Structure Magazine-June 2017

STRUCTURE A Joint Publication of NCSEA | CASE | SEI
June 2017 Tall Buildings
Inside:
MoMA Tower,
New York City
Construction Documents &
Shop Drawings from One Solution
DESIGN TAIL STEE IL CONCR O CUMEN
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QTY SIZE WGT MARK TYP LENGTH A B C D E F G H H2 J K K2 O TD
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16 #8 537 8R031 2 12'-9" 11'-3" 1'-6" 0'-3"
16 #8 494 8R032 2 11'-9" 10'-3" 1'-6" 0'-3"
TOTAL WGT 2649
2 T2
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TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS

CONTENTS
Features 44 Salesforce Tower
By Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E., Hon. AIA,
33 A Unique Opportunity for a Michael T. Valley, P.E., S.E., and
John D. Hooper, P.E., S.E.
Conventional Tall Building Frame
By Mark Sarkisian, S.E., Neville Mathias, S.E.,
and David Shook, P.E. 50 Brock Commons
By Paul Fast, P.E., P.Eng., Struct.Eng. and
36 New Clearwater Beach Hotel Robert Jackson, P.Eng.
By E. Michael McCarthy, P.E.

54 Flat Plate
40 53W53 MoMA Tower Concrete Construction
By Silvian Marcus, P.E., Gustavo J. Oliveira, P.E., By Mark Sarkisian, S.E., Eric Long, S.E.,
Fatih Yalniz, P.E, and Nicholas Chack, P.E. David Shook, P.E., and Eric Peterson
59 SPECIAL SECTION: Tall Building Construction By Larry Kahaner
Columns and STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

20 Stiffness Versus Strength
SPOTLIGHT
79 Madison Square Park Tower
Departments By Paul A. Gossen, P.E. and By Joseph Savalli, P.E., Matthieu
Keith M. MacBain, Ph.D., P.E. Peuler, P.E., and Leslie Morris, P.E.
EDITORIAL
7 SEIs Vision for the Future of PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS BUSINESS PRACTICES
Structural Engineering 24 Wood Shear Wall Design 86 Techniques to Successfully
By Andrew W. Herrmann, P.E., SECB Examples for Wind Navigate Networking
By John Buddy Showalter, P.E. By Jennifer Anderson
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
STRUCTURAL FAILURES
8 Seismic Design of
29 Failure of Imagination IN EVERY ISSUE
Nonbuilding Structures and
By Stan R. Caldwell, P.E., SECB. 6 Advertiser Index
Nonstructural Components
67 Resource Guide
Part 2 INSIGHTS Tall Buildings
By J. G. (Greg) Soules, P.E., S.E., 70 Punching of Slabs 80 NCSEA News
P.Eng., SECB By Aurelio Muttoni, Ph.D., 82 SEI Structural Columns
Miguel Fernndez Ruiz, Ph.D. 84 CASE in Point
STRUCTURAL PRACTICES
and Joo T. Simes
12 Development Along
Old Party Walls HISTORIC STRUCTURES
Publication of any article, image, or
By Dan Eschenasy, P.E., SECB 72 Sciotoville Bridge advertisement in STRUCTURE
By Frank Griggs, Jr., D.Eng., P.E. magazine does not constitute
STRUCTURAL TESTING endorsement by NCSEA, CASE,
SEI, C 3 Ink, or the Editorial
17 Temporary Testing Facility LEGAL PERSPECTIVES
Board. Authors, contributors, and
By Giulio Leon Flores, P.E., 75 An Overview of Consent to advertisers retain sole responsibility
Hussien Abdel-Baky, Ph.D., P.E., Assignment Agreements for the content of their submissions.
and James C. Hays, P.E. By Gail S. Kelley, P.E., Esq.

The 1,070-foot-tall Salesforce
Tower advances the state-of-
On the cover With a slenderness ration of 1:12, MoMa Tower will rise to a total height of 1,050 feet on the New York skyline. the-art of high-rise seismic
Read about the many challenges facing the projects Structural Engineers on page 40. design. See page 44.
STRUCTURE magazine 5 June 2017

STRUCTURE

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Hoover Treated Wood Products ............. 13 Steel Joist Institute................................. 31 [email protected]
ICC - Evaluation Service ....................... 63 Strongwell ............................................. 57 Creative Director Tara Smith
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KPFF .................................................... 76 Weyerhaeuser ........................................ 43 ARW Engineers, Ogden, UT
[email protected]
Erratum Jeremy L. Achter, S.E., LEED AP
Historic Structures Lachine Rapids Bridge (April 2017) ARW Engineers, Ogden, UT
In this Historic Structures article, the explanation of Longs use of continuous bridge segments Erin Conaway, P.E.
across supports (page 42) contained an error: In other words, he made his truss continuous SidePlate Systems, Phoenix, AZ
over the intermediate supports so that the maximum positive moment (should read negative John A. Dal Pino, S.E.
moment) over the support is equal, or nearly so, to the maximum negative moment (should FTF Engineering, Inc., San Francisco, CA
read positive moment) located between the supports. Linda M. Kaplan, P.E.
STRUCTURE magazine and the author apologize for the error. The online version of this TRC, Pittsburgh, PA
article has been corrected. Thank you to H. Starzer, P.E. for pointing out the error. Dilip Khatri, Ph.D., S.E.
Khatri International Inc., Pasadena, CA
Jessica Mandrick, P.E., S.E., LEED AP

Gilsanz Murray Steficek, LLP, New York, NY
Important Brian W. Miller

Davis, CA
news for
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CRSI, Williamstown, NJ
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SEIs Vision for the Future of
Editorial new trends, new techniques and current industry issues
Structural Engineering
Where Do We Stand ? by-line
Author
By Andrew W. Herrmann, P.E., SECB, F.SEI, Pres.12.ASCE
S
EI just finished its successful 2017 Structures Congress in Promote Performance-Based
Denver where we celebrated collaboration, innovation, and
the Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering: A Case for
Codes and Standards
Change. Reflecting on the program, sessions covered areas such A Task Committee on Performance-Based Design is reviewing the
as communications, mentoring, ethics, codes and standards, history, final drafts of white papers that will define the path required to give
performance, multi-hazards, training, professional practice, health structural engineers new tools to liberate them from the limitations
monitoring, sustainability, resiliency, construction, loads, rehabilita- of prescriptive code-checking, encourage innovation in their designs,
tion, and solutions. All areas are meant to contribute towards the and increase the value of their services.
future of structural engineering.
SEIs A Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering and Structural Lead Multi-Disciplinary Summits on
Engineers: A Case for Change was released on October 16, 2013, and
serves as SEIs blueprint for the future. For the full version of the
Technical Matters of Broad Interest
report, refer to www.asce.org/SEI. The executive summary, dated The Committee on Biennial Interdisciplinary Technology Summits
September 2015, is also available there. has been formed to think outside of the traditional boundaries of
As part of the Congress, the SEI Board of Governors met to assess structural engineering to identify and apply the most advanced new
our progress and identify areas where we need to increase attention. technologies and science to the practice.
This primarily includes progress on the seven key initiatives that will
enable SEI to achieve the Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering. Promote the Structural Engineer
The following is our status towards fulfilling our key initiatives to
advance our vision:
as a Leader and Innovator
Each of the preceding responses to key initiatives contributes to pro-
moting the structural engineer as a leader and innovator by supporting
Reform Structural Engineering Education and encouraging the expansion of members roles to recognized posi-
The Committee on the Reform of Structural Engineering Education tions of leadership in society by equipping them with the tools they
(CROSEE) has been formed to study new educational models to need to succeed and be recognized by the public. SEI is also initiating
equip students with the broad technical, communications, and critical new digital branding to communicate our vision.
thinking skills necessary to compete in the global economy.
Improve Mentoring and Advocate for Structural

Continuing Education Engineering Licensure
The Committee on Professional Mentoring has been rebranded as the We have joined with our peers, NCSEA, CASE, and SECB, to form
Leadership Development Committee within the SEI Business Practice the Structural Engineering Licensure Coalition (SELC) to advance
Activities Division (BPAD). The committee is developing a national, implementation of the SE license as a post-PE credential.
standardized framework to launch the careers of young professionals This fall, five years since the publication of the origi-
and create a meaningful platform for lifelong learning and constant nal vision, SEI will formally evaluate where we stand,
professional growth. See the March 2017 STRUCTURE magazine what we have accomplished to date, and what we
Editorial for more information highlighting this committee. The need to do to continue to achieve the Visions goals.
Continuing Education Task Committee received a grant this year
from the SEIs Futures Fund and is scheduling a workshop in June to
You can help advance the Vision for the Future of Structural
explore the direction of continuing education for Structural Engineers.
Engineering in two ways. Take the first step of influencing our
structural engineering profession by joining an SEI committee
Create a New SEI Global Activities Division at www.asce.org/structural-engineering/sei-committees and,
secondly, support the vision with a gift to the SEI Futures Fund
A business plan and budget have been approved by the SEI Board
which provides critical funding support to many of our initiatives.
of Governors for the newly formed Global Activities Division. This
new division will address the needs of a worldwide membership, If you would like to learn more about the SEI Vision for the
and position our members as global leaders in structural engineer- Future of Structural Engineering or SEI, please contact SEI Director
ing research and practice. Meetings have also been initiated with Laura Champion at [email protected] or SEI President Andy
Structural Engineering organizations outside the United States to Herrmann at [email protected].
seek ways to collaborate.

Structural T
his article is the conclusion of a two-
part series which discusses the seismic
design provisions for nonbuilding Section 13.3.1 of ASCE 7-16 specifies the use of
DeSign
structures found in Chapter 15 of Equation 13.3-1 (shown below) to determine the
ASCE 7-16, Minimum Design Loads and Associated seismic design force on a nonstructural component.
Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. The
previous article (Part 1, STRUCTURE, April Fp =
0.4apSDSWp
( 1+2 z ) Eqn. 13.3-1
design issues for
2017) provided an introduction to the seismic
design of nonbuilding structures.
( )Rp
Ip
h
structural engineers Several seismic related issues are unique to Fp shall not to be taken as less than:
nonbuilding structures. This article covers the Fp = 0.3SDSIpWp
following advanced topics in the seismic design Fp is not required to be taken as greater than:
of nonbuilding structures: Fp = 1.6SDSIpWp
The determination of seismic forces on where:
nonbuilding structures supported by Fp = seismic design force
other structures. ap = component amplification factor that varies
The determination of seismic forces on from 1.0 (rigid component Tp < 0.06 seconds) to
common nonstructural components 2.5 (flexible component). Tp is the fundamental
attached to nonbuilding structures. period of the component.
The interrelation Rp = component response modification factor
and overlap between (same concept as R for structures)
Seismic Design of Chapter 13, Seismic
Design Requirements
Ip = component importance factor (1.0 or 1.5).
Ip is not necessarily the same as the value of IE for
Nonbuilding Structures for Nonstructural
Components, and
the supporting structure.
SDS = short period spectral acceleration
and Nonstructural Chapter 15 of
ASCE 7-16.
Wp = component operating weight
z = height in structure of point of attachment of
Components Special considerations
for the seismic design of
component with respect to the base.
h = average roof height of structure with respect
tanks and vessels. to the base
Part 2: Advanced Topics The values of ap and Rp are taken from Table
related to ASCE 7-16 Nonbuilding Structures 13.5-1 for architectural components or Table
13.6-1 for mechanical and electrical components.
Supported by Other Structures Various terms in Equation 13.3-1 have sig-
By J. G. (Greg) Soules, P.E., S.E., Section 15.3 of ASCE 7-16 provides require- nificant physical meanings. The term 0.4apSDS
P.Eng., SECB, F.SEI, F.ASCE ments for the design of nonbuilding structures represents the peak ground acceleration when ap
supported by other structures for seismic forces, equals 1.0 and the constant acceleration region of
and presents three possible scenarios: the response spectrum (plateau) when ap equals
The nonbuilding structure weight is less 2.5. The term (1 + 2z /h) represents an additional
than 25 percent of the combined weight amplification of the ground motion acceleration
J. G. (Greg) Soules is a Principal of the nonbuilding structure and the due to the elevation of the point of attachment
Engineer with CB&I LLC supporting structure (15.3.1). of the supporting structure.
in Houston, Texas. He is the The nonbuilding structure weight is
Vice Chair of the ASCE 7-16 greater than or equal to 25 percent of
Main Committee, Vice Chair the combined weight of the nonbuilding
25 Percent Limitation
of the ASCE 7-16 Seismic structure and the supporting structure Where the weight of the supported nonbuilding
Subcommittee, and Chair of the (15.3.2(1)) rigid nonbuilding structure structure is less than 25 percent of the combined
ASCE 7-16 Task Committee on (T < 0.06 seconds). effective seismic weights of the nonbuilding
Nonbuilding Structures. He can be The nonbuilding structure weight is structure and supporting structure, the design
reached at [email protected]. greater than or equal to 25 percent of seismic forces of the supported nonbuilding
the combined weight of the nonbuilding structure are determined according to Chapter
structure and the supporting structure 13 where the values of Rp and ap are determined
(15.3.2(2)) flexible nonbuilding structure per Section 13.1.5. Equation 13.3-1 is used
(T 0.06 seconds). to calculate the seismic force, Fp, on the sup-
Nonbuilding structures supported by other ported nonbuilding structure. The supporting
structures see amplified seismic forces in a similar structure is designed to the requirements of
manner as nonstructural components. To dis- Chapter 12, Seismic Design Requirements for
cuss the seismic design of nonbuilding structures Building Structures, or Section 15.5, Nonbuilding
supported by other structures, a review of the Structures Similar to Buildings, as appropriate,
determination of seismic forces on nonstructural with the weight of the supported nonbuilding
components is important. structure considered in the determination of the
8 June 2017
effective seismic weight, W. Section 15.3 rep- as outlined in Table 15.4-2, and ap shall be 15.5, with the R-value of the combined
resents a clear dividing line between Chapter taken as 1.0. system taken as the lesser R-value of the
13 and Chapter 15 where the nonbuilding It is important to note that very few sup- nonbuilding structure or the supporting
structure is supported by another structure. ported nonbuilding structures qualify as structure.
rigid elements. There is a great temptation The supported nonbuilding structure and
More than 25 Percent with to assume that the supported nonbuilding its attachments are designed for the forces
structure is rigid due to the resulting ease of determined for the supported nonbuild-
Rigid Nonbuilding Structure calculation and lower loads. The period of ing structure in the combined analysis. A
Where the fundamental period of the sup- the supported nonbuilding structure must flexible nonbuilding structure supported
ported nonbuilding structure, T, is less be honestly evaluated, taking into account by another structure is by far the most
than 0.06 seconds, the supported non- such items as fluid-structure interaction common situation. Because the combined
building structure is considered to be a and the flexibility of the supporting floor structure is designed using the lesser R-value
rigid element. In this case, the supporting beams. Procedures for taking fluid-structure of the supported nonbuilding structure
structure is designed to the requirements of interaction into account can be found in or the supporting structure, the use of a
Chapter 12 or Section 15.5 as appropriate, TID-7024 (1963). high R-value structural system (e.g. special
and the R-value of the combined system concentrically braced frame) offers no eco-
is permitted to be taken as the R-value More than 25 Percent with nomic advantage. Of course, a high R-value
of the supporting structural system. The structural system may always be used to
supported nonbuilding structure is simply
Flexible Nonbuilding Structure provide better performance.
taken as another mass in the design of the Where the fundamental period of the sup- The use of a combined model requires
supporting structure. This procedure is ported nonbuilding structure, T, is greater that the structural engineer designing the
similar to that used for the case where the than or equal to 0.06 seconds, the sup- supporting structure work in close col-
supported nonbuilding structure is less than ported nonbuilding structure is considered laboration with the manufacturer of the
25 percent of the combined mass. to be a flexible element. In this case, the supported nonbuilding structure. The com-
The supported nonbuilding structure and nonbuilding structure and supporting bined model does not have to be complex.
its attachments are designed for the forces structure are modeled together in a com- An example of this type of combined model
determined using the procedures of Chapter bined model with appropriate stiffness and can be found in Appendix 4.G of ASCE
13, where the value of Rp is taken as equal effective seismic weight distributions. The Guidelines for Seismic Evaluation and Design
to the R-value of the nonbuilding structure combined structure is designed to Section of Petrochemical Facilities (2011).
continued on next page
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the ratio of the ultimate deformation to the Size nonstructural components are
Common Nonstructural limit deformation. These definitions, while small, usually less than 10 feet
Components Attached to precise, are not straightforward to apply. in height
Fortunately, the commentary to Chapter 13 Construction nonstructural
Nonbuilding Structures provides some guidance. For example, the components are typically shop
Table 13.6-1 (Mechanical and Electrical commentary notes that high-deformability fabricated
Components) and Table 13.5-1 (Architectural materials are materials such as steel or copper Function nonstructural components
Components) contain the basic seismic that can accommodate relative displacements are primarily designed for functionality
parameters (ap and Rp) for many common inelastically if the connections also provide while nonbuilding structures are
nonstructural components. Occasionally, the high-deformability. Therefore, the types of primarily designed to maintain
engineer will run into cases where specific connections used are critical in the classifica- structural stability
values for the components are not listed. In tion process. As an example, steel walkways
this case, it is best to use other mechanical or and steel platforms are commonly attached to
electrical components from Table 13.6-1 or, nonbuilding structures in industrial facilities.
Tanks and Vessels
in the case of an architectural component, While the steel walkways and platforms are Tanks and vessels are nonbuilding structures
use values from other rigid components or constructed of a high-deformability mate- not similar to buildings. As such, they exhibit a
other flexible components from Table 13.5-1. rial, the connections often are not seismically very different dynamic response than building
For mechanical or electrical components not detailed and frequently include short attach- structures. There are four special consider-
listed in Table 13.6-1, the category of other ment columns with limited ability to absorb ations for tanks and vessels:
mechanical or electrical components provides inelastic deformations. Most configurations 1) The importance of anchor rod stretch.
a simple, although conservative, solution would also qualify as flexible. Therefore, a rea- 2) The importance of providing seismic
by using ap of 1.0 and Rp of 1.5. Engineers sonable recommendation for values of ap and freeboard.
often try to use values for components in Rp for steel walkways and platforms are ap = 3) The importance of providing piping
Table 13.6-1 that they feel are similar to their 2.5 and Rp = 2.5, which corresponds to other flexibility.
component. The engineer takes on some risk flexible components and limited-deformability 4) Special design requirements for vessel
in using this approach because the descrip- elements and attachments. support skirts.
tions of the components in Table 13.6-1 are
not very detailed. An example can be seen in
trying to choose values for a fin fan. A fin fan
Chapter 13 or Chapter 15? Anchor Rod Stretch
is a type of air cooler with integral support As described earlier, ASCE 7-16 Section 15.3 Many nonbuilding structures rely on the
legs that is often supported on pipe racks. The provides a clear delineation between Chapter ductile behavior of anchor bolts to justify
values listed for fans in Table 13.6-1 (ap = 2.5 13 and Chapter 15 for nonstructural compo- the R-value assigned to the structure. Anchor
and Rp = 6) are not intended for fin fans with nents and nonbuilding structures supported bolts used for tanks and vessels must stretch
integral support legs (these values do apply by other structures, based on the weight of under seismic loads to provide the required
where fin fans are not supported on integral the supported nonstructural component or ductility. Section 15.4.9 provides a consis-
support legs). Fin fans with integral support nonbuilding structure. Unfortunately, the tent treatment of anchorage on nonbuilding
legs have been added to Table 13.6-1 (ap = 2.5 same cannot be said of certain nonstructural structures. Anchors must be designed to be
and Rp = 3) in ASCE 7-16. It was necessary components and nonbuilding structures governed by the tensile strength of a ductile
to specifically add an entry, with significantly supported at grade and common to both steel element. Post-installed anchors in con-
reduced values, for fin fans with integral sup- chapters. The following recommendations crete or masonry must be pre-qualified for
port legs to ASCE 7-16 due to the fans poor attempt to address this lack of clear delinea- seismic applications.
performance in seismic events, such as the tion between Chapter 13 and Chapter 15. Section 15.7.3 is intended to ensure that
February 27, 2010, Chile earthquake (Soules, The most informative reference for deciding anchor attachments are designed such that
Bachman, and Silva, 2016). When in doubt, whether to use Chapter 13 or Chapter 15 the anchor will yield (stretch) before the
and when you cannot match your component is Nonstructural Component or Nonbuilding anchor attachment to the structure fails.
to an exact description in Table 13.6-1, you Structure? (Bachman and Dowty, 2008). This Under Section 15.7.3, connections, excluding
should select the other mechanical or electrical resource identifies the common components anchors (bolts or rods) embedded in concrete,
components category. covered by both Chapter 13 and Chapter must be designed to develop 0 times the
For architectural components not listed in 15 as: calculated connection design force.
Table 13.5-1, the multiple choices provided Billboards and Signs Section 15.7.5 requires anchorage to meet
under other rigid components or other flexi- Bins the requirements of Section 15.4.9, whereby
ble components require engineering judgment. Chimneys the anchor embedment into the concrete must
The engineer must first decide if the compo- Conveyors be designed to develop the tensile strength of
nent is rigid or flexible. This decision should Cooling Towers the anchor. The anchor must have a minimum
be based on an approximate natural period, Stacks gauge length (stretch) of eight diameters.
Tp, for the component. The engineer must Tanks The load combinations with overstrength
then decide if the elements and attachments Towers of Section 12.4.3 are not to be used to size
of the component are high-deformability, Vessels the anchor bolts for tanks, or horizontal and
limited-deformability, or low-deformability. Bachman and Dowty also suggest three ways vertical vessels. Oversized anchors are not able
Section 11.2 provides definitions of high-, to differentiate between nonstructural com- to stretch and, therefore, do not provide the
limited-, and low-deformability regarding ponents and nonbuilding structures: required ductility.

the values in the tables) without ruptur- components. Key takeaways from this article
Seismic Freeboard ing. Experience shows that systems with include:
The impact of a sloshing wave on the tank little or no flexibility fail in large seismic Seismic forces on nonbuilding
roof or forcing the floating roof into a events and systems with flexibility built-in structures supported by other structures
fixed roof is a continuing source of seis- perform well. are determined by the size and
mic damage to ground supported storage stiffness of the supported nonbuilding
tanks. Occasionally, external floating roofs structure.
are forced outside of the tank shell by the
Vessel Support Skirts The choice of design coefficients for
sloshing wave and end up landing on the Skirt supported vessels fail in buckling, which nonstructural components is a function
shell or having the seal catch the shell. is not a ductile failure mode. Therefore, a more of the deformability of the element and
Loss of a floating roof in any of these cases conservative design approach is required. To its connection.
often results in a fire. This damage can be prevent collapse, ASCE 7 Section 15.7.10 and The applicability of Chapter 13 or
eliminated by providing sufficient seismic Table 15.4-2 require skirt supported vessels to Chapter 15 can be determined based
freeboard. be checked for seismic loads based on R/I = on the size, construction, and function
1.0 if the structure falls in Risk Category IV of the component or nonbuilding
or if an R-value of 3.0 is used in the design structure.
Piping Flexibility of the vessel. The R/I = 1.0 check will typi- The performance of tanks and vessels
The lack of flexibility in piping connections cally govern the design of the skirt over using in a seismic event depends heavily on
to tanks is a continuing source of seismic loads determined with an R-factor of 3 in a the anchorage details used, the use of
damage to ground supported storage tanks. moderate to high area of seismic activity. The seismic freeboard, the use of flexible
Therefore, ASCE 7 requires piping systems foundation and anchorage are not required to piping connections, and the proper
connected to tanks and vessels to be flexible be designed for the R/I = 1.0 load. design of skirt supports.
enough to take specified displacements as
noted in Table 15.7-1. The piping must be
able to accommodate these movements at
Conclusion
allowable stress levels. This article provides an overview of some The online version of this article
The piping must also be able to accom- advanced topics encountered in the design contains detailed references. Please visit
modate the amplified movements (Cd times of nonbuilding structures and nonstructural www.STRUCTUREmag.org.
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Structural P
arty walls are frequently used in low-rise walls was mandated by fire ordinances dating
developments due to their capacity to as far back as 1830. By 1900, row houses using
provide economical structural support party walls covered block after block. Even
PracticeS
in denser areas. They were more preva- when building heights had reached six or seven
lent and taller in earlier times when American stories, as long as the construction occurred on
cities developed. One can find many old party narrow lots, masonry party walls remained the
walls in cities along the Atlantic seaboard from choice of builders.
Portland, Maine, to Charleston, South Carolina. Since the 1870s, successive NYC building
practical knowledge beyond
In the older areas of New York City, there are regulations have included specific instructions
the textbook over 15,000 existing brick masonry party walls, for party walls. There were 20 entries in the
many in four- or five-story buildings. The shared 1901 NYCBC that were mostly prescriptions
use by adjoining owners resulted in real property for the construction of party walls. Around
law developments which have added constraints the turn of the 20th century, fire science had
that FEMA 547 Techniques for the Seismic developed as a separate field, and the 1905
Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings considers over- National Building Code developed by the
riding. FEMA 547 justifies its lack of guidance: National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU)
For conditions along property lines or involving and the American Insurance Association had 9
party walls, the two buildings likely have different entries similar to those in the 1901 NYCBC.
ownership, and practical and legal issues may be Up to the 1916 NYCBC, the mandated party
more significant than technical ones. This article wall thickness was the result of empirical struc-
introduces the reader to historical party walls and tural considerations related to applied weight.
Following the lead of the NBFU, the 1916
NYCBC introduced the concept that firewalls
Development Along Old Party Walls

be specified according to mandated fire tests.
Several technical developments led to the near
elimination of specific party wall structural
provisions in building codes, such as when the
presents construction and engineering challenges empirical design of masonry was replaced by
encountered on construction sites that border an engineered design of masonry, and when
By Dan Eschenasy, P.E., SECB, F.SEI old masonry party walls. New York City Building steel and concrete frames replaced masonry as
Code (NYCBC) regulations are discussed, but bearing systems for tall structures. The 2014
nothing in this article should be interpreted as NYCBC uses the IBC definition: Any wall
real property law advice. located on a lot line between adjacent build-
ings, which is used or adapted for joint service
between the two buildings, shall be constructed
A Short History of Regulations as a fire wall (sic).
We know from the Roman engineer, Vitruvius, Although not always explicitly stated in codes,
in his famous treaty De Architectura, that party a party wall needs to meet both firewall and
walls already existed in Rome around 30 B.C. material specific structural design requirements;
Dan Eschenasy is the New York They were used as bearing walls set along in the case of a fire in one building, the wall
City Buildings Department Chief property lines to support floors of adjoining is expected to maintain its structural stability
Structural Engineer. He is an structures. Roman legal statutes from that and stop the fire from spreading to the adjoin-
Honorary Member of SEAoNY period established the rights and obligations ing building.
and a member of the ASCE of owners of party walls. The first regulation The usual problems of demolition and
Structural Assessment of Buildings involving party walls as fire barriers was issued excavation along buildings on lot lines are
Committee. in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London amplified when a party wall lies on that line.
(1666). To combat the mischief of fire, laws The structural function of the wall needs to
were promulgated requiring the use of masonry be preserved. Also, weatherproofing needs to
in perimeter walls, including party walls. Thus, be added. Almost all of the references in the
the structural bearing function became inter- 2014 NYCBC are prescriptions for the protec-
twined with the fire containment function. tion of existing party walls during construction
Party wall legal theories that developed sepa- or demolition. Several other jurisdictions
rately in the different states in colonial America (Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and more)
are the source of differences from state to state have similar regulations for the protection of
in legal practices that exist today. In 1791, party walls.
George Washington promulgated a party wall
regulation for the District of Columbia. The
wood frame construction of the original New
Existing Party Walls
York City (NYC) buildings allowed several Attached unreinforced masonry buildings sharing a
major fire conflagrations to occur. As a con- party wall constitute a more stable unit than sepa-
sequence, use of brick or stone in perimeter rated buildings. The larger footprint of the attached
12 June 2017
that the facade was common to two attached
ORIGINAL
PARTY
buildings. The interior inspection revealed a PARTY WALL
WALL 5-inch crack (Figure 1) that had developed
along the line where the party wall used to
be keyed into the facade. Each building was
owned separately, and the owners could not
reach an agreement to repair the crack. The
BOWED
FAADE
fire separation was compromised and the EXISTING
WALL collapse of the facade onto the street was UNDERPIN
imminent. As the engineers could not find a COLLAPSED

solution to arrest the evolution of the bowing, OLD PIN
the facade was ordered demolished.

Figure 1. Crack in party wall. Figure 3. Old pin collapsed.
structure leads to much longer shear walls. In may not accept acquiring additional data,
addition, whatever the direction of the out-of-
Locating Existing Party Walls especially when the measurement requires
plane load on the party wall, these loads can In addition to legal constraints, old party destructive probes.
be transferred by compression to the floor dia- walls might constitute spatial constraints In older New York City neighborhoods, as
phragms on the opposing side. as their presence limits buildable area or a result of successive development on the
An incident involving an underpinning influences the location of columns or shear same site, it is not uncommon to find party
operation provided proof of the higher walls. The discovery of a party wall in the walls extending or incorporating older party
reliability of party walls. An improper con- construction phase results in complicated walls (Figure 2). Depending on the shape of
struction procedure led to the partial collapse changes and significant delays. It is essential the original building, these remnant walls
of a rubble foundation that was supporting a to recognize the presence of such walls at may not be continuous or may not span
party wall separating two historic buildings. the preliminary stage of a project. the entire length of the more recent wall,
A bottom section of approximately 25 feet When one plans to develop a new building and may be missed by probes.
collapsed, leaving about 15 feet of rubble on a lot that is still occupied, an exterior A serious accident that took place during
foundation standing at each end. The soil topographical survey may not reliably the underpinning of the foundation of a
underlying this remaining foundation was determine the presence or even the exact fifteen-story loft in midtown Manhattan
competent and the three-story unreinforced thickness of a party wall. Even more, such exemplifies the danger of not exploring the
masonry wall was able to turn into an arch a wall might not lie exactly centered on the layered history of party walls adjoining a
spanning 25 feet above the collapsed area. property line. Rarely do original construc- construction site. The steel frame loft had
Most independent walls would have failed, tion drawings exist, and current owners been erected around 1926 on a site previ-
but the wood floors on both sides of this may be unaware and may only infer the ously occupied by a masonry building that
wall maintained its geometric stability and presence of a party wall. Since the thickness belonged to a group of attached 1880s ten-
the restraint provided by the floors allowed of two abutting but independent walls can ements. When originally constructed, the
the wall to sustain the significant increase in be larger than that of a party wall, a simple lofts masonry incorporated the party wall of
compressive stresses. probe may be sufficient to elucidate the the attached remaining tenement building.
Many owners may not be aware of the obli- situation. In many cases, adjoining owners Also, this 1880s wall was underpinned to
gation to maintain, in common, the
structural as well as the fire separation
functions of party walls. An interesting
incident occurred in 2009 when the
inspectors determined, while responding
to a complaint about a facade bowing,
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FLOOR WALL (in white)
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older attached buildings were erected by
the same developer and each building was
LOT LINE
subsequently sold to different individuals.
Although no Party Wall Agreement was ANCHOR
FILL GAP MATERIAL
25 PSI COMPRESS
signed, the owners legal rights and obliga-
tions are implied by the mere existence of
the wall and its common use. WOOD FLOOR
CONCRETE
Adjoining Demolition SHEAR WALL
Demolition along a party wall results in new

RUBBLE WALL
structural conditions and exposure to poten-
tial adverse weather conditions. As a result, EXISTING
the party performing demolition is required STONE SHELF
CUT TOE
to utilize a series of proactive measures. UNDERPIN NEW
Since 1968, the NYCBC required: where NEW SOIL BASEMENT
ANCHOR
the floor beams of the adjacent building bear
on the party wall, the person causing the
demolition shall ascertain that such beams Figure 6. Typical lot line condition.
are anchored into the wall and, where such
anchorage is lacking, shall provide anchorage the deteriorating conditions are not usually
or otherwise brace the standing wall. The observed in time due to the mask provided
Figure 4. Wall collapsed due to lack of anchorage to
validity of this requirement was confirmed by the vinyl siding. In addition to improving
the diaphragm. by several recent wall collapse investigations weather proofing, a proper solution to stabiliz-
that determined that these party walls were ing these noggin walls is to brace them with
accommodate the deeper basement of the not anchored when the adjoining building properly nailed wood boards.
loft. In 2014, the remaining tenement was was demolished (Figure 4). As explained in
demolished and excavation for a new build- the Collapse of Masonry Structures under Non-
ing commenced. The basement of this new Extreme Loads [Eschenasy, Second Applied Developing an
development ran even deeper than the lofts Technology Councils (ATC) & the Structural
basement, and an underpinning installa- Engineering Institutes (SEI) Conference
Adjoining Structure
tion started. It appeared that the contractor on Improving the Seismic Performance of As long as masonry was the main structural
was not fully aware that he was, in fact, Existing Buildings and Other Structures], bearing material, the vertical extension of
undermining an older underpinning job. forensic investigations determined that the party walls was permitted under the condi-
While he was digging, an old unattached collapses were not due to over-stress but to tion that the existing wall was lined with
pin overturned and collapsed with tragic loss of stability. additional brick to meet the total required
consequences (Figure 3). An engineering investigation is required thickness for the new height. When, at the
When the existence of a party wall is before placing any special load on a party wall, turn of the 20th century, masonry bearing
confirmed, the proper course of action is for instance when the basement of a demol- walls for high-rise buildings were aban-
to obtain acceptance from the adjoining ished building is filled with soil. Additional doned in favor of steel frames, engineers
owner for any construction involving this bracing of a wall may become necessary when faced different challenges when working in
wall. The acceptance of the proposed work the wall is not plumb or starts to lean follow- the vicinity of masonry party walls.
is formalized in a legal document called ing demolition or excavation. As early as 1912, the Kidder Parker
the Party Wall Agreement. Recently, the Demolition adjoining nogging party walls Handbook observed that when buildings
NYCDOB issued a standardized form. poses special difficulties. The noggin (or nog- of skeleton construction are erected without
Such agreement is necessary when owners ging) wall is an assembly where the space a party wall agreement, it is usually impos-
of adjoining lots decide to build a lot line between wood studs is filled with random sible to obtain a symmetrical foundation
wall to be used in common. In many cases, bricks (Figure 5). Building regulations up to directly under the columns supporting the
1916 allowed this type of construction to be side or party wall. The Handbook recom-
used as a building separation. Today, there are mended cantilever foundations. The 1915
still a good number of such walls that exist. National Building Code indicated: Where
Vinyl siding has been, and still is today, the an existing party wall is to be incorporated
owners primary choice for weather proof- in a new building of skeleton or curtain
ing noggin walls. Investigations of several wall construction, the vertical extension of
nogging wall collapses blamed significant rot the existing party wall shall be supported
of the studs resulting from rainwater that entirely by columns and girders.
had penetrated behind the vinyl cladding. Many incidents and delays occur during
In contrast to regular wood stud walls where excavations when the configuration of the
the air around the studs allows evaporation of party wall foundation is unknown. It is
the water, the bricks that are set tight against essential to use an exploratory pit to under-
Figure 5. Noggin wall. the studs preclude evaporation. Even worse, stand the shape of the existing footing.

Typically, unreinforced masonry walls were well. At the time of their erection, these walls Given the ubiquity of attached masonry
supported by a continuous rubble stone wall saved space. However, today, when the same structures in older U.S. cities, it is sur-
that was approximately six inches wider than lots are used for redevelopment, the presence of prising that recent standards and model
the wall above. Some weaker soils required party walls reduces the buildable area, especially codes that cover existing buildings, i.e.
this rubble wall be placed on an enlarged at the basement level. The presence of such old the International Existing Building Code
base on a stepped masonry, stone, or con- party walls places additional obligations on the (IEBC) and the American Society of Civil
crete shelf at least six inches wider than developer and increases the risk of foundation Engineers ASCE 41-13, Seismic Evaluation
the wall above. Obviously, such enlargement excavation accidents. When a project occurs in and Retrofit Rehabilitation of Existing
encroaches on the intended location of the an area occupied by old masonry buildings, the Buildings, do not devote specific prescrip-
new foundation wall (Figure 6). presence of a party wall along a lot line needs to tions for party walls. Hopefully, this will
If the toe needs to be removed, this be probed as early as possible. be addressed in the future.
must be indicated in the Party Wall
Agreement. Sawing off the toe needs
to be preceded by an underpinning
solution that prevents the tendency of
the foundation to rotate as a result of
the eccentric application of the walls
gravity force resultant. In a recent case,
where the underpinning and removal
of the toe were not properly engi-
neered, a substantial increase of the
existing buildings lean occurred. It
required extensive shoring.
Concerns about buildings pounding
against each other during a seismic
event have led to the introduction of
structural separation requirements in
engineering standards. Structural sepa-
ration is not necessarily the opposite
of party wall construction since, from

a structural engineering point of view,
a group of attached buildings forms a
single structure.
Following the 1995 introduction of
the building separation requirement in
NYCBC, it was observed that when a
new building was built, separated by
the code required gap from an existing SUPERIOR
unreinforced bearing masonry struc-
ENVIRONMENT
RAPID
ture, the latter could start to lean and
close the gap. To prevent this lean,
THE
INSTALLATION
the code now requires the structural
separation along unreinforced masonry
structures to be filled with a material LEGACY CUSTOM-DESIGNED
that has a minimum compressive
strength of 25 psi. ADVANTAGE FABRIC BUILDINGS
Commonly, in new tall buildings, Fast Construction
concrete shear walls are built along
lot lines and function as firewalls and as Concept to Installation
an envelope enclosure. When adjoining In-house Engineering
existing party walls, these shear walls Patented Attachment System
need to be placed further away from
the lot line by a distance equal to the
Relocatable
protruding wall dimension. Owners
perceive this as a loss of rentable space.
877.259.1528
Conclusions LegacyBuildingSolutions.com
In their millennial existence, party walls
have saved material and have performed

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S Structural
eismic assessment of earthquake-damaged
buildings typically involves damage surveys
and structural analyses. In this unique proj-
ect, the evaluations also included the seismic
testing of nine full-scale beam-column connections
and two portions of shear wall slab connections,
extracted from reinforced concrete buildings with
teSting
minor damage. The concrete specimens had to be issues and advances related
tested in less than a year. As the number of specimens Figure 2. Test frame deflected shape under maximum to structural testing
and limited time exceeded the capacity of available actuator load.
testing facilities, a local warehouse was turned into a
temporary testing facility. With the lack of a strong
floor and strong wall, the project team designed a
self-equilibrating steel test frame so that the reaction
forces transferred to the warehouse slab were mini-
mized. The innovative test frame accommodated
all the different specimens in earthquake-type cyclic
tests while simulating the boundary conditions of
the specimens inside the buildings. Figure 3. Contact pressure distribution under
maximum actuator load.
supported the actuators,
Innovative Test Frame were welded-column (WC)
The test frame, shown in Figure 1, consisted of sections WC400 and were Temporary Testing Facility
two 20-foot-high steel towers separated by 20 feet perforated at various levels
and supported by 3-foot-thick steel-concrete (SC) to enable adjustment of the
composite footings resting on top of the warehouse actuator to match the different specimen heights. All Evaluating the Seismic
slab. Horizontal steel diaphragms connected the two tower columns were bolted to the SC footings, which
towers at the top and bottom. The top diaphragm consisted of steel boxes filled with 52 yards of high
Performance of Concrete
was made removable to facilitate installation of the early-strength concrete, each, and reinforced with Elements
heavy specimens inside the frame. The bottom internal steel diaphragm plates. The SC footings sat
By Giulio Leon Flores, P.E.,
diaphragm was elevated from the floor so that the on top of the warehouse slab and provided stability
Hussien Abdel-Baky, Ph.D., P.E.,
specimen reactions were transferred to the end towers and limited vibration during testing.
and James C. Hays, P.E.
without damaging the warehouse slab. Removable The biggest challenge during the frame design
V-braces connected the bottom diaphragm to the was the low bearing capacity of the warehouse slab,
two towers. estimated at 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi).
Giulio Leon Flores (giulio.leon@
The test frame was designed under strict deflection The frame was designed to internally equilibrate
rizzoassoc.com), is a Engineering
requirements so as not to influence the accuracy of the applied and reaction forces to overcome this
Manager with RIZZO Associates,
the test results. The maximum lateral and vertical limitation, as shown schematically in Figure 2. The
a consulting company in
deflection were limited to 18 inch and 116 inch (down- actuator, at its maximum capacity, imposes up to
Pittsburgh, PA. He was the lead
wards), respectively, while no uplift was allowed. The 3,688 kip-feet applied moment at the base of the
engineer for the seismic tests.
efficient structural system of the frame provided frame. This moment generates a force couple (shown
the necessary lateral and vertical stiffness. The two in red in Figure 2) that applies a high bearing pressure Hussien Abdel-Baky
end towers were comprised of Universal Column underneath one tower and large uplift forces on the ([email protected]),
(UC) sections UC310 and UC200, which were other tower. On the other hand, the specimen reac- is a Senior Structural Engineer
braced at different levels and stiffened by 38-inch- tion forces (in green in Figure 2) generate a reaction with the Shockey Precast Company
thick steel plates. The middle tower columns, which moment which equilibrates the applied moment. in Winchester, VA. Previously, he
This equilibrium of forces requires the middle plat- worked for RIZZO Associates and
form to behave in flexure, similar to a strap footing. served as structural engineer for the
The middle platform was raised 2 inches from the design of the test frame.
warehouse slab to function as required. As the reac-
James C. Hays (james.hays@
tion forces along the middle platform act in the
rizzoassoc.com), is a Chief
opposite direction to the applied vertical forces, the
Structural Design Engineer with
bearing pressure applied to the warehouse slab was
RIZZO Associates. He supervised
gradually reduced, as shown in Figure 3 for the case
the design, fabrication, and
of maximum applied actuator force of 450 kips. The
erection of the test frame.
SC footings uniformly spread the applied pressure on
the warehouse slab, eliminating any localized stress
concentration underneath the towers and ensured
contact to the slab at all times (i.e., no uplift). The
Figure 1. Self-reacting test frame.
SC footings were connected by the 20-inch-thick
STRUCTURE magazine 17
Figure 4. FE model of test frame with the largest Figure 5. Assemblage of test frame in the warehouse. Figure 6. Specimen layout under cyclic testing.
specimen inside.
middle platform which consisted of steel beams Secondary supports consisting of heavy steel American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee
partially encased by a 16-inch concrete slab that caps at the bottom and top of the column, and 374.1. The loading consisted of the application
reduced deflection and vibration during the seis- double-pinned struts at the beam ends, forced of incremental displacements at the top of the
mic testing. The middle platform beam along the specimen to deflect as during a seismic event. specimens, up to a drift of 3% or failure of the
the same axis of the actuator column was drilled In other words, a zero moment at the beam and specimen. After each cyclic loading, the test was
with anchor points to enable the adjustment of column ends (pin connections) and free transla- stopped to identify and measure cracks and also
the struts supporting the specimen beam ends. tion except at the column bottom, which is the take photographic records. The test results con-
Each anchor point location was designed for an reference point for relative displacement (Figure sisted of force versus deformation plots at critical
allowable vertical load of 340 kips in tension 6). The double-pinned struts consisted of 10- x sections of one of the specimens. Figure 8a shows
or compression, and for a maximum vertical 10-inch-square hollow sections with 80-milli- the moment versus rotation plot at the beam-to-
deflection of 116 inch. The finite element analysis meter-diameter pins attached at both ends. The column section of the specimen, shown at different
of the frame was carried out using STAAD Pro bottom pin was bolted to a load cell used to cycles. Figure 8b shows the damaged suffered at the
software (Figure 4). measure the specimen reactions. Pretension rods beam-column joint after the last cycle. During the
Because of the warehouse limitations in height attached the steel caps to the column, and the tests, the deformations at critical locations of the
and access, the test frame was designed and double-pinned struts to the beam ends. The axial test frame were also recorded, being the maximum
fabricated as four separate modules which were forces in the pretension rods in the columns rep- displacement around 116 inch at the top of the
assembled at the site (Figure 5): the bottom resented the gravity load carried by the column frame, which was only 1% percent of the maxi-
platform including foundation boxes, the two inside the building. mum applied displacement (+/-5 inches) and thus
towers, and the top platform. This design allows The slab-wall specimens consisted of portions considered negligible.
future transportation and reassembly at a dif- of a concrete shear wall with its tributary slab
ferent location. and were intended to test the shear transference
at the slab-wall interface during a seismic event
Conclusions
(i.e., shear friction). In this test configuration, the The temporary testing facility, equipped
Testing Process walls of the specimen were placed flat on the test with a self-reacting steel test frame, proved
Two 20-ton-capacity Franna cranes lifted and frame floor while the slab stood upright (i.e., in to be a successful alternative to performing
installed all the concrete specimens inside the the vertical position). A secondary frame consist- seismic testing of large concrete elements
test frame. Accurate synchronization of the crane ing of UC310 sections with lateral bracing was on time and within budget. The innovative
movements was essential for proper lifting and designed to transfer the actuator force from the self-reacting frame, which can be transported
movement of the heavy specimens, which were top to the lower part of the steel columns and then and re-assembled at a different location,
carefully braced before installation. Two 450-kip to the slab-wall interface via grout pads (Figure 7). eliminates the need for strong-floor and
double-acting MTS hydraulic actuators applied The beam-column joint regions and slab-wall strong-wall, thus dramatically reducing
the lateral forces at the top of the specimens, interfaces were externally instrumented with high costs. The test results pro-
simulating the earthquake action (Figure 6). accuracy string potentiometers to record beam vided valuable information to
For the beam-column connections, the load- and column flexural rotations and shear deforma- evaluate the buildings seismic
ing represented seismic forces acting on the tions. The specimens were subjected to quasi-static performances.
specimens as if they were inside the buildings. reversed cyclic loading in accordance with the
Figure 7. Slab-wall specimen in test frame. Figure 8a. Moment vs. rotation results. Figure 8b. Specimen damage after cyclic testing.

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Structural W
hat does stiffness have to do
W BEAM
with strength? Well, engineers
may remember learning about LINK
SyStemS
composite beam design, column 500
PLF
design, or beams with compression reinforcing. ANALYSIS MODEL
Courses that included these topics introduced the PICTURE 1
n Factor. That is the factor that defines the ratio ANALYSIS MODEL 500
PLF
of the moduli of elasticity between materials. It
discussion and advances
is used in calculations to convert the stiffness of PICTURE 1
related to structural and different materials to a common one. This was the
component systems foundation for understanding that stiffness plays Figure 1. Analytical model connected beams.
a role in the distribution of forces in a section.
However, material stiffness, the modulus of elas- the case. In these instances, the load is distributed
ticity, and cross-sectional area are not the only to the members in proportion to the ratio of
components that influence the distribution of their stiffnesses.
force flow. Geometric constraints, such as length A simple model can demonstrate the interac-
of members, support conditions, and sectional tive effect of members with different stiffnesses
properties all influence the force flow in a system. (Figure 1). The beams were first sized as inde-
In fact, all of structural engineering is dictated one pendent, unconnected beams based on a linear
way or another by the ratio of stiffness between load of 500 pounds per linear foot (plf ). From
components in a structure. Force flow is defined the resultant moment, a W 10 x 15 was selected
here as the distribution of all for the 20-foot long top beam and a W 10 x 30
internal systems forces, such was selected for the 30-foot long bottom beam.
Stiffness Versus Strength

as axial force, moment, shear, When connected, the top beam moment
and torsion. increased by 155% and the bottom beam
This article discusses two moment decreased by 33.5%. This disparity
systems in order to explore is the result of the top beam being signifi-
the influence of stiffness and strength: 1) struc- cantly stiffer, due to its shorter length, than
tural static systems and 2) connections. the bottom beam. It essentially robbed the
By Paul A. Gossen, P.E., F.ASCE, Why is this important? Compatibility of load from the bottom beam. The top beams
and Keith M. MacBain, Ph.D., P.E. deformations of structural components is the size had to be increased to eliminate the over-
foundation of a safe structure. If there is no com- stress while the bottom beam size remained
patibility between components, they can easily be unchanged. It was necessary for the top beam
overstressed and can fail progressively as a result. to be increased to a W 10 x 30 to obtain the
strength to carry the increased load that was
shed from the bottom beam. Increasing its
Structural Systems section results in a larger section modulus and,
Often, members are connected to carry the same more so, a larger moment of inertia. Looking
load, although sometimes it may not appear to be at the terms of both, the section modulus and
Paul A. Gossen is Principal the moment of inertia, one can
Emeritus at Geiger Engineers. see that the moment of inertia,
He is a member of ASCE and thus the stiffness, increased
Committee 19 Structural by a factor of 2.5 while the sec-
Application of Steel Cables for tion modulus increased by 2.3,
Buildings, as well as Committee which is the opposite of what
55 Tensile Membrane was desired. (Section Modulus
Structures. Paul can be reached S = bd2/6; Moment of Inertia I
at [email protected]. = bd3/12; b = width, d = depth)
(See Figure 2a).
Keith M. MacBain is a
Another solution would be
Principal of Geiger Engineers
to increase the stiffness of the
and can be reached at
bottom beam. In this scenario,
[email protected].
the bottom beam is increased
to a W 14 x 38 to obtain the
stiffness that eliminates the shed-
ding of load to the top beam,
while the top beam size remained
unchanged. Figure 2b shows the
interaction of the two beams.
Note that the second solution
Figure 2a. Impact of top beam size increase. is more economical. In the first
20 June 2017
very limited diaphragm composed of joists that support metal roof
action. Often members in deck. Edge members around the panels
these structures are designed form borders that support the deck on the
based on the contribut- long sides and the joists on the short sides.
ing load and spans without The panels were prefabricated and lifted
regard to the fact that they are onto the cable net. The members along the
interconnected. Thus, load cables are clamped to the cable to prevent
sharing is ignored. However, the panel from sliding and to resist uplift
if the structure is analyzed from wind. The modulus of elasticity (E)
three-dimensionally, which of the cable is 20 x 106 kips per square inch
reflects load sharing among (ksi), and its working strength is 90 ksi, with
the members, it is evident a factor of safety of 2.2. The edge member
that the assumed load allo- that is clamped to the cable is a structural
cation is incorrect and that section with a modulus of elasticity of 29
the ridge member, which x 106 ksi and a working stress 21.7 ksi. If
was properly sized for the the cable and the edge member are rigidly
assumed contributing load, bolted together, the strain compatibility
is overloaded. The behavior is must be checked. The cables are pre-ten-
Figure 2b. Impact of bottom beam size increase. similar to that demonstrated sioned to 50% of their allowable capacity
in the example above. before placing the panels. The differential
scenario, 300 pounds was added to the struc- Again, the reason is that the ridge member strain between preload and maximum load
ture while the steel weight was increased by is stiffer compared to the valley rafter and for the cable is (0.5 x 90)/(20 x 10 6) = 2.25
only 240 pounds in the second scenario. attracts a greater share of the total load. x 10-6 and for the edge member it is 21.7/
However, the beam depth increased from 10 Most engineers would increase the ridge (29 x 106) = .75x10-6. This means that the
inches to 14 inches. The 14-inch deep beam member size, usually its depth, because strain in the cable under full load is 3 times
was chosen because the moment of inertia this is more effective in resisting moments. greater than the allowable strain in the edge
and stiffness increases significantly without However, what is needed is to modify its member, which would cause failure of the
a large increase in weight. If the depth could stiffness as well as its strength. As shown edge member. The solution was to rigidly
not be more than 10 inches, then the beam in the example above (Figures 2a and 2b), clamp the edge member of a panel to the
size would have had to become a W10 x 68. the increase in size, specifically the depth, cable at only one location and allow the
A third solution would have been to change increases the section modulus. At the other connections to slide. These additional
the boundary condition of the lower beam, same time, the moment of inertia is also connections were required to resist wind
i.e. restrain the rotation at the support. increased by a larger factor. Increased stiff- uplift. The detail for the sliding connection
So, where do these conditions occur in ness attracts even more load, resulting in consisted of a split pipe with a neoprene
practice? They are more widespread than larger moments. liner between the surface of the cable on
one may realize. Investigating the compatibility of stress the inside face of the pipe. The split pipe
A simple example is a wooden roof struc- and strain, an indicator of material stiffness was bolted on the cable using U bolts.
ture to form dormers, frequently used in and cross section, is essential when com- There are a few structural systems where defor-
residential buildings (Figure 3). The ridge bining sections of different stress capacities mations increase their capacity. In catenary
beam is linked to the valley rafters by the and or stress/strain behavior. An example systems, elastic deformations amplify the sag
sloped rafters. The roof sheathing is 2 x 6 is a cable roof clad with prefabricated and, thus, its load carrying capacity. Membrane
tongue and groove decking which provides roof panels (Figure 4). The roof panels are and cable structures often incorporate catenaries.
RIDGE BEAM
SLOPED RAFTER
VALLEY RAFTER
WOOD ROOF
PICTURE 3
Figure 3. An example of load sharing members in a wood roof. Figure 4. Floating roof panels in a cable roof.

3/8"
3/4" THICK COVER
PLATE
3/8"
1"
TOP FLANGE OF W 30 x 132
END
FigureDETAIL OFofCOVERPLATE
5. End detail a cover plate. Figure 6. Wooden scarf joint connections.
the magnitude of load transfer to match the Scarf splices in wood connections (Figure 6)
Connections capacity of the welds or match the welds use the same principal. By tapering the con-
The importance of exploring compatibil- to the stiffness of the cover plate. Here is nected section against each other, a smooth
ity in connections cannot be overstated. an example: load transfer is achieved without overstress-
However, detailed free-body analyses of A W30 x 132 beam has a moment of 665 ing the glue line. They are usually used to
load transfers in connections are often kip-feet resulting in a bending stress (fb) of
extend the length of a member. Failure in
ignored. 21 ksi. A -inch-thick cover plate is to be these connections usually originates at the
An example of connection compatibil- welded to the flange of the beam. The strain apex of the tapered joint. If the glue line
ity is the connection of a cover plate that resulting from the stress in the beam flange fails at this location, the joint peels apart.
reinforces a girder. The end connection of must become the same in the cover plate. The cause is an increase of stress in the
a cover plate to the flange of a girder is the The plate is welded to the flange with a remaining glue line.
critical area because the cover plate strain 3
8-inch fillet weld. The capacity of the weldAnother example of how the stiffness of a
has to catch up with the strain in the is 5.6 kips per inch. For welds on both sidescomponent in a connection affects its per-
girder flange. of the plate, the load that can be transferred
formance can be shown at a simply-bolted
The load is transferred from the top flange is F = 2 x 5.8 = 11.6 kips per inch. The splice of a wide flange beam. The force in
to the cover plate through welds. The welds locally increased area of the cover plate at one beam is transferred to another beam
provide a shear connection between the two this location should not exceed A = F/fb; by splice plates.
components. Thus, the shear capacity of A = 11. 6/ 21 = .552 square inches. The Plates on each side of the web, on the
the weld is critical for the integrity of the stress of the flange is used here because theoutside of the flanges, and on the under-
connection. Using a free body diagram and strain in the cover plate must match the side of the flanges are bolted together to
looking at the strain compatibility between one in the flange. The modulus of elastic- form the connection (Figure 7). The con-
the connected area of the cover plate and ity (E) is the same for the flange and the necting bolts are loaded in double shear.
the flange, the weld, as well as the shape cover plate. Thus, the differential increase The plates on the outside of the flanges
of the end of the cover plate, can be deter- of the -inch plate width over 1 inch is differ from those on the underside of the
mined. The flange is under load and, thus, .552/ 0.75 = .736. Both sides of the plate flange. The width of the outside plates can
has deformations. The cover plate needs to edges are tapered in plan. Thus, the taper isbe the full width of the flanges. The plates
adapt to this deformation for a safe load 2/.736 or 1: 0.368 or 1 inch: 38-inch (Figure
on the underside of each flange are placed
transfer. The limit of how much load can be 5). The magnitude of the total load that is on each side of the web to clear the web
transferred is defined by the capacity of the transferred depends on the width of the plate in
and fillet; thus, the combined width of these
welds that connect the plate to the flange. this example. As more and more load is trans-plates is less than that of the top plate. The
The local stiffness of the cover plate section ferred to the plate, the stress level in the beam
full capacity of a bolt in double shear can
dictates how much load is attracted. In the flange is reduced and, theoretically, the slope
only be realized if both bolt shear planes
design, one can tailor the shape of the end of the taper could be increased. A more practi-
are stressed to their maximum allowable
of the cover plate, thereby manipulating cal solution would be to reduce the weld size.
shear stress. This can only happen when
the strain of top flange plate is
A equal to that of the underside.
Consequently, the area of the top
plate must equal the sum of areas
of the under-the-flange plates.
The total width of the under-
the-flange plates is less than that
0.5A of the top plate due to the inter-
ference of the web and fillet. By
increasing the thickness of the
SIDE VIEW under-the-flange plates, the same
area of that of the top plate can
SECTION
be obtained resulting in an equal
TYPICAL
Figure 7. SteelBEAM SPLICE
beam splice. strain in the connection plates.
PICTURE 7
more economical and safer design. There
GLASS & CERAMICS
The Final Word are computer programs that analyze these
The stiffness distribution in a structural relationships and more that can incorpo-
system affects its force flow. By manipu- rate the non-linear behavior of materials.
lating its stiffness, the force and moment However, finite element analyses of connec-
STRESS
HIGH STRENTH WIRE distribution can be rearranged. Components tions often still lead to unrealistic results,
in structures are rarely isolated, even though because these analyses do not reflect the
it is often assumed that they are. Looking plasticity of the materials.
MILD STEEL at the deformations and strain compat- The evaluation of strain compatibility
PLASTIC RANGE
ibility between components, one may get in the design of pure elastic materials is
a better understanding of the force and essential. Without that, the possibility of
moment distributions that may result in a sequential or progressive failure is high.
STRAIN
Figure 8. Stress-strain curves for different materials.
Materials
All the above examples are based on materials
with pure elastic behavior. Elastic behavior
means that the stress/strain relationship is
linear. Most designs assume that the mate-
rials behave linearly, which allows one to
readily extrapolate the forces and stresses
of a structure or connection. It allows the
superposition of load effects. However, most
materials exhibit non-linear behavior in
higher stress ranges. Figure 8 shows the stress-
strain curve for steel, high strength wires, and
glass and ceramic materials. Note that mild
steel in the plastic range (yield range) deforms

but gains very little strength. This results in
a loss of stiffness. Consequently, in the yield
range, a member can shed load to other stiffer
members in a structure that are less stressed
and whose material have not yet reached the
yield stress. The change in geometry in the
system may cause instability in compression
members that must be examined. Yielding of
the steel, however, is limited by the breaking
strength of the material as well as strain hard-
ening. Strain hardening occurs with cycled
stresses in the yield range and reduces the
ductility of the material.
Fillet welds would not work without
yielding since strain compatibility is rarely
observed between connected sections. Only
in bridge work and when fatigue issues are
a concern is strain compatibility addressed.
The pure elastic behavior of a material
(without any plasticity at any stress level) is
brittle behavior. These materials are unfor-
giving to overloading, and their failure is
without warning. It is for this reason that
factors of safety in the order of 4 to 6 are
applied in the design of glass and stone, and a
factor of safety of 2.2 is applied in the design
of high strength cables with a limited inelastic
range at high stress. These are all in contrast
to mild steel, with a sizable yield range and
a factor of safety of only 1.6.

I
n this article, a wood frame shear wall is updated provisions to provide consistency with
Practical analyzed and compared per American Wood

Councils 2015 Wood Frame Construction
Manual (WFCM) and 2015 Special Design
ASCE 7-10 and is also referenced in ASCE 7-16.
Additional information concerning changes to
2015 SDPWS appeared in STRUCTURE maga-
SolutionS
Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS). The zines July 2015 issue.
difference between the segmented and perforated To facilitate the following design example, a free
shear wall design approach and an overview of non-printable PDF version of the 2015 SDPWS
various hold-down design methods is discussed. and 2015 WFCM is available from the AWC
solutions for the practicing Designers will likely find that the 2015 WFCM website for those who do not already have a copy
structural engineer contains time-saving features for calculation of of the standards.
loads and design of shear walls and other build-
ing systems and components within the scope of
the document. Wood Shear Wall
Design Example
2015 WFCM The following design assumptions are used for
The 2015 WFCM is referenced in both the 2015 development of a comparison of shear wall designs
International Residential Code (IRC) and the 2015 using the 2015 WFCM and 2015 SDPWS.
International Building Code (IBC). The WFCM Gypsum is assumed as interior shear wall sheath-
includes prescriptive and engineered design provi- ing, but the approach will show the difference
sions for wood wall, floor, and roof systems and when not including its capacity. Both the seg-
their connections. A range of structural elements mented shear wall (SSW) approach and perforated
shear wall (PSW) approach are
utilized and compared. Note
Wood Shear Wall Design Examples for Wind this is not a comprehensive
shear wall design. Issues such
as deflection, wind uplift, base
is covered, including sawn lumber, structural shear, and summing hold-downs from upper floors
Per 2015 WFCM and glued laminated timber, wood structural sheath- are not addressed.
2015 SDPWS ing, I-joists, and trusses. While the WFCM is
Summary of Design Assumptions
geared primarily to one- and two-family dwell-
By John Buddy Showalter, P.E. ings, IBC 2309 also allows the WFCM to be used 130 mph (700-yr, 3-second gust) Exposure B
for small commercial applications assigned to L=36 feet
Risk Categories I and II. As an example, a single- W=30 feet
story, slab-on-grade, light commercial structure 5/12 roof pitch
with building length and width less than 80 feet Top plate to ridge height = 6.25 feet
(i.e., restaurants, office buildings, etc.) could be 2-story
designed for lateral (wind or seismic) and gravity 8-foot wall height
loads per the WFCM. 6.75-foot door height
4-foot window height
John Buddy Showalter is Vice ASCE 7-10 Load Provisions
Wood Structural Panel (WSP) Exterior
President of Technology Transfer
Tabulated engineered and prescriptive design pro- Sheathing
for the American Wood Council
visions in WFCM Chapters 2 and 3, respectively, Vary interior walls with and without
and serves as a member of the
are based on the following loads from ASCE 7-10 -inch gypsum
STRUCTURE magazine Editorial
Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Figure 1 provides an elevation view showing
Board. He may be reached at
Structures: window and door openings. Only first-floor shear
[email protected].
0 to 70 psf ground snow loads walls and hold-downs will be analyzed in this
110 to 195 mph 700-year return period example.
3-second gust basic wind speeds
2015 WFCM Prescriptive Segmented
Seismic Design Categories A D
Shear Wall
Additional information concerning changes to
2015 WFCM appeared in STRUCTURE maga- The 2015 WFCM Table 3.17A gives length
zines February 2015 issue. requirements for an SSW resisting wind loads. For
a 30-foot building wall length, W, the interpolated
value is 12.3 feet. Table 3.17A, Footnote 4, pro-
2015 SDPWS vides required sheathing length adjustments based
The 2015 SDPWS contains provisions for design on wall heights and top plate-to-ridge heights
of wood members, fasteners, and assemblies to other than what is assumed in the table which
resist wind and seismic forces and is referenced in is 10 feet for each. For this example, the adjust-
the 2015 IBC Chapter 23 on wood for the design ment is 0.68. Therefore, an SSW would require
of lateral force resisting systems. It contains many 8.4 feet of full-height wall segments. Figure 1
24 June 2017
Segmented Shear Wall
Perforated Shear Wall

Figure 2. Comparison of shear wall requirements for a segmented vs. a
Figure 1. Elevation view of the structure used in a wind load design example perforated shear wall using 2015 WFCM prescriptive design provisions and
comparing shear wall design procedures. assuming contribution of gypsum capacity.
shows 4 feet of shear wall at each corner and shear capacity for which it is designed. The Without interior gypsum, the segmented
2.5 feet between the windows for a total of capacity shown in Table 3.17D is 336 plf method required 10.9 feet which is 30% of
13 feet, which is sufficient. Hold-downs are (gypsum is assumed to have 100 plf capacity full-height wall sheathing. So, the 1.72 factor
required at the ends of each segment and will for wind), and an adjustment factor of 1.3 is from WFCM Table 3.17E results in 18.7 feet
be designed later (Figure 2). tabulated which can be used to adjust sheath- required for the PSW. Either one of these
WFCM Table 3.17D facilitates variation ing length requirements that were calculated results is sufficient because there are 21 feet
of exterior and interior sheathing materials, from Table 3.17A earlier. That would then of full height wall sheathing. The 21 feet of
nail diameter and spacing, panel thickness, require 10.9 feet of sheathing length rather full-height sheathing is based on wall portions
and stud spacing. WFCM shear wall baseline than 8.4 feet. In this particular example, if that meet maximum aspect ratio limits.
assumptions are 716 wood structural panels interior gypsum is excluded, the 13 feet of As noted, a major benefit of the PSW
on studs at 16 inches on-center, 8d common full-height segments determined earlier is method is that, for examples such as this,
nails, 6-inch panel edge nail spacing, and sufficient. As noted, hold-downs are required hold-downs are only required at the corners.
12-inch panel field nail spacing (6 and 12). at the ends of each segment (Figure 2). By simply accounting for the benefit of a
Shear wall tables for wind also assume con- wall fully-sheathed with WSPs, which is fairly
2015 WFCM Prescriptive Perforated
tribution of half-inch unblocked interior common in most parts of the country, hold-
Shear Wall
gypsum. Note the allowable stress design downs can typically be eliminated around
(ASD) unit shear capacity of 436 plf for wind For the PSW approach, the entire wall is window and door openings (Figure 2).
and a maximum shear-wall-segment aspect sheathed on one or both sides with wood
2015 WFCM Prescriptive Hold-Down
ratio of 3.5:1. All shear wall capacities in Table structural panels. For wind design, interior
Capacities
3.17D are derived from the 2015 SDPWS. gypsum can also be used additively with exte-
Table 3.17D, Footnote 2, requires block- rior wood structural panels. The contribution In the WFCM, overturning loads are dif-
ing of gypsum wallboard edges where the of sheathing above and below window open- ferentiated from uplift loads. Overturning
aspect ratio exceeds 1.5:1. SDPWS does not ings, and above the door opening, can also be moments result from lateral loads which are
contain aspect ratio limits for the case where included. Nail spacing requirements for WSPs resisted by shear walls. Uplift forces arise
exterior and interior sheathing materials are may be decreased (e.g. from 6 and 12 to 4 and solely from wind uplift on the roof and are
combined for wind resistance. SDPWS does 12). By increasing wall capacity, hold-downs transferred directly into walls supporting
state that unit shears can be combined. Prior can be eliminated around window and door roof framing. A conservative assumption of
practice within WFCM for aspect ratios has openings. This is a major benefit of the PSW WFCM tabulated hold-down capacities is
been to limit use of the combined materi- method. that ASD unit shear capacities for the refer-
als to the higher aspect ratio material. For WFCM Table 3.17E is used to determine ence shear wall are multiplied by wall height
example, WSP alone has a maximum aspect the PSW full height sheathing adjustment. to determine maximum hold-down capacity.
ratio of 3.5:1. Blocked gypsum wallboard There is a 6.8-foot door opening in the Therefore, the same hold-down capacity can
has a maximum aspect ratio of 2:1. WFCM middle of the wall, which will be used as the be calculated for both the SSW and PSW.
has permitted the use of combined resistance maximum, unrestrained opening height. Calculating the wind hold-down capacity in
resulting from WSP exterior sheathing and The full-height sheathing length required WFCM Table 3.17F is based on both wood
blocked GWB interior sheathing on walls for the SSW was 8.4 feet when includ- structural panels and gypsum, resulting in
with an aspect ratio up to 3.5:1. ing gypsum. The PSW length adjustment 3,488 pounds for this example. If gypsum
What if interior gypsum capacity is is based on the tabulated length of SSW is excluded, then the capacity is lower. Table
excluded from wind design? There may be required. So, 8.4 feet divided by the full 3.17F, Footnote 1, states that the tabulated
cases, such as unfinished garages, where there wall length is 23% of full-height sheath- hold-down capacity is divided by the sheath-
is no interior gypsum. Note also, if con- ing. Interpolation gives a factor of 1.86. ing type adjustment factor from Table 3.17D,
tractors dont install gypsum with assumed Multiplying by the length required for the which is 1.3 as determined earlier, so a 2,683-
nail spacings, it doesnt provide additional segmented method results in 15.6 feet. pound hold-down is required if excluding

Reference SDPWS Capacities and Adjustments
V = 2,985 lbs
v = 436 plf (w/ blocked gypsum)
v = 336 plf (w/o gypsum)
%FHS = Li / Ltot
Li = 16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5 = 19.1
Perforated Shear Wall Ltot = 36
%FHS = 19.1 / 36 = 53%
Interpolated Co Factor = 0.59
436(0.59) = 257 plf

2,985/257 = 11.6 < 21 (w/ blocked
gypsum)
336(0.59) = 198 plf
2,985/198 = 15.1 (w/o gypsum)
Segmented Shear Wall
Note: Li per SDPWS 4.3.4.3 adjustment = 2bs/h
Figure 3. Comparison of shear wall requirements for a segmented vs. a
perforated shear wall using 2015 WFCM engineered design provisions and Figure 4. Summary of perforated shear wall calculations per 2015 SDPWS
assuming contribution of gypsum capacity. Table 4.3.3.5.
gypsum. Note also that hold-down capacities Floor diaphragm load is 105 plf (after a wall comparison of shear wall requirements
are tabulated per story. Required hold-down height adjustment per Footnote 2). Add those for SSW versus PSW assuming gypsum
capacities need to be summed from the story up for 199 plf, multiply by building width, contribution.
above, but are not shown in this example for and divide by two because half the load goes
2015 WFCM Engineered Hold-Down
simplicity. to each shear wall. The result is 2,985 pounds
Capacities
Another conservative assumption in at the top of the first-floor shear wall.
WFCM Prescriptive Design provisions The 2015 WFCM references 2015 SDPWS WFCM section 2.2.4 allows for offsetting
(Chapter 3) is that design dead load is only for shear wall capacities. However, as discussed hold-down capacity with up to 60% of design
used to offset uplift loads and not overturn- earlier, WFCM Table 3.17D tabulates 436 dead load. The same approach for determin-
ing loads. However, WFCM Engineered plf and 336 plf shear wall capacities for this ing hold-down capacities based on ASD unit
Design provisions (Chapter 2) allow for up example, with and without gypsum, respec- shear wall capacity is used for this example.
to 60% of design dead load to offset over- tively. Therefore, length requirements are: Therefore, hold-down capacities are as shown
turning. Of course, engineering judgment 2,985/436 = 6.8 feet (with blocked earlier for the prescriptive design approach.
is required to determine what portion of gypsum)
2015 SDPWS Segmented Shear Wall
design dead load is tributary to the hold- 2,985/336 = 8.9 feet (without gypsum)
down, which is a major reason for the Based on these results, the 4-foot segments at SSW design per the SDPWS is identi-
conservative approach. each building corner are sufficient if blocked cal to what was shown earlier under the
gypsum is included in the shear wall capacity WFCM Engineered approach. As noted, the
2015 WFCM Engineered Segmented
(Figure 3). This also shows that the WFCM WFCM references the SDPWS for shear wall
Shear Wall
engineering provisions provide more efficiency capacities.
Engineered requirements in WFCM Chapter in the design process than the prescriptive
2015 SDPWS Perforated Shear Wall
2 allow calculation of loads that are assumed design provisions.
in the prescriptive requirements of WFCM Figure 5 summarizes PSW calculations per
2015 WFCM Engineered Perforated
Chapter 3. WFCM Table 2.5B shows lateral SDPWS Equations 4.3-5 and 4.3-6. These
Shear Wall
loads on the roof and floor diaphragm. With equations provide more accuracy by allow-
a 5/12 roof pitch, a roof span of 30 feet and Figure 4 summarizes PSW calculations per ing the total sheathed area to be included
loads parallel to the ridge, interpolate 94 plf. SDPWS Table 4.3.3.5. Figure 3 shows the in capacity calculations. Note that SDPWS
V = 2,985 lbs (blocked gyp)
Shear Capacity Adjustment Factor
hV== 2,985
=1
V8'
lbs (blocked gyp)
2,985Vlbs (blocked gyp) gyp)
h = 8 Capacity Adjustment Factor
Shear
h=
V =
8'
2,985 =lbs (blocked
2,985 gyp)
lbs (blocked
L = 8
hi = 16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5 = 19.1 Co = h= 1
0.77
8' h = 8'
C h == 8'
0.77 Co = 0.77
i ==
Ltot 36+ 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5 = 19.1
16 = 0.77
Li o=Co16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5
Li = = 0.77
Co16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5
Li = 16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5
Ao =
Ltot =4(4)(2.5)
36 + (5)(6.67) = 73.4 ft2 Li =LLi19.1'
= 16 + 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5
= 16 + L = 2[2(2.5)/8]2.5
19.1'
rAo==0.68
4(4)(2.5) + (5)(6.67) = 73.4 ft2 Li =
iL i 19.1'
= 19.1' i
T =L1,624
=1,624lbs
T = 1,624 lbs
19.1'
C
r o==0.68
0.77 (based on total sheathed area) T=T i1,624
= lbs
lbs
Co = 0.77 (based
Comparison: SDPWS/WFCM Engineered
on total sheathed T=
1,624
(tabulated) Co = 0.59
area) V =lbs
1,840 lbs (w/o gyp) 4.3.4.3In the design of perforated shear walls, the length of each
Comparison: SDPWS/WFCM Engineered (tabulated) CV
oV=
= = 1,840
1,840
0.59
V = lbs
lbs
1,840T lbs
= (w/o
(w/o gyp)
gyp)
(w/olbs
1,001 gyp)
perforated shear wall segment with an aspect ratio greater than 2:1
4.3.4.3In
shallthe design by
be multiplied of 2b
perforated
4.3.4.3In
shearofwalls,
/h for the purposes
4.3.4.3Inthe
thedesign
the length
determining L and Lof each
designofofperforated
perforated
s
shear walls,
walls, the
thelength
lengthofofeach
i
each i
perforated shear wall segment with an aspect ratio greater than 2:1
Note: Li per SDPWS 4.3.4.3 adjustment = 2bs/h TT==T
V1,001
=
=1,001
1,001 lbs
lbs
lbs
1,840 lbs (w/o gyp)
perforatedshear
perforated
shall
shall
shall be
shearwall
bebemultiplied
multiplied
wallsegment
multiplied
by2b
by
segment with
by/h/h2b
2b for/h
for
with an aspect
the
aspect ratio
forpurposes
the
ratiogreater
the purposes
purposes
ss
of
greaterthan
than2:1
of determining
of determining
s determining LLand
2:1
L and L
and L L i i i ii i
4.3.4.3In the design of perforated shear walls, the length of each
Note: Li per SDPWS 4.3.4.3 adjustment = 2bs/h perforated shear wall segment with an aspect ratio greater than 2:1
T=
Figure 5. Calculation summary of PSW shear capacity adjustment factor per 1,001 lbs
Figure 6. Summary of perforatedshall
shear wall calculations
be multiplied of hold-down
by 2bs/h for the capacity Li and Li
purposes of determining
2015 SDPWS Equations 4.3-5 and 4.3-6. per 2015 SDPWS.

Table 4.3.3.5 and WFCM Table 3.17E AWC Standard Segmented Perforated Hold-Downs, lbs
both use maximum opening height and, for
example, do not account for sheathing below 2015 WFCM Prescriptive 8.4 (10.9) 15.6 (18.7) 3,488 (2,683)
window openings. Adjusting the shear wall
capacity of 436 plf (with blocked gypsum) 2015 WFCM Engineered 6.8 (8.9) 11.6 (15.1) 3,488 (2,688)
and 336 plf (without gypsum) by Co = 0.77 2,985 (1,840) [SSW]
results in shear wall lengths of 8.9 feet and 2015 SDPWS 6.8 (8.9) 8.9 (11.6)
1,624 (1,001) [PSW]
11.6 feet, respectively.
(Parenthetical values assume NO interior gypsum capacity)
2015 SDPWS Hold-Down Capacities
Table 1. 2015 WFCM/SDPWS Shear Wall Length Comparison 1st of 2-story; 30-foot roof span with
There is a difference in how hold-down 5/12 pitch; 130 mph Exposure B wind load.
capacities are calculated in SDPWS versus
WFCM. Per SDPWS Equation 4.3-7 for wall design example. WFCM prescriptive eliminated around window and door openings.
SSW, hold-down capacity is based on induced design provisions have an engineering basis Not surprisingly, where the most efficiency is
unit shear. The 2,985-pound load and 8-foot in SDPWS and ASCE 7, even though simplify- gained is with the pure SDPWS engineering
shear wall length result in 347 plf. The shear ing assumptions are made which lead to more approach. Shorter shear walls and smaller hold-
wall height of 8 feet results in a hold-down conservative results. WFCM engineered and downs result. However, designers might find
capacity of 2,985 pounds. Excluding gypsum, SDPWS results are nearly identical, which is the WFCM tables to be a time-saving feature,
a hold-down of 1,840 pounds is calculated. expected, except for the PSW design. The dif- especially for calculating ASCE 7 wind loads.
For the PSW, SDPWS Equation 4.3-8 can ference in the PSW results is due to SDPWS
be used, which accounts for the shear capacity equations being used to calculate the shear This article is based on an NCSEA
adjustment factor determined earlier and the capacity adjustment factor, rather than using Diamond Reviewed program titled
2bs/h adjustment per SDPWS 4.3.4.3. Figure tabulated values. The segmented approach DES413-2 Wind Shear Wall Design
6 summarizes PSW hold-down calculations. results in less shear wall length in all cases; Examples per 2015 WFCM and 2015
however, hold-downs are only required in the SDPWS available for free on the AWC
corners for the PSW. By simply accounting website. Earn continuing education credits
Summary and Conclusion for the benefit of a wall fully-sheathed with or find more details about this shear wall
Table 1 provides a summary comparison of WSPs, which is fairly common in most con- example at www.awc.org.
various methods used for this wood shear struction today, hold-downs can typically be
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W W W . P C I . O R G
E i g h t h Editio n
Structural
FailureS
investigating failures, along
with their consequences
and resolutions
Failure caused by compacted snow pile, Secaucus, NJ.
S
tructural engineering always has been a Saturday, 01/24/15, Secaucus, NJ
conservative profession. This is particu-
larly evident in the structural building A 3-level garage with 600 parking spaces serves the
codes and standards. These regulations Harmon Plaza office tower, the Clarion Empire
are intended to protect the public from defi- Meadowlands Hotel, and the Osprey Cove apart-
ciencies in design and construction. For the ments. A Bobcat utility vehicle was plowing the
most part, they are effective. Why then do so top deck of the garage following a snowfall of 4
many parking garages collapse? inches or less. The weight of the Bobcat was not
In 2015, at least six parking garages partially a problem, nor was the weight of
collapsed in the United States. More collapsed the accumulated snow. However,
in 2016. Some failures might be due to deficient
design or construction, or to inadequate main-
compacted snow weighs about 20
pcf, and 30 pcf or more if wet.
Failure of Imagination
tenance, but most are due to excessive loading. The snow had been pushed into
For decades, the codes and standards have a compacted pile. At 7:00 am, with the pile more
stipulated that parking garages be designed for than 4 feet high, the top deck of the garage col-
a minimum live load of 50 psf. This is more lapsed under the combined weight of the snow
than adequate for sedans, SUVs, and half-ton pile and the Bobcat. The resulting opening swal- By Stan Caldwell, P.E., SECB
pickup trucks. The average vehicle in the United lowed the Bobcat and one vehicle parked below
States today weighs 4,009 pounds and can safely was crushed. No one was injured except the
be parked in any code-compliant garage. With Bobcat driver, who had a mild concussion. On
the margin of safety inherent in the codes and weekdays, the garage would have been filled with
standards, failure becomes imminent only when vehicles and people.
actual live loads approach twice the minimum.
Friday, 05/01/15, Washington, D.C.
Some parking garages post maximum vehicle
weights at their entrances. More commonly, the A 3-level garage serves the iconic Watergate
entrances limit vehicle height (thus, vehicle size/ mixed-use complex. Now more than 50 years
weight) with clearance bars typically set at 7 feet old, the complex was undergoing a comprehen- Stan R. Caldwell
or less. Here are four examples where parking sive restoration. A landscaping contractor placed (www.StanCaldwellPE.com) is
garages collapsed due to excessive loading. soil and debris on the top deck of the parking a consulting structural engineer in
Plano, Texas. He can be reached at
[email protected].
Garage collapse, Washington, D.C.
STRUCTURE magazine 29
contacted structural engineers for approval
before the placement of any soil or debris,
even temporarily, on the top decks of the
garages. In Houston, an above-grade security
fence or rail at the perimeter of the under-
ground garage footprint would have kept
heavy trucks off of the top deck.
Imagination is a difficult thing. The build-
ing codes and standards will never adequately
address that which is unforeseen. This shifts
Pancake failure, Dallas, TX. the burden to structural engineers, and
simply designing for large imaginary loads
garage. Soil weighs about 75 pcf if dry, and eventually failed under the weight of the is clearly not the answer. Perhaps structural
up to 125 pcf if wet. Thus, only one foot of rear wheels. Fortunately, no one was injured. engineers should consider changing their
soil might cause failure. approach to future parking garage projects.
At 10:00 am, the top deck of the garage col- In conclusion, the following describes two
lapsed beneath the soil and debris. Everything
Failure of Imagination imaginative suggestions.
on the two levels below was crushed in a pan- In the wake of the terrorism that jolted the First, to reduce the likelihood of overload,
cake failure. Two people were injured, one United States on the morning of September structural engineers should seek buy-in
critically, and about 35 vehicles were destroyed. 11, 2001, some smart person declared that from the owners of parking garages regard-
the attacks succeeded in part because of a ing loading limitations. Most manufactured
Friday, 10/23/15, Dallas, TX
failure of imagination by multiple American products come with a manual that clearly
A 7-level garage with 800 parking spaces serves security agencies. No one imagined that a defines intended use and a statement that the
the upscale Renaissance on Turtle Creek con- zealous group of young men would simulta- manufacturer is not liable when their product
dominiums. The pool and amenities deck at neously hijack four airliners full of fuel and is used in other ways. Parking garage designers
the top of the garage were being renovated, fly them into predetermined targets using should consider a similar approach.
and the contractor piled soil and miscellaneous nothing more than box cutters, which were There is a precedent for this. In areas with
debris at the toe of a ramp near one corner of entirely legal to carry on flights at that time. expansive clay soils, prudent structural engi-
the top deck of the garage. A video taken just The parking garage collapses described in this neers require building owners to sign off on
a few hours before the collapse shows that the article are not directly related to any known the acceptable differential movement of slabs
pile was about 3 feet high and was covered design, construction, or maintenance defi- on grade. A structural engineer could write a
with plastic sheeting. ciencies. Nevertheless, with hindsight, all project-specific loading statement for a park-
During a rainstorm, water flowed down were preventable. In each instance, it could ing garage and require the owner to sign a
the ramp and partially saturated the pile. be argued that there was a failure of imagi- brief document indicating that he or she has
At 5:00 pm, the top deck of the garage col- nation. That is, a failure by parking garage read, understands, and accepts the loading
lapsed beneath the pile. Everything on the six designers and owners to imagine the utter limitations for that garage.
levels below was crushed in a pancake failure. lack of common sense among some of those Second, to limit the damage of a collapse,
Amazingly, no one was injured. Numerous working in and around the garages. structural engineers should design parking
vehicles were destroyed, and about 250 In Secaucus, the garage probably did not need garages to avoid progressive collapse or pan-
vehicles and their contents remained inac- to be plowed. The light snow likely would have cake failure. This is particularly important
cessible to their owners for 58 days. The melted within a day or two. If snow removal at the level immediately below the top deck.
garage remained closed for several months was necessary, it should have been done in a While not easily or inexpensively accom-
until reconstruction was completed. manner that avoided creating compacted piles. plished, this is doable and would substantially
In Washington and Dallas, the owners and limit any damage caused by an overload at
Friday, 04/22/16, Houston, TX
the landscaping contractors should have the top level.
An underground garage with an at-grade top
deck serves adjacent office buildings on Town
& Country Boulevard in Houston. The garage
had been flooded during a period of record
rainfall. A tanker truck was summoned to the
site to pump out the water. The entrance to
the top deck was blocked by a clearance bar
proclaiming MAXIMUM WEIGHT 4,000
LBS, so the truck driver backed his tanker
over the curb and onto the deck a few feet to
the right of the entrance.
The tanker has a capacity of 5,800 gallons.
That amounts to 48,400 pounds of water,
not including the weight of the truck. As
the tanker filled with water, the top deck Deck failure, Houston, TX.

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A Unique Opportunity
for a Conventional
Tall Building Frame
By Mark Sarkisian, S.E., Neville Mathias, S.E.,
and David Shook, P.E.
T
he Sichuan Airlines Center (SAC) Tower occupies
a prominent site in the city center of Chengdu and
has become a glittering symbol of the citys urban
transformation. The distinctive 650-foot tall (200
meter) tower is a recognizable city landmark, occupying a
pivotal location on the Chengdu skyline. The Tower form
is a natural reconciliation of geometry, structure, and space
made possible through a systematic approach to its construc-
tion. The towers design is focused on the creation of flexible,
high-quality office spaces and a thoughtful engagement of the
public realm, inviting the life of the street into the site. The
unique form of the tower folds open vertically, responding
to the local climate, capturing light and views for occupants.
As the tower rises, its shape is organically transformed in
response to the changing relationship of the interior spaces to
their elevation; each floor slab changes slightly in shape from
the one below at a consistent rate. The perimeter columns
follow the buildings changing shape, shifting slightly from
one level to the next. To achieve this unique building form,
surfaces of the tower skin gently twist as the building rises.
This subtle movement is achieved by precisely bending each
glazing panel onto the building using adjustable exterior wall
anchors. Overall, the result is a single, continuous form that
accommodates both the required footprint and setbacks,
while extending the southeast corner of the building as a
large gentle arc, visually unifying the buildings relationship
with the corner of the site and the surrounding civic space.
The distinctive 200-meter-tall tower form is a recognizable city landmark,

occupying a pivotal location on the Chengdu skyline.
interior partition walls to meet the exterior wall. Buildings with
complex and varying perimeter geometries often lose this organi-
zation of the column and exterior wall mullions. Thus, when an
interior partition meets the exterior wall, it often ends up being
located between mullions and columns. This greatly diminishes
the usability and quality of the interior spaces. For the SAC tower,
this condition was minimized by shifting the columns slightly on
each floor and following the mullions. Thus, an innovative and
integrated building form was achieved without compromising the
quality of the interior spaces.
The shift in column location from floor to floor was small enough
that conventional reinforcement detailing could be used and signifi-
cant eccentricities were avoided. Since the frame column spacing was
As the tower rises, its shape is organically transformed in response to the
tighter towards the top of the building, it could be designed more
changing relationship of the interior spaces to their elevation.
efficiently and could have higher participation in seismic events,
alleviating some of the demands on the central core. At the corners
Sustainability of the floor plans, much longer spans, up to 42 feet (13 meters),
The Sichuan Airlines Centre has achieved LEED Gold Pre-certification were introduced to provide expansive, uninterrupted views.
for its commitment to energy efficiency, water conservation, increased
ventilation, and improved indoor air quality. The project incorporates
a number of sustainability measures which are integral to the build-
Safety in Seismic Zones
ings overall design intent. Energy use is extensively metered for actual The city of Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in China
energy consumption monitoring and verification efforts. and was tragically struck by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in 2008,
The project additionally integrates a water efficient landscaping only three years before the start of the SAC Tower design. With
concept where storm water and air conditioning condensation are nearly 70,000 deaths, 15,000 missing, and 375,000 injuries, safety
collected and treated for landscape and irrigation uses. SAC has was of paramount importance to both the developer and the city
achieved the highest standard of stormwater design within the project of Chengdu. In recent decades, the Chinese building codes have
as the landscape irrigation does not utilize any potable water on site. significantly evolved and have been shown to yield safe buildings
Similar to the design of the structure itself, the development of the in seismic zones. The issues encountered in the Sichuan earthquake
site maximizes open space and access to nearby public spaces. The of 2008 were due to much older buildings which pre-dated many
sites connectivity is positioned near a number of existing public transit of the current Chinese code provisions pertaining to seismic safety
opportunities including metro train and bus networks; it is situated and poor construction.
just one block from a subway interchange station. This contributes The seismic force resisting system of the SAC tower is a dual system
to the buildings high Walk Score rating of 94 where daily errands composed of a centrally reinforced concrete floor supplemented
do not require a car. A new, extensive public transit system has also by a perimeter reinforced concrete moment frame. The combined
been proposed for the Central Chengdu region, which will further behavior of the two systems results in a building period of 5.3
increase alternative transportation options for building occupants. seconds with satisfactory inter-story drift behavior.
Form and Structure Creating Quality Spaces Y1 Z10

13575
Y2
6000
Y3
6000
Y4
6000
Y5
13575
Z9 Y6
Building forms which are highly responsive to energy perfor- 1000

15256
4308
39987 855
4420
mance, quality views, and aesthetics often create complex geometric

interior spaces. This frequently results in poor office layouts and
irrational relationships of building structure and exterior wall. Even X1
Z11
21410
in cases where the structural geometry is responsive to the exterior Z8

12706
wall, the quality of the interior office space is often left lacking. DN
UP
UP
DN
The exterior wall of SAC is highly respectful of solar exposure X2 P1 P2 P3 P4

/
TEL / ELEC
and expansive views. A traditional moment frame would have

6000

WC
WC
approximately 30-foot (9-meter) bays with columns extruded

X3 P8 P7 P6 P5
Z7
6000
vertically through the space. Since the exterior wall changes dra-

SERVICE
VESTIBULE
UP
X4
FS2 FS1
matically from the base of the building to the roof, the column
P9 P10 P11 P12
Z6
6000
RS1
relationship to the exterior wall would result in varying and often X5

P16 P15 P14 P13
very poor office space conditions, dramatically diminishing views

6000
Z5
PS1 PS2
X6
and adversely affecting energy performance by blocking too much Z4
sun in the cold winters prevalent in Chengdu.

12676
DN
A simple, but novel change to traditional frame geometry was

Z12
Z3
incorporated which gradually reduced the spacing of columns

X7
Z2
from 30 feet at the buildings base to 20 feet (6 meters) at the top, Z1
and shifted in their plan location slightly at each floor. Buildings

with extruded rectangular geometries typically have the columns
and exterior wall mullions aligned. This creates a natural place for Typical floor plan.

a general review of all aspects of the lateral force resisting system.
Under the provisions of the Chinese building code, in addition to
other special design checks, a nonlinear time-history analysis was
conducted by China Southwest Architectural Design and Research
Institute and presented to the EPR panel. Although different than
the performance-based design process established in select cities
of the West Coast of the United States, the EPR process serves as
a highly valuable component of the Chinese building code review
process in producing buildings of high seismic safety.
Conclusion
The Sichuan Airlines Center tower is an example of transforma-
tive urban architecture, quality office space, integrated
design, and seismic safety. Its construction in a rapidly
evolving Chengdu city skyline will provide a quality
precedent for future construction in Sichuan Province.
The site unifies the buildings relationship with the corner of the site and the
surrounding civic space. Mark Sarkisian, S.E., is the Structural and Seismic Engineering
Partner of the San Francisco office of SOM. He can be reached
The Chinese regulations require buildings that exceed code pro- at [email protected].
visions to undergo expert panel reviews (EPR). The level of
review depends on a buildings code-exceeding characteristics such Neville Mathias, S.E., is an Associate Director at the San Francisco
as structural height, the uniqueness of the lateral force resisting office of SOM and can be reached at [email protected].
system, building complexity, inherent torsion, etc. Due particularly David Shook, P.E., is an Associate Director and Structural
to the height of the building, which exceeded code limits for the Engineer at the San Francisco office of SOM. He can be reached
structure type, a regional level EPR was required, as opposed to at [email protected].
a more stringent national level EPR. The regional EPR process is
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864.654.6824

New Clearwater
Opal Sands Resort on South Clearwater Beach, Florida.
A Challenging Wind and Flood Design
O
pal Sands Resort is a new 17-story plus, 380,000-square- 3) Design a heavy concrete building on a site overlaid with loose
foot premier hotel located directly on the Gulf of Mexico beach sands.
in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The recipient of the 2016 4) Eliminate a critical transfer beam over the lobby during construc-
ENR Southeast Regional Best Project Award, the Opal tion and after many of the upper floors had been constructed.
Sands Resort was born from the vision of the owner/developer,
Ocean Properties, LTD (OPL). The owner desired a new flag-
ship hotel to add to their portfolio of international resort hotels.
The Building
Soon enough, that vision became a reality because of the innova- The Opal Sands Resort consists of 12 floors of hotel rooms, each
tive work by project architect, Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & of which has a magnificent view of the Gulf of Mexico. The hotel
Associates, Inc. of Coral Gables, Florida, and their team of con- rooms sit above a spacious lobby, restaurant, numerous meeting
sulting engineers, including the structural engineers, McCarthy room floors, and two levels of parking. At the lobby level, on the
and Associates, a Division of Pennoni, and the general contractor, west waterfront side of the main tower, is a plaza deck with swim-
Moss & Associates LLC. ming pools, volleyball courts, and tiki hut bars. A large portion
of that deck is cantilevered out over the water. A sand ramp was
constructed, in cooperation with the City of Clearwater, to allow
The Challenges for visitors to easily access the beach from the deck above. On
From the beginning, the apparent structural design challenges were the east side of the main tower is another expansive space that
numerous: contains a large ballroom, meeting rooms, and escalators from
1) Design a 17-story curvilinear building, with a coastal exposure, the main entrance up to the lobby level. Valet parking for guests
to resist Floridas high hurricane wind loads. is required because the hotel takes up the entire site and access to
2) Design a building located in multiple flood zones includ- the parking levels is only available from a ramp on the street side
ing two different FEMA V-zones, the Pinellas Gulf Beaches and two large vehicle elevators. Considering the sheer size of the
Coastal Construction Zone, and the Florida Department of building, along with its ideal location and innovative design, it
Environmental Protection (DEP) Coastal Construction Control comes as no surprise that the hotel was an instant success upon
Line (CCCL). opening in February 2016.

a load test was conducted on a sample shaft to confirm the foundation
The General Design Approach design recommendations. A pilot hole was then drilled at each shaft
The entire building superstructure and foundations were modeled location to confirm there was no variance in the subgrade.
in 3D using RAM Structural Systems. The output from that model
was then sent directly to the 3D Revit model and refined to make
the structural drawings more readable and consistent with industry
Wind Design
standards. Due to the unusual shape of the floor plans and column The governing code for the design of the Opal Sands Resort was the
bay spacing provided by the architects, unbonded mono strand post- 2010 Florida Building Code (FBC) which, by reference, incorporated
tensioned concrete slabs supported by concrete columns and shear much of the ASCE 7-10 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and
walls was an obvious choice for the superstructure. Post-tension Other Structures for wind design. According to a Pinellas County local
design also helped to minimize floor heights and has been a popular technical amendment, the minimum design wind velocity for this site
system for multi-story residential buildings in the state of Florida is 145 mph with an ultimate 3-second gust, Risk Category II, and
for a long time. The delegated engineer for the post-tension system Exposure Category D as defined by the FBC. In addition to wind
was Structural Technologies/VSL. Although the architects were very forces, the exterior glazing must also meet wind-borne debris or missile
accommodating in locating columns to best support the structure, impact criteria and be certified by the manufacturer with a Florida
there were instances where it was necessary to introduce transfer beams Product Approval Number or Miami/Dade Notice of Acceptance.
to support discontinued columns from above. For example, a large Due to the curved shape of the main tower and in anticipation of cost
transfer beam (3 feet x 4 feet), reinforced with a combined mild steel savings, OPL agreed to McCarthys recommendations to complete a
and bundled post-tension cables, was required over the lobby where wind tunnel test. CPP, Inc. of Fort Collins, CO, was retained to build
the engineers were directed to provide a column-free space. a model of South Clearwater Beach and the proposed Opal Sands
A very large cooling tower is located on the roof of the main tower building, and then subject that model to hurricane force winds in a
and surrounded by hot dipped galvanized steel framed walls that are wind tunnel. The resulting pressures were less than what would have
elliptical in plan. The walls are 19 feet 6 inches high and self-braced been required by code and were used by McCarthy in the design of
against wind tunnel test-wind pressures, reaching 125 pounds per the building for both the main wind force resisting system and com-
square foot (psf ), with a grid system of steel beams at the top of the ponents and cladding. Additionally, the wind tunnel testing provided
walls. The steel framing is designed and detailed to be removable for the architects with accurate feedback on locations around the base of
Beach Hotel
the main tower where wind accelera-
tions are likely to affect pedestrians
adversely. Screen walls, landscaping,
and other types of buffers were then
incorporated into the building design
to mitigate this concern.
The initial building design included
multiple shear walls to resist power-
By E. Michael McCarthy, P.E., M.ASCE ful coastal winds but, as the design
progressed, many of those walls were
future replacement of the equipment. The exterior walls of the build- reduced or eliminated to accommodate interior space planning. It
ing are a combination of glazing, in-fill masonry, and concrete shear soon became apparent that the remaining shear walls were no longer
walls. The size and configuration of the building dictated the need adequate. The 3D RAM analysis/design model was changed to supple-
for expansion joints. The most logical location was between the main ment the shear walls with the natural stiffness of the columns and slab
tower and lower building components on both the east and west sides. framing to develop shear wall/frame interaction. While this solution
The building foundations were designed in accordance with a geotech- solved the lateral bracing problem, the reinforcing steel and shear head
nical report prepared by the project geotechnical engineers, Driggers reinforcing in the slabs and columns had to be increased to account
Engineering Services, Inc. (DESI). DESI conducted a series of deep for the additional bending moment transfer at each column-to-slab
borings and discovered that the site is underlaid with mostly sandy intersection. The model did not indicate excessive diaphragm shear
soils of varying densities down to lime rock deep underground. Based force transfer at the upper level(s) of the building at the interaction
on those findings and point of the flexural deflection of the shear walls as they tried to
the column and wall exceed the lateral shear distortion of the frame. All wind pressures
loads provided by were input into the RAM 3D model as load cases in the overall design
McCarthy, DESI rec- of the building.
ommended reinforced
concrete drilled shafts
or caissons for build-
Flood Design
ing support. The The 2010 FBC incorporates by reference ASCE 24-05 Flood Resistant
drilled shafts varied Design and Construction which was used in conjunction with the
in diameter from 2 national, state, and local flood regulations in the design of the Opal
feet to 5 feet and were Sands Resort. These included two different FEMA V-zones, Pinellas
drilled into the rock Gulf Beaches Coastal Construction Code, and the Florida DEP
about 70 feet below CCCL. The lowest horizontal beam supporting the first elevated and
the ground surface. occupied floor of the building was required to be either at or above
Opal Sands with Sand Key Bridge in the background. Before construction, the design flood elevation (DFE), derived from the FEMA maps

and the appropriate free-
board, to comply with
these complex flood
regulations. Also, all
construction below the
DFE must allow storm
water to flow through
the building unimpeded.
Specifically, any wall that
is not a shear wall, stair, or
elevator wall was designed
to withstand wind forces
but must fail or break-
away under storm-driven
RAM structural systems model.
wave action. In this case,
the lower floors of the an interior design decision. At the time it was decided to eliminate the
building are primarily transfer beam, all the upper slabs had already been poured, complicating
open parking, making it the change. It was an all hands on deck moment with McCarthys
easy to comply with the engineering staff to develop a solution that could be completed quickly
Flow-through require- and without affecting ongoing construction. The biggest challenge was
ments. Additionally, the to support the upper slab levels from the time the transfer beam was
mechanical and electrical demolished until the new column was in place and ready to carry the
equipment that is nor- load. Other difficulties included de-tensioning post-tension cables in
Post-tension slab construction. mally placed on lower the beam and strengthening the drilled shaft foundation to handle
levels of buildings had to the additional loads. Fortunately, the column stack below the lobby
be located on platforms above the DFE. floor was found to have enough excess capacity and did not need to be
The most stringent flood code at the Opal Sands site is governed by reinforced. The final solution involved the following steps, all of which
the DEP and affects all construction located seaward of the CCCL. were completed successfully:
Fortunately, the CCCL wrapped around the west and north property 1) Install temporary shoring from the foundation up to the 5th floor.
lines of the site so that most of the building was not affected. However, 2) De-tension the post-tension cables in the transfer beam.
the portion of the pool deck and tiki hut deck that was designed to 3) Install new steel micropiles under the direction of the geotechnical
cantilever out over the water was subject to CCCL requirements. Those engineer and expand the pile cap.
decks had to be elevated above the cresting wave elevation established 4) Demolish the transfer beam using a Tru-line hydraulic chipping
by the DEP to minimize the potential for damage from wave forces. hammer operated by remote control on the lobby floor.
Because this building has direct coastal exposure, the open plaza 5) Form, reinforce, and pour back the new column.
deck and two levels of parking below on the west side are reinforced After all this, the interior designers could work the column into the
with a special two-layer zinc coated rebar, and the concrete included lobby space design after all.
a corrosion inhibitor admixture. Additionally, all hydrostatic and
hydrodynamic forces were input into the RAM 3D model as a load
case, in addition to waterborne debris impact forces, in order to
Summary
account for these flood zone forces in the overall design of the building. Construction of the Opal Sands Resort was completed in February 2016
This array of complex flood design codes required the use of unique and the building was an immediate success, opening with over 15,000
and creative solutions in the design of Opal Sands. reservations. It has become the centerpiece of South Clearwater Beach,
Florida, and one of OPLs finest hotels. Looking back, the decision to
have a wind tunnel test done was of the utmost importance as it resulted
Construction in overall reduced costs as well as a more accurate design. Additionally,
At McCarthys recommendation, OPL agreed to have a full-time repre- having a full-time representative on-site during construction allowed
sentative from McCarthy on site during construction of the structural McCarthy to assist the contractor and ensure the building was built
building components. That representative worked with the contractor on in accordance with the structural drawings and specifications. Most
a daily basis in responding to RFIs, reviewing shop drawing submittals, importantly, the use of a 3D RAM analysis/design model synchronized
and reviewing the ongoing construction for conformance to the draw- with the Revit model allowed McCarthys engineers to
ings and specifications. In addition to facilitating a smooth construction design an accurate and economical structural system on
flow, this level of service at the job site allowed McCarthy to meet the a challenging site that is subject to high hurricane force
requirements of the Florida Threshold Law as the Special Inspector. winds and complex flood zone regulations.
Also during construction, a particularly interesting development
occurred. OPL noticed the large transfer beam above the lobby and E. Michael McCarthy, P.E., M.ASCE, is an Associate Vice President
its impact on the ceiling height. For the better of the building, they of McCarthy and Associates, a Division of Pennoni in Clearwater,
decided to remove the beam and insert the lobby column, which the FL. He is active in the design of buildings throughout Florida and
transfer beam initially replaced, back into the floorplan. That column the Caribbean and is currently a member of the ASCE-24 Flood
was originally designed to extend from the foundation to the ballroom Resistant Design and Construction Committee. He may be reached
roof above the 6th level but was discontinued at the 3rd-floor lobby as at [email protected].

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By Silvian Marcus, P.E., F.ASCE, Gustavo J. Oliveira, P.E.,
Fatih Yalniz, P.E, and Nicholas Chack, P.E.
A
slender, high-rise pyramid is the architectural principle behind the
53W53 project, also known as the MoMA Tower or Torre Verre.
The 1,050-foot tall high-rise is now under construction and, upon
topping out in 2018, it will house 728,000 square feet of ultra-luxury
residential condominium apartments. The complex includes amenities such as
a 65-foot long lap pool, wellness center, wine vaults, and a private lounge with
Manhattan skyline views, as well as 65,000 square feet of additional gallery space
for the Museum of Modern Art.
The 53W53 project was conceived by Developer Hines and designed by Jean
Nouvel. WSP USA serves as both the structural engineer of record and the
provider of engineering of building services. The construction manager of this
expansive project is Lend Lease. The 53W53 tower is located in the heart of
Midtown Manhattan, occupying a 17,000-square-foot midblock lot between
Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, with access from both 53rd Street and 54th Street.
Project Description
The 53W53 site neighbors the New York City Museum of Modern Art to the
west and the 1330 Avenue of the Americas building to the east. The project
comprises two levels below grade and 82 floors above street level. The 53W53
tower will rise to a total height of 1,050 feet when complete, including addi-
tional architectural elements. The site is approximately a rectangle, measuring
195 feet between 53rd and 54th streets and 87 feet in the East-West direction,
which results in a tower with a slenderness ratio of 1:12.
Early in 2007, developers Hines, Goldman Sachs, and Pontiac Land Group
carried out a comprehensive floor-area ratio analysis which showed that only
by combining the air rights of its three neighbors was the 53W53 project
able to reach the intended height envisioned by Pritzker Prize-winner, French
architect Jean Nouvel, who is the head of Atelier Jean Nouvel and serves as the
Design Architect. Also participating in the project are Adamson Associates
Architects of Toronto as the Architect of Record, SLCE Architects, and The
Office of Thierry W. Despont serving as the architects for interior design.
Panoramic 3D rendering of the 53W53 Project.
Courtesy of Hines.
STRUCTURE magazine
Architect Jean Nouvels concept for 53W53 a super-slender tower of
pyramidal form with northern and southern faades gradually sloping
away at two distinct angles from 54th and 53rd streets, respectively is
founded on the aesthetics of exposed elements arranged in an asym-
metric, almost random pattern on all faades of the building. Given
the number of inclined members forming an unorthodox lattice, these
patterns have been termed diagrids. The structural solution envisioned
by WSP USA smoothly merged with the architectural intent by using
the elements of the diagrid as a continuous system, providing sup-
port not only for the building envelope but also adequate in terms
of stability and strength for the entire structure.
Foundation System Installation of Node 4R-6.

The geotechnical composition of the site presented an interesting engi- The original structural concept considered forming the diagrid
neering challenge. While the Midtown area of Manhattan is typically with steel members only. A value engineering study resulted in
associated with good quality substrate, with bearing capacity up to 60 both financial and constructability advantages to using a reinforced
tons-per-square-foot, the geotechnical surveys and studies performed concrete diagrid system consisting of vertical columns, inclined
for the 53W53 tower showed evidence of an old stream towards the elements or braces, and horizontal spandrel beams. This structural
west side of the site. The continuous presence of water linked to the solution allowed for the maximization of unobstructed interior
stream was attributed to the gradual deterioration of the mechanical spaces in the majority of floors.
properties of the rock, which were evalu- Perhaps the most challenging aspect of
ated to be only eight tons-per-square-foot. creating a reliable and resilient structural
To prevent excessive settlements to the diagrid system was the conception, testing,
neighboring buildings, and in consid- and implementation of highly specialized
eration of the adjacency of the South nodal connections at almost every intersec-
perimeter of the site to existing facilities tion of the diagrid. At least three dozen
of the New York City Metropolitan Transit nodes required the interconnection of four
Authority (MTA) along 53rd Street, the structural members or more. On a given
foundation system required the implemen- node, not only are there multiple diagrid
tation of measures aimed at preventing members intersecting, but these elements
adverse effects to neighboring underground might also be located on multiple planes
structures. More than thirty reinforced and oriented at different angles. Take, for
concrete drilled caissons, each 3 feet in example, the first node installed on site,
diameter, were required to extend a mini- located on the North face of the sixth floor
mum of 30 feet below the subcellars. In and the largest in the tower. Node 4R-6,
selected locations near the MTA tunnels, as it was referred to in reference to grid
the caissons reached 70 feet deep, matching lines and elevation, is the intersection of
the elevation of the subway track. six major structural elements at various
angles, all of which support a significant
portion of the tower above.
Superstructure The most efficient solution to address the
The superstructure of the 53W53 tower congestion of reinforcement and realign-
is based on a unique dual-purpose ment of forces at the nodes was to develop a
system. In traditional high-rise projects, steel core assembly with special connectors
focus on efficiency and typical construc- to which the high-strength reinforcement,
tion sequence results in the provision consisting of No. 20 (2.5 inches in diam-
for two separate systems to carry gravity eter) bars, was anchored. The steel core
loads and lateral loads. However, the served as the ideal transition element
architectural intent of 53W53 required between various layouts and directions of
a uniquely different approach. A single, steel reinforcement present throughout the
exterior structural system matching the building. The contractor was required to
geometry of the diagrid was developed create a full-scale mock-up prior to the
having the ability to carry both vertical actual construction to validate the feasibil-
loads and those associated with wind ity of this innovative solution. The outcome
and seismic demands. This approach, of the mock-up was satisfactory in terms
while efficient from a structural stand- of both quality control and reliability for
point, presented numerous engineering on-site execution.
challenges which were solved with a Considering the clients request for the
combination of rigorous analysis and lower floors of the tower to be used for
innovative solutions. 53W53 Project 3D Rendering. Courtesy of Hines. additional gallery space for the Museum

Installation of Node 3A-10 showing a K-frame geometry. Detail of top (left) and bottom (right) of Node 3P-31 before concrete casting operation.
of Modern Art, shear walls and interior columns were relocated to mass was increased towards the top of the building by using a slab
the periphery, allowing for a highly flexible floor layout. Steel trusses thickness of 20 inches at the 73rd, 74th, and 76th floors. Second,
over these large, unsupported spans were used to pick up the loads a 650-ton Tuned Mass Damper was placed at the double-height
delivered by the few interior columns and to transfer them to the space between the 74th and 76th floors.
east shear wall core.
Another structural engineering challenge was the need to span over
the existing ConEdison emergency generator servicing the Museum
Integrated Buildings SMEP Design
of Modern Art, which required a 24-foot long overhang cantilevered WSP USA provided not only the services for structural design, but was also
from the towers northeast corner. The overhang was integrally con- responsible for the engineering of building services including mechanical,
nected to the exposed members of the diagrid. electrical, plumbing, fire protection, telecommunications, and others. This
The required lateral stiffness and strength of the tower was accom- allowed for a very close and effective collaboration among the design and
plished by placing outrigger walls, effectively connecting the central construction teams and good interaction between engineering disciplines.
shear wall core to the exterior diagrid system at Levels 35, 36, and 37,
which created the effect of a belt floor approximately at mid-height
of the structure. These outrigger walls were added to the structure
Construction Progress
with negligible impact to the marketing plan, as these floors housed Foundation construction was completed at the end of 2015. At the
the mechanical rooms required to handle the distribution of the time of this publication, the superstructure work has reached the
building services at that elevation. 40th floor, which is approximately 500 feet above street level. As the
As the many faade planes converge at different locations and elevations tower tapers and reduces its footprint towards the top, construction
of the building, small pyramids or apexes were created. To minimize progress is expected to be a 4- or 5-day cycle per floor, standard in
the impact of these volumes on interior spaces and to facilitate their New York Citys construction environment. The project
construction, it was determined that the five clearly delineated vertices is scheduled to top out in the summer of 2018. The
of the building be constructed of steel framing. This solution allowed installation of curtain wall began in 2016 and will be
for the possibility of prefabricating portions of the frames to be erected completed by the beginning of 2019.
after the surrounding concrete structure had been cast.
Silvian Marcus, P.E, F.ASCE, is Director of Building Structures
at WSP USA, Principal in Charge of the project.
Wind Tunnel Testing and
Gustavo J. Oliveira, P.E., is Vice President of Building Structures
Structural Analytical Modeling at WSP USA, Project Director.
This intricate structure required complex analyses including full
Fatih Yalniz, P.E., is Structural Analysis Manager and Vice
three-dimensional sequential construction analysis, with con-
President of Building Structures at WSP USA.
sideration to time-dependent changes in material properties
and loading demands, which were used to estimate the required Nicholas Chack, P.E., is Project Manager of Building Structures
elevation and position compensations to be implemented during at WSP USA.
construction.
Additional Credits
In addition to analytical models, a series of comprehensive aero-
dynamic tests to accurately determine the wind pressures and Ahmad Rahimian, Ph.D., P.E, S.E, F.ASCE, is Director of
wind-induced vibrations were performed by RWDI Consulting Building Structures at WSP USA.
Engineers. A two-prong approach was necessary to achieve the
Gerardo Aguilar, Ph.D., is Technical Manager of Building
industry-recommended comfort level for human occupancy in
Structures at WSP USA.
terms of vibration and acceleration due to wind. First, the structural

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Salesforce Tower
NEW BENCHMARKS IN HIGH-RISE SEISMIC SAFETY
W
hen completed in 2017, Salesforce By Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E., Hon. AIA,
Tower will be the tallest building in Michael T. Valley, P.E., S.E., and
San Francisco at a height of 1,070 feet John D. Hooper, P.E., S.E.
(901 feet to the top occupied floor).
This super-tall building advances the state-of-the-art
of high-rise seismic design through implementation
of a number of first-ever design and analysis methods
that push limits and set new industry benchmarks. The
structural innovations required to create this record-set-
ting, city-defining tower address enhanced performance
objectives, foundation challenges, and interactions with
adjacent buildings issues applicable both to this build-
ing and future tall buildings in areas of high seismicity.
Reshaping the Skyline

Redefining the Future
In the 1980s, the City of San Francisco enacted policies
restricting high-rise development, ultimately creat-
ing a skyline that plateaus at 500 to 600 feet the
historical maximum zoned heights (Figure 1). The
restrictions also limited the citys annual allotment of
space for new office development. These limitations
were implemented during an anti-growth era sweeping
the nation in the 1980s, fueled by fears of overcrowding
and inadequate city infrastructure.

Figure 1. San Francisco Skyline Pre-Transbay District.
When studies confirmed that job centralization in a sustainable,

transit-oriented downtown core was critical to San Franciscos con-
New Benchmarks in Seismic Safety
tinued economic success, a new Transit Center District Plan was Given the scale of Salesforce Tower, the calculated number of building
developed for a 16-block area referred to as the Transbay District. occupants will far exceed the building code threshold of 5,000 people, trig-
The plan called for a new Transbay Transit Center to co-locate eleven gering the buildings consideration under Occupancy [or Risk] Category
Bay Area transit systems and related surrounding development. The III. Category III buildings require additional safety for wind and seismic
plan also designated a new zoning district around the Transbay Transit demands, thus prompting new challenges for the engineering team.
Center, reclassifying parcels to allow buildings from 600 to 850 feet tall Traditional structural design methods adopt an enhanced strength
versus the existing 500-foot cap. Through this plan, the City sought approach when attempting to improve seismic safety and performance.
the development of office and residential buildings that were taller This approach, while easy to implement by applying code-defined
and more densely occupied to spur job and population centralization. seismic forces that have been amplified by an Importance Factor
The plan also targeted the creation of a new, sculpted skyline formed (1.25 for Category III buildings), fails to ensure enhanced building
by height increased immediately around the Transit Center to mark performance when subjected to extreme seismic ground shaking.
the importance of the location and provide a new, vibrant image for In fact, in the context of the historical seismic design philosophy of
San Francisco. To that end, the 50,515-square-foot site bounded by ductility and energy absorption, enhanced strength may, in fact, be
First and Fremont Streets, fronting Mission Street to the north and detrimental to building performance. Stronger buildings resist more
directly adjacent to the new Transit Center, was designated as the force rather than absorbing the energy of the grounds shaking. In
location for the areas tallest building. At the new 1,070-foot height resisting these higher forces, shear stresses and foundation demands
limit, the record-making building would serve as a beacon for the increase to undesirable levels and building performance can be com-
revitalized area (Figure 2). promised. Instead, a rigorous Performance-Based Seismic Design
To help fund the new Transit Center, the rights to entitle and pur- (PBSD) approach was implemented to allow for, quantify, and control
chase the highly desirable tallest building site were awarded through desired building performance at an enhanced level compared to other
a 2007 global invitation-only design competition sponsored by the commercial office buildings.
Transbay Joint Powers Authority, a public entity created to develop continued on next page
the Center. The winning proposal was submitted by Hines, an inter-
national development firm, teamed with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.
(Developer Boston Properties subsequently acquired 95% of Hines
stake in 2013.)
The team envisioned an iconic 61-story, high-density, sustainable
office tower totaling 1.5 million square feet (and ultimately named
Salesforce Tower for its primary tenant). Above the 26th floor, each
elevation of Salesforce Tower curves and tapers away from the street,
creating a narrow, slender top finished with a sculptural crown. The
crown, designed as an unenclosed latticework of structure, continues
the expression of metal wrapping the occupied floors of the tower
below and contributes to the slender proportions and total height of
the building form. The buildings curvature also reduces the appar-
ent height and massing of the building when viewed by pedestrians
immediately below.
Within the larger context of San Franciscos future skyline created
by the increased building heights in the TCDP area, Salesforce Tower
will be the tallest point, marking the significance of the adjacent
Transit Center. Construction started in 2013, with completion
expected in 2017. Figure 2. San Francisco Transbay District. Courtesy of Foster + Partners.

The projects structural engineer, Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA),
brought to the project decades of leadership in seismic design in San Francisco,
including multiple high-rise towers. The firm also led the development and U.S.
adoption of PBSD for high-rise buildings, a methodology that produces buildings
that are safer and perform more predictably and reliably than buildings designed
following a prescriptive code-based approach.
PBSD uses sophisticated nonlinear seismic time-history computer modeling
practical only in recent years thanks to advancements in computing capacity
and user-friendly analysis programs to examine building performance during
multiple predicted seismic events. With PBSD, engineers can analyze complex
and unique building geometries then precisely allocate appropriate strength and
stiffness to achieve an efficient design that meets the desired performance objec-
tives. PBSD methodology not only meets the intent of the building code but
explicitly considers and quantifies predicted building performance under mul-
tiple ground-shaking scenarios. This explicit examination of building behavior
provided through nonlinear time-history analysis, coupled with the application
of enhanced performance standards, produces a safer, more reliable building.
MKA had already designed five PBSD high-rise buildings in San Francisco,
but none that targeted the more stringent Occupancy Category III performance
Figure 3. Typical low-rise structural floor plan. objective. Because PBSD is a relatively new and complex approach, building
departments require that such designs be peer reviewed by a second engineering
team to verify that building performance meets code
intent. This peer review process has been instrumental
in the understanding, advancement, and acceptance
of PBSD methodologies throughout the industry, as
code-prescriptive intent becomes successfully trans-
lated into approved performance-based designs. After
assessing the more stringent Category III code-defined
performance objective, and evaluating that intent and
application relative to PBSD methodology, the design
team targeted a reduction to 6% (from 10%) of the
probability of collapse under a Maximum Considered
Earthquake (MCE) ground shaking. This is consis-
tent with ASCE 7 Commentary related to Occupancy
Category III buildings.
As stated in the ASCE 7 Commentary, the perfor-
mance objective for Occupancy Category III structures
is to reduce the hazard to human life in the event of
failure, which relates most closely to a code-defined
performance of Collapse Prevention with MCE shak-
ing. The structural design of Salesforce Tower includes
more stringent Acceptance Criteria for MCE shak-
ing as explicit performance objectives, including the
following:
Reduced story drift
Reduced coupling beam rotations
Reduced tensile/compressive strains in shear walls
Reduced shear demands on shear walls
Risk Category II acceptance criterion was
typically modified to be more stringent by
applying a factor of 0.8
The detailed Acceptance Criteria used for the design
of Salesforce Tower is shown in Table 1.
The structural system features a gravity load-resisting
system with structural steel columns and floor framing
supporting steel composite deck. The buildings seis-
mic force-resisting system comprises special reinforced
concrete shear walls, 24 to 48 inches thick, at the cen-
tral elevator and stair core. Since the vertical elements
of the towers seismic force-resisting system include
Figure 4. Confirmation of Salesforce Towers enhanced performance.

only shear walls Elastic performance targeted for service-level shaking (with a
(Figure 3), the City mean recurrence interval of 43 years)
of San Franciscos Moderate structural damage expected for design-level shaking
Administrative (taken as two-thirds of code-defined MCE shaking)
Bulletin 083 (AB- Collapse prevention, with a reduced probability of collapse
083), Requirements consistent with Occupancy Category III, targeted for
and Guidelines MCE shaking
for the Seismic The nonlinear time-history analyses used to confirm the structural
Design of New Tall response to MCE shaking employed two suites of 11 pairs of accelera-
Figure 5. Typical LBE rebar detailing.
Buildings using tion history. Two suites of ground motions were developed considering
Non-Prescriptive a Conditional Mean Spectra approach, targeting the first and second
Seismic-Design Procedures, applied. In addition to technical provisions, modes of vibration of the tower. This approach was deemed to more
AB-083 called for a structural design review by a panel of independent rigorously and appropriately test the buildings design, given the
experts. The four-member panel assembled for the detailed review of importance of the towers second-mode-of-vibration response. The
the analysis and design of Salesforce Tower included two practicing suites were developed by performing three-dimensional, nonlinear site
engineers, a research professor, and a geotechnical/seismic ground response analyses using input rock motions that were selected, scaled,
motion expert. and matched for Conditional Mean Spectra spanning the period range
Although wind-loading conditions for the building are not trivial, of interest from approximately 0.5 seconds to 9.0 seconds. One suite
wind tunnel testing confirmed that demand levels fell below seismic was conditioned to represent long-period motions, for which 8 of
demands, and that occupant comfort standards would be met as 11 motions include pulse effects. The other suite was conditioned to
judged against international standards. The lateral design of Salesforce represent shorter period motions, for which 2 of 11 motions include
Tower was driven by seismic loading conditions for three levels of pulse effects. Pulse effects were considered particularly important for
ground shaking: this building given the proximity to the San Andreas Fault. The result-
ing acceleration histories, taken at the foundation level
Item Value instead of the more traditional ground surface level,
include kinematic soil-structure interaction effects
Story Drift 3.0x0.8 = 2.4 percent taken as the average of 11 analyses; due to base-slab averaging and embedment. A scale
4.5x0.8 = 3.6 percent maximum from any single analysis. factor for each suite of motions was applied so that
the corresponding linear response spectra satisfy the
Residual Story Drift 1x0.8 = 0.8 percent taken as the average of 11 analyses; requirements of the building code.
1.5x0.8 = 1.2 percent maximum from any single analysis. The results of these 22 earthquake simulations
were evaluated and compared against the targeted
Coupling Beam Rotation 0.06x0.8 0.05 radian rotation limit, taken as the average Acceptance Criteria. Where predicted demand levels
(diagonally reinforced of 11 analyses. exceeded Acceptance Criteria, design modifications
concrete or steel composite) were implemented. In particular, core wall thicknesses
were tuned to reduce and control shear demands
Shear Wall Reinforcement Rebar tensile strain is 0.05x0.8 = 0.04 in tension and within acceptable limits at the towers base and the
Axial Strain 0.02x0.8 = 0.016 in compression, taken as the average of location of a core setback at Level 50. Ultimately, it
11 analyses. was demonstrated that all Acceptance Criteria had
been achieved, and the buildings enhanced perfor-
Shear Wall Concrete Fully confined concrete compression strain is 0.015x0.8 = mance was confirmed. As shown in Figure 4, story
Axial Strain 0.012, taken as the average of 11 analyses. drifts and coupling beam rotations typically fall well
within acceptable limits, wall shear demands remain
Shear Wall Shear DCR limited to 1.0. Capacity calculated using expected elastic, and vertical wall strains are quite modest with
material properties and a phi factor of 1.0, where ductility only limited yielding predicted.
demands are modest (ec 0.005; es 0.010) or a phi factor
of 0.75, where ductility demands are greater. Demand San Franciscos Deepest Foundations
taken as 1.5 times the average demand from each set of 11
analyses. The Salesforce Tower site is underlain with a complex
soil strata including fill, sand, San Franciscos old bay
Level P1, P2, and DCR limited to 1.0. Capacity calculated using expected clay, and weak bedrock. These geotechnical conditions
Level 1 Diaphragms material properties and code-specified phi-factors ( = are subject to potential liquefaction, lateral spread-
0.75). Demand taken as 1.5 times the average demand ing, excessive settlement, and inadequate foundation
from each set of 11 analyses. support. Given the poor soils and the sheer weight of
Salesforce Tower, supporting the building on anything
Basement Walls DCR limited to 1.0. Capacity calculated using expected but bedrock was not feasible. Gravity loading and
material properties and code-specified phi-factors ( = overturning demands at the foundation level from
0.75). Demand taken as 1.5 times the average demand MCE shaking dictated a piled-mat solution.
from each set of 11 analyses. Two foundation systems were considered during the
design process: 8-foot-diameter drilled shafts and 5.0-
Table 1. MCE-Level Acceptance Criteria for Salesforce Tower. x 10.5-foot Load-Bearing Elements (LBEs). As the

depth to rock from Centers simultaneously open excavation, limiting the ability for
existing grade was heavy equipment to work at the bottom of the hole. As such, concrete
approximately 250 placement in the LBEs continued through elevation of the future mat
feet, and socket- foundation, and the remainder of the shaft was filled with a lean mix
ing into the rock for ease of later excavation.
would require drill- The final foundation configuration for Salesforce Tower includes 42
ing even deeper, the LBEs interconnected by a thick mat foundation to enforce compatibility
limits of available (Figure 6). The mat varies in thickness from 14 feet at the core to 5 feet at
drilling equipment the perimeter. LBEs extend into the underlying Franciscan bedrock, some
would be tested reaching more than 310 feet below existing grade with rock-sockets of
for a drilled shaft up to 70 feet. The design and construction of this foundation system set
foundation. The new standards for the support of tall buildings in San Franciscos unique
alternate LBE, or geotechnical and seismic conditions.
barrette foun-
Figure 6. LBE foundation system.
dations, were not Unprecedented Structure-Soil-Structure
subject to the
same depth limitations as the equipment used to excavate the shafts
Interaction (SSSI) Analysis
was a combination of a line-supported clam shell and hydrofraise. As a condition of the Salesforce Tower site purchase agreement,
Ultimately, the LBE foundation system was selected as the most the Transbay Joint Powers Authority required proof that the tower
appropriate for the project. developed for the site, as well as its interactions with surrounding
An extensive analysis of the LBEs, considering extreme seismic buildings, would not negatively impact the new Transit Center,
demands, was performed. Reinforcing detailing was incorporated especially during the strong ground shaking of an MCE event.
to resist the high tensile, flexural, and shear stresses imposed on the An unprecedented Structure-Soil-Structure Interaction (SSSI)
LBEs by MCE ground shaking. Confinement reinforcement was also analysis was conducted to investigate and confirm the performance
specified in the upper zones of the LBEs where compressive demands of Salesforce Tower and its impacts on the adjacent Transbay Transit
were the highest (Figure 5, page 47). As this was the first time LBEs Center. MKAs structural engineering team and the geotechnical
would be used to support a tall building in San Francisco, an extensive engineering team at Arup performed three-dimensional, nonlinear
review was conducted by the independent peer review panel. Also, SSSI analyses to assess the interactive performance of Salesforce
two full-scale Osterberg Load Cells tests were conducted to confirm Tower, the Transbay Transit Center, and another immediately adja-
that the design parameters for the skin friction on the LBEs were cent high-rise tower. This extremely complex assessment involved
appropriate. Through this test program, it was confirmed that the skin extensive nonlinear computer models developed in CSI-Perform
friction values were time sensitive (as expected) due to the build-up and LS-DYNA and considered multiple seismic ground motions.
of filter caking of the bentonite on the side walls of the shafts, requir- The results of these analyses confirmed the satisfactory performance
ing time limits to be placed on the overall installation of each shaft. of both Salesforce Tower and the Transbay Transit Center. The
Installation of the foundation system included first the construction details and conclusions of this analysis were ultimately reviewed
of guide walls to control the location and excavation of the LBEs. and approved by the Engineer of Record for the Transbay Transit
Excavation then proceeded using a combination of a line-mounted Center. This was the first time that potential impacts of one
clam shell in the sands and clay, switching to a hydrofraise when building on a neighboring building during strong seismic ground
denser rock material was shaking had been considered.
encountered. Excavation
stability was maintained
throughout the process
The Road Ahead
using a recycling ben- In addition to its height, the design and construction of Salesforce
tonite slurry system. Tower set new benchmarks for seismic safety, foundation con-
After the excavation was struction, and structure-soil-structure interaction. With many new
completed, full-length, towers planned in San Francisco and other seismically active cities,
pre-tied reinforcing steel the details of Salesforce Towers design will help guide
cages were lowered into and inform future improvements in the safety and
the bentonite-filled holes, performance of high-rise buildings and change the
and concrete was placed San Francisco skyline forever (Figure 7).
using dual tremie pipes.
All 42 LBEs were con-
Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E., Hon. AIA, is Chairman and Chief
structed from existing
Executive Officer at Magnusson Klemencic Associates. Ron can be
grade, rather than the
reached at [email protected].
bottom of the 60-foot
excavation. A temporary Michael T. Valley, P.E, S.E., is a Principal at Magnusson Klemencic
internal bracing system Associates. Michael can be reached at [email protected].
would be required to sup-
John D. Hooper, P.E., S.E., is Director of Earthquake Engineering
Figure 7. Salesforce Tower recent topping out. port the open excavation at Magnusson Klemencic Associates. John can be reached at
Courtesy of Magnusson Klemencic Associates/ given the limitation of the
[email protected].
Michael Dickter. adjacent Transbay Transit

Brock By Paul Fast, P.E., P.Eng.,
Struct.Eng., FIStructE and
Robert Jackson, P.Eng.
A Case
Study
Commons in Tall
Timber
T
he tallest contemporary wood building in the world was The key goals of the project were to create a safe, functional, sustain-
recently constructed at the University of British Columbia able, and cost-effective residence for UBC students. Delivering a mass
(UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. Brock Commons is an timber building with a construction cost that aligned with the unit
18-story student residence that is a mass timber hybrid and cost of a comparable traditional concrete tower in Vancouver was an
measures a record 174 feet (53 meters). Fast + Epp are the structural important goal, demonstrating the viability of wood as a practical
engineers, working in conjunction with Acton Ostry Architects and material for tall building applications.
Hermann Kaufmann Architekten. (The Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong An integrated design team was assembled by the University to facili-
Temple built in China in 1056 stands 220.83 feet (67.31 meters) and tate this effort. The construction manager was appointed, and the
is the tallest wood building in the world.) timber installer and concrete trades joined the team in a design-assist
role, providing real-time feedback on the evolving structural design
Project Background and offering valuable constructability advice.
The structure is comprised of 17 stories of five-ply cross-laminated
UBC is experiencing an increase in demand for student housing and timber (CLT) floor panels, a concrete transfer slab on the second
has a sustainability commitment to a campus that acts as a Living floor, and a steel framed roof. The CLT panels are point supported on
Laboratory where innovation is encouraged, not only in academia glulam columns on a 9.35- x 13.1-foot (2.85m x 4.0m) grid. Beams
but also in building and infrastructure. By pairing this drive with were eliminated from the design by utilizing CLTs two-way span-
the potential for external funding related to mass timber research, ning capabilities. Two full-height concrete cores provide the lateral
the project was born. stability for the structure.

Figure 1. Timber erection Summer 2016. Courtesy of Seagate Structures Figure 2. Point supported CLT system. Courtesy of Seagate Structures and
and Pollux Chung. Pollux Chung.
were CNC machined with quality control protocols to better ensure
Structural System a seamless erection of the timber superstructure.
The design intent was to keep the structure simple and sensible: To help achieve a high level of prefabrication for all design disciplines,
develop a prefabricated kit-of-parts that could be installed quickly CadMakers, a third-party consultant, modeled the building and
and easily, with minimal labor on site. helped coordinate design documents before and during construction.
CLT is often used as a one-way decking system, ignoring the two- This 3D model, created with CATIA software, includes fully-detailed
way spanning capability afforded by its cross laminations. By utilizing structural elements and connections, as well as mechanical/electrical
CLT to span in both directions, the design team was able to eliminate systems, architectural fit-outs, formwork panels, and safety guards.
beams, significantly reducing the overall structural depth (Figure The model allowed all CLT penetrations for mechanical and electri-
2). This created a clean, flat, point-supported surface, allowing for cal sleeves to be fully coordinated during the design process and
unobstructed service distribution as is commonly found in flat-plate successfully converted into fabrication files (CAD/CAM) needed
concrete construction. Further, by adjusting the column grid and for CNC machining.
architectural program to suit the maximum available panel size, the
Point Supported CLT
team was able to both minimize the overall number of panels and
maximize the efficiency of the system. In addition to stiffness and bending requirements, rolling shear
The primary lateral support for earthquake and wind loading is stresses at the column supports are typically a controlling factor in
provided by two concrete cores. Although timber-based lateral force- two-way, point-supported CLT floor plates. A rolling shear failure
resisting systems such as CLT walls/cores, timber braced frames, or is one in which the fibers roll over each other, due to shear forces
post-tensioned/self-centering systems were feasible design options for perpendicular to the grain. After designing the custom lamination
this project, the testing, time, and costs required to obtain regulatory layup to suit the rolling shear and flexural demands, the design team
approvals would have negatively impacted the clients budget and completed 18 full-scale load tests, at the FPInnovations laboratory in
completion date. Vancouver, on panels from three prospective CLT suppliers to validate
the analysis. There appeared to be some capability for the CLT to
redistribute forces, as internal shear cracks propagated through the
Design Challenges panel before the critical failure mode occurred. Multiple types of
shear/bending failures were observed near the supports (Figure 3).
Codes and Standards
Column Shortening and Shrinkage
The current British Columbia Building Code (BCBC 2012) limits the
height of wood buildings to six stories. As such, a special approval In tall wood buildings, axial column shortening needs to be con-
process was required for this project. The design is based on a Site sidered during design. When properly accounted for, the shortening
Specific Regulation (SSR), administered by the Building Safety and should not negatively affect the construction, use, or long-term
Standards Branch of the BC Provincial Government, and is applicable performance of the building.
solely to this project and site. continued on next page
Due to the complexity of the project, two independent structural
peer reviews were completed. The first independent review was timber-
focused and was completed by Merz Kley Partner ZT GmbH in
Dornbirn, Austria. The second was seismic-focused and was completed
by Read Jones Christoffersen Consulting Engineers in Vancouver.
Prefabrication
Prefabrication is an essential consideration when designing large-scale
wood structures. Well-planned erection and shop drawings are vital
to ensuring smooth production and installation of timber elements.
This results in fewer errors on the site, less remedial work, and a
shorter overall construction schedule. All CLT and glulam elements Figure 3. Point supported CLT panel testing apparatus (left); Failure (right).

Construction
Proof of Concept Mock-Up
The construction team built a full-scale mock-up of a portion of the
building to validate the constructability of the proposed design, 26
feet x 39 feet (8m x 12m) in plan and two stories tall. The mock-up
included several connection types to help determine and optimize
the details used in the final design (Figure 4). Also, the mock-up was
used for the development and evaluation of various building envelope
systems considered for the project.
Construction Sequencing
The construction team erected the concrete cores to full height and
Figure 4. Proof of concept mock-up.
installed the L2 transfer slab throughout the winter of 2015/16 to
Several factors affect glulam column shortening: facilitate the use of one crane and provide sufficient time for manu-
Dead load elastic axial shortening ( = PL/AE) facturing and shipping of the heavy timber elements.
Live load elastic axial shortening ( = PL/AE) In June 2016, the timber and envelope installation began. This was
Shrinkage parallel to grain completed in four phases. The first involved erecting all columns on
Joint settlement one level, diagonally bracing them, and using horizontal spreader
Column length tolerances bars at the column caps to set the grid (Figure 5). The columns were
Wood creep installed by hand from bundles on the active deck, freeing up the crane
The main concerns surrounding these shortening effects are the for envelope panel installation. The second phase was the installation
impact of the deformations on the vertical mechanical services, as well of the CLT panels, stitching adjacent panels as the active deck moved
as the differential movement between the wood superstructure and away from the cores (Figure 6). The third phase was the installation
the stiff concrete cores. The effects of these factors culminate at the of the steel drag plates at the concrete cores and perimeter angles to
roof level, where all columns below contribute to the shortening. A support the curtain wall system. The fourth was the installation of
series of 116-inch thick steel shim plates were added during construc- the envelope elements on the floor below the active deck (Figure 7).
tion at the column-to-column connections on three strategic levels Erection of the timber and envelope panels was completed in just
to mitigate a portion of these effects. nine weeks, with the four-step installation sequence repeating itself.
Monitoring
To better understand the unique behaviors of the building, the
Conclusion
structure will be fitted with accelerometers, moisture meters, and A mass timber building of this scale carries a unique set of engineer-
vertical shortening string pots. Research teams at the University of ing challenges, many of which can be mitigated through the use of
British Columbia are undertaking this work as a part of the Living innovative design strategies and strong quality control protocols. To
Laboratory initiative. date, the project has proven cost-competitive with concrete towers in
The data collected from the accelerometers and inclination gauges the local marketplace, largely achieved by an integrated
will help to verify the buildings performance in a significant seismic design team, real-time input from trades, and structural
event. The string pots will measure the floor-to-floor axial column discipline. This large scale prefabricated project is a testa-
shortening at strategic levels, which will provide more insight into axial ment to fresh thinking and holistic design.
column shortening in highly loaded glulam columns. Lastly, moisture
Paul Fast, P.E., P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FIStructE, is the Founding
meters and data loggers will be installed in the CLT panels, collecting
Partner of Fast + Epp. He is the structural engineer of record for the
data from the manufacturing plant to the final installed condition.
innovative 18-story Brock Commons student residence.
The meters will continue to measure moisture content throughout
the service life of the building which, in a few years time, will give a Robert Jackson, P.Eng., was heavily involved the design and
moisture content timeline from fabrication to moisture equilibrium. construction of the Brock Commons student residence project.
Figure 5. Braced columns. Courtesy of Seagate Figure 6. CLT panel installation. Courtesy of Figure 7. Perimeter envelope installation. Courtesy of
Structures and Pollux Chung. Seagate Structures and Pollux Chung. Naturally: Wood and Steven Errico.

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By Mark Sarkisian, S.E., Eric Long, S.E., David Shook, P.E., and Eric Peterson
B
y re-examining standards long taken for granted by develop- floor and all basement diaphragms were modeled with shell elements,
ers, 350 Mission received LEED Platinum certification and as the ramp and basement levels are sloped in a corkscrew basement.
is reinventing a ubiquitous building type. The form, struc-
ture, and systems of this Class-A office tower are generated
by rigorous goals of environmental performance, social engagement,
Long-Span Flat Plate Slab Design
and material efficiency. A flat plate solution using conventional practices would need to be
The 30-story volume embodies the higher workforce densities and at least 14 inches thick, with very high quantities of post-tension-
flexible space planning of 21st-century offices, thanks to floor plates ing and reinforcement. To reduce the slab thickness to 11 inches
that span nearly 45 feet between core and perimeter. 350 Mission and post-tensioning quantities to levels commonly associated with
achieves a new paradigm for office tower structures by utilizing 30-foot residential spans, a cambered solution was proposed in
post-tensioned long-span flat concrete slabs, a method traditionally tandem with the post-tensioning system. The primary purpose of
reserved for residential construction. The innovative structure lifts the post-tensioning system is to counteract a large portion of the
the first office floor to create a transparent 50-foot-tall by 43-foot slab self-weight while mitigating flexural cracking. Due to the mag-
-deep lobby, dubbed the urban living room. Energized by a 70- by nitude of the span and modest post-tensioning, elastic and inelastic
40-foot LED screen, the generous public space has 90 linear feet of creep deflection of the slab, up to 2.5 inches, was anticipated. This
glass panels that slide open to the sidewalk and blur the threshold would not be acceptable for non-structural components such as
between public and private realms. partitions and could be visually perceivable in an exposed ceiling
condition. Thus, a digitally mapped camber plan and camber values
for individual shoring posts were developed with the collaboration of
Performance-Based Seismic Design the concrete contractor. Changes in camber slope were also coordi-
Dual seismic force resisting systems are required by ASCE 7 for nated with the concrete contractor, Webcor Concrete, to ensure the
buildings over 240 feet unless appropriate justification is provided. specified geometry could be achieved without significant changes
Administration Bulletin 82 and 83 of the San Francisco Building Code in labor. The direct collaboration of the structural design team with
prescribe the design and peer review process needed to demonstrate all concrete field superintendents, including those responsible for
code-equivalence of the core-only seismic force resisting system. This shoring, forming, placement, and finishing, were vital.
performance-based seismic design approach permits the core-only Conventional 5,000 psi concrete was utilized along with A615
seismic force resisting system and avoids traditional dual systems Gr. 60 reinforcement for both the post-tensioned floor slabs and in
which often include costly moment frames. non-cambered, mild-reinforced below-grade slabs. Average compres-
The latest advances in nonlinear time history analysis, seismic design sive strength determined in cylinder testing from the below-grade
methods, and reinforcement detailing were incorporated into this slabs was to be 7,200 psi. The high strength was due to contractor
project, drawing upon the knowledge and experience of the city- requirements for early strength to tension tendons to keep the project
appointed seismic design review panel. All gravity framing members on schedule. Thus, the camber of above-grade decks was adjusted
and their associated effects on building performance, including P-delta using this more accurate concrete strength.
effects and nonlinear behavior, were modeled. Due to the potential Two comprehensive analytical investigations were conducted in
interaction of the slabs on the gravity columns and their cumulative parallel using separate software packages to ensure both strength
effect on the tall lobby condition, this was vital. Additionally, ground and serviceability were satisfied. The primary software used for

A B C D E
7
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.75 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.75 0.0
0.0 0.75 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.25 0.0
0.0 0.75 1.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.75 1.5 1.5 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.0 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.0
6
0.0 0.5 0.75 1.25 1.25 0.75 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
5
0.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.75 0.5 0.0 0.75 0.75 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.75 0.5 0.0 1.25 1.25 0.0 0.0 0.0
4
0.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.75 0.5 0.0 1.25 1.25 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.75 0.5 0.0 0.25 0.25 0.0 0.0 0.0
3 0.0 0.5 0.75 1.0 0.75 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.5 0.75 1.25 1.5 1.25 1.0 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.0
0.0
2
0.25 0.75 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.0 1.0 0.0
0.0
0.25 0.75 1.0 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.0 1.0 0.0
0.0
0.25 0.25 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0.0
0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Chamber overlay diagram. Exterior at night.
analysis was SAFE by Computers and Structures, Inc., while a 60, and 90 days afterward. The tracking of deflections was determined
checking analysis model was built in ADAPT Floor by ADAPT to be very close to analysis model predictions, which incorporated a
Inc. Both analysis tools calculated cracked section properties novel iterative cracked section analysis procedure recommended by
based on actual rebar placement for increased accuracy. With the ACI 435 committee and creep and shrinkage methods recom-
the incorporation of camber, post-tensioning material quantities mended by the ACI 209 committee. This design, with contractor
were competitive with shorted 30-foot spans often encountered collaboration, has set a new standard in office buildings and created
in high-rise residential towers. a new efficient architecture which gives further enhancement to
For calculation of long-term deflection, methods recommended core-only tall buildings.
by ACI Committee 435 in ACI 435R-95, Control of Deflection in An important feature of the concrete framing design is a dramatic
Concrete Structures, were utilized. As noted in the ACI 435 docu- 30-foot corner cantilever achieved with a 25-inch deep post-tensioned
ment, methods recommended by Graham and Scanion (1986) are upturned beam. The upturn is concealed in a raised floor system which
appropriate where stiff lateral systems such as shear walls are utilized. permitted underfloor mechanical air circulation, electrical conduits,
The concrete modulus of rupture is lowered from 7.5fc to 4fc and plumbing lines. Thus, the underside of the slab is kept free of
for calculation of cracked section properties. Also, the computed these visual hindrances. The corner post-tensioned beam has a unique
deflections using cracked section properties are amplified by a factor tendon profile that differs from conventional post-tensioned layouts.
of 3.5 to determine the total long-term deflection. Instead of starting high at the support and draping linearly to mid-
While both analysis models could amplify ACI 435 recommend depth at the cantilever tip, it has a slight parabolic drape between the
values of cracked section deflections, SAFE was found to be more two ends. This was incorporated to avoid sagging at the cantilever
accurate with its age-adjusted modulus of elasticity method which mid-span which can occur in very long cantilever conditions.
accounts for long-term creep and shrinkage based on methods sug- In elevation, the tower superstructure appears as 11-inch plates. The
gested by ACI 209. depth of similarly performing steel or waffle-slab construction would
Although recommendations of ACI 318 for the modulus of rupture measure nearly 3 feet. If the concrete slabs remain exposed overhead,
(7.5fc) and long-term deflection multipliers (3.0) are appropriate then the typical office floor will reach over 11 feet high, a dramatic
when compared to laboratory testing, they do not account for critical increase from the 9-foot heights traditionally associated with Class-A
construction effects such as early shrinkage cracking due to restraint office buildings. Using ultra-thin concrete instead of steel maximizes
and early loading of the concrete when shoring is removed. It is highly perimeter glass, achieves more daylight, and supports energy efficient
recommended that appropriate provisions be made in ACI 318 to give HVAC systems.
guidance to structural engineers designing concrete gravity framing
which more appropriately addresses these important issues, and that
practicing engineers consider this during design.
Innovative Multi-Story Construction Methods
Slabs are engineered to be flat and to deflect no more than inch Construction methodologies were coordinated among the concrete,
between the core and perimeter 90 days after casting when raised rebar, post-tensioning crews, and the place and finish crews. Handset
flooring is to be installed. The -inch deflection limit is important Pro-Shore formwork was used to achieve non-traditional camber
as that is the maximum deflection a standard partition slip track can profiles and reduce the floor-to-floor cycle from 7 to 5 days. The
accommodate. Slab elevations were surveyed at casting, as well as 30, design team met with the crew superintendents to ensure a full

Lobby. Lobby at night.
understanding of the design intent was conveyed and to receive

feedback on improving the specified camber profiles and post-tension
Field Verified Embodied Carbon
layout. The steps required to achieve the soffit profile, before concrete The Environmental Analysis Tool is an embodied carbon account-
placement, included: ing methodology and software published as a free download by
1) Measure deflection of lowest reshored level during placement; SOM at www.som.com. The EA Tool considers embodied carbon
2) Measure shortening of formwork system during placement; from materials, construction activities, and probable seismic
3) Interpolate values based upon shore location relative to damage. Embodied carbon accounting metrics were used in all
supports; design decisions and led to an efficient design employing the
4) Agree upon method of strike-off (screeding) during concrete use of recycled materials. During construction, engineers made
placement; weekly site visits, creating detailed reports of all construction
5) Add deflection plus formwork shortening to specified camber activity and equipment used. This information, as well as actual
values; and material information, was used to adjust and validate embod-
6) Survey and record deck soffit formwork elevations before ied carbon accounting associated with structural materials and
placement. construction activity from the beginning of excavation through
There were preliminary and follow-up discussions regarding what topping out. Results reveal the EA Tool methodologies are quite
placement methods would be best for providing the indicated camber accurate, especially for above-grade work. Results also indicate
at the tops of the slabs. Since concrete placement strike-off is done with that below-grade work is very carbon intensive, more than twice
straight edges, the resulting camber is initially corded. Ordinarily, on that of above-grade work.
flat building slabs, strike-off is done with screeds measuring up to 20
feet long. After consideration of both production requirements and the
required surface geometry, it was decided by the contractor and engineer
Performance
that the maximum screed length would be 10 feet. The direction of Performance is often quantified, but not often proven. For 350 Mission,
screeding was also discussed and agreement made on a standard direc- seismic performance has been validated through nonlinear time history
tion. During the first placement, an additional observation was that analysis, cambered slab deflection analyses have been proven through
ride-on trowel machines, using float pans, had the effect of planing or numerous surveys, and embodied carbon associated with materials
leveling the surface, which reduces camber. From this point forward, and construction activity has been verified through field
neither ride-on machines nor float pans were used. The camber profile observations. This assurance in performance is important
was finished by using walk-behind trowel machines with combination to advance design techniques towards a new standard in
blades. In addition to setting top profiles with a laser level, both 10-foot building construction and design methodologies.
screeds and the use of walk-behind machines contributed in producing
the required camber tolerances at the tops of the slabs.
Mark P. Sarkisian, S.E., is the Structural and Seismic Engineering
The ongoing process of taking measurements before and after each
Partner of the San Francisco office of SOM. He can be reached at
placement provided necessary feedback to the formwork and placing
[email protected].
crews of where the processes needed fine-tuning and helped to keep
the quality consistent. Top-of-slab elevation surveys were made at spe- Eric Long, S.E., is a Director and Senior Structural Engineer of the
cific locations, relative to Project control, so that they could be exactly San Francisco Office of SOM. He can be reached at
repeated for future monitoring. [email protected].
The result was a design and construction methodology that could be
David Shook, P.E., is an Associate Director and Structural
applied to other multi-story buildings. Understanding long-term slab
Engineer at the San Francisco office of SOM. He can be reached
deflection characteristics, monitoring as-built tolerances, and incor-
at [email protected].
porating predicted slab performance characteristics into the design of
architectural finishes and work scopes after concrete placement and Eric Peterson is the Construction Manager at Webcor Concrete
finishing, aligns expectations through both the design and construc- and can be reached at [email protected].
tion processes.

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For more information on licensing and pricing
StructurePoint software, youre also taking advantage of
the Portland Cement Associations more than 90 years of
options please call 847.966.4357 or e-mail
experience, expertise, and technical support in concrete [email protected].
design and construction.
STR_9-14
TALL BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
New Products and Services Keep Pace with Construction Changes for Tall Buildings
By Larry Kahaner
C
ompanies involved in tall building construction are seeing everyone on the project team can now be fully aware of project
increased growth thanks to advances in ground improve- performance. In some cases, data can be obtained and plotted within
ment, software, and materials. minutes or even seconds of collection. Although there is an added cost
At Hayward Baker (www.haywardbaker.com), Director to provide these cutting edge services, the added value outweighs its
Jeff Hill has seen two significant changes in the specialty geotechnical cost through the use of more efficient designs and quicker evaluation
construction industry. The first would be the wide-spread acceptance of the projects geotechnical risk. Real-time monitoring can be so
of ground improvement as a foundation solution. The second is an effective at mitigating or managing risks that projects once deemed
increased use of geotechnical instrumentation to streamline design un-constructible, or too risky for the owner, may now become viable.
and allow for real-time subsurface risk mitigation for the owner and (See ad on page 58.)
project team alike. StructurePoint (www.structurepoint.org), formerly the Engineering
Hill adds a warning, though: From coast to coast in North America, Software Group of the Portland Cement Association (PCA), continues
ground improvement has allowed the use of economic spread footing to develop and enhance the full range of advanced PCA software and
foundation solutions. Industry experience and satisfactory building engineering services to model, analyze, and design reinforced con-
performance have increased the willingness of engineers and owners crete structures, according to Tim Schulz, the companys Marketing
to consider its use further. Perhaps to a fault, however, the acceptance Coordinator. Our newly released spColumn v5.50 program features a
of these techniques has become so widespread that one might argue dynamic spSection module to create and modify irregular sections, and
many ground improvement projects would be better suited as tra- a 3D failure surface viewer to investigate biaxial runs more thoroughly.
ditional pile supported projects. More bluntly stated, inexperienced Additionally, our spMats program now utilizes a sophisticated FEM
contractors are installing ground improvement on projects that should solver to expedite solution of large-scale, complex models. Equipped
be supported on deep foundations. Of course, deep foundations have with the latest American (ACI 318-14) and Canadian (CSA A23.3-
been around for centuries and are required where certain unsuitable 14) concrete codes, StructurePoint software assists engineers to work
soils, larger structure design loads, and allowable settlement criteria quickly, simply, and accurately.
dictate a structural solution instead of ground improvement. Ground He says that now, more than ever, engineers are asked to meet the
improvement is a terrific tool for SEs to use; however, we must all rising demand for new construction as infrastructure spending trends
understand the limitations. Each projects soil and loading conditions positively. Clients not only use our continuously developing soft-
dictate the use of the correct technique. ware, but they benefit from our engineers experience in the concrete
Hayward Baker has recently acquired Geo-Instruments of industry to relieve heavy workloads, augment their staff, and advise
Narragansett, Rhode Island, which allows HB to add robust geo- on all of their concrete project needs, says Schulz, who encourages
technical instrumentation and real-time monitoring services to their engineers to visit their website. Our websites improved layout show-
offerings. Says Hill: Over the past decade, geotechnical instrumen- cases design examples which aim to expedite the learning process for
tation and monitoring systems have advanced to the point where engineers who are new to reinforced concrete design. For experienced

engineers, the design examples are packed with time-saving design seismic equivalent loads is generated on each FE element independent
aides, detailed code references, estimating guidelines and in-depth of a structures size or shape. Material and geometric nonlinearities
solutions for deflection calculations. also give users the advantage over other software to narrow in on a
Schulz says that StructurePoint continues to grow as they gain the structures complicated behavior.
acceptance and confidence of new users worldwide and retain the Heilig says that, since establishing their Philadelphia office in 2015,
trust of established clients. In a competitive engineering marketplace they see an upward trend for business. Our customer database has
with tightening budgets and global competition, our focus remains increased with new U.S. and Canadian engineering companies eager
on the improvement of our suite of concrete design software as well to utilize our design software. Our current customers also have
as the support and resources we provide. North American engineers continued to add to their existing licenses with additional seats and
are challenged to compete for global projects and to complete them more design modules, indicating their satisfaction with RFEM and
more rapidly than ever before. In these situations, StructurePoint the technical support we have provided them.
software is employed effectively to design quickly without compro- She understands that engineers are growing tired of using structural
mising quality or exceeding costs. software that does not meet their demand or is too expensive to con-
Amy Heilig, CEO, U.S. Office of Dlubal (www.dlubal.com/en-US), sider. We pride ourselves on a product that was created by engineers
would like SEs to know about a recent addition to their software for engineers, says Heilig. We can guarantee its one of the most
line. Design per the Aluminum Design Manual 2015 (ADM) was user-friendly analysis and design program you will ever use. And
recently added to our nonlinear FEA software. RFEM is now com- considering the powerful capabilities RFEM has for contact surfaces,
plete with a wide array of multi-material design capabilities per fabric form-finding ability, and material nonlinearities, to name a
U.S. and Canadian standards, including steel, reinforced concrete, few, the software is still affordable. RFEM is the global solution for
timber, and aluminum. Also, we have designs for specialized niche structural analysis, and we intend to continue development to keep
markets such as glass, cross-laminated timber (CLT), and tensile up with new structural engineering demands.
fabric structures. She notes: RFEM continues to be the favorable To some in the industry for a long time, the idea of what consti-
choice for engineering projects which are not exactly in the simple tutes a tall building has evolved. Geopier Foundation Companys
and easy classification. The CAD-like features allow complex ele- (www.geopier.com) Director of Business Development, Matt Caskey,
ment geometries to be modeled, loaded, and analyzed in a matter of says that the company was challenged and excited to work on a
minutes. For example, an ASCE 7 Response Spectra Analysis with 16-story hospital tower in Atlanta in 1992. Those of us in the ground
RFEM 5 Powerful, Intuitive & Easy
Structural Analysis
& Design Software
Steel Concrete Timber

Aluminum Tanks CLT
Glass Piping Cables
LACKNER + RAML Ziviltechniker GmbH
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Villanova, PA

improvement design-build industry may have a different definition of
Now the company finds that, after years of demonstrated success with
tall building than most structural engineers, but, back in 1992, 16
their ground improvement systems as well as consistent advancements
stories seemed really tall. Before the mid-1990s, ground improvement
to their technologies, it is supporting more tall buildings even those
systems were primarily used for small buildings on the worst-of-the-
on very poor sites. Says Caskey: Geopier Rammed Aggregate Piers
worst sites or where the building design was severely impacted by
were installed to support the twin 18-story towers of the Marquee
seismic concerns. Structural engineers began to notice the successful
at Park Place condominiums in Irvine, California in 2004, where
performance of buildings supported on Geopier ground improvementtypical PGA values can range from 0.3 to 0.7g. The Geopier Impact
systems and slowly developed confidence that Geopier systems could
technology was used for foundation support and liquefaction miti-
support the heavy loads associated with taller buildings. Our idea of
gation for the 20-story Edificio Parque Manuel Rodriguez building
a tall building began to change. in Concepcin, Chile, one of the most seismically active regions
in the world. The soil conditions at this
site consisted of layered deposits of loose
sandy soil.
He notes: A more recent Geopier
rigid inclusion system, the Geopier
GeoConcrete Column (GCC), has
GEOPIER GROUND IMPROVEMENT been used to support tall buildings on
sites with deep deposits of very soft clay
CONTROLS STRUCTURE SETTLEMENT and peat. GCCs were used to support
the 12-story Grand Condominiums in
Cambridge, Ontario. The condominiums
have column loads as high as 1,500 kips
and mat pressures as high as 8,000 psf
and were built on top of soft and organic
soils to depths of 27 feet. Deep deposits
of soft and organic soil also led struc-
tural designers to choose GeoConcrete
Columns to support the 14-story College
Avenue Office Building in New Haven,
Connecticut. For this tall building, the

GCC system eliminated the need for
dewatering and spoils removal from the
job site, and supported the foundation
bearing pressure of 9,500 psf.
Concludes Caskey: Developing efficient
Geopier design solutions for taller build-
ings is always an exciting and challenging
task for our engineers. The design process
works best when the structural design-
ers share load reactions and, sometimes,
even help with finite element models
to better understand pressure distribu-
tions on larger mat foundations. We are
honored that the structural design com-
munity has confidence designing with
GIVE YOUR STRUCTURE STABILIT Y
Geopier ground improvement systems for
their high-profile, tall buildings, and we
Work with Geopiers geotechnical engineers to solve your ground intend always to validate that confidence.
improvement challenges. Submit your project specifications to When it comes to assessments, ICC
Evaluation Service, LLC (ICC-ES)
receive a customized feasibility assessment and preliminary cost
(www.icc-es.org), is the nations most rec-
estimate at geopier.com/feasibilityrequest. ognized and accepted product evaluation
agency, says William Gould, Vice-
800-371-7470 President, External Relations and Client
geopier.com Services. Were an ANSI accredited, a
[email protected] non-profit subsidiary of the International
Code Council (ICC) (www.iccsafe.org),
the parent organization that develops the
I-codes.
continued on page 64

We certify the following
CLT Related Products:
Metal Connectors and Shear Connectors
Wood Screws, Nails and Tapping Screws
Adhesives and Tapes
Gypsum Boards and Sheathings
Thermal and Moisture Protection Materials
Fire-resistant Coatings and Fire Stops
Sound Proofing Materials
Certify Your Cross Laminated Timber

(CLT) Products with ICC-ES!
ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) certifies Cross-Laminated Timber products for compliance
with ANSI/APA PRG 320 Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber
ICC-ES Evaluation Reports are the most widely accepted and trusted technical reports for code
compliance. When you specify products or materials with an ICC-ES report, you avoid delays on
project and improve your bottom line.
ICC-ES provides a one-stop shop for the evaluation, listing and now testing of innovative building
products through our newly formed cooperation with Innovation Research Labs, a highly respected
ISO 17025 accredited testing lab with over 50 years of experience.
ICC-ES is a subsidiary of ICC, the publisher of the codes used throughout the U.S.
and many global markets, so you can be confident in their code expertise.
WWW.ICC-ES.ORG | 800-423-6587 x3877

17-13998
15-11191
Over the past few months, we have issued many evaluation reports Criteria for Cross-Laminated Timber Panels for Use as Components
to manufacturers of innovative products for compliance with the in Roof and Floor Decks. Says Gould: CLT is being used for floor
requirements of the International Building Code (IBC), says Gould. systems in a number of signature building projects throughout the
We work with both domestic and international building product U.S. and Europe. Although the IBC currently allows CLT for use in
manufacturers and our service culminates in the publication of an buildings up to six stories, it holds great promise for use in taller wood
evaluation report. This offers a huge benefit to product manufacturers buildings. The ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings is
seeking to grow their business since the ICC-ES Mark of Conformity studying this topic and may propose future code changes pertaining to
is so well recognized by Building Officials and inspectors. ICC-ES CLT. We have also issued many evaluation reports for wood fasteners
evaluation reports are also a means of differentiation for manufac- and hangers under ICC-ES AC233 Acceptance Criteria for Alternate
turers. Those who obtain them are typically the best manufacturers Dowel-Type Threaded Fasteners and ICC-ES AC13 Acceptance Criteria
with the highest quality products. Our evaluation services remain the for Joist Hangers and Similar Devices that are used for attachments to
same, but the scope of products that we evaluate has continued to and connections of wood members. Fastener and connector product
grow each year. Many new products with ICC-ES evaluation reports development continue to be very dynamic as a result of cutting-edge
are used by SEs in the design of todays complex structures and tall technology, and manufacturers of these types of products are key
buildings. Knowing that they have ICC-ES evaluation reports provides players in the industry.
peace of mind and assurance that the products meet stringent code Hows business? Business is strong and indicative of the construc-
requirements. Our product evaluations include examining product tion market in general. More product manufacturers need evaluation
quality, strength, effectiveness, fire resistance, durability, and safety reports and are applying to ICC-ES for them because they trust us.
according to IBC Section 104.11. Thats a good thing for the industry, says Gould.
ICC-ES recently issued an evaluation report to a Cross-Laminated Business is picking up especially in high-rise buildings and
Timber (CLT) manufacturer (Structurlam ESR-3631) for compli- infrastructure, according to MMFX Technologies Corporations
ance of their mass timber product with ICC-ES AC455 Acceptance (www.mmfx.com) President and CEO, Michael Pompay. The
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construction trend of building higher with a narrow footprint to manufactured by Verco Decking, Inc., a Nucor Company, exclusively
make the most of the space is driving demand for high-strength steel for use with Vulcrafts 1.5PLB and 3.0PLN, 1.5 PLVLI, 2.0PLVLI, and
products. MMFX is on the forefront of this trend and has been pushing 3.0PLVLI steel deck. He adds: Although the PunchLok II system is new
the advantages of using high-strength for years. We are now feeling to the Eastern and Midwest states, it has been widely used and proven
a market pull due to the demand for high-strength applications and on the West Coast by Verco Decking, Inc., since 2002. This system
realization of the benefits derived from designing at 100 ksi. We also was created from Vercos culture of innovation and a relentless drive to
see a trend toward corrosion resistance. Designers are focused on the develop a solution with enough diaphragm shear capacity for the high
longevity of the structures more than ever. Owners, developers and seismic forces in the region. Los Angeles requires about 1500plf dia-
departments of transportation are demanding better quality, longer phragm shear for a typical big box retail store. The result, says Cooper,
lasting structures with reduced maintenance. was the highest possible shear with the lowest possible cost using the
Pompay explains: MMFX Steel Corporation offers a Grade 100 PunchLok II system. The revolutionary high-performance steel deck
concrete reinforcing steel for use in high-rise buildings. ChrmX 2100, diaphragm system is recognized by FM, UL, ICC-ES, and IAPMO.
sold under the specification ASTM A1035 CL, can be used at its 100 According to Cooper, some advantages of the Vulcraft PunchLok
ksi yield strength to reduce congestion and improve design efficiencies II system are:
of piles, columns, beams, slabs, mat foundations, and shear walls. Requires no touch-up from either the top side or the bottom
High-strength designs can improve constructability. As real estate side of the deck;
becomes more precious and pricey, especially in densely populated Provides a completely weld-free system when used in
cities, multi-use, high-rise buildings are being built taller and nar- conjunction with mechanical fasteners at supports;
rower than ever before. The resulting rebar congestion limits the 100% effective from the first attachment of the day to the last
constructability and height of these structures when applying lower- attachment of the day;
grade designs. Designs at 100 ksi, now available through the ACI and 100% accuracy of inspection of the attachment from the
ICC design standards, reduce rebar congestion, allowing buildings topside of the deck;
to reach new heights, he says. Stronger and more effective than conventional button
High-strength, 100 ksi designs also generate construction efficien- punches; and
cies that save money and time. When properly utilized, high-strength Stronger, more effective, and more economical than screwed
designs result in substantial savings in materials, labor, and logistics. side laps.
For instance, mat foundations are thinned, saving on excavation. As for trends, Cooper says that mechanical fasteners continue to be
Efficiencies are applied to add value to a building. For example, col- the deck installers method of choice to provide a required attach-
umns are narrowed, increasing usable office or living space. ment pattern of the metal deck to meet project design loads. The
ChrmX 2100 is the latest addition to the MMFX high-strength PunchLok II system works hand-in-hand with these fasteners; their
concrete reinforcing product lines that provide over 100 ksi yield allowable diaphragm shear strength values are published in our Design
strength with varying corrosion resistant properties. This allows Guide. (See ad on page 66.)
designers to utilize the high-strength efficiencies and select the cor- We are very excited about the latest S-FOUNDATION 2017
rosion resistance that matches the environment and targeted service release that improves on the ability of structural engineers to easily
life of the structure, Pompay says. ChrmX 2100 (ASTM A1035 generate foundations of any kind and shape (including piles), with
CL) joins ChrmX 9100 (ASTM A1035 CS) and ChrmX 4100 any number of holes, pedestals, and walls, says Marinos Stylianou,
(ASTM A1035 CM) to round out our product offering. ChrmX CEO of S-Frame Software (www.s-frame.com). When engineers
2100 is the lower corrosion-resistant of our products and provides realize the simplicity and power of the modern user interface of
the high-strength properties at the lowest cost, perfect for high-rise S-FOUNDATION, they immediately understand the direct benefits
construction where corrosion is less of a concern. to their organization. Also, recent release updates for S-FRAME
John Cooper, District Manager, Complex Composite Group at Analysis, S-CONCRETE, S-STEEL, and S-CALC added improved
Vulcraft/Verco Group (www.vulcraft.com), says that business con- functionality and integration.
tinues to be strong. Like everyone in the structural steel business, As far as industry trends, Stylianou sees movement toward design
we will always face challenges. However, Vulcrafts superior product solutions with strong visibility into the analytical solution. Engineers
offerings, coupled with a tireless desire to provide unmatched customer want the solution quickly and easily, but they also want the ability to
experience through every phase of a project, results in greater success verify how the software arrived at the results. That is why S-Frame
for our clients, which means more jobs, more money, and a greater Software has long incorporated open-solution strategies in its products.
level of assurance for our customers. Now engineers are looking for something that is one step beyond,
The company has introduced the Vulcraft PunchLok II system, which a software solution that allows users to customize how the software
utilizes the PunchLok II tool to achieve higher shear values at less cost behaves if the out-of-the-box solution doesnt meet their needs. That is
through high-quality, side-seam attachments, says Cooper. Used in another major industry trend: customization. Our new generation of
conjunction with Vulcrafts interlocking deck products, the pneu- products incorporates the ability for users to customize and automate
matic PunchLok II tool is a fast, effective, high-volume tool. It is design processes. S-FRAME Softwares implementation of automation

Leveraging technology
and forward thinking.
At Vulcraft, we believe its crucial to constantly
push the boundaries of product innovation.
To give our customers the tools to get the job
done better than ever before. Our pioneering
efforts in product development make satisfying
your needs effective and affordable.
With Vulcraft, you can expect success from start

to finish. We provide peace of mind by being
better partners, offering better products and
ensuring better outcomes. Every time.
Learn how Vulcraft delivers better outcomes.

www.vulcraft.com
The
PunchLok II System
is the result of our unwavering
commitment to product innovation.
It was created because we saw a
need for a deck system that enabled
faster installation, yeilding higher
shear values, and ultimately
saved our customers
more money.
Better Partners. Better Products.

Better Outcomes.
is a first of its kind in this industry. It has taken our users a while to
understand the power they now have at their fingertips. When they
UPCOMING
realize it, however, they immediately understand the direct benefits
to their organization. They can customize the software so it follows ADVERTORIALS
their own workflow and then deploy it throughout their organization
with the built-in library feature.
Stylianou adds: We have noticed a definite increase in demand for JULY - Seismic/Wind
structural engineering analysis and design software since the fourth
quarter of 2016, and the trend has continued through the first AUGUST - Software
quarter of 2017. This has been helped, in part, by increased demand
from the oil and gas industry which is benefiting from higher oil NOVEMBER - Concrete
prices. Weve seen strong growth in the U.S. and Asia especially from
companies that chose to use our advanced structural
analysis and design platform for newer trend-setting For interview opportunities on these topics,
tall buildings. Having software tools that are versatile contact [email protected].
enough to work for any industry type or region has
been a key differentiator for us.
Tall Buildings guide expertise in tall building design and construction
American Wood Council CAST CONNEX CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation

Phone: 202-463-2766 Phone: 416-806-3521 Phone: 800-929-3030
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Web: www.awc.org/tallwood Web: www.castconnex.com Web: www.ctscement.com
Product: Tall Wood Product: High Integrity Blocks Product: Rapid Set Cement Products and Komponent
Description: Tall wood defines mass timber Description: Ultra-heavy, weldable, solid steel Type-K Shrinkage-Compensating Cement
buildings that exceed the height limit for wood sections which exhibit up to 65 ksi yield strength in Description: Use Rapid Set cement products for
buildings set by the current International Building all three directions of loading and through the full concrete repairs, restoration, and new construction.
Code. Mass timber includes any product currently cross-section. Ideal for use within the center of multi- Achieve high durability, fast strength gain, and
permitted for use in Type IV construction such axis loaded connections or where the lamination of structural or drive-on strength in one-hour. Install
as cross laminated timber, structural composite multiple steel plates is not advisable. concrete structures and industrial-size floors using
lumber, glued-laminated timber, and large section Type-K shrinkage-compensating cement products
sawn lumber. with no curling, no drying shrinkage cracking, and no
intermediate saw cut joints.
Applied Science International, LLC Concrete Masonry Association Dlubal Software, Inc.
Phone: 919-645-4090 of California & Nevada Phone: 267-702-2815
Email: [email protected] Phone: 916-722-1700 Email: [email protected]
Web: www.appliedscienceint.com Email: [email protected] Web: www.dlubal.com
Product: Extreme Loading for Structures Web: CMACN.org Product: RFEM
Description: A new advanced level of nonlinear Product: CMD15 Design Tool for Masonry Description: Complete with USA/International
dynamic structural analysis; allows users to Description: Structural design of reinforced Standards for steel, concrete, timber, CLT, glass,
efficiently study structural failure from any concrete and clay hollow unit masonry elements and aluminum, the user-friendly software allows for
number of actual or possible extreme events. for design of masonry elements in accordance with efficient modeling, a powerful non-linear analysis
Unlike traditional FEM software, users can easily provisions of Ch. 21 2010 through 2016 CBC or and highly detailed design results for all multi-
model high-rise structures composed of reinforced 2009 through 2015 IBC and 2008 through 2013 material tall buildings. Direct interfaces with BIM
concrete, steel composite, and other structures with Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures and CAD software incorporate seamless and bi-
as-built and as-damaged details. (TMS 402/ACI 530/ASCE 5). directional data exchange.
Information on Advertising Opportunities can be found in STRUCTUREs Media Kit. For a digital copy, visit
www.STRUCTUREmag.org under the For Advertisers tab. Or, email [email protected] for assistance.

Tall Buildings guide expertise in tall building design and construction
Intergraph Simpson Strong-Tie StructurePoint

Phone: 281-890-4566 Phone: 800-925-5099 Phone: 847-966-4357
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Web: www.coade.com/products/gtstrudl Web: www.strongtie.com Web: www.structurepoint.org
Product: GT STRUDL Product: SC Bypass Framing Slide-Clip Connector Product: spBundle
Description: For more than 45 years, structural Description: SC connectors are the optimal Description: Recently upgraded to include
engineers have trusted GT STRUDL for solution for slide-clip bypass framing, especially ACI 318-14 and CSA A23.3-14, the remaining
their structural analysis. The software offers a in high-seismic regions. They can be welded to programs in our software bundle (spSlab, spBeam,
comprehensive frame and finite element analysis the structure or attached with concrete screws spWall, spMats, spFrame) compliment spColumn
solution for steel and concrete designs. Includes all or powder-actuated fasteners through anchorage for complete reinforced concrete building design
the tools necessary to analyze a variety of structural holes in the clip. The clips are manufactured using including floor systems, beams, cast-in-place walls,
engineering and finite element analysis problems. heavy-duty steel to provide exceptional resistance to tilt-up walls, commercial building foundations, pile
in-plane seismic load. caps, and slabs on grade.
PFS TECO
Phone: 608-839-1013 Product: CFS Designer V2.0 Software Product: spColumn
Email: [email protected] Description: With the CFS Designer, you can design Description: Featuring a flexible graphical interface
Web: www.pfsteco.com CFS beam-column members according to AISI in the new spSection module for creating and
Product: Certification, inspection and Testing Services specifications and analyze complex beam loading modifying irregular sections, spColumn is used
Description: Employee-owned, independent, and span conditions. Intuitive design tools automate for design and investigation of columns, shear
third-party certification and testing agency for common CFS systems such as wall openings, walls, bridge piers, and typical framing elements in
manufacturers of EWPs (including cross laminated shearwalls, floor joists, and, with the newest software buildings and other structures subject to combined
timber), panels products, building components, and update, up to eight stories of load-bearing studs. axial and flexural loads.
hearth products; and is an approved IPIA/DAPIA for
HUD-code manufactured housing. Standards Design Group, Inc Trimble
Phone: 800-366-5585 Phone: 770-426-5105
RISA Technologies Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Phone: 949-951-5815 Web: www.standardsdesign.com Web: www.tekla.com
Email: [email protected] Product: Wind Loads on Structures 4 Product: Tekla Structures
Web: www.risa.com Description: Performs computations in ASCE 7-10, Description: Move from design-oriented to
Product: RISAFloor Chapters 26-31 and ASCE 7-98, 02, 05, Section 6. construction-oriented engineering and enable
Description: RISAFloor and RISA-3D form an Computes wind loads by analytical method rather structural engineers improved additional services.
unrivaled building analysis and design package. than the simplified method, provides basic wind Through our open and collaborative software
Modeling has never been easier whether youre speeds from a built-in version of the wind speed, environment, you can work with other disciplines
doing a graphical layout, importing a BIM allows the user to enter wind speed. WLS4 has and reduce RFIs. From concept to completion, Tekla
model (from Autodesk Revit Structure), or prefer numerous specialty calculators. software gives you collaboration and control.
spreadsheets. Full code checks and optimization
for six different material types makes RISA your Product: Window Glass Design 5 Product: Tedds
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P
unching shear behavior is a topic that has slabs with shear reinforcement recently tested by
attracted much attention from engineers the authors and presenting a failure due to crush-
in the last decades because of several col- ing of concrete struts (Figure 2). The origin of this
lapses caused by punching shear failures. delamination can be explained by the tangential
InSIghtS Introducing transverse reinforcement is the most

common solution when the geometry of the slab-
column connection has to be maintained and
punching shear resistance has to be increased. To
strains developing at the column vicinity as a
function of the rotation of the slab (Equation 1).
(Et=

c Equation 1
new trends, new techniques r
that aim, several transverse reinforcement systems
and current industry issues may be used, not only to increase the punching Where is the rotation of the slab, r the radial
shear resistance but also to significantly increase distance from the center of the column, and c
the deformation capacity and the residual strength the height of the compression zone. For large
after a local failure. If usual detailing rules are ful- rotations, tangential strains in the vicinity of the
filled, the design of slabs with shear reinforcement column may largely exceed the peak uniaxial
is governed by one of the following three poten- strain of concrete (more than 0.5% in many
tial failure modes: 1) crushing of the concrete cases). The concrete cover, which is not confined
struts in the column vicinity (maximum shear by any reinforcement, enters a softening stage and
strength, see Figure 1a); 2) punching within the a strain localization (horizontal cracking) occurs
shear reinforcement (governing the dimensioning at the level of the compression reinforcement.
of the transverse reinforcement, Figure 1b); and This effect becomes more pronounced for large
3) punching outside the shear-reinforced region rotations, which are normally observed in slender
(governing the dimensioning of the slabs with shear reinforcement. The delamina-
size of the zone with shear reinforce- tion of the concrete cover typically occurs in the
Punching of Slabs
ment), Figure 1c. critical shear region and reduces the lever arm
Several experimental investigations in both radial and tangential directions. This
of slabs with transverse reinforce- phenomenon may constitute a limitation of the
ment available in the literature have maximum punching shear strength. The impact of
revealed the development of horizontal cracking this effect on the efficiency of different transverse
A Discussion on at the height of the compression reinforcement, reinforcement systems deserves further research.
the Development of which can be seen as a delamination of the con- Another common situation where delamination
crete cover in the soffit of the slab. Questions is observed occurs in a punching failure outside the
the Delamination of might arise whether its potential occurrence influ- shear-reinforced region. In this case, an inclined
Concrete Cover in ences or even governs the punching shear behavior shear crack develops between the flexural rein-
and whether this effect should be accounted for forcement and the bottom of the last perimeter
the Soffit of the Slab in the design. To investigate the influence of this of transverse reinforcement (Figure 1c), together
phenomenon, the origin and the development of with horizontal cracking joining the bottom of
By Aurelio Muttoni, Ph.D.,
such cracking should be understood. According the inclined shear crack and the column face.
Miguel Fernndez Ruiz, Ph.D.,
to the several test programs, the phenomena lead- The Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010
and Joo T. Simes
ing to cover delamination appear to be multiple. (International Federation for Structural Concrete)
Several authors of experimental studies have already accounts for this phenomenon in the
Aurelio Muttoni is a Professor at mentioned that delamination of concrete cover in punching shear design for a failure outside the
cole Polytechnique Fdrale de the soffit of the slab could be observed before fail- shear-reinforced area (considers a reduced effec-
Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. ure, even in cases where failures were shown to be tive depth).
He can be reached at aurelio. within the shear-reinforced region or by crushing Delamination of the concrete cover under
[email protected]. of concrete struts. This has also been observed in transverse reinforcement can also occur when
Miguel Fernndez Ruiz is a Senior (a) (b)
Lecturer at cole Polytechnique
Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne,
Switzerland. He can be reached at
[email protected].
Joo T. Simes is a PhD student
at cole Polytechnique Fdrale (c) (d)
de Lausanne, Lausanne,
Switzerland. He can be reached
at [email protected].
Figure 1. Different failure modes of flat slabs with shear reinforcement: a) crushing of concrete struts; b) failure
within the shear-reinforced region; c) failure outside the shear-reinforced region; d) failure by delamination.
70 June 2017
INTRODUCING DRIFT
Figure 2. Specimen tested by the authors with failure due to crushing of concrete struts near the column;
pronounced delamination observed in the soffit of the slab. FASTCLIP SLIDE CLIP.
a large tangential distance between rows of failure mode. In this case, the inclination of Need a deection solution that
transverse reinforcement is present in a radial the failure surface in the areas between the also accommodates horizontal
and particularly in a cruciform arrangement. transverse reinforcement rows is flatter than
drift? Drift FastClip allows 2-inch
In these cases, inclined shear cracks might that developing in the regions of transverse
start developing first in between the rows reinforcement (Figure 3b). vertical and lateral deection,
of transverse reinforcement, followed by a To deal with the development of non-uni- and works with FastClip screws
tangential propagation until reaching the form failure surface, codes normally limit for friction-free sliding. Get
transverse reinforcement elements. If the both 1) the tangential distance between more details and data at
amount of transverse reinforcement is low, rows of transverse reinforcement at the loca-

clarkdietrich.com.
a failure within the shear-reinforced area can tion of the control perimeter, and 2) the
occur. On the other hand, if a large amount maximal distance of straight lines of the
of shear reinforcement is used, two situations outer control perimeter.
can follow: Finally, when some important detailing rules
If the last perimeter of shear reinforcement are not respected, delamination may also
is not sufficiently distant from the column to occur (Figure 1d). This is the case of transverse
avoid a punching failure outside the shear- reinforcement not embracing the flexural
reinforced area, the inclined cracks already compression and tension reinforcement,
formed in between the rows of transverse which leads to a slab cover delamination and
reinforcement will tend to propagate tangen- premature failure, although usually associated
tially through the formation of a separation with large deformation capacities.
crack (delamination) at the level of the com- In conclusion, delamination of the compres-
pression reinforcement (without crossing sion zone is mostly a matter of poor detailing:
the transverse reinforcement elements). This transverse reinforcement units too distant in
will be completed by inclined shear cracks the transversal direction, and cover of trans-
around the rows of transverse of reinforce- verse reinforcement too large.
ment (Figure 3a).
If the last perimeter of shear reinforcement The online version of this article
is sufficiently distant from the column, crush- contains detailed references. Please visit
ing of concrete struts will be the governing www.STRUCTUREmag.org.
2017 ClarkDietrich Building Systems
Figure 3. Scheme of punching shear failures with non-uniform location of the failure surface: clarkdietrich.com
a) failure outside the shear-reinforced region; b) failure by concrete crushing.

CD17070_Clips_Structure_ThirdPg_VertAd_June17.indd 15/11/17 11:58 AM
Historic structures significant structures of the past
Sciotoville Bridge
By Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M.ASCE, D.Eng., P.E., P.L.S.
T
he Sciotoville Bridge, designed by Lindenthal incorporated a unique inverted He, in association
Gustav Lindenthal (STRUCTURE, two-hinged arch, building the floor beams into with McClintic
August 2010) over the Ohio River, the verticals, with the thrust at the upper ends Marshall, the
is located about 90 miles upstream being taken by the upper lateral bracing This contractor, built
from Cincinnati. The Chesapeake and Ohio design allowed for smaller floor beams to span the Ohio side on
Railroad, in order to make Chicago accessible the distance between trusses, which were 38 feet falsework and
for its coal-carrying trains out of Kentucky, built 9 inches center-to-center. then cantilevered
a 30-mile line from its tracks in Edgington, First, he designed trusses with 16-inch eye out to the eighth
Kentucky northerly across the Ohio River bars for all tension members that would not panel point from
to Waverly where it connected with a line to see a reversal of stress under live load. He then the Kentucky side
Columbus, Ohio and then on to Chicago. The designed all members built up of riveted mem- and placed a steel
Ohio was about 1,500 feet across at the selected bers and fully riveted connections and requested bent in the river.
site, with bedrock only 10 feet or so below low bids on both designs. The cost of steel came in He then jacked up Rigid frame tying floor
water. The Ohio had been bridged for railroads lower with the eye bars, but he chose the fully the span a desired beams into truss verticals.
several times by Jacob Hays Linville and others, riveted structure in view of its superior rigid- (calculated) amount and continued canti-
starting with the Steubenville, Parkersburg, and ity, durability, and safety. Moreover, finally, levering out to the fourth panel point from
Benville Bridges upstream and downstream at Lindenthal calculated the secondary stresses Kentucky and jacked up the span once again.
Cincinnati. The railroad was looking for a twin that would occur under normal erection pro- He completed the span by cantilevering out to
track structure that would meet demands of cedures and found them very high. He wrote, the Kentucky abutment. When the span reached
the War Department to provide for passage on account of the rigid truss connections; it panel point, Lo, the truss was 16 inches low
of steamboats. was considered advisable to reduce the second- at which time the end was jacked up and set
Lindenthal, as was his custom, looked at all ary stresses as far as possible, not only near the on the rocker bearings. The superstructure was
types of bridges that had been used to carry center support but throughout the truss, in the finished on August 17, 1917.
heavy railroad loadings over long spans. He chords as well as in the web members. This was The Engineering Record published an article on
determined that a continuous truss with two done by cambering the trusses for full dead load the bridge and in an editorial wrote:
spans of 775 feet best met the site conditions. plus one-half the live load, covering both spans, In the final selection of type of structure, the
The fact that rock was accessible at a shallow but assembling and erecting them so that the particular nature of the profile at the crossing, the
depth removed one of the factors that ruled angles between the members and the bevels of clear opening required during erection and the
against continuous spans in the past settle- the joints would correspond to the geometric nature of the foundations at possible locations
ments of the central piers could be eliminated. form of truss. In other words, under the load of piers or abutments are all determining factors.
The other reason continuous spans were not (d+ l), the trusses are calculated to assume The advantages in erection and the fact that solid
adopted, with notable exceptions of C. Shaler their true geometric form and the members to rock foundations were found at small depths
Smiths Lachine Rapids Bridge (STRUCTURE, become straight and free of secondary stresses. so that the settlement at the piers should be
April 2017) across the St. Lawrence and He determined his secondary stresses under practically negligible, were the most important
Lindenthals two smaller, shorter span continu- dead load only are equal, but of opposite sign, considerations in the selection of the continu-
ous spans in the Pittsburgh area in 1883 and to those under full live loads covering both ous [structure] type in this case. Economy for
1890, was the difficulty in making calculations spans, and, in absolute value, equal to one-half this type can generally be easily shownThe
for an indeterminate structure. He indicated of those which would be produced by full live indeterminate character of the stress analysis is
that temperature effects were minimized in his load if the angles between the members would also generally considered a disadvantage. The
design with a fixed support at the river pier and correspond to the cambered form of truss. This experience with the Queensborough Bridge
rollers at the abutments. With the help of O. cambering of the trusses required that members may be cited in this connection. The continuous
H. Ammann and D. B. Steinman, Lindenthal be preloaded to allow connections to be made span on many supports was shown by the report
designed the longest continuous span in the that resulted in the cambering he needed. This of the investigation engineers to be designed
United States. The main advantages of the was the first time that this expedient was uti- with astonishing errors in the distribution of
continuous structure were savings in material lized in American bridge building. Building on the metalIt is notable, however, that methods
and its ability to be constructed by cantilever temporary falsework by cantilever methods also of treating indeterminate structures are now
methods. He estimated savings in the mate- resulted in many different loading conditions of becoming well standardized and should soon
rial of nearly 25%, with an increased rigidity his members during erection and after comple- be simplified into such form as to make the
when compared to a cantilever bridge and an tion. As would be expected, he used all of these cost of designing low.
equal rigidity when compared to the simple span various loading conditions to determine the Lindenthal did not describe the bridge in the
truss. He also stated, From the esthetic point of maximum load that would fall on each member Transactions of ASCE until 1922 when he wrote
view, the continuous bridge can well compete and designed the member to resist that load. a 43-page article entitled, The Continuous
with the simple span or cantilever, if properly For his erection process, he built the Ohio Truss Bridge over the Ohio River, at Sciotoville,
designed, but not with the more artistic arch or side of the bridge on false work but could not Ohio of the Chesapeake and Ohio Northern
suspension bridge. use as much falsework on the Kentucky side. Railroad. Engineering and Contracting ran a

of the truss was chosen approximately one-sixth without examination of the requirements of the
of this length. writers specifications other than the basic unit
The height over the center pier is 129 feet 2 stress (20,000), which may mislead superficial
inches or one-sixth of the span length; this is readers. He commended Steinmans contri-
the proper height for a simple span of the same bution but disagreed with Steinmans remark
length, which has the same maximum moment that reducing the height of the trusses over the
Sciotoville truss work and falsework supports. at the center as the two-span continuous bridge middle pier and increasing the height at mid-
over the middle support. span would not be on the whole, advantageous
long article based on the ASCE piece in its April The height at the end was made 77 feet 6 or economical. Steinman had written, The
22, 1922, issue. After giving a brief history of inches, or equal to a double panel, in order to Sciotoville Bridge is a striking example of scien-
continuous bridges in Europe and the United give the end posts an inclination of not less than tific design. It represents an unusually intensive
States, Lindenthal challenged the reluctance of 45 degrees. These heights also secured a pleasing application of engineering theory and resource-
his fellow engineers to utilize the continuous outline for the top chord. The web system is of fulness to the determination of the most efficient
truss writing, the Warren type, with subdivided panels of a disposition of the materials of a structure, and
The continuous truss type has nowhere uniform length of 38 feet 9 inches, which was to the rigorous advance planning of every step
met with more indiscriminate and unquali- found to be the most economical. in the operations of fabrication and erection.
fied condemnation than by engineers in the The discussion of the article ran 21-pages. Steinman had also written an article for the
United States who have alleged three principal C. A. P. Turner wrote a seven-page response Engineering Record on August 28, 1915, entitled
objections against it, none of which is novel whose main point was that two simple spans The Elastic Curve Applied to the Design of the
or decisive: would have been cheaper and concluded Sciotoville Bridge.
1st That it is statically indeterminate, that is, that Lindenthals preference for the continu- It is evident from the record that most bridge
its reactions and stresses are dependent on the ous bridge of moderate span differs from the builders in the United States were still not ready
elasticity of its members; majority opinion of American bridge engineers, to adopt continuous bridges and preferred long
2nd That it is subject to stresses from unequal because of lack of demonstrated economy on a simple truss spans or cantilevers. Shortly after
settlements of its supports; and, scientific, mathematical or design basis. J. E. the bridge was opened, the Bessemer and Lake
3rd That it is affected by temperature changes. Greiner wrote praising Lindenthal, It may be Erie Railroad built a continuous bridge over the
He then made his case as to why none of these said also that, in every structure of importance Allegheny River near Pittsburgh with spans of
objections apply to his Sciotoville Bridge and designed by Mr. Lindenthal, there is evidence 272 to 520 feet. The Hudson Bay Railway built
proceeded to describe his structure as follows. of this genius which originates. Each of his a bridge over the Nelson River in 1918 with
General Proportions The steel superstructure, structures is practically a new creation as com- spans of 300 to 400 feet.
as built, is a double-track, two-span, continuous pared with the ordinary and stereotyped bridges When opened, the Sciotoville Bridges 775-
bridge, with a total length of 1,550 feet between throughout the United States. The Sciotoville foot riveted spans were the longest continuous
centers of end piers, or two equal spans of 775 Bridge is no exception. It is a daring and hand- truss spans in the world until the opening of the
feet and two clear openings of 750 feet at low- some structure, decidedly, Lindenthalic in Duisburg-Rheinhausen Bridge in Germany in
water level. all its features Charles Fowler wrote, The 1945 with its 835-foot spans. With its rigid con-
To obtain ample lateral rigidity, the width Sciotoville Bridge is a striking example as to struction, Lindenthals continuous truss bridge
between centers of trusses was [a] somewhat what may be accomplished in the use of the serves the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad to
smaller width than was considered sufficient, continuous bridge. It is the longest of that type this day.
in view of the continuity of the lateral truss. ever constructed and now gives America the
Dr. Frank Griggs, Jr. specializes in the
The height at the middle of each span is 103 proud distinction of having the longest spans
restoration of historic bridges, having
feet 4 inches between centers of chords. To fix for every type of bridge construction.
restored many 19 th Century cast and
this height, the portion of the span between Lindenthal responded to the individual com-
wrought iron bridges. He was formerly
the end pier and the point of contra flexure menters, taking exception to Turners claim that
Director of Historic Bridge Programs for
was considered as a simple span. This portion two simple spans would have been less expen-
Clough, Harbour & Associates LLP in
varies from three-fourths of the span length for sive. As to J. E. Greiners discussion in which
Albany, NY, and is now an Independent
uniform load on both spans to seven-eighths of he argued that Lindenthal had not designed
Consulting Engineer. Dr. Griggs can be
the span length for uniform load on one span the bridge to Coopers E60 loading, Lindenthal
only and averages 630 feet in length. The height wrote that Greiner, was unjustified and made
Sciotoville Bridge (color postcard authors collection).

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discussion of legal issues of interest to structural engineers LegaL PersPectives
An Overview of Consent to Assignment Agreements
By Gail S. Kelley, P.E., Esq.
D
esign agreements often stipulate and _____ as agent for the Lenders occurred under the Assignment, it will per-
that neither the owner nor the (together with its successors in such capac- form all of its obligations under the Design
engineer can assign the agree- ity, the Agent). Agreement for the benefit of Lender.
ment without the consent of Alternatively, it may be structured as an Regardless of how the consent is struc-
the other party. As a result, the engi- agreement between the owner and the tured, the intent is to ensure that if the
neer may be asked to sign a Consent to engineer, with the lender as a third-party owner defaults on its loan and the lender
Assignment (sometimes referred to as an beneficiary. takes over, the engineer will continue to
Acknowledgement and Consent) from the This CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT of provide the services called for under the
bank providing the construction loan. A Engineers Contract (this Agreement) is design agreement if requested to do so. The
typical consent form requires the engineer made as of _____ by and between _____ agreement typically also gives the lender
to agree that the design agreement can be (Borrower) and _____ (Engineer) for the right to use the engineers Instruments
assigned to the lender. The assignment will the benefit of _____ (Lender). of Services to complete the project with
actually occur at the time the loan is closed; It may also be structured as an agreement another engineer.
however, the assignment is conditional in between the engineer and the lender:
the sense that the lender can only assume This CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT
the design agreement if the owner defaults (this Consent) is dated as of _____ by Payment of Outstanding
on the loan. _____ (Engineer) to _____ (Lender).
If the owner defaults and the lender takes Finally, although less commonly, it may
Obligations
over, the lenders chances of finding a buyer simply be written as what it is, which is a If the owner has defaulted on its loan, it is
for the project are significantly better if the one-sided agreement under which the engi- likely to be behind in its payments to the
buyer has the option of assuming all of the neer agrees to do, or not do, certain things: engineer. Thus, a key issue is the lenders
key contracts for the project. Thus the The undersigned, as Engineer under the obligation with respect to outstanding
lender may ask the contractor, the engineer, Design Agreement dated as of _____ (the amounts due to the engineer.
and the other key design consultants to Design Agreement) between _____ It is not uncommon to see consents with
consent to an assignment of their contracts. (Borrower) and the undersigned, which the following wording:
While Consent to Assignment requests is one of the contracts referred to in the Upon a Default under the Loan Agreement,
are common, particularly on large projects, Assignment of Agreements (Assignment) Engineer, at Lenders request, shall con-
there is no standard form. The consent between Borrower and _____(the tinue performance on Lenders behalf in
should be read carefully and preferably Lender), agrees that upon receipt of accordance with the terms of Engineers
reviewed by the engineers legal counsel. notice from Lender that a Default has Contract, and shall be reimbursed in
Although the lender cannot assume
the design agreement unless the owner
defaults, the forms used by many Connect Steel to Steel without
banks contain provisions completely
unrelated to the design agreement. Welding or Drilling
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General Structure of a
Consent to Assignment
There are several different ways to struc-
ture a consent agreement. Sometimes it
BoxBolt for HSS blind FastFit universal kits
is structured as an agreement between connections. ICC-ES for faster, easier steel
the owner (the borrower), the engineer, certified. connections.
and the lender, with all three parties
signing. For example:
This CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT
(this Agreement), dated as of
_____, by and among _____, (the For a catalog and pricing, call toll-free 1-888-724-2323
Borrower), _____ (the Engineer),
A K E E S A F E T Y C O M PA N Y
or visit www.LNAsolutions.com/BC-2

accordance with the Contract for all funds to the owner for the engineers ser- made, the engineer should advise the owner
work, labor, and materials rendered vices, it should not have to pay the engineer that it will notify the lender of the default.
on Lenders behalf subsequent to for those same services. The lender may
Lenders request. propose the following as an alternate:
Note that the words in bold print will ...provided that Engineer shall be reim-
Conclusion
almost certainly not be in bold in the actual bursed in accordance with the Contract Typically, the request to sign a Consent
consent. What they are saying is that if for all work, labor, and materials to Assignment comes when the owner is
the lender exercises its rights under the including all outstanding amounts due arranging the construction financing, which
Assignment and requires the engineer to unless Lender has already advanced may be months after the design agreement
continue performance, the lender has no such funds to the Borrower. was executed. More often than not, it
obligation to pay outstanding amounts due However, the engineer has no control over will indicate that the consent needs to be
to the engineer. The lenders obligation is the lenders disbursements; it is the lenders returned immediately because the owner
limited to compensation for services pro- obligation to monitor the loan. is trying to close on its loan. This can put
vided after the lender notifies the engineer If the lender does not agree to pay all the engineer in a difficult position if there
that it wants the engineer to continue per- outstanding amounts due, the engineer is objectionable language, particularly if the
formance. The engineer would have to file should, at a minimum, require the follow- lender is not willing to negotiate. While
a mechanics lien against the property for ing language: the engineer generally has no obligation
the outstanding amounts. Depending on ...including all outstanding amounts due to sign a consent, refusing to do so can
the priority of its lien, it might receive only unless Lender had already advanced such affect its relationship with the owner and
a fraction of these amounts, if anything. funds to the Borrower prior to receipt jeopardize the prospect of future work. If
The engineer should disagree with these of Engineers notice of Borrowers the owner is already behind on payments
terms and change the provision to read: default under Engineers contract. to the engineer, it may say that it will not
...provided that Engineer shall be reim- Lender shall not advance any funds be able to pay until it closes on the loan.
bursed in accordance with the Contract to Borrower for Engineers services If the lender does not negotiate the terms,
for all work, labor, and materials subsequent to receiving such notice. the engineer must make a business decision
including all outstanding amounts This puts the burden on the engineer to with respect to signing the consent. As a
due. pay close attention to its payments. If a pay- practical matter, unless the project is fast-
The lender may object to these terms on ment is late and the owner does not provide track, if the owner runs into financial trouble
the grounds that if it has already advanced adequate assurance that the payment will be during construction and defaults on its loan,
the engineer will likely have finished the
plans and specifications and received
payment for them. If the engineer is
2016 AIA only doing limited construction admin-
PORTLAND
istration, it may not have a significant
risk with respect to payment. However,
MAYORS unless the consent indemnifies the engi-

neer for the lender or subsequent buyers
AWARD use of the plans and specifications, the

engineer may still be at risk for claims.
Disclaimer: The information in this

article is for educational purposes only
and is not legal advice. Readers should
not act or refrain from acting based on
this article without seek-
Seattle Pasadena ing appropriate legal or
Tacoma Irvine other professional advice
Lacey San Diego
as to their particular
Portland Boise
Eugene St. Louis
circumstances.
Sacramento Chicago
San Francisco Louisville Gail S. Kelley is a LEED AP as well
Los Angeles New York
Long Beach
as a professional engineer and licensed
attorney in Maryland and the District
of Columbia. Her practice focuses
on reviewing and negotiating design
KPFF is an
Equal Opportunity agreements for architects and engineers.
Employer. She is the author of Construction
www.kpff.com Law: An Introduction for Engineers,
Architects, and Contractors, published
Park Avenue West
Portland, OR
by Wiley & Sons. Ms. Kelley can be

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Scheduled for August 3-4, 2017 in Chicago, Time-Tested Techniques for

Managing Your Firms Risk will help your firm reduce its rate of claims
against structural engineering projects, as well as raise the level of quality
services provided by all project participants.
Who should attend? Principals, Owners, Project Managers, Risk Managers!
Session Topics
Strategies Forensic Engineers Use to Unravel
Construction Disputes
Information Security in Contracting
Case Studies for Professional Liability
A special dinner presentation on The Future of Structural

Engineering by Ashraf Habibullah, President and CEO of
Computers & Structures Inc. and structural engineering roundtable!
Register at: www.acec.org/coalitions/upcoming-coalition-events/

>> $399/Coalition Members
>> $499/ACEC Members
>> $599/Non Members
LOCATION
All sessions will take place right off Chicagos infamous
Magnificent Mile at the DoubleTree Magnificent Mile,
located at 300 East Ohio Street Chicago, Illinois.
Phone: 1-800-222-8733 and refer to group code: ACE

Special Rate - $194/night until July 11, 2017 or until block sells out!
award winners and outstanding projects Spotlight
Madison Square Park Tower
45 East 22nd Street
By Joseph Savalli, P.E., Matthieu Peuler, P.E., and Leslie Morris, P.E.
DeSimone Consulting Engineers was an Award Winner for its 45 East 22nd Street project
in the 2016 NCSEA Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program in the
Category New Buildings $30M to $100M.
I
n one of the few Manhattan neigh- height. Thicker slabs are used at mechanical
borhoods not entirely punctuated areas, including a 20-inch slab at the west side
by mirror-clad high-rises, Madison of the roof to support a 1.2 million-pound tuned
Square Park Tower blends turn of the mass damper system. The lateral system is com-
century design with modern composition prised of one full-height shear wall core centered
and accomplishes the tallest development on the south side of the building, with wall
between Midtown, Manhattan, and the thicknesses ranging from 42 inches at the base
Financial District. to 24 inches at the roof. The core is connected to
Located at 45 East 22nd Street and designed perimeter columns at the 33rd floor mechanical
by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, the tower level with a 1-story outrigger/belt wall.
topped out at 777 feet comprised of 65 resi- In addition to the unique shape of each plate
dential and amenity levels. However, unlike above the sixth floor, column-free interiors
any other development in the area, the towers were required. A two-way flat plate system was
floor plate progressively expands as it rises to implemented to accommodate these specifica-
maximize saleable area on the buildings most tions. The system provides flexibility in locating a multi-story bracket braced to the core with
premium levels. The design strategy introduced columns, including sloped and walked columns, the base of the bracket (compression) reacting
complex geometric constraints that required while providing maximum ceiling height for through 8-foot wide by 2-foot deep bracing
close collaboration among all design consultants floor-to-ceiling glass walls. beams, and the top of the bracket reacting
and construction team members. The design of the lateral system was the great- (tension) through groups of #14 GR97 SAS
Overall, the design and structural components est challenge of the development. The system threaded bars.
from ground-floor to pinnacle were impacted required a robust design to resist required forces, Above the 11th floor, the building was con-
by the historical significance of the Flatiron including strict drift and acceleration limits and structed on a fast-track, two-day pour cycle,
neighborhood and tight constraints of the build the inherent gravity overturn resulting from the alternating the pour of the vertical concrete ele-
site. At ground level, the tower rises from a top-heavy design. ments and the horizontal concrete elements. This
75-foot wide site wedged between two historic The selected lateral system is comprised of allowed for a shortened construction schedule
structures on each side. The design team opted high-strength concrete shear walls, measuring that wouldnt be possible with other structural
for a granite-clad podium, rather than a top- 14,000 psi at the base down to 8,000 psi at the systems. Throughout the project, GR75 vertical
to-bottom glass faade, to complement the roof, which are coupled to perimeter columns reinforcement was used in the shear core and
neighborhoods Chicago School architecture at mid-height of the building with the belt wall. columns to reduce reinforcement congestion.
dating back to the early 1900s. The design of this system was accompanied by The belt wall at the 33rd-floor mechanical level
The tower is sculpted so that the floor plate wind tunnel shaping studies to determine the was constructed with 2-foot thick perimeter
is as small as 62 feet wide by 52 feet deep near optimum configurations. While the concrete walls that couple to the core of the perimeter
the base, producing a maximum slenderness system alone meets the drift requirements, a columns. Large openings for mechanical louvers
ratio of about 13 to 1. Above the 5th floor, the 600-ton tuned mass damper at the roof level was were accommodated with careful analysis and
structure transitions into a more modern, glass implemented to reduce building accelerations added reinforcement. The tuned mass damper
faade and then cantilevers westward above its to acceptable levels. is located on the west side of the roof level with
low-rise neighbor as it rises to a maximum floor The building is supported on a 50-foot wide its weight bearing half on the core and half on
plate of 94 feet wide by 52 feet deep. The canti- by 80-foot long mat slab that is 8 feet thick. the slab. A system of a 20-inch slab with 48-inch
lever allows the tower to expand to a maximum The mat bears on 20 tsf bedrock and includes wide by 40-inch deep beams was utilized at the
width of 125 feet at the top creating a flared, 32,270-ton rock anchor tie-downs to resist slab support to provide adequate strength for
champagne flute silhouette. The cantilever also overturning. The mat is reinforced with four the 1.2 million-pound steel damper assembly.
ensures that every floor above the sixth level is layers of rebar top and bottom and local shear
a unique shape. reinforcement as required. Joseph Savalli is a Principal in DeSimones
The gravity system is comprised of flat slabs Construction below the 11th floor included New York office.
spanning from the interior shear wall core to numerous structural transfer elements as the Matt Peuler is a Senior Project Manager at
perimeter columns with varying cantilevers, a tower reduces to its minimum footprint at the DeSimones New York office.
result of the towers complex geometry. Floor 7th floor. From the 7th to 11th floor, the west
plates vary from 10 to 12 inches thick at residen- side of the tower cantilevers 16.5 feet out over Leslie Morris is a Senior Project Engineer
tial levels as the spans lengthen with increasing an adjacent building. The system is designed as at DeSimones New York office.

Committee Update
Basic Education Committee Works to Better Curriculum & Profession
The NCSEA Basic Education Committee (BEC) has pursued design professionals, and industry manufacturers provide to
activities which will help define the recommended curriculum meet the needs of stakeholders, and how can wood education be
for the Structural Engineering profession; these activities exist expanded to a wider audience. The symposium attendees included
independently, but are intertwined in our mission to better practitioners from engineering and architecture, academics,
educate the future of the profession. industry consultants, and grant advisors from government entities.
The committee is continually assessing the fundamental NCSEA and the Basic Education Committee sent five attendees
education recommended for entry into the structural on their behalf: two representatives from SEAs and three BEC
News form the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
engineering profession. In late 2016, the committee completed members. The perspectives were broad, but the group identified
the Structural Engineering Curriculum Practitioners Survey changes which are common across the industry, not just those
of the NCSEA membership to determine which topics are pertaining to designing and building with wood.
relevant to the profession. The survey asked respondents to rate The key elements identified and which align with BEC objectives
the importance of material design classes, analysis coursework, are: teaching building systems in context versus component or
plus allied professional skills such as: communication, elemental design change the way in which wood or material
sustainability, architecture, and construction management. design is taught; exposure to connections and load path at the
The committee is interpreting the data and evaluating trends detail level; use real world problems so students understand the
related to wood and masonry design, computer software context; the need to produce thinkers and problem solvers, not
use and its relationship to structural analysis, similarities or just graduates with analytical skills; and material behavior
differences between newly hired and experienced engineers, wood is not isotropic, but teaching material behavior should be
regional hiring preferences, and office size. It is anticipated a requirement for all design materials.
that the findings, which will be distributed later this year, will Interestingly, about 40 percent of the attendees in the design
help inform the committee about the recommended NCSEA professional subgroup had no formal timber education, yet, their
basic education curriculum. career paths and company interests required some wood design
The Structural Engineering Curriculum Survey is conducted knowledge so they were self-taught. Thus, the critical question arose,
to better understand the course requirements and class availability should timber design be taught in the classroom? Additionally,
within accredited civil engineering, architectural engineering, there was no clear consensus when the subgroup was asked about
engineering technology, and structural engineering programs. the importance of wood design experience as a factor in hiring. It
The results are compiled triennially from universities around was evident that wood education is not critical to companies that
the country and then published in STRUCTURE magazine. do not design wood structures and, conversely, those that work with
The last survey results may be accessed following this link: wood structures consider wood design a requirement. So another
http://bit.ly/2rmPxkl. question was posed, is the demand for structural engineers with
In past years, the committee has observed trends when wood design experience being met? And if the answer is yes,
identifying which institutions fulfilled the recommended then does it need to be taught at every university with a civil or
curriculum and those which only fulfilled part. Those that met structural engineering program? Questions such as these and many
part of the curriculum typically lacked the timber or masonry more will be evaluated over the next year.
design component; the significance of this has been debated at As the BEC interprets the results from the practitioner survey
the committee level and led to NCSEA involvement in the Wood and assesses the implications of the Wood Education Symposium,
Education Symposium sponsored by the American Wood Council it will determine if the coursework recommendations should be
(AWC)/American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural modified and proposed for the 2019 survey. This information
Engineering Institute Wood Education Committee. The next was presented during an NCSEA MO Communication webinar
education survey will be conducted in 2019 and will reflect results on May 26, 2017 to showcase this material in more depth and to
of the practitioners survey as well as take into consideration the engage the NCSEA community in additional dialog. A recording
NCSEA News
ASCE-SEI/AWC Wood Education Symposium when forming of this webinar can be found in the NCSEA Member Portal on
the recommended curriculum and survey. the MO Communication Meeting Resources page.
The Wood Education Symposium was held on April 5th, 2017
in Denver, CO. The event was held to discuss the importance of Professor Kevin Dong, California State Polytechnic University,
wood education at the university level; what should educators, NCSEA Basic Education Committee Co-Chair.
Designed by Structural Engineers for Practicing Structural Engineers

NCSEA 2017 Structural Engineering Summit
October 11October 14, 2017
Washington Hilton, Washington, DC
Register now for NCSEAs early bird rate and
save $100 on your full conference registration!
Visit www.ncsea.com for more information, schedules and hotel reservations.

NCSEA News
Upcoming NCSEA Webinars
June 15, 2017
Seismic Design of Large Wood Roof
Diaphragms in Heavy Wall Buildings
John Lawson, S.E.
June 27, 2017
Special Inspections for Existing Buildings
Chris Kimball, S.E., P.E.
July 11, 2017
Repair of Construction Defects
David Flax
July 25, 2017
Chris Kimball, SE, P.E.
Visit www.ncsea.com to register

and read the full description
of each webinar. 1.5 hours of
20 EXCELLENCE IN
STRUCTURAL
continuing education. Approved
for CE credit in all 50 states.
17 ENGINEERING
News from the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations

Two exclusive annual plans are
AWARDS available to NCSEA corporate
members & SEA members only.
The NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards annually The Live & Recorded Webinar
highlights some of the best examples of structural engineering ingenuity Subscription Plan with access
throughout the world. Structural engineers and structural engineering to all live webinars and the entire
firms are encouraged to enter this years program. Projects will be recorded webinar library, hosting
judged on innovative design, engineering achievement and creativity. over 180 webinars, or the Live
Webinar Subscription Plan.
Visit www.ncsea.com to purchase
Awards can be entered in one of seven categories: your subscription today!
New Buildings under $20M
New Buildings $20 Million to $100M Start Studying Now
New Buildings over $100M
New Bridge & Transportation Structures for the Fall Exam!
Forensic/Renovation/Retrofit/Rehabilitation Structures up to $20M
Over 29 hours of recorded
Forensic/Renovation/Retrofit/Rehabilitation Structures over $20M
SE Review & Refresher
Other Structures
sessions are available
through NCSEAs online
Awards will be presented during an honorary banquet at the NCSEA store. Conveniently accessible
Structural Engineering Summit in Washington, D.C. on October 13th.
through the Recorded Webinar
This awards banquet is the premiere event of the Summit and illustrates
the importance of artistry and inspiration our structural engineers
Library, you can view these
and structural engineering firms provide to the association and recordings all day everyday,
to the world. 24/7 until the next exam!
Eligible projects must be substantially complete between January Visit www.ncsea.com

1, 2014 and June 30, 2017. Entries are due Tuesday, July 18, to get started now!
2017. For award program rules, project eligibility and entry forms,
visit www.ncsea.com. Dates for the next live course
will be announced shortly.

Electrical Transmission Top 5 Reasons to Attend
& Substation Structures 1) Expand your knowledge at technical sessions
on transmission line and substation structures
Conference 2018 and foundations.
2) Earn professional development hours (PDHs)
The Newsletter of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE
Call for Abstracts and Sessions by attending technical sessions and workshops.
3) Network with global leaders and colleagues working
with high-voltage transmission structures around
The State-of-the-Industry Forum for the world.
Transmission and Substation Engineers: 4) Connect with exhibitors showcasing state-of-the-art
products, services, and solutions for your transmission
Discover Technical Knowledge
line and substation projects.
Hear Project Case Studies
5) Discover Southern hospitality and enjoy over 100+ live
Find Real-World Solutions
entertainment venues.
Visit Vendors and Learn about their Products
and Services
The SEI/ASCE Electrical Transmission & Substation Structures Exhibits & Sponsorships
Conference is recognized as the must-attend conference that
Increase your companys visibility and reach hundreds of indus-
focuses specifically on transmission line and substation structure
try professionals at this important specialty conference. Contact
and foundation construction issues. This event for utilities,
Bob Nickerson at [email protected] or 817-319-8779, or Sean
suppliers, contractors, and consultants offers an ideal setting
Scully at [email protected] or 703-295-6154, for exhibiting and
for learning and networking.
sponsorship opportunities.
Questions? Contact Debbie Smith [email protected] or
703-295-6095. Submit your sessions at www.etsconference.org.
ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION
& SUBSTATION STRUCTURES Dedicated to Strengthening
CONFERENCE 2018
our Critical Infrastructure
Atlanta, Georgia
November 48 Abstracts & Session Proposals
Dedicated to Strengthening due September 12, 2017
our Critical Infrastructure
Structural Columns
2017 ASCE Annual Convention

The American Society of Civil Engineers invites you to attend the ASCE 2017
Convention, October 8 11, in New Orleans. Among the broad range of activi-
ties planned, the Societys flagship gathering will take advantage of the location
to explore how the city and its infrastructure have rebounded since 2005.
Three reasons to attend the ASCE 2017 Convention in New Orleans:
Learn how New Orleans and other major cities are using resiliency
and recovery to strengthen social justice and community life.
Hear first-hand accounts from experts on natural disaster response
and recovery.
Gumbo. Its fun to say and great to eat.
Check the Convention website at www.asceconvention.org frequently, as more
information is available. Dont miss your chance to make valuable connections
with civil engineering professionals globally. We look forward to seeing you there.
Structures Congress 2017 Best of the Best

Congratulations to the winner of the Best Presentation prize at the 2017 Structures Congress. Congress attendees selected Sharing
the Story of a Real Claim: The Condo, presented by Roger Heeringa, P.E., S.E., for this annual honor. The Best Presentation
winner will receive a complimentary full registration to Structures Congress 2018. Attendee Jon Stricker, S.M.ASCE, won the
door prize drawing of a Fitbit.

Structural Columns
ASCE 7-16 Print and Online Products
ASCE 7 Online provides digital access to Standard ASCE 7-10 and 7-16. The interactive tools and
feature-rich functionality, such as side-by-side display of the Provisions and Commentary, redlin-
ing comparison, and annotation tools, is a must-have for any structural engineer. ASCE 7 Hazard
Tool easy mapping feature will simplify your workflow and save you time. Visit our website at
http://asce7.online to learn more.
Structures Congress attendees had the opportunity to see a demo of the new ASCE 7 Online. Daniel
Sack, Principal Engineer of The Babcock & Wilcox Company, won a free six-month subscription to
ASCE 7 Online at our Exhibit Hall drawing.
The print edition of ASCE 7-16 will be available in June and provides the most up-to-date and
coordinated loading standard for general structural design. ASCE 7-16 describes the means for deter-
mining design loads including dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake,
wind, and fire, as well as how to assess load combinations. The 2016 edition of ASCE 7, which
supersedes ASCE/SEI 7-10, coordinates with the most recent material standards, including the ACI,
AISC, AISI, AWC, and TMS standards. Significant changes in ASCE 7-16 include the following:
New seismic maps reflecting the updated National Seismic Hazard Maps;
New wind speed maps, including new Hawaii maps, which result in reduced wind speeds for much of the United States,
clarified special wind study zones, and separate Risk Category IV from Category III;
New snow load maps incorporating regional snow data for areas that previously required site-specific case study zones;
Updated rain duration provisions that align design requirements with International Plumbing Code provisions for drainage;
Entirely new chapter covering tsunami design provisions, which are important to Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and
Washington; and
New appendix provisions for fire design.
Standard provisions are accompanied by a detailed commentary with explanatory and supplementary information developed to assist
users of the standard, including design practitioners, building code committees, and regulatory authorities.
The Newsletter of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE

Standard ASCE/SEI 7 is an integral part of building codes in the United States and is adopted by reference into the International
Building Code, the International Existing Building Code, the International Residential Code, and the NFPA 5000 Building Construction
and Safety Code. Structural engineers, architects, and those engaged in preparing and administering local building codes will find the
structural load requirements essential to their practice. Pre-order your copy today at www.asce.org/asce-7.
SEI Local Activities

New University of Notre Dame Get Involved in Local SEI Activities
Graduate Student Chapter Join your local SEI Chapter, Graduate Student Chapter
(GSC), or Structural Technical Groups (STG) to connect
Welcome to the newly established SEI Graduate Student
with colleagues, take advantage of local opportunities for
Chapter at the University of Notre Dame, chaired by
lifelong learning, and advance structural engineering in
Andrew Bartolini (contact him at sei.colorado.chapter@
your area. If there is not an SEI Chapter, GSC, or STG in
gmail.com) with Faculty Advisor Dr. Tracy Kijewksi-Correa.
your area, review the simple steps to form an SEI Chapter
The chapters goals are to:
at www.asce.org/structural-engineering/sei-local-groups.
Promote the mission and purpose of SEI/ASCE at the
Local Chapters serve member technical and professional
University of Notre Dame.
needs. SEI GSCs prepare students for a successful career
Enable professional development opportunities for
transition. SEI supports Chapters with opportunities to learn
graduate students within the Department of Civil &
about new initiatives and best practices, and network with
Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences.
other leaders including annual funded SEI Local Leader
Facilitate social events for graduate students within the
Conference, technical tour, and training. SEI Chapters
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
receive Chapter logo/branding, complimentary webinar,
& Earth Sciences to build a community atmosphere
and more.
amongst graduate students.
Collaborate with the Earthquake Engineering Research
Institute Notre Dame Chapter (EERI@UND) in
planning outreach activities throughout the Michigan Errata
area and professional development events for graduate SEI posts up-to-date errata information for our publications at
students. www.asce.org/SEI. Click on Publications on our menu, and
Collaborate with the Notre Dame Student Chapter select Errata. If you have any errata that you would like to
of ASCE in planning outreach and professional submit, please email it to Jon Esslinger at [email protected].
development events.

JUST RELEASED - Updated National Practice Guidelines for
Specialty Structural Engineers
This document was prepared to supplement CASEs National Practice Guidelines for the Structural Engineer of Record by
defining the concept of a specialty structural engineer and the interrelation between the specialty structural engineer
and the Structural Engineer of Record. CASE encourages the concept of one Structural Engineer of Record for an entire
project. However, for many, if not most projects, there may be portions of the project that will be designed by different
The Newsletter of the Council of American Structural Engineers
specialty structural engineers.

The primary purpose of this document is to better define the relationships between the SER and the SSE, and to
outline the usual duties and responsibilities related to specific trades. This is done for the benefit of the owners,
the PDP, the SER, the SSE, and the other members of the construction team. The goal is to help create positive
coordination and cooperation among the various parties.
The committee did an all-inclusive update to this document and brought it to current industry standards.
To view the updated practice guideline, go to www.acec.org/case/getting-involved/guidelines-committee.
CASE Risk Management Tools Available

Foundation 7: Compensation Prepare and How do we decide on fees? This tool may be a useful primer
Negotiate Fees that Allow for Quality and Profit for these employees and lead to a further discussion with firm
Develop fees based on work effort (task hour) and value to be management on the firms fee development strategies.
delivered
Foundation 8: Contracts Identify Onerous
Make allowances for unknown conditions
Contract Language
Share the backup for your fee with the client when
Negotiate Clear & Fair Agreements
appropriate
Understand ever changing contract language
Negotiate based on scope of work
and demands
Be willing to walk away
Use a CASE, AIA, or another accepted base contract
Dont continue to work for losing clients
Modify the contract for each project, as needed
Tool 7-1: Client Evaluation Use a contract that you can understand
Do you know who your best clients are? Do you know where Use the contract to reasonably share project risks
you should be focusing your marketing and sales efforts to Get a signed contract
maximize the financial performance of your firm? You may Utilized legal review when appropriate
be surprised. This tool will help you answer those questions
Tool 8-1: Contract Review
by analyzing the amount of work and profit for each client.
Do you (or your legal counsel) review every contract to find
Tool 7-2: Fee Development onerous clauses? Do you know what they are? Do you always
This tool is intended to be used within a consulting firm to find them? This tool will help you find these clauses or words
stimulate thought and consideration in the development of fees. throughout the document.
Engineers in firms that may be experiencing new responsibilities You can purchase these and the other Risk Management
as project engineers and project managers often ask the question Tools at www.acec.org/bookstore.
Looking for Innovative Ideas! CASE Summer Planning Meeting

CASE in Point
Does your firm have an innovative idea or method of prac-

August 2 3, 2017; Chicago, IL
tice? Looking to get more involved in short duration projects? The CASE Summer Planning Meeting will again be scheduled
We are inviting you to share the wealth and submit a for August 2nd to the 3rd in Chicago, IL. A popular feature of the
proposal for a web seminar topic, publication, or education planning meeting is a roundtable discussion on topics relating to
session you would like to see CASE present at an upcoming the business of Structural Engineering, facilitated by the CASE
conference. Our forms are easy to use, and you may submit Executive Committee members. Topics have included the Business
your information via email. Go to www.acec.org/coalitions of BIM, using social media within your firm, Peer Review, and
and click on the icon for Idea Sharing to get started. Special Inspections. Attendees to this session will earn 2.0 PDHs.
Questions? Contact us at 202-682-4332 or email Katie Please contact CASE Executive Director Heather Talbert
Goodman at [email protected]. We look forward to ([email protected]) if you are interested in attending or have
helping you put your best ideas in front of eager new faces! any suggested topics for the roundtable.
Follow ACEC Coalitions on Twitter @ACECCoalitions.

CASE in Point
Annual CASE Risk Friday, August 4
7:30 am Welcome Corey Matsuoka, SSFM International
Management Seminar 7:45 am Four Strategies Forensic Engineers Use to Unravel
August 3 4, 2017; Chicago, IL Construction Disputes
Benjamin Cornelius, S.E., P.E., Leslie E. Robertson
How important is Risk Management to your Associates Consulting Structural Engineers
firm? A proper program can reduce your chances 9:15 am Break
of being sued and allows you to take on more 9:45 am Information Security in Contracting
risky projects which can generate a substantial Nicholas Merker, Ice Miller LLP
profit when handled right. 11:30 am Roundtable Lunch
Developed by the Council of American Structural Engineers Moderator Corey Matsuoka,
(CASE), Time-Tested Techniques for Managing Your Firms SSFM International
Risk will help your firm reduce its rate of claims against struc- 1:45 pm Professional Liability Case Study Marathon
tural engineering projects, as well as raise the level of quality Karen Erger, Lockton Companies
services provided by all project participants. Eric Singer, Ice Miller LLP
Who should attend? Principals, Owners, Project Brian Stewart, Collins, Collins, Muir + Stewart
Managers, Risk Managers 3:15 pm Wrap-up & Adjourn
Corey Matsuoka, SSFM International
SEMINAR AGENDA
To register for this event, go to www.acec.org/calendar/
Thursday, August 3 calendar-seminar/case-risk-management-seminar.
6:00 pm Dinner The Future of Structural Engineering For more information about this seminar, contact
Speaker: Ashraf Habibullah, President, Computers Heather Talbert ([email protected]) or Katie Goodman
CASE is a part of the American Council of Engineering Companies

and Structures, Inc. ([email protected]).
ACECs 2017 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit

On April 22 26, a record 1,500 ACEC members attended the engineering achievements from throughout the world.
ACEC Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., meeting with Hosted by SNL-Alum, Kevin Nealon, SR 520 Floating
Senators, Congressmen, and Capitol Hill staffers to advocate for Bridge Replacement and HOV Program in Seattle, WA
major infrastructure legislation in 2017 that both incentivizes was honored with the 2017 Grand Conceptor Award
private investment and includes substantially increased direct invest- on April 25th. The engineering work for the project was
ment in core federal programs. Attendees highlighted the need to done by HDR.
address critical transportation, water/wastewater, and other infra- ACECs Annual Convention also marks the induction of a new
structure needs. In addition, ACEC members engaged lawmakers ACEC Executive Committee. Sergio Satch Pecori, Chairman
on key industry priorities for reforming the nations tax code. and CEO of Hanson Professional Services, succeeded Peter Strub
600-plus celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Engineering as ACEC Chairman for 2017-2018 at the spring meeting of
Excellence Awards Gala, which recognized 162 preeminent the ACEC Board of Directors.
Pathways to Executive Leadership Class Two Registration

Now Open!
A practical, focused program for new leaders facing the challenges of a Institute capstone program. It targets those who are making the
continuously evolving business environment. transition between managing one team (e.g., project managers)
New practice-builders need specific and relevant training in to those managing managers and multiple teams. This program is
the intricacies of leading an A/E firm in ever-changing, always designed to establish habits for long-term high-performance and
uncertain economic times to be successful at taking on higher to create a trusted, national network of colleagues with which to
levels of leadership responsibility and prepare for the demands of make the journey.
being owners. FLOW OF LEARNING: New skills to manage people and the
Pathways to Executive Leadership is an intensive leadership program uncertainty of a continuously evolving business environment are
for early-career elites and promising mid-career professionals with required to confront that challenges that budding practice builders
8-12 years of experience who are just beginning to lead and think face. Pathways to Executive Leadership will lead participants through
strategically about their practices and careers. The reality-based a practical curriculum focused on becoming more balanced in their
curriculum focuses on the core skills necessary to think strategically personal and professional life, more influential in team develop-
in their markets, build effective teams, and deliver great service for ment, coaching, and client relationships, and more strategic in their
their most valued clients. business relationships to build a strong client portfolio.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Pathways to Executive Leadership fills a For more information, visit http://programs.acec.org/
vital gap and creates a strong connection between ACECs Business 2017-pathways or contact Katie Goodman, 202-682-4332, or
of Design Consulting curriculum and the Senior Executives [email protected].

Business Practices business issues
Techniques to Successfully Navigate Networking

By Jennifer Anderson
F
or some people, networking can feel and thoughtful people. That is when network- with other interesting people who live and
awkward, seemingly self-serving, ing becomes fun and worthwhile! work in different marketplaces. Gaining a
discouraging, and embarrassing. different perspective is a great way to grow
Many people consider the term 2) Make time for networking. and develop and you may be an interest-
networking a dirty word and dont like ing voice to someone else on the other side
the uncomfortable feelings that come from This might seem like a very basic technique, of the country.
attending a networking event. Uncomfortable but if it is so easy to do, why is it that people
or not, if you are not networking it is going do not make time for networking? Typically,
to be much harder to grow and develop as people say that they are too busy with work
4) So, what do you do?
a professional. Networking has the power to network. Later, when they are ready to make Be ready to answer that all-too-common
to help you in very significant ways in your a job change, or ready to hire a new person for question. In answering, you have a chance
professional and personal life. the firm, they find themselves with weak con- to differentiate yourself from other people.
Here are four techniques to help you navi- nections to people in their network. Stop and think about it. That question can
gate the world of networking more effectively: It is imperative to invest in people within your be a conversation killer. After you answer the
professional circles so that you have time to get question, you typically ask them back, And
1) Know the difference between to know them, help them get to know you, what do you do? Then where do you go with
and build trust and respect. In the future, you the conversation? Its a dead-end question.
types of networking. will be able to comfortably contact them when The best advice do not ask the dreaded So,
Networking is not limited to attending youre looking to make a job change or add to what do you do? Instead, ask other thought-
a luncheon to hear a guest speaker share your team. If you find yourself feeling awkward ful questions that will help you to engage in
thoughts about an engineering-related at networking events, its likely you are not par- better conversations. Some thought provoking
topic. Networking can look like many dif- ticipating in something that is interesting and questions might include:
ferent things, such as volunteering for a cause thought provoking for you. What brings you to this conference?
that youre interested in, participating in an Action item: Look at your calendar and mark What have you learned at this trade show
industry conference, taking additional college out two lunch periods in the next month to that is the most intriguing to you so far?
courses and getting to know your classmates meet up with people from your network. These What does your firm specialize in?
through group projects, joining a running networking lunches may well be some of the best Conversations get much more interesting
club, etc. Networking should never just be work time you will spend each month because and far less awkward when you are discussing
limited to a bunch of people in a room trying you are likely to connect on a deeper level, gain meaningful information beyond telling each
to get other peoples business cards! valuable professional and technical insights, and other your job titles.
It can be valuable to attend luncheons and also make an impact in someones life.
learn from other professionals, but take some In the end, networking can lead to great con-
time to evaluate how you want to make a dif- versations and professional opportunities. Do
ference in the world. For example, the author
3) Follow-up on social media. not hold yourself back. Plan to attend. Go. Bring
has a colleague who is interested in STEM After meeting new people, follow-up and your business cards. Have a goal of meeting 2
initiatives (Science Technology Engineering connect through social media. LinkedIn is a to 3 people at the event. Then, wash, rinse, and
Math) to help adolescents learn about differ- good place for connecting with other profes- repeat. You will find, over time, that networking
ent ways they can engage with the world of sionals. LinkedIn is where most people think is truly a wonderful way to meet and keep in
science. She believes it is important to help to connect professionally. touch with other interesting and thought-pro-
children and teens learn about how science However, just because you are connected voking professionals. This will, in turn, provide
and math help better our world. As those on LinkedIn or any social media platform, you the opportunity to build your professional
children come to realize the importance of does not mean you are instantly best friends. network, enhance the probability
STEM, their eyes are open to more possibili- You will still need to nurture and cultivate for future opportunities in your
ties and they find themselves more interested relationships. Look for ways to stay in touch. career, and add interesting people
in math and science courses. The ripple effect Find articles to share that you think will be to your firm.
is quite substantial in their education and interesting to specific people, then copy the
career. Along the way, the authors colleague URL and share it in a message. Periodically Born into a family of engineers but focusing
has met numerous individuals that have check-in with your connections. Even a quick on the people side of engineering, Jennifer
helped her stay connected in her field. hello message goes a long way. Anderson (www.CareerCoachJen.com)
As you find groups of people that are inter- One major benefit of being active on social has nearly 20 years helping companies hire
ested in similar hobbies, community causes, media is that you will be exposed to other and retain the right talent. She may be
professional development, and so on, you will people who are likely outside your immediate reached at [email protected].
come to meet some interesting, passionate, circles. Join groups on LinkedIn to interact

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STRUCTURE A Joint Publication of NCSEA | CASE | SEI

June 2017 Tall Buildings

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STRUCTURE magazine 30 June 2017