Multistorey basement walls
Multistorey basement walls
(OP)
Does anyone know where I can get a simple multistorey basement walls program or spreadsheet that will calculate the maximum positive and negative moments for each storey of a multistorey basement retaining wall due to lateral soil pressure on the wall, as well as the design shear force at shear critical sections near top and bottom of each storey of the wall? A few years ago I wrote a neat analysis and design spreadsheet that would do this, but it does not allow for the soil pressure coefficient and density to change due to say rock below the earth part way down the wall. For example, if there is earth for 15 feet below grade, and then it becomes shale with a much lower lateral pressure coefficient and different density, my spreadsheet can't handle that.






RE: Multistorey basement walls
BA
RE: Multistorey basement walls
In Russia building design you!
RE: Multistorey basement walls
BA
RE: Multistorey basement walls
RE: Multistorey basement walls
There's also a piece of software called BCAN that I've used previously that should work, which can be found here: https://precastengineer.com/bcan . BCAN is only $80, which is around as cheap as can be expected, and is a better deal than spending half a day to a day rolling your own solution.
Hope that helps.
Brian C Potter
http://simplesupports.wordpress.com
RE: Multistorey basement walls
RE: Multistorey basement walls
RISA Foundation is another option as it contains retaining wall design. I don't understand how you can get much more efficient than that. It takes all but 15 minutes to manually apply multiple triangular loads and add however many mid-height supports you want.
How often do you perform these designs that you are so concerned with this extra efficiency?
In Russia building design you!
RE: Multistorey basement walls
BA
RE: Multistorey basement walls
www.PeirceEngineering.com
RE: Multistorey basement walls
Dik
RE: Multistorey basement walls
RE: Multistorey basement walls
We have to do this type of calculation quite a few times during the year - every time we have more than a single storey basement, which is quite often, given the hospitals, office buildings and condos we do with below grade parking etc. , where the grade etc. changes several times around the 4 sides of the building. For example, a recent building in which we were involved had 5 levels of underground parking.
Most likely my 50 years of experience has slowed me down from the speed at which you young guys can do manual calculations, as it took me several hours to work out one wall section for all the pressures and pressure variations, water table effects, submerged unit weights, and changes in pressure where the soil changes to rock, etc. Then input all the various partial triangular and rectangular loads to a continuous beam programme to determine the moments and shears. Then manually detrmine the rebar for the wall and check that the shear stress is ok. All this my spreasheet can do in a few minutes, but my spreasheet does not cover the change in unit soil weight or other changes in pressure that do not occur at floor lines. I think I will expand my spreadsheet that I wrote a few years ago, so that it can handle the water table and pressure changes that do not occur at floor lines.
I am all in favour of manual calculations and encourage any young engineer starting out with us under my mentorship, to design the various elements of a building by hand first, before letting him/her use our programmes. But if we are to be competitive, at some point we have to make use of technology, and we think that a programme for this would pay for itself fairly quickly. Others may disagree, and I respect that.
Again, thanks for the comments. It is gratifying that so many took the trpouble to respond and provide suggestions,
RE: Multistorey basement walls
RE: Multistorey basement walls