×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Lateral Stability of Blockwork Building

Lateral Stability of Blockwork Building

Lateral Stability of Blockwork Building

(OP)
Folks,

I have a query that keeps appearing in front of me and I would like some advice, if possible.

I have blockwork terraced buildings.  Most of them would be retail units.  As my building is a retail unit, it has a wide window opening located on the ground floor at the front of the building (assume this is the south direction).  As I have very little blockwork on the south, I have a lateral stability problem in the east-west direction.

Normally, I have designed a steel or concrete wind portal to support this lateral load.  However, I would like to investigate using the block piers at either end of the opening along with a 1st floor beam.  

This would be assuming that each of the piers would be behaving like shear walls.  To calculate the moments at the bottom of each wall, would you assume each wall behaves like a pure cantilever, or would both piers with the 1st floor beam behave like a frame.

Assume F = lateral load at 1st floor level
Assume h = height from dpc to 1st floor level

Load on each pier (assuming equal stiffness) = 1/2F

Assuming pure cantileverd shear walls, Moment at base of each wall = 1/2F x h.

Assuming that the 2 piers along with the 1st floor beam bahave like a frame, 1) would my moment at the bottom be reduced?  2)would I be correct in assuming no rotation at the top of block wall/steel beam junction?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

RE: Lateral Stability of Blockwork Building

I think it would be difficult to get a fixed connection across the CMU/steel joint.  Maybe not, but your analysis would have to account for the relative stiffnesses of the piers and the beam, as well as for the different material properties.  Assuming you account for all of that, sure, why not?  I would be inclined to go with the cantilevered shear walls, myself.

RE: Lateral Stability of Blockwork Building

(OP)
Thanks rholder98.  I tend to agree.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources