×
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

Cast Iron Pipe Columns

Cast Iron Pipe Columns

Cast Iron Pipe Columns

(OP)
I am evaluating a early 20th century masonry building with interior wood framing and CI pipe columns.
Is there any documentation or testing results on CI pipe columns?

RE: Cast Iron Pipe Columns

There is a lot of info - mostly summaries of historic allowable stresses/designs. You will find that allowable stresses got lower and lower with cast iron eventually being eliminated as a building material. Try Friedman's book historic building construction, a summary in the back covers the progression. Google will also give you lots of good info.

Don't try to weld or modify them. Also keep in mind that all connections are basically pinned at each floor level as each column stacks. If you are removing floors the bracing is tricky - usually collars being careful to not clamp down too much.

Very brittle - I have seen very thick base plates snapped in half.

One thing that gets overlooked often - even if you don't increase loading you can still cause problems if you change loading path such that it creates an unbalanced condition, i.e. moment which causes tension on one face.

See attached for one paper.

RE: Cast Iron Pipe Columns

(OP)
Thanks for the information.
I am trying to do an evaluation of the capacity of the columns first.

I have several scenarios to look at for the renovation of the building.
At least one of them involves adding load to the columns by adding a column above.
There are no plans to remove any floors/roof.

RE: Cast Iron Pipe Columns

(OP)
bookowski - thanks for the photo
Conditions at the building I am looking at look like new construction compared to your situation.
The added column will actually go on a timber beam, so there are other issues.

mbullism - thanks for the link

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