mateogrin
Structural
- Jan 29, 2007
- 5
I am working on a renovation of a building built in the 60s. It is 3 stories high, with a 3" concrete deck that has a very thin steel deck underneath. This is in the Boston area. I have a very limited structural plan set
As far as I can tell, the steel deck is only there to form the concrete. It does not have any weld patterns that suggest that it was designed to be a diaphragm, nor are there studs that suggest that it is a composite deck.
The building is undergoing a major renovation and needs to be brought up to comply with current wind and seismic loads. There appears to be no cross bracing to deal with either load cases in the structure. I am looking to see if I can use the concrete deck as a diaphragm to help resist the wind and seismic loads that the building now needs to be designed for.
I've thought of a few various options such as overhead welding of the deck to the joists, or mechanical fastening of the deck to the joists. Neither technique has been thoroughly enough tested to comply with any manuals out there, so they are out of the option.
The client does not want to replace the slab, nor do they want to pay to core the slab and create diaphragm welds from above.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to turn this slab system into a diaphragm? Also, if anyone can point me towards any manuals that discuss the use of concrete slabs as a diaphragm, that would be useful as well.
Thanks!
As far as I can tell, the steel deck is only there to form the concrete. It does not have any weld patterns that suggest that it was designed to be a diaphragm, nor are there studs that suggest that it is a composite deck.
The building is undergoing a major renovation and needs to be brought up to comply with current wind and seismic loads. There appears to be no cross bracing to deal with either load cases in the structure. I am looking to see if I can use the concrete deck as a diaphragm to help resist the wind and seismic loads that the building now needs to be designed for.
I've thought of a few various options such as overhead welding of the deck to the joists, or mechanical fastening of the deck to the joists. Neither technique has been thoroughly enough tested to comply with any manuals out there, so they are out of the option.
The client does not want to replace the slab, nor do they want to pay to core the slab and create diaphragm welds from above.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to turn this slab system into a diaphragm? Also, if anyone can point me towards any manuals that discuss the use of concrete slabs as a diaphragm, that would be useful as well.
Thanks!
