Authors:   Javier Ferreiro Cabello, Esteban Fraile García, Eduardo Martínez Cámara, Emilio Jiménez Macías

Abstract

Slabs are horizontal or inclined structural elements which directly receive and transmit loads to the columns, either directly as in bidirectional slabs, or through beams like in unidirectional slabs. They have great repercussion on sustainability, since they guarantee the optimal exploitation and utilization of resources, leading to lower costs and lower environmental repercussions. The Spanish Technical Building Code (CTE in Spanish), through the Basic Document of Noise Protection (DB-HR) covers two main areas an acoustic overview of the building and the imposition of verification of in situ measures as a new method, and thermal conditioning, directly related to energy efficiency in present day. Energy consumption, and especially its waste or misuse, is one of the main environmental issues in Western societies. The consequence of this excessive consumption is the increased emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere; and reducing these emissions to "reasonable" levels is one of the main challenges for the continuation of life on Earth. Very often, it is considered that the industrial and transport sectors are solely responsible for the excessive energy consumption however, in practice, in advanced societies energy consumption is divided approximately in even parts between the industry, transport and building sectors. This work analyzes and evaluates the impact on housing performances (acoustic and thermal) with unidirectional slabs. With that purpose, the variables rib width, compression layer, slab depth, and material used for the lightening element are modified. The graphical representation of the results reflects the performance of the different modeling processes. Remarkable is the need of incorporating metadata for the correct modeling, simulation, and selection of structural alternatives.