Lateral pressures due to snow

[CL-Eng]

Lateral pressures due to stacked snow:

Has anyone had to design for lateral pressures due to piled or stacked snow? We are designing a large apartment complex which surrounds a roughly 120-ft by 300-ft 4-story precast concrete garage with a "snow-chute" for clearing snow from the roof. The garage is in the center of the apartment complex, so snow cannot be simply blown over the side. The snow is loaded into a vertical shaft (the snow chute) which has an opening at the ground level where another bobcat can remove it.

The snow chute is 44-ft high, and the precast engineer is asking what the lateral forces are for design of the chute walls.

Has anyone encountered this? I am looking for some guidance to determine the lateral pressures that can develop, and the design basis to provide safe, reliable design values for the precast engineer.

Thank-you!

 

[Once20036]

Look for a publication entitled, "Snow Loads - Guide to the Snow Load Provisions of ASCE 7-10"

This loading is addressed on page 137. In short, they recommend treating snow as a cohesionless soil based on the snow density at the mid depth of the drift.
Based on the angle of repose for snow, I think you get an active pressure coefficient of 0.59.

 

[HTURKAK]

My points are ;

- the snow during plowing and piling into the vertical shaft will be condensed and the unit wt γcs= 45-50 lb/ft3 is a reasonable figure

- the horizontal thrust should be calculated with the condensed snow wt and Ka=0.5

- If the bobcat at ground level will not remove it, the snow ht my reach 44-ft high and more over may stick to the walls of chute ..

- Plowing the snow to the suitable place ( fronts of parking lots ) or dedicate some of the parking lots for piling could be option..




My opinion..










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