Authors : Vanika Fatehchandka; Mansi

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/vex326as

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/wjk5jfye

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug459

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : The choice between reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and structural steel framing remains one of the most consequential early decisions in Indian building design, with direct implications for capital cost, construction schedule, foundation loading, seismic performance, and life-cycle maintenance liability. Although RCC has historically dominated Indian residential and mid-rise construction on account of lower per-unit material cost and locally available skilled labour, structural steel and steel-concrete composite systems are increasingly specified for industrial, commercial, and high-rise applications where speed of erection, long clear spans, and reduced foundation loading yield compensating economic benefits. This paper develops a structured cost-benefit framework spanning direct structural cost, construction-time-linked indirect cost (site overhead, financing cost, and opportunity cost of delayed occupancy), foundation cost sensitivity, and thirty-year life-cycle maintenance cost, and applies it to five representative Indian building typologies: G+4 residential, G+9 composite mid-rise, G+15 and G+18 high-rise, and a single-storey industrial shed comparing conventional RCC against preengineered steel building (PEB) construction.

Keywords : Reinforced Cement Concrete, Structural Steel, Composite Construction, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Pre-Engineered Building, Life-Cycle Cost, Construction Time, Seismic Design, IS 456, IS 800.

References :

1. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 456:2000 – Plain and Reinforced Concrete – Code of Practice,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 2000.
2. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 800:2007 – General Construction in Steel – Code of Practice,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 2007.
3. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 1893 (Part 1):2016 – Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 2016.
4. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 13920:2016 – Ductile Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Seismic Forces – Code of Practice,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 2016.
5. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 875 (Parts 1–3) – Code of Practice for Design Loads (Other Than Earthquake) for Buildings and Structures,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 1987.
6. Bureau of Indian Standards, “IS 11384:1985 – Code of Practice for Composite Construction in Structural Steel and Concrete,” BIS, New Delhi, India, 1985.
7. B. L. Rajput, M. A. Hussain, N. N. Shaikh, and J. Vadodaria, “Time and cost comparison of construction of RCC, steel and composite structure building,” The IUP Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. VI, no. 4, pp. 41–59, 2013.
8. “Cost comparative study of steel concrete composite and RCC structure,” unpublished student project report, dept. of civil engineering, India, 2020.
9. “Comparative study on analysis and cost of R.C.C. and steel-concrete composite multistoried buildings,” Int. J. Scientific Research (IJSR), vol. 5, no. 7, 2016.
10. A. Kumar, “A comparison between RCC and steel structure,” Int. J. Research in Engineering, Science and Management (IJRESM), vol. 1, no. 4, 2018.
11. American Institute of Steel Construction, “Steel Construction Manual,” 15th ed., AISC, Chicago, IL, USA, 2017.
12. American Concrete Institute, “ACI 318-19: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary,” ACI, Farmington Hills, MI, USA, 2019.
13. European Committee for Standardization, “Eurocode 4: Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures,” CEN, Brussels, Belgium, 2004.
14. S. K. Duggal, Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, 2nd ed. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 2013.
15. P. Dayaratnam, Design of Steel Structures, 2nd ed. New Delhi, India: S. Chand Publishing, 1999.
16. N. Subramanian, Design of Steel Structures, 2nd ed. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 2018.
17. N. Krishna Raju, Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design, 3rd ed. New Delhi, India: CBS Publishers, 2015.
18. Institution of Engineers (India), “Guidelines for Structural System Selection in Multi-Storey Buildings,” IEI, Kolkata, India, 2019.
19. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, “Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines,” MoHUA, New Delhi, India, 2015.
20. World Steel Association, “Steel in Buildings: Sustainability and Whole-Life Costing,” worldsteel, Brussels, Belgium, 2021.
21. S. Kubba, Handbook of Green Building Design and Construction: LEED, BREEAM, and Green Globes, 2nd ed. Oxford, U.K.: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2017.
22. Reserve Bank of India, “Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy 2023–24,” RBI, Mumbai, India, 2024.
23. Ministry of Steel, Government of India, “Annual Report 2024–25,” Government of India, New Delhi, India, 2025.
24. Confederation of Indian Industry, “Indian Construction Industry: Trends and Outlook,” CII, New Delhi, India, 2023.
25. P. Purkiss and L.-Y. Li, Fire Safety Engineering Design of Structures, 3rd ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2013.
26. A. Ghosh and A. Chatterjee, “Comparative study of pre-engineered and conventional steel structures,” Int. J. Civil Engineering and Technology, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1023–1031, 2017.
27. R. Gupta and S. Sharma, “Life cycle cost analysis of structural systems: An Indian perspective,” J. Institution of Engineers (India): Series A, vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 245–256, 2019.
28. T. Kishore and V. Rao, “Comparative study of foundation cost for RCC and steel framed structures,” Int. J. Engineering Research & Technology, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 112–118, 2017.
29. Metal Building Manufacturers Association, “Metal Building Systems Manual,” MBMA, Cleveland, OH, USA, 2018.
30. M. Y. H. Bangash, Structural Details in Concrete: A Comprehensive Handbook, Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Science, 1992.
31. Central Public Works Department, Government of India, “Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR) 2023,” CPWD, New Delhi, India, 2023.
32. S. Chandrasekaran and G. Roy, “Seismic evaluation of steel, RCC, and composite buildings using response spectrum method,” Int. J. Structural Engineering, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 87–98, 2019.
33. R. Narayanan, Steel Concrete Composite Structures: Stability and Strength, London, U.K.: Elsevier Applied Science, 1988.
34. R. Patil and A. Deshmukh, “Comparative analysis of RCC and steel structures for industrial buildings,” Int. J. Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 8021–8028, 2017.
35. K. Mahesh and B. Kumar, “Cost optimization of pre-engineered buildings for industrial applications in India,” J. Structural Engineering (India), vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 210–218, 2018.
36. World Bank Group, “India Construction Sector: Productivity and Skills Assessment,” World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, 2022.
37. H. Gulvanessian, J.-A. Calgaro, and M. Holicky, Designers’ Guide to Eurocode: Basis of Structural Design, 2nd ed. London, U.K.: ICE Publishing, 2012.