Load on sheeting rails

[ldavison10]

Hi,
I have a bank of 3 vertical pipes fixed with unistrut to sheeting rails at 2 metre centres. The client has asked for the loading of these pipes which I assume is at each sheeting rail.
Whats the first step in calculating the loads, its been 10 years since i did this at college. I know the pipe weights in kg/m both empty and full and the distance from floor level. All im missing is the knowledge of the equation.

Thanks

Lee

 

[hokie66]

Not sure I understand your question. If you know the weight in kg/m, then the gravity load (in kg) at each support would be the spacing between supports times the weight. You would need to factor the load according to your code, and I would take this as dead load. You would further add in the dead load of the sheeting, girts, and unistruts.

This may not be the answer you are looking for. If not, please provide more explanation of your problem.

 

[ldavison10]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply, thats pretty much what i thought.

The unistrut which runs with the pipe is pipe clipped to the pipe.
The unistut is then bolted back to the sheeting rail every sheeting rail (at 2m centres)

Doesnt this mean however that the load is not exactly taken by the sheeting rail, it is only a means of 'restraint'

If so, where is the load transferred?

Thanks

Lee

 

[hokie66]

Unless the unistrut or the pipe is supported at the top or bottom off a floor, beam, or whatever, it sounds to me like the sheeting rails (girts to me) have to support the pipe. Not a desirable arrangement, because girts are designed to span primarily in the horizontal direction, not vertically. But perhaps you have a way of supporting the girts vertically.