Analysis of Wilson Hall: Engineering Materials and Structural Elements

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Wilson Hall at the University of Melbourne, focusing on its engineering materials and structural design. The report begins with a general description of the building, including its history and current functions. It identifies the structural elements, such as beams and columns, and details the construction materials used, primarily concrete and steel. The report then examines the different types of loads acting on the building, categorizing them as gravitational and lateral loads, and explaining how these loads are transferred to the ground. Furthermore, it delves into the properties of steel, a key load-carrying element, and discusses the sustainability issues associated with its use in construction, highlighting its recyclability and contribution to low-carbon buildings. The report references several sources to support its findings and offers insights into the building's engineering and environmental aspects.

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Engineering Materials
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location

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General description of Wilson hall: university of Melbourne
Fig 1: Wilson hall university
Age of the building
The first structure which stood as Wilson hall was built between the period 1878 to 1882
with the sole purpose of serving as a hall for the university students. The structure was majorly
made of stone. However, in in 1952, the building was involved in a grisly fire, which damaged
the building, and it was forced to experience demolition. The current building as shown in the

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diagrams above was the aftermath of the rebuilding, which was also majorly based on concrete
and steel as the construction materials for the structural parts (Rudolph, 2019).
Functions
Currently, the structures serve as rounds for offering lectures, administering
examinations, as well as venue for conferring of degrees.
Types of structural elements
The structural elements present in the building are basically line elements. The line elements
there-in includes: rods, beams, compression members, ties, wires, as well as suspension cables
(Rudolph, 2019).
Construction materials (for Load carrying elements, and Façade)
The construction materials used in building of the Wilson hall includes concrete, and steel.

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Part ii: Sketches of the building
Plan view
Elevation views
Left elevation
Front elevation

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Section iii: Loads acting on the building
There are various types of loads which are acting on the hall. These loads can be
categorized into two; gravitational and lateral loads. The loads acting on the vertically on the
building are known as gravitational loads are, while the ones acting horizontally on the building
lateral loads act. The gravitational loads include: hydrostatic pressure from ground, weight of the
building, and the weight of the occupants, while lateral loads: wind, and earthquake.
How loads are transferred to the ground
i) Lateral loads

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These loads are likely caused by wind and earthquake, and would have an uplifting effect on the
building. The diagram below demonstrates how the transfer of the lateral loads to the ground.
Ordinarily, the lateral load is distributed all over the top of the building. This load will be
conveyed via the shear wall, and finally to the base of the wall which will act as the output. The
connection, which links the foundation and the base of the wall thus forces the load into the
foundation, which eventually gets transferred to the ground (Saleem & Qureshi, 2018).
ii) Gravitational loads
As these loads act vertically, it encompasses the human occupancy, weight of the structure,
as well as the snow. These loads will definitely be transferred to the base of the structure in
the following manner.
There is a floor slab which is design to support the Wilson hall, from the load imposed by
gravity. The load, thus travel from the floor slab, to the beam which offers support to the hall.
When the load reaches the beam, it travels to the end of the beam that is linked to the girder.

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The girder will transfer the loads o the column, as it supports the loads which have been
accumulated from the beams and slabs. From the column, the load will then be transmitted to
the foundation, and finally to the ground. The figure below demonstrates this
Load carrying elements
One of the loads carrying elements within the building is the beam. The material used in
making the beam is steel. Below are various approximations of the physical properties of
steel in the Wilson hall, university of Melbourne. Its based-on assumptions (Soltani et al.,
2016).
Physical property Value
Density 7850
Specific gravity 7.82
Melting point 2650
Specific heat 0.110

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Ultimate tensile strength 760
Yield strength 690
Youngs modulus 29

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Sustainability issues associated with steel
The properties of steel make it suitable for application in the sustainable construction.
Steel has desirable properties both in terms of its credentials as well as the material properties. It
has a superior strength to weight ratio, which allows the architects to design and innovate new
sustainable buildings which are pleasure to reside in. currently, BEREAM helps in construction
of low zero carbon buildings; which is adopted by the steel construction. An instance is the low
energy Devonshire building at Newcastle university (Senaratne et al., 2017).
Additionally, talking on its manufacture, steel is the most abundant element on earth,
implying that it can be reused and recycled many times without defragmentation of its properties.
In the past 40 years, the carbon dioxide emissions as well as the energy consumption from the
European steel making have been significantly reduced by 65% (Liew, 2018). The y products
which are generated during the manufacture as well as the fabrication process are utilized
elsewhere, for instance; in making Cementous material, roadstone, as well as lightweight
aggregate. Its speed of construction, also makes it the best framing material, as it is associated
with minimal disturbance and disruption around the site (Soltani et al., 2016).

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References
Liew, K. H. (2018). Manifestos for Sustainable Development: Sustainable Modular Steel-Precast
Concrete Building Construction System for Dwellings in Singapore. In Sustainable Development
Research in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 477-492). Springer, Cham.
Rudolph, L. S. (2019). LISLE SAMUEL RUDOLPH-WILSON HALL AND SYSTEM
GARDEN ARTWORK AND REFERENCE PAPERS.
Saleem, M., & Qureshi, H. (2018). Design Solutions for Sustainable Construction of Pre
Engineered Steel Buildings. Sustainability, 10(6), 1761.
Senaratne, S., Lambrousis, G., Mirza, O., Tam, V. W., & Kang, W. H. (2017). Recycled concrete
in structural applications for sustainable construction practices in Australia. Procedia
engineering, 180, 751-758.
Soltani, A., Abbasimehr, H., & Talebian, M. H. (2016). TIMBER, STEEL OR CONCRETE:
THE MOST SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE OPERATION OF
EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION AGAINST SEISMIC HAZARDS IN HOT AND ARID
REGION: A CASE OF YAZD, IRAN. International Multidisciplinary Scientific
GeoConference: SGEM: Surveying Geology & mining Ecology Management, 3, 623-630.