My starting point for any dynamic equipment pad / foundation is the ACI document on the subject. ACI 351.3-R Foundations for Dynamic Equipment.... That will give the basic guidance for dynamic equipment and foundation modeling.
I would say the work sounds good.... But, I think you may want to review their standard caveats on their contract documents. The key is what the contractor is promising. Is it to repair a settlement issue. Or, are they promising more than you would feel comfortable signing off on.
Also, of...
I don't know.... I don't think 100 psf is unreasonable. Remember we're probably talking about an event that takes place once in the design life of the building.
I think it's pretty common for restaurants to rent out their spaces for weddings or such. The dance floor at a wedding can be...
To be honest, Spain's attempt to use 100% renewable energy for a full day is beneficial. Probably stupid, but beneficial.
What I mean by that is these attempts are necessary to hash out the flaws in their plans. I think we (meaning those of us who live in countries that can afford the...
There's still OMF requirements to be followed:
a) The connection still needs to be designed to the "probable plastic moment". And, the shear strength requirement based on developing that probably plastic moment.
b) Alternatively (as discussed in the code commentary) you can design the...
Absolutely. I was nit-picking the reference to coal in particular. FWIW, here is the breakdown of electricity production for the USA (and California further down):
And, for California which appears to hardly use any coal at all:
First, I'm curious what you hope to accomplish by modeling the foundation with the superstructure.
My thinking is this:
1) When we model the superstructure separately we generally go with some basic assumptions that the foundation provides rigid support to the structure. This is not...
I wouldn't say that "most" electricity (at least in California) is produced by burning coal. In CA, we use relatively little coal. We have Natural Gas, Hydro power, Nuclear. But, very little coal.
Certainly, in locations that heavily lean towards coal, electric cars don't make as much sense...
So, usually the structural model includes the superstructure and there is a separate model for the foundation. That's generally good practice in my opinion.
If you are not REALLY experienced in modeling concrete structures and foundations, I would strongly discourage you from including the...
Yeah, I never really understood this either. We did the same thing with Earthquake loads back in the 90's. That made a little more sense because we were factoring an "event" level force down to a service level force then scaling it back up to a strength level force.
Maybe the wind guys wanted...
I saw this drivel in the news today:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/23/earth-climate-tipping-points-study-warning/83209239007/
My issue with the article is mostly about the use of a new "buzz word" to create fear. There are 16 climate related "tipping points" that...
It's just being able to communicate effectively. There is nothing wrong with saying something like:
"This structure does not meet the current code requirements for snow loads in your area. For such a load condition, the structure is 30% 'overstressed'. Keep in mind that this includes safety and...
Thank you EngDM and PhamENG. I think the idea of thru bolts is probably the way to go. I helped another engineer with extending a deck / balcony a few feet. This was a few years ago when I was helping a friend with a side project when he was swamped.
I have to see what he did for the...
I struggle for words about this post of yours. For a very short post, it seems to have plethora of ridiculousness.
a) What's "diminishing quickly", the context of previous posts would suggest that China's coal usage is diminishing quickly. I don't believe this is factually correct. If that's...
One thing that helped me is reviewing other people's work. Like being a second set of eyes on a friends project. Especially if it was a project that I had limited experience in. I've only done that a couple of times though. Call this a "peer review" if you want a formal name for it or if you...
I should also mention that I attended code meetings (AISC mostly) twice a year for 10 years. And, I can attest that there is a lot of effort made to listen to everyday engineers. However, relatively few of them are involved in the code writing process. In general, I'd say that there are a few...
There is constant tinkering with codes. Some of them are essential for safety. Like when we added confinement requirements for concrete columns, or re-did the seismic weld criteria for steel moment frames.
Some are relatively minor. Where they adjust load factors, resistance factors...
Wasn't it late 2018 that AOC claimed the world was going to end in 12 years?
If so, we're looking at late 2030 or early 2031 as the end of our planet.... We're more than halfway there.
Does anyone see ANY evidence that there is catastrophic effects of Anthropogenic Global Warming? Evidence...
Meh.... I don't think this type of attempt to regulate weather should ever be done by a private company. Unless it happens in a nation that is sponsoring and approving it. For the same reason that my neighbor is not allowed to build a patio that cantilevers over my property. For the same...
What about a cruciform column. Start with the same size and orientation as the other columns. But, you weld structural tees to the weak directions so that you can have standard moment connections in both directions. No strange technology for the contractor. Most of the strange work would be...
