I have a 2-story building in the U.S. with composite-steel framing and cambered steel beams on the 2nd floor. Spray-on fireproofing is required for beams and columns but not the deck. The contractor asked if they could do the fireproofing before placement of the 2nd floor concrete. I advised...
A building owner wants to explore creating balconies by removing the exterior cladding and re-cladding the facade about 10' inside the building perimeter. This would convert what was an interior slab to an exterior slab exposed to the elements. Columns are on the exterior, so the balconies...
I have been pondering if it would be a worthwhile endeavor to pursue a PMP certification. I am a licensed PE in the field of structural engineering with about 3 years' experience of running point as Project Engineer for a consulting firm. I'm interested in the PMP to improve my management...
We have an elevated concrete slab-on-deck bearing on top of a basement wall with L-shaped bars developed into the wall and deck to tie these two components together. Steel floor beams connect to embedded plates at the top of the wall. Is the edge distance limited to the joint between the wall...
I am attempting to use spColumn to design a two-story column in a sway frame with a transverse load in the middle. ACI 318 10.12.3.1 requires Cm = 1.0 for members with transverse loads between supports. It appears that spColumn calculates Cm automatically, and I haven't found any way to change...
I am trying to determine if it is acceptable to use Method 1 to determine wind pressures on this project. I have a one-story structure, cold-formed steel trusses on masonry bearing walls. This building passes each condition in 6.4.1.1 and 6.4.1.2, but I question if the roof shape is acceptable...
Quick question: In this equation "M2,min = Pu*(0.6+0.03h)", does "h" refer to thickness or height? According to the glossary, it could be either! It is frustrating that a code would use the same symbol for thickness and height.
I have a 160'x160', one-story warehouse bay with shear walls on the perimeter on 3 sides (the 4th side is a building expansion joint). The roof is an untopped steel deck. I have been able to check that the diaphragm meets acceptable deflection limits in the direction of one shear wall. My...
Cold-formed trusses at 4'-0" on center are bearing on a wide-flange beam. There will be a steel roof deck diaphragm at the top of the trusses. Can I use a light-gage stud, say 3-5/8", 16 Gage, as a kicker from the bottom flange of the beam to the bottom flange of the truss to brace the beam...
When is the weight of the footings themselves applied to the soil in bearing pressure calculations?
My understanding is that for ASD allowable bearing pressures, you do not include the weight of the footing as part of the pressure on the soil because that is factored in as part of the safety...
I'm working on a project in California in a high-seismic region. The geotechnical engineer recommended use of Ss and S1 based on a 10% chance of exceedance in a 50-year period, instead of the normal standard of 2% for seismic and wind. The 10/50 seismic accelerations are about half of the...
(Full disclosure: this is another question arising from PE review)
I am trying to determine the moment of inertia for a beam used to calculate the relative stiffness parameter (psi). ACI 10.11.1 says that I(beam) = 0.35*Ig. The commentary states Ig is based on the effective flange width...
My project features a cast-in-place, two-way flat plate concrete slab ranging from 10"-14" thick. The contractor wishes to run conduit horizontally through the slab. The structure was not specifically designed for this allowance. Does anyone have any experience with this? If we allow it, to...
I am using ASCE 41-06, "Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings" as a guide to upgrade an existing RC concrete building for progressive collapse resistance. Table 6-11 relates m-factors to beam properties, one of the limits is "Beams Controlled by Inadequate Embedment into Beam-Column...
I am evaluating a building designed in 1944 with an addition in 1955. The drawings claim "Concrete Class D" and "Concrete Class D1", and 2500 psi, and that is the extent of information given about the concrete. What do the classes represent? I'm trying to determine approx. concrete density.
Project is a cast-in-place concrete building built in 3 stages (1942, 1944, 1955). I need to perform a progressive collapse check on it. Out of RISA-3D and STAAD, which program would be better suited to do this analysis on an existing structure? It seems to me that you do not put...
I am working on a project where we intend on keeping the existing CIP concrete structure and retrofitting as necessary to comply with IBC and UFC codes. When existing concrete is being used, is it appropriate to use the current compressive strength (determined from core samples) in the...
I'm trying to determine if the reinforcement provided (#5 @ 32" oc) is sufficient for a masonry wall with a punched opening supporting a window. Conventional Standoff distances are met, so minimum blast pressures apply.
I have two types of software at my disposal capable of doing dynamic...
I am currently designing a 9-story tower that has 18" access floor on every elevated floor slab because of major electrical requirements. The structure type is composite steel framing. My question is when designing the structural for vibration per Design Guide #11, can you include some sort of...
