Brief
Discover how Purdue engineers have developed SpeedCore, an innovative steel-concrete composite system that’s transforming the construction of high-rise buildings, reducing build times and enhancing safety.
Insight
Purdue engineers have been involved in the research and development of an innovative high-rise construction process called SpeedCore. Amit Varma, Purdue’s Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering, started working on the steel and concrete composite construction system almost ten years ago, alongside Ron Klemencic, a Distinguished Alumni honoree from Purdue.
SpeedCore was successfully used in the construction of Rainier Square, a 58-story building in downtown Seattle, which reduced the construction time by 10 months, or nearly 40%. Varma’s interest in the technology dates back to his doctoral degree, which focused on columns using the same steel and concrete composite system.
The construction technique involves a steel-concrete-steel sandwich system. Parallel steel plates are connected by metal rods, with concrete poured into the space between the plates. The steel modules can be fabricated off-site and integrated into any construction layout as required.
Varma and Klemencic’s collaboration brought the potential use of SpeedCore into high-rise structures, with early plans to use it on Rainier Square. Varma conducted extensive research at Purdue, focusing on the safety aspects of SpeedCore in the central core of high-rise buildings, such as resistance to high winds, earthquakes, and fire.
By combining steel and concrete, SpeedCore offers better fire resistance due to concrete’s slower heating properties, which create a heat sink and provide stiffness to the steel structure. Varma and his graduate students have published several journal articles on the technology and recently authored a Design Guide, published by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) in 2023.
In recognition of his work on SpeedCore, Varma received several awards, including the 2021 T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award from AISC. Plans for additional high-rise buildings using SpeedCore are underway, signalling the potential for widespread adoption of the technique in the future.
Highlight
- SpeedCore was successfully used in the construction of Rainier Square, a 58-story building in downtown Seattle, which reduced the construction time by 10 months, or nearly 40%
- The construction technique involves a steel-concrete-steel sandwich system.
- Parallel steel plates are connected by metal rods, with concrete poured into the space between the plates. The steel modules can be fabricated off-site and integrated into any construction layout as required.
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