Mohammad Iqbal, D.Sc., P.E., S.E., Esq., is a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois. A fellow and life-time member of ASCE, he serves on several ACI and ASCE committees. Dr. Iqbal can be reached at mi@iqbalgroup.us.
The perimeter of parking garages, and the edges of split ramps in the interior of parking garages, are required to have barriers, restraints or guardrails to stop the vehicles inside the structure from plunging down. The design and detailing of the perimeter walls has been a concern to public safety. The author has published three articles in STRUCTURE magazine on the subject calling for a rational design method for vehicular barrier systems. …
Many failures occur in concrete structures because of inadequate detailing of reinforcement in joints and connections. The failures of perimeter vehicular barriers in concrete parking structures offer grim examples where numerous parking patrons have died or have suffered bodily injuries as their vehicles plunged down to the street during the past several years. …