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The Long Road

Advancing First-Generation PBSD for Steel Buildings

Part 2: Case Studies

Implementing performance-based seismic design (PBSD) procedures for assessing existing buildings has generated interest in using similar approaches to design new buildings. The advantage of using these procedures is that designers can go outside the more prescriptive requirements of traditional design and have a more direct connection between expected performance and the design process (i.e., performance targets are explicitly defined upfront). This results in the engineer easily communicating the anticipated performance to the client and targeting a design that achieves beyond-code performance if desired. However, as PBSD was gaining popularity in practice approximately a decade ago, there had been limited published information into the relationship between standards for seismic design of new buildings and the seismic assessment of existing buildings.

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Nov, 2021 By Matthew S. Speicher, Ph.D. and John Harris, Ph.D. In Structural Design Comments 0

2021 IBC Significant Structural Changes

Part 1: Loads (Chapter 16)

This five-part series discusses significant structural changes to the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) by the International Code Council (ICC). Part 1 includes an overview of changes to Chapter 16 on loads. Only a portion of the total number of code changes to this chapter are discussed in this article. More information on the code changes discussed here can be found in the 2021 Significant Changes to the International Building Code, available from ICC.

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Nov, 2021 By Sandra Hyde, P.E. and John “Buddy” Showalter, P.E. In Codes and Standards Comments 0

Structured for Protection

The Role of Architectural and Structural Elements in Facility Fire-Protection Schemes

When most people think of fire protection, their minds go straight to fire alarm systems and sprinkler systems. In reality, these two systems are just small pieces of a larger puzzle. Fire protection encompasses a “system of systems” that work together to provide occupant and facility protection in a fire or other emergency. These systems often include many other building systems that are generally not at the top of mind when considering Fire Protection. For example, if a facility has duct smoke detection, HVAC controls may shut down air handling equipment to prevent the spread of smoke. In low-light environments, such as theaters and nightclubs, lighting controls that automatically turn on lights may be part of the life safety systems to ensure occupants have adequate light to evacuate. Fire-resistance-rated construction to provide compartmentation, exit separation, and protected egress paths are also part of these systems, which make up the facility’s fire-protection envelope. Other passive fire-protection systems include the facility’s structural aspects.

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Nov, 2021 By April M. Musser, P.E. In Structural Systems Comments 0

The SEI SE 2050 One-Year Anniversary

One year since the launch of the Structural Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Structural Engineers (SE) 2050 Commitment Program, 53 structural engineering firms have committed to embodied carbon neutrality by 2050. The Program’s overarching goal is to provide an accessible sustainability program for structural engineers that includes a commitment of active engagement in reducing the embodied carbon on projects and information sharing. The driver of these objectives is the collective objective of achieving net-zero carbon structures by 2050.

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Nov, 2021 By Chris Jeseritz, P.E., LEED AP BD+C In Structural Carbon Comments 0

Leveraging Professional Relationships

Staying Ahead of the Rapidly Changing Construction Industry

Today’s challenging and fast-paced construction environment forces engineers to take on many responsibilities in the design workflow. The continual evolution of the construction industry makes it difficult for structural design professionals to stay up-to-date on new construction materials, methods, codes, and design technology.

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Nov, 2021 By Samuel Harris In Engineer's Notebook Comments 0

States, Cities Adopting Tall Mass Timber Provisions

A Variety of Approaches

States and municipalities eager to allow taller mass timber buildings are considering adopting the mass timber provisions in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). Many have recently finished the adoption of the 2018 I-codes and would otherwise wait several more years to incorporate construction types IV-A, IV-B, and IV-C into their building codes to allow mass timber buildings up to 18 stories tall.

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Nov, 2021 By Kenneth E. Bland, P.E. In Code Updates Comments 0

Quebec Bridge, The First Failure, 1907

A bridge had been proposed across the St. Lawrence river for many years when the Phoenix Bridge Company and Theodore Cooper were selected to build an 1,800-foot-span cantilever bridge. The span would be the longest cantilever in the world, surpassing the Firth of Forth Bridge with its two spans of 1,710 feet. Cooper was initially selected as a consultant to the Quebec Bridge & Railway Co. to recommend a design from the many submitted in a design competition. He selected the Phoenix Bridge design as it was “an exceedingly creditable plan from the point of view of its general proportions, outlines, and its constructive features” and was the “best and cheapest plan and proposal of those submitted to me…”

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Nov, 2021 By Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P.E., P.L.S. In Historic Structures Comments 0

Waiver of Consequential Damages

While a waiver of consequential damages clause is considered a contractual risk management tool, how these provisions manage risk is not always clear. One reason is that potential consequential damages for one or both parties can vary from virtually nothing to many times the contract amount, depending on the project. Engineers often ask whether they should agree to waive their consequential damages, and likewise, whether they should require the other party to waive their consequential damages. The answer, as is common in contract negotiations, is “it depends.”

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Nov, 2021 By Gail S. Kelley, P.E., Esq. In Legal Perspectives Comments 0

Who Selects Fireproofing?

Fire is the most common devastating event a building can experience. The structural integrity of a building is vulnerable to high temperatures from a fire because steel melts, wood burns, and concrete cracks! Yet, these are the materials structural engineers use to hold up the building. The materials must maintain integrity during a fire long enough to protect the building occupants and allow firefighters to put out the fire.

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Nov, 2021 By Charles “Chuck” F. King, P.E., S.E. and Stephen M. Cohen, AIA In InSights Comments 0

A Face Lift for the Spruce Goose

The Spruce Goose Project consists of the seismic retrofit of an aircraft hangar (250 feet x 740 feet) with two additional side buildings and the erection of new high-end office space within the hangar. The hangar comprises two 125-foot-wide portal frame arch structures with a central spine running down the middle. Arup worked in collaboration with the architecture firm, ZGF, to rehabilitate and seismically upgrade the existing timber building to current code requirements and to create four new levels of office and film production spaces inside the hangars.

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Nov, 2021 By STRUCTURE magazine In Spotlight Comments 0

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