UmarMakhzumi

You can try google to get a PDF. I got it free thanks to Canadian Masonry Association. Thanks.

All, Here is one of the best lectures available on AISC for free. Please do check it out. Important Lessons They Didn't Teach Me At College (or at least I don't think they did) Duane Miller, The Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland, OH Thanks.

You should add more shear walls then and also check your input. What is the base shear % in terms of total seismic weight? Thanks.

This can only be answered if someone is involved in performance based design, which a lot of people are not. To address your questions, I think both approaches are beneficial where needed. You don't want to design a single story house based on performance based design or a cantilever garage porch. But you may want to consider performance based design for a tall high rise building or structure where you would like to limit the extent of structural damage when subjected to an environmental event because of your Client needs. Also, performance based design is a great topic for undergrad final year students. My friend actually got employed in a firm because he did his undergrad project on performance based design, although he remembered nothing. Thanks.

http://www.csiamerica.com/products/etabs/watch-and-learn These tutorials show your everything that you need. They explain how to apply wind load, snow load, live load etc. They also explain how to design a steel frame. Thanks.

All, Here is a very useful website to plot graphs. https://graphsketch.com Thanks.

Please post your Shear Force and Bending Moment diagram for the case when your curved beam is divided into a number for segments. Thanks.

Thanks Uzair. You have been vital. Thanks for your help and encouragement to everyone on SEFP.

EngrJunaid, What you are doing is not enough. You need to make sure your walls are designed for axial load + out of plane bending & in-plane shear + bending. Also design requirements for roof diaphragms should be incorporated and serviceability limit states should be checked.. I would recommend you to get a good reference book at-least. I personally use Masonry Structures: Behaviour and Design There is so much in masonry that would be new to you. Like Mortar Types, Concepts about 1) Vertical and horizontal load transfer, 2) Distribution of Shear and Moment due to Lateral Load, 3) Torsional Effects etc. and most importantly 4) Masonry Shear Walls. If you know how to design one, you can save your client a lot in Pakistan since no one is focusing on building low-rise (up to 10 stories) masonry buildings. Thanks.

Even if you provide a straight bar, all you need to check is that your bar develops greater than 146 kips of axial load + tension due to moment. If you don't want to use Hilti, use epoxy, drill the bars, check the epoxy-steel ULS, Concrete Breakout of Dowel Group and finish your design. Why are you afraid of neglecting the hook. Design for what you provide. Period. Thanks.

All, Would like to let you all know that SEFP is three years old as of May 24, 2015. I would like to thank everyone out there for the active participation they have shown. In particular, Rana and Sir Baz for their continuous support during the early days and now. Have an excellent week guys! Almighty bless you all. Thanks.

My 2 cents- Hilti is your best bet. But you need to pick the right anchor bolt out of their catalogue and tell them which one would work for you. When you are doing that, please make sure that you consider group effect factors, sustained load factors and everything that is written in the foot notes. Also, recheck your base-plate once you have confirmed number of Hilti bolts required and their pattern. Thanks.

Welcome aboard Muneeb. Thanks.

W.S. Uzair, You can use ASD load combinations to proportion foundations with reference to ACI and ASCE 7-05. That will cover your Dead + Snow loads. A bit eccentric to topic but you should use Ultimate Limit State design approach for foundation. Size your foundation using factored load combos. That would be D + S + W/L with factors. Only settlement should be checked using serviceable loads. The most important thing shall be checking foundation for frost heave. You can check the attachments to see differences between ASD and ULS approach. Thanks. Limit State Design For Foundations.pdf Use of Limit State Design in Foundation Engineering.pdf

Welcome aboard! Thanks.

Uzair, My plan is first publish a number of articles under SEFP consistent design. This is important for a number of reasons. The most relevant reason related to subject thread is that It will also help me identify who is willing to take time out and do some research, put it in your own words and tweak it as per the practice in Pakistan. I am willing to proof read all the articles. Once I can find enough members like these, we can set up a Committee and do what you are recommending. I have got the following topics that interested members can start working at: Confined Masonry: Building Safer Houses Long Term Deflection of Concrete Beams Concrete/ Steel Pile Design Stability and Strength: Fundamentals and Basics Seismic Design: Cord and Collectors Dynamics Design: Fundamental period, frequency and mode shapes Members are more than welcome to suggest something they want to write. Please don't put your final year project thesis here. The articles that we plan to publish are meant to be different. Thanks.

I think its a great idea. The only problem I see is that it may require a team on individuals to work on it- like a Committee. I personally have been on a very tight schedule since last one year. I think we can all start by writing articles and once we have enough meat, we can start working towards guidelines. What do you say? I can provide you with a list of articles I have to write for SEFP and probably you can write some of those? Thanks.

Thanks Uzair. Its a great idea. We can look into what you are suggesting. I will get back to you on this. Thanks.

From an analysis point the 0 location shall be significant as the joint can be treated as rigid. I am not in to softwares so can't comment what SAP or ETABS would do, but if I am asked to do an analysis, I would make the above assumption and do the job. Also, when in doubt please be conservative. I guess there is no right or wrong here. Engineering is all about judgement and this situation is one good way to exercise it. Thanks.

Welcome aboard Kemal, Great to have people from Turkey! Thanks.

Hi All, Please tell us that how did you hear about us? Was it through google search, facebook ads or word of mouth. The information is important as it helps us devise the yearly advertisement strategy. Thanks.

You can enroll at ostruc.com I think the first 25 enrollments are free. Enroll now and you may get free membership to all lectures. I don't know of any institutes in Islamabad that could teach you structural softwares. Thanks.

Waqar, There are a bunch of tools that you can use to compare two text files, spot the difference and change accordingly. Compare the old and newer version of SAFE or any file and change the headers accordingly. https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=text+File+comparison+tools&safe=active&ssui=on Thanks.

Mhdhamood, The situation is quiet common. You can thicken up portions of mat where required. Detailing that I have seen provided a 45 degree angle where the transition is happening, but nothing is stopping you to provide what you drew. Make sure your analytical model represents what you plan to provide and all possible limit states are checked. Thanks.

A maximum reinforcement ratio for beams and slabs is not directly given in ACI 318-05. Instead, Section 10.3.5 requires that non-prestressed flexural members must be designed such that the net tensile strain in the extreme layer of longitudinal tension steel at nominal strength t is greater than or equal to 0.004. In essence, this requirement limits the amount of flexural reinforcement that can be provided at a section. Using a strain compatibility analysis for 4 ksi concrete and Grade 60 reinforcement, the maximum reinforcement ratio is 0.0206. Thanks.