Innovation and resourcefulness in the engineering of tall buildings are one of the cornerstone requirements of building resilient cities and communities. Successful performance of these structures during extreme natural events is living proof of the value of design that targets resilient performance, enhancing the confidence of the stakeholders and the public for the engineering and technologies used. …
Mexico City’s geoseismic design challenges arise from its unique local geology combined with high tectonic activity. This article discusses the challenges that continue to grow, as the center of the ruins of the Aztec capital has turned into the most prominent modern metropolis of Latin America, with economic growth that demands taller buildings. The response of the regional soils has repeatedly and destructively materialized in the form of soil basin amplification phenomena (one- and two-dimensional) that manifested as seismic waves propagating through the natural valley’s topography. …
Resilience has become a common term among engineers, policymakers, and the national community of construction industry professionals. NCSEA recently formed a Resilience subcommittee to develop positions and recommendations on issues concerning resilience-based planning and design. …
Most structural fire protection designs in the U.S. are conducted using prescriptive code requirements. This approach allows designers to select fire resistant assemblies from available listings that are qualified through standard furnace testing. …
Earthquakes impose such large and infrequent forces on structures that building codes permit seismic damage if the structures do not collapse. This damage often takes the form of inelastic, permanent deformation of members and connections. The idea is that the occupants can safely exit the building after a significant seismic event; the structure may be a total economic loss when subjected to the maximum considered earthquake, but collapse prevention is the primary goal. …
Those of you who have had an opportunity to work in jurisdictions that have adopted the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) should have noticed a significant change related to mandatory tornado shelters in a significant portion of the Central U.S. For areas that use the 2015 IBC, this new requirement will impact the majority of new school and emergency facility construction spanning as far north as central Minnesota, as far south as southern Mississippi, and stretching to western Pennsylvania in the east and western Texas to the west. This area is shown in Figure 1 and is where tornadoes with wind speeds of at least 250 mph have a history of occurrence. …
The DoD Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) program developed documents to assist in determining the design basis threat and the desired level of protection of structures. Determining the level of protection to be achieved by a building against an explosive threat can be complicated and is based on analysis that considers variables such as the value of assets inside the building, likelihood of aggressor attack, aggressor tactics, and threat severity. …
Many structural engineers have not traditionally been involved in the analysis or design of building fire safety. When they have been, their focus has generally been on structural fire protection and, with some exceptions, their scope has been limited to ensuring compliance with prescriptive building code requirements for the fire resistance ratings of different building elements. However, structural fire protection is just one aspect of a comprehensive framework for building fire safety. …
Described in Part 1 of this three-part series overviewing fire protection for structural engineers, fire safety objectives dictate the design of fire protection systems and features in a building. From life and property protection to the continuity of services and preservation of heritage sites and the environment, an understanding of the objectives of a project is necessary for the correct design of protection features within a building. Part Two of the series details fire safety systems and features used to fulfill the fire safety objectives chosen for a project. …
Structural engineers are not traditionally involved in the analysis or design of building fire safety. When they are, their focus is generally on structural fire protection and, with some exceptions, their scope is limited to ensuring compliance with prescriptive building code requirements for the fire resistance ratings of different building elements. …