Allowable Deflection on Mechanical Supports 1

[VTSE]

I have some mechanical support framing that's deflection controlled. My typical is to allow up to L/360. But for this particular support, I'm at 0.8" of deflection. Anybody know where to find an allowable deflection limit for mechanical supports? Thanks!

 

[jayrod12]

I would expect that would depend on the type of mechanical you are supporting and what it can tolerate at the connections in terms of movement. If it is rigidly ducted/piped to something then you probably don't have much tolerance for movement. If it's only connected to flexible lines, then I would expect there's no upper bound to the amount of acceptable deflection.

 

[Bagman2524]

Agree with jayrod12. The L/360 standard deflection is an experience based limit to ensure doors, windows, etc. will all continue to function properly. AISC commentary has some discussion on this. See section L3 in the 2005 commentary. Equipment deflection limits should be determined on a case by case basis to ensure the equipment remains functional.

All I know is P/A and Mc/I