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Ultimate Guide to Material Properties

Ultimate Guide to Material Properties

MecaStack has a built in database for stack material properties, which are intended to help the designer. There are some common questions and problems that we see when it comes to the use of the stack material properties. Material Properties are NOT Automatically...

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Base Reactions in MecaWind

Base Reactions in MecaWind

There can be confusion from users on how to read and interpret the MecaWind Base Reactions that are provided by the MecaWind software program.   There is a lot of data presented, and it can become overwhelming.  This article is intended to help explain how MecaWind...

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Life is a Breach

Life is a Breach

Updated April 16, 2020: The method of breach analysis discussed in this article is referred to as the "Section Property" method in MecaStack.  As of v5506 there is now a method available called the "Troitsky" method, and an article discussing that method is in another...

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ASCE 7 Flexible Gust Factor

ASCE 7 Flexible Gust Factor

When I was a new Engineer my boss had his stack design questioned by a client.  My boss responded "Sir, I will serve you tea on the downwind side of that stack on the windiest day of the year."   That line (and disturbing image) has never left my mind.  Designing tall...

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Add Some Guy Wires

Add Some Guy Wires

When and why should I use guy wires on a stack? When a stack has a vortex shedding problem there can be many factors that determine which solutions are the best.  Guy wires aren't always the most conventional solution, but its always an option to consider.How do Guy...

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I Feel the Need to Change Wind Speed

I Feel the Need to Change Wind Speed

It was Tom Cruise in "Top Gun" who once said, "I feel the need, the need for speed".  I sometimes wonder if Tom Cruise is on the ASCE 7 committee, because it feels like they have the need to change the wind speed basis with every new release of ASCE 7.  I'm not...

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Slow Down

Slow Down

I'll bet "Slow Down" isn't an expression you hear much in your business.  I dream of a day when a customer tells me, "Slow down, we really don't care when you finish your design."  I can't get you more time on your deadline, but I can tell you one instance that...

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Tornado Alley

Tornado Alley

I live in Oklahoma and during the Spring and Fall seasons we tend to have a lot of tornadoes, and that's why this part of the country is part of the region dubbed "Tornado Alley."  Since our company sells the MecaWind software, we sometimes get asked whether MecaWind...

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