Cost Analysis of Steel Concrete Composite Structures in Bangladesh

Steel-concrete composite construction has gained wide acceptance world wide as an alternative to pure steel and pure concrete construction. However, this system is a relatively new concept for the construction industry in Bangladesh. Reinforced concrete members are used in the framing system for most of the buildings since this is the most convenient & economic system for low-rise buildings. However, for medium to high-rise buildings this type of structure is no longer economic because of increased dead load, less stiffness, span restriction and hazardous formwork. Steel-concrete composite frame system can provide an effective and economic solution to most of these problems in medium to high-rise buildings. An attempt has been made in this study to explore the cost effectiveness of composite construction for medium to high-rise buildings in Bangladesh. A cost versus number of story curve shows that for low-rise buildings RCC frame system is cheaper than composite system. However, for buildings with number of stories greater than 15, composite construction becomes economic than RCC construction.