I have a 5"x27" glulam beam (very slender) spanning 35'. The compression side of this beam does not have any lateral support, and as a result, the beam fails in bending. I've calculated that in order for this beam to work, the compression side needs to be laterally braced at third points along...
I come from a region of high seismicity, so I am typically not worried about wind loads (seismic loads are always higher). Since the weight of a building tends to be more or less uniformly distributed throughout the floors/roofs, we usually assume that the seismic load in the diaphragm gets...
I have a concrete column which has tension in it when under seismic load. Obviously I am using the vertical reinforcement in the columns to carry all of the tension. The column is pin-connected to a pad footing at its base. The footing has a double mat of reinforcing (top and bottom) since it...
I was told by someone that it is important to consider drift capacities when doing a seismic evaluation. Particularly for things like unreinforced masonry and stuff like that. As they explained it to me, if you have something like a masonry wall which is not being used as part of the seismic...
I was told by someone that it is important to consider drift capacities when doing a seismic evaluation. Particularly for things like unreinforced masonry and stuff like that. As they explained it to me, if you have something like a masonry wall which is not being used as part of the seismic...
Hello,
I am using ASCE 41-13 to evaluate unreinforced masonry, and I am a bit confused about the performance objectives of it. Section 15.2 contains a "Special Procedure for Unreinforced Masonry", so that was where I started. The very first paragraph explains that this procedure only satisfies...
I have always used the formulas in Appendix D to calculate the strength of anchors in breakout, pullout, blowout, etc. Just yesterday I was designing anchors for a slab, and the problem that I'm getting is that even if I put the anchors all the way down to the bottom of the slab, I'm still...
I have a question about what is almost the first step in the response spectrum analysis procedure. I live in Canada, so everything I do is based on the National Building Code of Canada (although I would think an RSA would be similar everywhere in the world). In the building code commentary, it...
I have been designing OMRF's for years and I have always used diagonal stiffeners in the panel zone when needed if the shear was to high. Now my office is starting to get into SMRF's and so I am reading FEMA 350 to learn how to design them properly. I can't help but notice that FEMA 350 requires...
When doing wood frame design, is it always necessary to have drag struts going the full depth of the diaphragm? The standard practise in my office is to check if the diaphragm has enough strength not to fail assuming that it is only as deep as the shearwall. If this is true then no drag struts...
Historically, I have always treated wood diaphragms as flexible diaphragms because that's what I was taught to do. However, I was reading in ASCE-7 that they should only be treated as flexible if they deflect more than twice as much as the supporting shearwalls.
That is all well and good. My...
I am working on my first "limited ductility" moment frame right now. I have to say that I am not sure what loads you are suppose to use when designing the baseplate/anchorage at the base of the columns. The building is being designed to the "National Building Code of Canada" because it is in...
Almost every source that I have read, including posts on this forum, has said that torsion can be ignored for a flexible diaphragm. However, when I model a flexible diaphragm in structural analysis software (I use ETABS), the results I get seem to treat torsion similarly to a rigid diaphragm...
