Design Load for a Door 2

[dik]

My latest project is a 'free standing' door frame, cantilevered from the bottom. The door is a normal 3'x7' metal door. I'm at a loss for the loading. I'm thinking a load of about 200lbs horiz at mid height. There is no design attack resistance required. Is there a standard or reference for the design loadings on a conventional door?

Thanks, Dik

 

[TRAK.Structural]

Is this out in the open, basically like a sign, or just a regular doorway as part of a bldg?

If just a regular door you can use component and cladding pressures on the door applied at mid-height to get the resulting shear and moment at the base.

 

[dik]

use component and cladding pressures

It's just a door in an outside wall sealing off some electrical equipment, that because of the roughness of the wall opening, it has to be cantilevered from the base. Full blown wind design load would also provide some resistance. Thanks... I'll look at that too. I've been given the size of the frame and may design it so the frame fails.

 

[Greenalleycat]

I wouldn't rate the door itself but the frame should be designed for full wind pressures
This is both an explicit Code requirement here and also common sense
If the door fails then you'll get open internal wind pressures develop with the ULS wind and that will blow the building apart

Be careful with the cantilever system though, it will be very flexible and the movement itself may be enough to cause internal wind pressures to develop
This is a common issue experienced by a cold-formed shed supplier that my old firm worked with
The previous guys underdesigned the door jambs for the roller doors so they flexed too much and wind got in and blew the cladding off the roof to relieve the internal pressure...

 

[dik]

I wouldn't rate the door itself but the frame should be designed for full wind pressures

Sorry, it's the frame that's being designed. I've decided to design the anchorage and base plate to match the strength of the cantilevered frame.

 

[MRob909]

Is the door used as a means of escape (i.e. fire door?) - you might also want to look at a horizontal barrier load, similar to a handrail, as an additional case.