Seismic Sway Bracing
Seismic Sway Bracing
(OP)
I'm looking for help from some of you "seismic gurus" in the room. On a project in Miami, FL the FAA is demanding seismic bracing of condenser water piping inside a chiller room. I guess technically this is seismic design catagory A. Is piping sway bracing required in such a situation? ASCE 7-05 applies. A specific code reference would be appreciated.






RE: Seismic Sway Bracing
From ASCE 7-05:
From Section 11.7:
Structures assigned to Seismic Design Category A need only comply with the requirements of Section 11.7.
From Section 13.1:
13.1.4 Exemptions. The following nonstructural components are exempt from the requirements of this section:
1. Architectural components in Seismic Design Category B other than parapets supported by bearingwalls or shearwalls provided that the component importance factor, Ip, is equal to 1.0.
2. Mechanical and electrical components in Seismic Design Category B.
So item 2 there implies that SDC A would not require anything on the mechanical components either.
RE: Seismic Sway Bracing