The described elements are intended to limit the external contour of the building, dividing the internal space into rooms, which are, in fact, isolated volumes. Such structures can be external and internal.
External – protect the building from any external influences: atmospheric (such as precipitation, ultraviolet radiation), acoustic, temperature.
Internal – provide sound insulation of each room separately, and also optimize and organize the space inside.
Enclosing structures include walls that are not load-bearing (self-supporting and non-load-bearing), all types of partitions, window units, other elements of filling openings, various glazing.
Often, structures can serve as load-bearing and enclosing at the same time. In frame buildings, the division between them is most clearly expressed, but even in them it is not 100%.
For example, we can consider the roof: the roofing is the protection of the building from rain and snow. And at the same time, it takes horizontal loads. When the roof is not working — snow loads, and when it is in operation — also the weight of objects located on it. Such loads are then transferred further — to the vertical load-bearing structures of the building.
External walls can also act as enclosing and load-bearing walls at the same time: they take vertical wind loads. As a rule, sandwich panels and corrugated sheets have such dual functions; they are used to cover buildings with a metal frame.
Building structures depending on the material of manufacture:
- concrete/reinforced concrete (they differ in the presence of reinforcement in the structure);
- metal structures. As a rule, steel or aluminum is used;
- wooden — beams (glued or solid), logs, boards;
- stone — brick and natural stone (can be both unreinforced and reinforced);
- polymer — made of various types of plastics and thermoplastics (polycarbonate) or elastomers. They are usually used as enclosing;
- combined. Contain several materials in the structure. For example, insulation made of mineral wool with resins (phenol-formaldehyde, acrylic) as a binder, CSP.