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Expert: - 4/13/2010


Question
Dear Arshad Khan,
I hope that you are fine and keeping good.
My questions are,
In pitched room, what acts as diaphragm (The pitched roof??)
I want to knw how to apply wind loading to conopyies but couldnt find a good resource?
I always want to design beams manually, but donot know how to get data out of etabs for beam column design and use it. any tips?
what are good ways to check an etabs model. other than global force balance.
Thanks

Answer
Hi Umar,

If you are asking about ETABS, there will be no diaphragm in a pitched roof- you just rely on the roof to brace itself and to transmit loads on to the beams or walls. For lateral wind loading, you will need to manually work it out and apply it on the model as pressure or line load.

The BS on wind loading covers canopies- the governing load is usually uplift.

If you display BM and SF diagrams after analysis, you can see the values which you can use to design manually.

The things to check in ETABS are the overall deflected shapes, the support/boundary conditions, the axial load in columns compared with a manual load take-down by tributary areas and the overall support reactions and distributions with/without lateral loading. For high-rise or slender buildings, you need to check that the mode time periods are similar to hand calculations.

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Arshad Khan

Expertise

I can answer any questions to do with civil and structural engineering consultancy and construction industry in East Africa and the Middle East, and specifically with the analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures. My particular expertise is in the aseismic design and optimisation of tall buildings.

Experience

Employment history: 36 years in Construction and consultancy in the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Africa, Somalia, Zambia, Austria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha and the U.A.E.

Organizations
.Fellow of Institution of Structural Engineers (UK) .Fellow of Institution of Civil Engineers(UK) .Member of the Institution of Engineers, Kenya .Registered Engineer, ERB, Kenya .Member of the Architectural Association of Kenya (Engineers Chapter) .Chartered Engineer (UK)

Publications
•1984: International Conference on the Art and Practice of Structural Design, London •1994: 3rd Int. Kerensky Conference in Structural Engineering, Singapore •2008: International Conference on High-Rise Towers, Abu Dhabi

Education/Credentials
BSc, 1st Class Hons, in Building Engineering, University of Bath, UK MSc in Concrete Structures and Technology, University of London. Diploma of Imperial College, UK.

Awards and Honors
•Science Congress Special Award (for 2-seater Hovercraft - 1968) •Institution of Civil Engineers Award for outstanding performance at Bath University (1975) •Concrete Society Postgraduate study Bursary Award (1976) •Consular Representative for British High Commission, Nairobi. (1995 to 1998) •Examiner for Institution of Civil Engineers Professional Interviews, Nairobi. (1997 to 1998) •Branch Representative in Vienna for PI assessment for Inst. of Struct. Engrs. (1999 to date)

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