HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

Precast High-RiseResidential
Projectsin India:DesignImplementation
Sudheer Bommi, Krishna Somaraju,
Krishnamurthy Senou, Amit D. Barde

Abstract: A realtime case study with a focus on design imple- The project was designed and constructed by Larsen & Tou-
mentation for Pragati Towers – Stilt+23 floors complete pre- bro Construction.
fabricated high rise residential project, designed & built by
Larsen & Toubro construction for the first time in India for a Monthly per Housing In Percent-
capita ex- shortage age
seismic zone III location is presented in this paper. Innovative
penditure inmillion
connections are implemented and their feasibility in regards (2012)
to the India construction industry is explained with reference
to other globally available systems. Two computational mod- EWS 0- 5000 10.55 56.18%
els were investigated to find the effect of modelling the verti- LIG 5001 - 10000 7.41 39.44%
cal joints between the wall panels are also presented in this MIG& above >10001 0.82 4.38%
paper. Challenges faced while implementing the adopted
Total shortage 18.78 100.00%
precast techniques such as technology acceptance, design
of connections, ensuring water tightness suitable to Indian Source: Report of the Technical group (12th Five year
building requirements are also discussed. Design concepts plan:2012 - 17) on estimation of urban housing shortage
to prevent progressive collapse are also highlighted. A stan- Table 1: Housing shortage in urban India
dard bench mark setup for precast housing solutions as a
fast tracktechnology achieved.
The demand for housing has increased significantly
during last decade all over the world. It is felt particularly
in countries where population growth rate is high and the
economy is developing fast. For instance, India is urbanizing
at a pace that is higherthan the world average. Its cities today
are unable to cope with burgeoning population. In India that
has a housing shortfall of nearly 18.7 million homes (Refer
Table 1), and project execution challenges including short-
ages in skilled manpower & time constraints. Inflationary
trends of Indian economy have increased the cost of build-
ing materials to the extent that many developers/contractors
find it difficult to offer an affordable housing to the citizens
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due to low productivity of labours and wastage of materials.

Considering the above scenario, Larsen & Toubro felt it is
important to treat housing construction as a manufacturing
industry.
Precast can be better and workable technology which
supports our aspiration. Prefabrication with mechanized-
building systems, with its adaptability and quality conscious-
ness, provides speedy, cost efficient and sustainable solu-
tion.

Project Details
Pragati towers project in Mumbai, India consists of elev-
en residential high-rise, total precast buildings using precast Fig. 1 Pragati Towers (Part 1 of Phase 1)
concrete system. All towers rise about 70 m above ground.
Each tower consists of over 300 apartments with a total con- The project is divided into two phases. Phase 1 consists
struction area of around 2.6 million square feet. The proj- of six towers and Phase 2 has five towers. As of today, three
ect was developed by Larsen & Toubro Realty Limited and towers of Phase 1 are complete and the next three are under
106

Omkar Realtors & Developers Private Limited Joint Venture. construction. Phase 2 is scheduled to start during the later
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

part of this year. All apartments of Phase 1 are identical that

made precast technology a viable option.. Figure 2 shows the
overall layout of Phase 1 of the project. Table 1 shows the
overall scope of precast construction for Phase 1 Buildings
along with other building details.
Pragati Towers - Phase 1 – Six High-rise Buildings
Overall Built UpArea 1.2 million square feet
Structural Frame G+ 23 Levels
2024 Apartments; 14-16
Total Apartments
Apartments per Level
Structural System –Super- Large Panel PrecastShear
structure Walls
Structural System - Sub- Pile Foundation or Raft
structure Foundation
Ground and Terrace Work Cast In Situ
1st to 23rd FloorWork Precast Members
Total Precast Member
~ 40,000 Fig. 4 Pragati Towers - Precast Panel Layout for the Typical Apartment Floor
Count
Plan
Table 2- Pragati Towers – Phase 1 Project Details
Design Implementation
Foundation system of the project consists of piles with
pile caps connected with tie beams. Ground floors were-
constructedby conventional method i.e In-situ construction.
Superstructure (i.e 1st to 23rd floor) consists of precast con-
struction of RC walls&solid floor slabs, columns, and beams
Floor slab is considered to act as a rigid diaphragm to trans-
fer the lateral forces to walls/columns. Precast concrete RC/
shear walled structures, also called large panel systems,are
load bearing members and are capable of carrying the verti-
cal and lateral loads. The wall panels can be connected to
each other and to the floor diaphragm to form an emulative
monolithic structure.

Design Codes
Fig. 2 Pragati Towers - Overall Phase 1 Layout
Mumbai region is categorized as Seismic Zone 3 (Mod-
A typical apartment floor plan is shown in Figure 3. Each erate Seismic Zone - typical Seismic Zones are defined
apartment comprising of 269 square feet of carpet area, from Zone 2 (Least Active) to Zone 5 (Highest)). Mumbai is
consists of a living room, a study room, and a kitchen along also a coastal city with design wind speed of 44m/s (~ 98.5 The Masterbuilder | October 2014 | www.masterbuilder.co.in
with toilet and bath units, planned for a typical EWS family of mph) which was considered for this project. Seismic forces
four. Figure 4 shows the precast panel layout used for the governed the design. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
project. specifies building codes in India. IS 456 - 2006 is regarded as
the primary building code for reinforced concrete structures.
IS 1893 – 2002 provides guidelines for earthquake resistant
design and IS 13920–1993 provides detailing requirements
for ductility in concrete structures subjected to seismic forc-
es. IS 11447 - 1985 provides design guidelines for large panel
prefabricated construction. IS 15916-2010 is the most recent
addition that provides guidelines for Design and Erection of
Prefabricated Concrete.

Design Philosophy
As precast technology was adopted for a high-rise resi-
dential structure in India, the emulative design philosophy
was selected based on mutual agreement between the Cli-
ent, Consultant and Contractor. Onsite, wet grouted joints
7
10

Fig. 3 Pragati Towers - Typical Apartment Floor Plan for horizontal and vertical connections between walls and in-
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

situ concrete joints for slab-to-wall and slab-to-slab joints,

termed as “stitched” joints were selected. ETABS software
was used to build the structural model for analysis. Various
modeling approaches were considered and compared to
come up with the design forces at all joints in the structure.

Emulative System
Emulative detailing is defined as designing connection
system in a precast concrete structure so that its structural
performance is equivalent to that of a conventionally de-
signed cast in place, monolithic concrete structure. Emula-
tive design creates construction that either is monolithic at
the critical joint locations or provides connections that act as
if they are monolithic at those locations. In general, emula-
tive connections involve connecting reinforcing bars across
a joint by lap splicing, welding or couplers. Concrete is made
continuous by filling the joint with high quality non-shrink
(b) Discrete gapmodel
non-metallic high strength grout in horizontal & vertical
joints or cast in place concrete in vertical joints. The provi- Fig. 5. Side Views of Computational models (Top portioncropped)

sions for reinforced construction given in Indian standards

Integrated Model: In this case, perfectsheartransferwas
[5, 6] apply specifically to monolithic reinforced concrete
assumed through monolithic behavior of two adjacent pan-
construction. Precast concrete members may be used only els connected by the grouted loops. The vertical joint strip was
if they can provide same level of ductility as that of a mono-
modelled as a 100mm widestrip of shell element. Its thick-
lithic reinforced concrete construction during or after earth-
ness and stiffness were considered same as that of the adja-
quake. Specialist literature [7] must be referred to for such
cent wall panels.In a grouted keyed connection, Clause 5.3.1
structures.
of IS11447: 1985 permits the joints to be modelledmonolithic.
Modeling Strategies Clause 8.1 of IS15916: 2010 permits the precast structure to
be analyzed as monolithic, provided the joints are designed
The analysis of the structure was carried out using the to take the respective forces. Figure 5 (a) shows the ETABS
ETABS software package. The entire superstructure was view of theintegratedmodel.
modelled primarily using shell elements. The walls were of Discrete gap model: In this model, no shear force was
shell elements and theslabs of membrane elements. A floor assumed to transfer between the wall panels. To idealize this
was considered as a rigid diaphragm at the respective level, condition, a 20mm gap was provided at the vertical joint lo-
totransfer the lateral forces to walls. The horizontal joints cations. This uncoupled the adjacent walls. The walls were
of the wall panels were idealized to simulate an equivalent connected only at the floor levels by the diaphragm con-
monolithic behavior, in presence of the continuous verti- straints. Figure 5(b) shows the gaps at the location of two
cal dowel bars. Therefore, the shell elements representing joints in the discrete gap model
the panels were made continuous at the floor levels. A few Itwas observed from the results that, when a verticaljoint
beams and columns present in the structure were modelled was modelled as a gap i.e discrete gap model, the resulting
using frame elements. Appropriate loads and its combina- structure was more flexible and the top displacement was
tions, as per relevant clauses in IS codes, for most unfavor- higher in the gap model, the drift in both the models were
able effects were chosen for design. In absence of a model
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within the allowable limit of 0.4%.From the results it was ob-

for shear transfer the vertical joints between the panels were served that the integrated model behaves as a perfect verti-
modelled as the following two extreme conditions. cal cantilever while the other model behaves differently. Also,
the bending moments and shear forces were more in the
discrete gap model. Similarly the tensile forces were also
higher, which resulted more number of dowel bars. Since
this project was the first of its kind in India, we also checked
w.r.to conservative discrete gap model and provided high
amount of reinforcement. The dowel bars were provided
with a uniform lap length of 1.3m from foundation till roof
through the precast walls. From the shear and tension force
demand, this constant length of dowel bars was sufficient at
all locations.

Connections
Connections are needed not only to transfer loads but
also to provide continuity and overall monolithic behavior of
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(a) Integrated Model the entire structure. A complete system of precast units can
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

be integrated to form a structure that behaves monolithi-

cally with sufficient strength, stiffness & durability to resist
seismic & other dynamic loadings. To have a good interac-
tion of wall elements, the elements have to be connected to
the foundation, to each other and to the adjacent floor dia-
phragms. The connections act as bridging links between the
components. The wall panel connections can be classified
into horizontal joints & vertical joints.

Horizontal Joint
Fig. 7: Horizontal joint detail – splicesleeve system (courtesy: ACI 550.1R-01) [9]
The horizontal joint between the wall panels was adopt-
ed via projecting dowel bars from lower walls, inserted into the preparation of interface between two wall panels. Shear
the dowel tubes of upper wall and grouted using non-shrink, friction & shear key effects of concrete are neglected in this
non-metallic grout. The projecting length of dowel bar was method. Connection designed as dowel anchored in the con-
kept at anchorage length. The dowels were entered on the duit i.e in the upper & lower wall panels. Dowels are usually
thickness of the wall. Continuity is achieved through non- anchored by bonding the concrete. Load transfer between
contact lap splices of dowel bars in grouted steel corrugated bars is achieved by lap splices. Reinforcement bars develop
ducts. Traditional method i.e non-contact lap splices (refer yield strength when they are anchored by embedment in
figure 6.a), a construction friendly option with good erection corrugated duct filled with grout. The corrugated duct had
tolerances, was adopted as a replacement to the expensive sufficient concrete around it for adequate confinement. The
proprietary products such as splice sleeve system (refer fig- horizontal joint is designed in such a way to resist shear forc-
ure 7) which is a global practice. An alternate method i.e. es, tensile forces and compressive forces.
connection with mechanical splice (couplers, refer figure Vertical Joint
6.b)can also beproposed.
Horizontal joint design adopted is based on shear fric- Vertical joints are the structural joints which have to
tion concept recommended in PCI standards [8]. Shear fric- transfer shear forces. Vertical joints are designed based on
tion to be applied where it is appropriate to consider shear shear friction concept as a global practice. Dowel bars are
transfer across given plane, such as an existing or poten- provided in the form of projected rebar’s. Overlapping hoops
tial crack, an interface between dissimilar materials or an & drop in hoops are tied as confinement reinforcement and
interface between two concrete cast at different times. The the section is poured with cast in place concrete at joint lo-
basic assumption in shear friction concept is that concrete cations (Refer figure 9). However, an alternate method was
within direct shear area being considered will crack. Ductility adopted for Pragati towers i.e. Vertical joints were provided
is achieved by placing reinforcement across this anticipated with specially formed shear keys to increase shear stiffness
crack so that tension developed by reinforcement will pro- and the shear capacity. Direct diagonal compression trans-
vide a force normal to the crack plane. This normal force fer between keys, friction and dowel action are mobilized
in combination with friction at the crack interface provides due to shear displacements at the interface between the
shear resistance. The normal compressive reaction across prefabricated concrete panel and the insitu joint concrete.
the crack will result in shear transfer by friction along the The shear key works as mechanical locks preventing any
crack. Reinforcing bars placed across the joints will transfer significant slip along joint. The horizontal component of the
additional shear force by dowel action of the bars, while the inclined compressive force must be balanced by transverse
force induced by pullout resistance will increase the shear tensile stresses. For this purpose transverse reinforcement
transferred byfriction. must be provided connected by means of loops, anchored
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An alternate method also adopted & connections are in the body of panel [10].Transverse reinforcement was pro-
checked as there may exist quality issues & uncertainties in vided in the form of wire loops (proprietary products) for
ease of erection where there is no site formwork required
(refer figure 8).Vertical joint was designed based on Indian
standards IS: 11447 – 1985[11] &fundamental principles. The
resistance calculated is only static resistance. As the project
falls in seismic zone 3 there is a possibility of vertical joint to
resist cyclic actions induced by earthquake loading. Shear
keys behave a significantly stiff component until the shear
key effect is destroyed by cracking or local crushing at the
heaviest loaded contact surfaces. When the shear key ef-
fect is decreases due to this degradation of the shear keys,
the behavior changes to frictional phase associated with
significant shear slip along the cracked section. As there is
insufficient literature & testing available regarding cyclic ac-
tions on shear keys, on the conservative front for the project
specified two models were generated & worst of the same
110

Fig. 6: Horizontal joint detail – Pragati towers results are adopted in the design [14].
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

lateral load resisting system. Floor to floor connection was

designed against diaphragm action & ties are provided to
achieve structural integrity. Progressive collapse effects are
also taken into account.Refertofigure10forfloorto floor dia-
phragm connection details adopted for Pragati towers.

Progressive Collapse
In prefabricated construction, the possibility of gas or
other explosions which can remove primary structural ele-
ments leading to progressive collapse of the structure shall
be taken into account. It is therefore necessary to consider
the possibility of progressive collapse in which the failure or
Fig. 8: Vertical joint detail (wire loop connection) – Pragati towers displacement of one element of a structure causes the fail-
ure or displacement of another element and results in the
partial or total collapse of building. The building is designed
to prevent progressive collapse as per the Codal provisions
[12].
For the stability of structure, three dimensional interac-
tions between structural members are necessary to produce
a robust design. The connections are normally designed for
shear and compression. But in the case of accidental load-
ing such asexplosion, high tensile stresses along with large
deformations will occur. To take up such forces, the connec-
tions should have sufficient strength, continuity and ductility.
Strength is to take up the extra forces acting, continuity to
redistribute the loading in case of accidental collapse and
ductility to accommodate large deformations as well as for
energy dissipation. To take care of these demands, tie re-
inforcements in all the three dimensions are an absolute
necessity.Figure11 schematically shows the provision of tie
reinforcement in the structure. The internal ties are to take
up the lateral forces from shear wall action. Peripheral ties
ensure the diaphragm action of the slabs. Floor to wall ties
take up the horizontal forces from anchorage of floors to
their support and vertical tiesensure the cantilever action of
walls.

Fig. 9: Vertical joint detail – C.I.P concrete at joints (courtesy: FIB 27) [13]

Floor to Floor diaphragm The Masterbuilder | October 2014 | www.masterbuilder.co.in

Fig. 10: Floor to floor diaphragmconnection detail

Fig. 11: Location of ties in precast skeletal structures
The stability of precast concrete buildings is provided in
two ways. First the horizontal loads due to wind or earth- To avoid progressive collapse, the structure should be
quake are transmitted to shear walls by the floor acting as sufficiently robust and redundant. Identification and proper
a horizontal deep beam. Floor systems play a key role in the design of the key elements in the structure is necessary to
lateral resistance of building structures by providing dia- avoid progressive collapse. Recommendations in the codes
phragm action. Diaphragm action serves to transfer lateral were adopted to find the design load and the required amount
load at each level to the lateral load resisting elements and of tiereinforcements. Here, tie reinforcements were provided
1
11

unite individual lateral load resisting elements into single horizontally, both internally and peripherally. Thereinforce-
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

ment at the shear key locations provide the horizontal tying gati Towers with respect to customer needs, architecture,
and that at the joint regionsgives the necessary vertical ty- seismic design and site logistics. Without the client’s coop-
ing effect. The horizontal ties provide a cantilever action to eration, patience and willingness to experiment with a new
hold the damaged parts. The vertical ties help to suspend technology, this project could not have been conceived and
the lower damaged elements to the intact upper portions. materialized.
The horizontal and peripheral tie systems provide a catenary
action to bridge the damaged portion. The wall-to-slab ties Design Philosophy
help to suspend the debris, and prevent the damaged floor Jointed construction has been a widely accepted design
from falling down on to the intact lower portions. philosophy globally for precast concrete construction. It of-
fers the added advantage of speed and ease of construction.
Water Tightness
However, in-situ reinforced concrete system has been the
The joint design was looked at, taking into consideration most accepted system for residential construction over the
the local tropical climate with heavy monsoons. The grouted last few decades in India. Thus, emulative design approach
joints helped achieve water tightness. Backer rods were was followed instead of jointed design approach. Several
placed at the exterior face of exposed to weather joints to methodologies were proposed and mock-up samples and
prevent water entry. In addition, waterproofing sealant was load tests of critical connections were completed to come up
applied at these joints as an additional line of defense. The with the final feasible options that would satisfy the design
gable end faces of the buildings were looked at in great detail intent.
due to the direct exposure to heavy rains. As shown in Figure
12, the horizontal joints on these elevations were detailed Design ofConnections
with an additional overlapping nib covering the joint across Overseas standard emulative connection details such
the length to avoid direct exposure of rain water. The nibs as sleeve connectors and loop connectors were weighed
also provided a horizontal band as an architectural feature against the local design constraints such as cost and pro-
on the elevation. duction/erection feasibility instead of blind adoption of meth-
ods used overseas. The approaches that worked well such
as loop connectors were used with minor modifications. On
the other hand, some approaches such as sleeve dowel con-
necters were avoided for high import costs and strict toler-
ances required for erection and production. Notched half
slab concept was used which provided the comfort of jointed
construction to a certain extent along with viable detailing to
achieve emulative behavior

Executive Summary & Conclusions:

1. To meet the demands of large volumes of construction in

affordable housing sector in shorter duration there is a
need for a fast track technology in mass housing
Fig. 12: Project Photograph showing external nib profile 2. The emulative monolithic wall system seems to be ad-
Challenges Experienced equate in moderate seismic zones. The provisions of tie
reinforcements, reinforced shear keys and dowel bars
The task of taking up a high-rise residential building us- provide the required structural integrity for the precast
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ing precast technology was a daunting task. There was a system. The modelling of vertical joints without consid-
steep learning curve for all involved to understand the tech- ering the shear transfer through the shear keys, rein-
nology and global standard practices and apply the learnings forced with shear links, lead to a conservative design.
to the project in a workable fashion within the available re- 3. Vertical joints are designed based on shear friction con-
source constraints. Several aspects and standard practices cept as a global practice & dowel bars are provided in the
used overseas were modified to fit the Indian construction form of projected rebar’s, overlapping hoops & drop in
practices12. Some of the major aspects discussed in the paper hoops etc filled with cast in place concrete at joint loca-
are summarized below along with the respective solutions tions.
followed, in contrast with standard global practices, to adopt 4. For this project vertical joints are provided with specially
this technology. The knowledge and understanding acquired formed shear keys to increase shear stiffness and the
during this process will be carried forward to the new proj- shear capacity. The shear key works as mechanical
ects underway. locks preventing any significant slip along joint. Trans-
verse reinforcement provided in the form of wire loops
Technology Acceptance by the Client & Consultant
(proprietary products) for ease of erection where there is
The client and consultant graciously accepted the tech- no site formworkrequired.
nology based on the examples of precast buildings from 5. As there is insufficient literature & testing available re-
around the world. Most examples were selected such that garding cyclic actions on shear keys, on the conservative
112

they matched a majority of project parameters on Pra- front for this project specified two models are generated
 HIGH-RISE: PRECAST BUILDING

i.e with & without influence of vertical joints& worst of [6]. IS: 13920 – 1993-Ductile Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Structures
the same results are adopted in the design. Subjected to Seismic Forces - Code of Practice, Bureau of Indian
Standards
Acknowledgement 7 Dr. Sudhir K. Jain, Dr. C.V.R Murthy, proposed draft provisions and
commentary on ductile detailing of reinforced concrete structures
The authors are indebted to Dr. A. Meher Prasad, Pro- subjected to seismicforces.
fessor, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras as an inde-
pendent consultant & third party checking for this project 8 PCI design handbook, precast & prestressed concrete 7th Edition.
and Dr. Kelkar Consultants Private Limited as the owner’s 9 ACI 550.1R-01 Emulating cast in place detailing in precast concrete
consultant who approved the design for this project. structures.
10 State – of - art FIB 43, Structural connections for precast concrete
References buildings.

[1]. Senou K., “Precast Technology- Its challenges & Influence on con- [11]. IS: 11447 – 1985-Code of Practice for Construction with Large Panel
struction Environment & Management,” National Conference on Prefabricates, Bureau of Indian Standards.
Project Management in Construction Sector –INSTRUCT Banga-
[12]. IS: 15916 – 2010-Code of Practice for Building Design and Erection
lore, March2013.
using Prefabricated Concrete, Bureau of Indian Standards
[2]. Report of the Technical Group (TG-12) on Urban Housing Shortage
(2012-2017), Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Gov- [13]State – of - art FIB 27, Seismic design of precast concrete building-
ernment ofIndia, September 2012. structures.
[3]. Senou K., “Need for Precast Technology and its Influence on Resi- [14]. Bindurani, P., Prasad, Meher A., and Sengupta, Amlan, “Analysis of
dential Building Construction,” Zak Precast Concrete India Confer- Precast Multistoried Building – A Case Study,” International Journal
ence, September2013. of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, V. 2,
[4]. IS: 456 – 2000 - Code of Practice for Plain and Reinforced Concrete, Special Issue 1, December 2013, pp. 294-302.
Bureau of IndianStandards.
[15]. Senou K., “Equipment for Precast Construction-Indian Experience,”
[5]. IS: 1893 – 2002-Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Struc- Seminar on Modern Equipment for Concrete Construction, Indian
tures, Bureau of Indian Standards. Institute of Technology, Madras, December 2012.
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