When a vortex shedding problem exists on a stack, sometimes the most economical option is a damping pad. What is a damping pad?A damping pad is a preformed laminated fabric pad of a manufactured material composed of layers of tightly twisted, closely woven lightweight...
Update: The Florida Building Code 2020 was adopted in 2021 We have added the Florida Building Code 2017 Wind Loads to our software, MecaWind (Pro feature), and this gave us an opportunity to get familar with the Florida Building Code 2017. We wanted to take a moment...
We can all grasp the physical attributes of a stack such as the height, weight, diameters, etc.; however, what is the stack's structural damping? Does MecaStack estimate the damping of the stack? Is there any harm in just arbitrarily changing the damping...
I am an amateur cyclist, and I typically ride my bike on trails in my home of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at an elevation of 700 ft [213 m]. One year I took my bike on a vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado at an elevation of 9,000 ft [2743 m]. The first thing I noticed...
The new MecaWind release provides a new way to select the method used for the Main Wind Force Resisting System (MWFRS) and the Components and Cladding (C&C). The results can be different based upon the MWFRS method and C&C method selected. The question now is...
If you have a vortex shedding problem on a stack, then in some cases helical strakes are your best option; however, there are other cases where helical strakes are not the best option. When not to use Helical Strakes? If there is another stack (or tall structure) that...
There is a feature in MecaWind that is seldom used, but can be very helpful. It's a feature under the File Menu called "Save Current File as Default".What does it do? When this feature is is selected, it takes the current file and sets it up as the default file that...
All structural design is important but verifying that the lifting lug design is adequate to lift a piece of heavy equipment might just be one of the most important things an Engineer can design. Engineers often design structures and equipment for extreme wind, seismic...
When I was a new Engineer working for an equipment manufacturer, I can say that I didn't have a healthy appreciation for wind Induced vibration (vortex shedding). I worked for an equipment manufacturer who won and lost jobs based upon our cost, and considering vortex...