is used
the sound reduction index, Rw, which is the value in dB of the reference curve at 500 Hz,
after displacing it toward the curve of the spectrum values, measured in laboratories, of the
acoustic attenuation index R, according to SR EN ISO 717-1.
• The sound reduction index “in situ”, Rw’, is defined in the same way as Rw for an element of
construction, but the values are measured “in situ” situation in which the collateral
transmissions of noise come in.
• The condition of protection against airborne noise is:
Rw,ef  Rw,nec [dB] (1)
Where:R w, ef – the effective airborne sound reduction index for the construction element,
calculated according to SR EN ISO 717 – 1;
R w, nec – the necessary airborne sound reduction index for the construction element given
in C125-2013,”Norms related to the acoustics in construction and in urban zones”.

The curve of attenuation index „Ri(f)” for homogeneous closing elements, in a layer

• The curve of sound attenuation index „Ri(f)” is built as follows:

- The weight per building element surface unit „m”, in kg/m2, is calculated;
- The frequency domain of the coincidence zone (fB – fC) and the attenuation index value in the
coincidence zone ”RB = RC” depending on the construction element material, are established
with the help of (Tab. 1).
- The curve ”Ri(f)” without considering the contribution of collateral sound transmission paths,
is constructed as follows:
• in the coincidence zone a horizontal segment of a line (B-C) is drawn, having the ordinate
RB=RC;
• from frequency ”fB” to the origin of axes, a downward segment of a line is drawn, at a slope
of 6dB/octave, up to the frequency of 100 Hz;
• from frequency ”fC” up to the frequency „2fC”, an upward segment of a line is drawn with the
slope of 10dB/octave; thus the segment (C-D) is obtained;
• from frequency ”2fC” up to the frequency of 3150 Hz, an upward segment of a line is drawn
with the slope of 6dB/octave; the obtained segment is noted D-E.
- the effect of noise transmission by collateral paths is introduced, by displacing the curve
”Ri(f)” with the value:
 Z 
Ra = −20 lg  m + 1
 Z m ,med  [dB] (2)

Where: Zm – the mechanical impedance corresponding to the considered element, in daN·s/m3;

Zm, med – the average mechanical impedance of the adjacent building elements, that
delineate the reception space of the considered element, in daN·s/m3.

95
 Zm Zm m P
• The ratio „ ” is determined, with: = (3)
Z m ,med Z m ,med  mi'  li
Where: m – the weight per surface unit of the building element under discussion, in kg/m2;
P – the perimeter of the building element considered in m;
m’i – the weight per surface unit of the adjacent building element ”i”, in kg/m2;
li – the length of the side”i” of the building element under discussion, in m.
• The Ri(f) curve, at which the effect of noise transmission by collateral paths is considered
will allow, by comparing it with the standard curve, to establish the airborne noise insulation
index R’w.
• To evaluate the results of the measurements, on one third octave bands (or one octave bands),
the reference curve is displaced in steps of 1 dB compared to the measured curve until the
sum of the negative deviations reaches the highest value, but without exceeding 32,0 dB
(at measurements in 16 thirds of octave) or 10,0 dB (at measurements in 5 bands of an
octave).
• The deviation is considered unfavourable, at a given frequency, if the result of the
measurements is smaller than the reference value.
• Only the unfavourable deviations are considered.
• The value in dB of the reference curve at 500 Hz, after the displacement according to this
procedure is Rw, R’w, Dn,w, DnT,w etc.

Tab. 1
Material type RB=RC (dB) fB (Hz) fC (Hz)

Plain concrete, 19000 85000

reinforced concrete 38
m m

Brick 17000 77000

37
m m

Autoclaved aerated 6700 43000

concrete units 29
m m

Ipsos 5000 38000

25
m m

Glass 5300 53000

27
m m

Wood 2100 13600

19
m m

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 R [dB]
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50 E
ct.

 Ra
45 B/o
6d E'
40 D

ct.
/o
35

dB
b
D'

10
30 ct.
B C a
B/o
25 6d
A B' C'
20 A'
15
10
5
f
0
25
31,5
40
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
[Hz]
Fig.2. Curve of the attenuation index „Ri(f)”: a – without the effect of noise transmission by collateral paths,
b – with the effect of noise transmission by collateral paths

11.3.2. Insulation against impact noise

The insulation against impact noises produced by shock actions on the flooring must be
implemented not only on the directly overlapping spaces, but on the adjacent spaces too.
• The standardized impact sound level Ln is the acoustic pressure level measured in the
reception space under the slab that is subjected to the test (standardized hammer).
• The apparent standardized impact sound level L'n is determined ”in situ”.
• The normalized impact sound insulation index Ln,w represents the value in dB of the
reference curve at 500 Hz, after its displacement against the curve of the normalized impact
noise level Ln values, according to SR EN ISO 717-2.
• The normalized impact sound insulation index L'n,w , ”in situ”, is determined in the same way
as Ln,w , but ”in situ” the collateral noise transmissions come in.

• The condition of protection against impact noise is:

Ln ,w,ef  Ln ,w,nec [dB] (4)

Where: L n,w,ef – the effective normalized impact sound insulation index of the floor, determined
according to SR ISO 717 – 2.
L n,w,nec – the necessary normalized impact sound insulation index of the floor, given in
C125-2013, ”Norms related to the acoustics in construction and in urban zones”.

97
The index of impact sound insulation improvement „ΔLw”, corresponding to a floating floor
• The index of impact sound insulation improvement ”ΔLw”, corresponding to a floating floor
is calculated as follows:
- a reference floor is adopted (12 cm thick reinforced concrete floor) for which the normalised
impact sound level values ”Ln,r,o” (tab. 2) and the impact sound insulation index
Ln,r,o,w = 78 dB are known.
Tab.2.
Freq.
100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000 2500 3150
(Hz)

Ln,r,o(dB) 67 67,5 68 68,5 69 69,5 70 70,5 71 71,5 72 72 72 72 72 72

Ln [dB]

a
75
70
65
60
55
50
b
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
f
0
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150

[Hz]
Fig. 3. a –reference floor curve Ln,r,o; b – standard curve of normalized impact sound levels

- a certain elastic layer of thickness “h”, characterised by the dynamic stiffness “k”
(in MN/m3) is chosen according to the tab. 3:
Tab.3.

Layer Dynamic
No.crt. Material type thickness stiffness
(mm) (MN/m3)

1 Plates of cellular polystyrene 10 15

2 Porous plates of mineral wool (ρ ≈ 100 kg/m3) 20 20

Synthetic rubber membrane bound with polyurethane resin

3 ρ = 720 kg/m3 8...10 54
ρ = 800 kg/m3 58

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- The characteristic frequency of the dynamic system made of a slab on an elastic layer is
determined with the relationship:
k
f 0 = 160 [Hz] (5)
m
Where: k – the specific dynamic stiffness corresponding to the elastic layer, in MN/m3;
m – the weight per unit surface corresponding to the slab and the floor wear layer, in
kg/m2.
- The curve of normalized levels Ln(f) corresponding to the constructive complex made of the
reference floor and the acoustic floating floor is built as follows:
• for frequencies below f0, curve Ln(f) is identical to curve Ln,r,o, corresponding to the reference
floor,
• for frequencies above f0, the curve Ln(f) is comprised of two line segments:
• the first segment, is going downwards, with a slope of 10dB/octave, up to frequency 4f0;
• the second segment is going downwards, with a slope of 8dB/octave, up to frequency
3150 Hz.
Ln [dB]
100
95
90
85
80
75
72
70
67
65
60
10
55 dB
/o
50 ct
.
45
40
35 8d
B/
30
oc
t.
25
20
15
10
2 octave
5
f0 4f 0 f
0
25

500
630
800
31,5
40
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400

1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150

[Hz]
Fig. 4. The curve Ln(f) for the constructive complex “standard floor+acoustic floating floor”

• The impact sound insulation index Ln,r,w is determined for the constructive complex formed
by the reference floor + acoustic floating floor. The methodology for determining is the one
presented in SR EN ISO 717-2 and is comprised of comparing the curve Ln(f) with the
reference curve of the normalized impact sound levels;
• The comparison consists in displacing the reference curve in steps of 1 dB with respect to the
calculated curve until the sum of the detrimental deviations comes as close as possible to
32,0 dB but does not exceed this value. It is considered that a deviation is detrimental at a

99
 given frequency when the calculated or measured value exceeds the reference value. Only
detrimental values are taken into consideration.
• The value of the reference curve, expressed in dB, at 500 Hz, following the successive
displacements typical of this method, is Ln,r,w.
• The index of impact sound insulation improvement ΔLw is calculated for the acoustic floating
floors with the relationship:
Lw = Ln ,r ,o ,w − Ln ,r ,w = 78dB − Ln ,r ,w [dB] (6)
11.3.3. Public audition halls

In the public audition hall design, two groups of parameters are taken into consideration:

• acoustic design parameters used in the volume, shape, sound treatment and structure of the
closing elements selection:
• specific volume for an auditor;
• uniformity coefficients;
• reverberation time;
• closing elements insulation indices.

• evaluation sound parameters which express the music and speech quality in a room or a part
of that room:
• articulation percentage (intelligibility degree);
• index of directional diffusion;
• reverberation time;
• level of the disturbing noise originating in technical devices or outside sources;
• the clarity index ”C”;
• the balance index (equilibrium) ”B” between groups of sound sources.

The echo and the sound (acoustic) reverberation

The echo phenomenon represents the double perception of a sound originating from the
same source.
The reverberation time T represents the duration needed (in seconds) for the sound pressure
level in a room to decrease by 60 dB after a continuous source has been shut off.

The reverberation time can be calculated with Sabine’s relationship:

0,161V
T= (7)
A
Where: V – room volume, in m3;
A – acoustic absorption, in m2 of the room inner surfaces Si.

Bibliography:
1. Horia-A. ANDREICA, Constantin MUNTEANU, Ioana MUREŞANU, Ligia Mihaela MOGA,
Roxana TĂMAŞ-GAVREA – CONSTRUCŢII CIVILE, UT PRESS 2009, Cluj-Napoca.
2. Standarde, normative, reglementări tehnice specifice.

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