Design of load bearing Concrete Wall with opening 1

[joeldadc]

How do you design a load bearing concrete wall to support some heavy mechanical equipments with opening?

Kindly explain procedure and what to consider and the difference from a wall with no opening? Thanks.

 

[joeldadc]

To simplify, what is the allowable openings when designing a load bearing concrete wall?

 

[Ron]

joeldadc.....first of all, your question should be posted in the structural engineering other topics forum. This forum is primarily for concrete materials and applications.

Secondly, you are asking for someone to design a wall for you. That's not what the forums are here for. If you are not capable of designing the wall yourself, then get a local structural engineer involved. These forums are international and you have given no idea of where you are located, the dimensions of the wall, whether it is interior or exterior, what types of loads will be on the wall, and most of the other information necessary to lead you in any particular direction so that YOU could get on the right track with the design.

 

[KootK]

I've wondered about this myself. Depending on the situation, I've:

1) Considered the wall above the opening as a beam and a somewhat arbitrary section of wall on either side of the opening as columns. I believe that this is what is most commonly done.

2) Contemplated the wall as a strut and tie system. Unfortunately, strut and tie methodology doesn't have much to say about buckling.

3) Considered a wall of reduced effective length where it had regularly spaced openings and beams above deep enough to create effective arching.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

 

[joeldadc]

Ron, first of all, whether a posting is a mistakenly located or not, everyone who reads it can decide to reply or not bother. Nevertheless, I don’t know how you differentiate a concrete wall in relation to concrete materials in engineering or construction or its application as you stated?

Secondly, can you review your notes please and check how a structural design is done? How could you say I was asking to design a concrete wall? When I didn’t even give any design criteria? You are the one who asked about it from your message. Can you please review my question before you put this kind of reply? What I was asking are ideas from engineers who had more exposure in designing a concrete wall with openings for my reference and double checking, just like what KootK said. I am aware due to limited people who will read and reply with any query in this forum, that I might not get the reply I want. So please don’t put words or jump to conclusions of what the inquirer’s goal is. If in case you don’t like majority or minority of info you read on these forum, you are free to leave, sign-off or unsubscribe. And lastly you don’t judge people based only on question provided in this forum because I find it too UNPROFESSIONAL with no ethics! In case nobody informed you yet then I’m telling YOU!

 

[Trenno]

Wow.

 

[Ron]

How do you design a load bearing concrete wall to support some heavy mechanical equipments with opening?

It seems fairly clear from your opening statement that you are asking for a wall design. Perhaps I misunderstood your intent, but I read the statement literally.

I merely made the suggestion of the other forum because it is one of the more popular forums in all of the site and gets a lot of traffic, therefore increasing your odds of getting relevant responses. While many of us who frequent the structural forums also visit this forum, not all do so.

I notice that you've been a member since 2012 and have logged in a total of 12 times. I would hardly consider that you should be giving advice on how to use the forums or inviting me to leave them, considering I've been here since 1999 and have given thousands of replies in numerous forums. I think I'll stick around until such time as management asks me to leave.

As for the process for design, it depends on the geometry of the location of the equipment, whether the equipment is static or dynamic, and several other factors. Kootk's first response is the typical approach; however, you must consider that if the wall is a shear wall as well, the opening and the equipment loading will impact the shear stress distribution and must be accommodated.

 

[msquared48]

This is not rocket science. Just design the concrete portion above the opening as a beam and be dine with it.

By the way, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone in the forums refer to Ron as unprofessional and unethical. Obviously, you do not know Ron.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[Ron]

Thanks, Mike. I appreciate that.