lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
(OP)
What is the appropriate lateral load to design a glass balustrade guard in a shopping mall? By NBC of Canada it appears to be 0.75 kN/m (50 plf) or a concentrated load of 1.0 kN (225 pds) applied at any point, whichever governs. We are designing the base connection; the glass design is by others. The 0.75 kN/m is only 25% of the Code load required for grandstands bleachers and arenas, so I am wondering if it is enough for shopping mall where people could crowd around watching a performance on the floor below, etc.






RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
Usually, much more "Code words" are spent writing about the spaces and openings and heights for the guard railings, the handrails, the stair rails, and the decorative iron (glass) to keep children from getting their heads stuck than defines the basic forces they must resist. (4 inch rules, 6 inch stair rules, etc.)
"Impact" forces and dynamic forces (from a crowd running into the rail) are not mentioned in any code I've read, US or international.
Canadian rules? Don't know them.
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
The more difficult of all of these is the lateral application of the 200 lbf point load or the 50 plf distributed load in the horizontal outward direction if the post spacing exceeds 48 inches.
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
1 kN requirements are fine to apply to large shopping mall barriers.
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
In the US under the IBC the infill force is 50lb acting on a one sq ft area (not 100lb). The infill force and the railing force do not act simultaneously. Also, the IBC requires a safety factor of 4 on glass rail assemblies.
Regards,
DB
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
The attached gives loading for one glass balustrade system used in Australia.
http://harkk.com.au/common/javascript/tiny_mce/plu...
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
We will have to see what we can do with our project.
It would still be interesting to know what other engineers in North America are using for shopping mall balustrade design loading.
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
Thaidavid
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
Be interested to hear what engineers who have designed shopping mall balustrades have used for the lateral load in the design.
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall
This might be of some help, its based on the NZ Building Code requirements, which reference AS/NZS1170.1 for the loading as per Hokie66 noted.
Link
RE: lateral load for glass balustrade in shopping mall