Existing OWSJ Evaluation.
Existing OWSJ Evaluation.
(OP)
Looking for opinions on how to determine the capacity of existing owsj when you have no information wrt. manufacturer, manufacturers span tables, proprietory info., etc., but can field measure geometry, and member sizes. Especially interested wrt. modelling nodes, top chord assumptions and eccentricities. Thank-you






RE: Existing OWSJ Evaluation.
There is another similar thread I've been following as well, which is related to this..
It is entitled "Existing open web steel joists"
I'm sure you've hit it by now, but other than getting the original fabricator, I haven't seen much that's very exact.
I'm hoping someone has done a program somewhere that you could enter the components of the top/bottom chord and web material to get properties, but nothing yet.
RE: Existing OWSJ Evaluation.
Yes, you can, given the time and inclination, try to compute the joist capacity. However, I think this is too time consuming and of little real value, because of all the information you don't know about an existing joist. Look for the tags and call the numbers in to a joist supplier.
RE: Existing OWSJ Evaluation.