Extreme Sliding Snow Load
Extreme Sliding Snow Load
(OP)
I have a building that's under design right now with an upper roof that's 60 feet taller than the lower roof. The upper roof is sloped towards the lower roof. The distance from the gable to the eave is approximately 60ft.
My roof snow load is 50psf.
I'm trying to decide what snow impact load to design the lower roof for. It's going to be like a mack truck falling from the sky. I know F=ma, but my 'a' in this case is really large. Does anyone have any advice for such an unwise situation?
I'm planning on making the lower roof out of concrete deck over steel beams.
My roof snow load is 50psf.
I'm trying to decide what snow impact load to design the lower roof for. It's going to be like a mack truck falling from the sky. I know F=ma, but my 'a' in this case is really large. Does anyone have any advice for such an unwise situation?
I'm planning on making the lower roof out of concrete deck over steel beams.






RE: Extreme Sliding Snow Load
RE: Extreme Sliding Snow Load
RE: Extreme Sliding Snow Load
The trouble is that the force would not only depend on the total mass of the snow, but how each individual portion of that snow decelerated...some faster, some slower than others due to the density of the "blob" of snow, its size, length, orientation of that length, etc.
In short, extremely hard to calculate - thus - if you can't estimate the load, step back and try to avoid it altogether.
RE: Extreme Sliding Snow Load
JAE is right. And momentum is essentially another way of looking at Newton's second law anyway.
RE: Extreme Sliding Snow Load
USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
72 Lyme Road
Hanover, New Hampshire
Telephone: 603-646-4100
E-Mail: info@crrel.usace.army.mil
Public Affairs for CRREL/ERDC Information: 603-646-4292
Technical Director's Office: 603-646-4200
I'd be curious to hear what you find.