I would have them design a portal frame by hand, a braced frame by hand, and a shear wall by hand. I would also have them do designs by hand in all four major structural materials - concrete, masonry, steel and wood. Have them design a spread footing by hand. And a cantilever retaining wall...
"Other panel edges" refers to the perimeter of every single piece of sheathing within the diaphragm. I believe some engineers think a panel edge means the perimeter of the entire diaphragm, but that is not true.
I do not have any reference for my opinion (i.e. I am just making an educated guess), but could it be the shorter bar extension allows for the bar to "unbend" and pull out of the concrete?
I don't like that connection. Each stud should have a clip screwed to the stud and connected to the beam flange with power actuated fasteners. Check the Dietrich website.
I get the impression you are concerned with the vinyl siding spanning 16", not the studs themselves.
The vinyl siding is merely cladding, not structural. There has to be gypsum wallboard, OSB, or plywood sheathing under the vinyl siding.
36-feet tall in a high wind zone is a severe condition. I think steel studs could work, but my guess is they will be heavy gauge and closer spacing than 16 inches on center.
As far as the diaphragm is concerned, the shear wall is 60' long. Once the lateral load is in the shear wall, you need to get the load to the individual segments somehow.
Are you concerned about shear, uplift, or both?
I have found if you try to design a washer for uplift by checking bearing perpendicular to grain, NDS will give you a very conservative value. I think this is because the bearing perpendicular to grain value in NDS limits deformation, not...
Arun238, I do not disagree with you. I meant in a seismic zone, I believe it is prudent to assume any concrete member is cracked.
I should probably be a little more careful about what I assume in the future. I agree that if something is likely to be cracked (like the tension side of a...
I am not in a seismic area (Wisconsin), so I normally assume uncracked concrete. It is difficult sometimes to make things work using the cracked concrete values.
DaveAtkins
Was there a regulatory body or official who approved the plans? If so, I think you are fine - Florida is transitioning from one code to another.
DaveAtkins
bones206 has it right. The top chord only model does not account for vertical deflection at each node, as you get with the full joist model. If you knew the vertical deflection at each node, and modeled that as springs in the top chord model, the results would be a lot closer. Although, axial...