Articles
Piggy-Back Stacks
We often get the question of how to model a Tandem or Piggy-Back stack in MecaStack. One can be handled by the software and the other cannot. Piggy-Back Stacks: A Piggy-Back stack is one where one or more stacks are supported by another stack. Usually the biggest stack is the main support, and then you have…
How to Find Wind Pressure on Solar Panels
In this article we will investigate the procedure for calculating the design wind pressure on rooftop solar panels per ASCE 7-16 design code. I feel like the best way to describe this procedure is by working through an example, and that’s just what we will do. For this example, we will look at a 30-ft-tall…
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 Updated: The first step when adding a material to your MecaStack model is to go to…
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 calculates base reactions and how to interpret the results. I should clarify…
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 that method is discussed in another article; click here to view the Troitsky article. A breach is an opening…
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. If you are designing tall and…
One Click Components & Cladding
Would you like to be able to calculate all of your Components & Cladding (C&C) values with one Click? In this article that’s what we are going to show you. Component and Cladding Summary: The normal way of analyzing C&C in MecaWind is to enter each individual component, and then the software calculates the pressures…
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 it’s always an option to consider. How do Guy Wires Help? By adding guy wires…