Articles
2023 Florida Building Code 8th Edition
The Florida Building Code (FBC) has released the 2023 8th Edition, and the most significant change is that it now references ASCE 7-22 rather than ASCE 7-16. We have already summarized the major changes made in ASCE 7-22 in this article link. There were some minor changes in FBC 2023, and we will summarize those in this article.…
ASCE 7-22 Wind Load Changes
There are several changes included in the ASCE 7-22 ‘Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures’ related to wind load calculations. This article will attempt to summarize the major changes to the wind load calculations. Chapter 26: Wind Loads General Requirements: Section 26.1.1 Buildings and other structures which are risk Category…
Wind Loads on Tanks
In the ASCE 7-16 publication, new sections were added to address wind loads on tanks, bins, and silos. All three of these structures (tanks, bins, and silos) are handled exactly the same, since all of these structures are basically the same structure but with different names. There are design standards for tanks in specific applications, such…
Steel Stack Deflection
When designing a stack should steel stack deflection be a concern? It’s a good question and one that comes up frequently, The design standards give some guidance, but the standards vary in how they handle steel stack deflection and there is some room for interpretation. Here we discuss the major considerations with regard to stack…
Wind Loads at Elevations
In designing structures we typically want to calculate wind loads at elevations that are important for the structure. Some tall buildings have each floor being the same height and other structures such as the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona which is completely unique and has no two floors the same height. Please don’t ask me…
Stack Conical Transition Analysis
Analysis of a conical transition isn’t as simply as looking at just the section properties along the cone. Cone-cylinder junctions are areas of high discontinuity stresses. They have unbalanced radial loads from the axial and bending loads it sees, as well as localized bending stresses due to the angle change. The standards that most appropriately…
Wind Loads on Freestanding Walls
This article addresses the method used to calculate wind loads on a freestanding wall. This calculation follows the same method as that used for solid signs, which we have covered in a previous article. The calculation of wind loads on freestanding walls is most commonly applied towards fences. This article describes the method followed for…
Anchor Bolt Pretension
There is nothing simple about recommending anchor bolt pretension, ask ten engineers and you could get eleven different recommendations. Meca has done all of the research in order to try to resolve this topic once and for all…at least until the next anchor bolt pretension recommendation is published. We are definitely not experts on this…