Downloads of Updated Design Standards and an Upgrade of Wood-Designing Software Highlight November News

Also, Structural Engineers of Illinois offer Aluminum Structure seminar and six Wight-designed projects get LEED gold certification

Supplement No. 1 to ANSI/AISC 358-05 Available for Free Download

A resource that provides a greater variety of pre-qualified moment connection options for special moment frames (SMF) and intermediate moment frames (IMF) is now available for designers of steel structures in high seismic regions.

AISC’s Supplement No. 1 to Prequalified Connections for Special and Intermediate Steel Moment Frames for Seismic Applications (ANSI/AISC 358-05s1) is now available for free download at www.aisc.org.

The supplement modifies an existing prequalified moment connection and also adds three new prequalified moment connections. When introduced in 2005, AISC Prequalified Connections covered three connection types: reduced beam section (RBS) moment connections, bolted unstiffened extended end-plate (BUEEP) moment connections, and bolted stiffened extended end-plate (BSEEP) moment connections. At that time, neither of the prequalified extended end-plate moment connections could be used with composite concrete structural slabs in SMF.

Supplement No. 1 adds three more prequalified connection types and eliminates the prohibition of composite slabs for extended end-plate moment connections in SMF. Supplement No. 1 also adds prequalified details for bolted flange plate (BFP) moment connections, welded unreinforced flange - welded web (WUF-W) moment connections, and Kaiser bolted bracket (KBB) moment connections.

ANSI/AISC 358-05s1, ANSI/AISC 358-05, ANSI/AISC341-05, and ANSI/AISC 360-05 can all be downloaded free from www.aisc.org.

Hydraulic Institute Publishes Rotodynamic Pump Vibration Measurements and Allowable Values Standard

The Hydraulic Institute has published a new American National Standard for Rotodynamic Pumps for Vibration Measurements and Allowable Values (ANSI/HI 9.6.4 - 2009).

The standard applies to evaluation of vibration on rotodynamic pump applications when the vibration measurements are made on non-rotating parts (bearing housing vibration). It includes general criteria for acceptance tests in the field or at a manufacturer’s facility.

This document will be supplemented by Dynamics of Pumping Machinery, currently being drafted by the committee.

This standard is based on experience from pump users and manufacturers, as well as vibration measurements by many companies. Vibration data from both factory and field tests have been incorporated into the maximum allowable vibration values. Values are applicable when the pump is installed per specifications from the Hydraulic Institute or the manufacturer.

“The newly restated HI Vibration Standard comes as a result of substantial research and brings together collective experiences of pump users and manufacturers from a variety of industry segments,” states Mick Cropper, global product development manager for Sulzer Pumps U.S. Inc. and vice-chairman of the institute’s vibration committee.

Copies of Rotodynamic Pumps for Vibration Measurements and Allowable Values will be available from the Hydraulic Institute.

Structural Engineers Offer Seminar About Designing Aluminum Structures Nov. 18

The Structural Engineers Association of Illinois is offering a seminar about designing aluminum structures from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton in Schiller Park, Ill., on Nov. 18. The seminar earns 7.5 hours of continuing education credit.

The presenter is J. Randolph Kissell, who has been involved in the design, fabrication, erection, and inspection of aluminum structures since 1978, and who in 1993 co-founded TGB Partnership, an engineering firm specializing in aluminum structures.

Kissell co-authored Aluminum Structures—A Guide to Their Specifications and Design, and co-holds two U.S. patents for aluminum structures. He is secretary of the engineering advisory committee of the Aluminum Association, responsible for the specifications for aluminum structural designs used throughout the U.S.

He is also secretary of the American Welding Society’s subcommittee on aluminum structures and a member of the ASTM light- metal alloys committee, the Canadian Standards Association’s committee on strength design in aluminum, the American Petroleum Institute’s above-ground storage tank committee, and the ASCE load standards committee.

For registration and cost information, call Elizabeth O’Connor at 312-726-4165 x301.

Six Wight & Company Projects Receive LEED Gold Certification

Wight & Company, Darien, Ill., recently earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for six projects.

Though it originally targeted LEED Silver certification, Atlantic Hall No. 3 at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Ill., actually earned the higher LEED Gold rating. (Photo courtesy of Wight & Co.)

Mark Wight, chairman, says each project’s challenges were met through a team effort between Wight, its clients, and its partners.

The six projects earning gold certification:

•West Hall at Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Ill. The latest addition to the Elmhurst College campus, West Hall is the first project designed and constructed under the college’s new sustainable master plan. Designed to achieve a silver designation, the project received sufficient points for a LEED Gold certification.

Wight’s sustainable design focuses on stormwater management and includes a permeable parking lot (which can hold a 100-year storm event below its surface), bioswales, rain gardens, rainwater harvesting and native landscapes to decentralize stormwater management. The project also was designed to reduce the urban “heat island” effect and light pollution; utilize low toxin emitting materials; capitalize on daylight and natural ventilation; incorporate recycled material; and use solar/thermal energy to heat water.

•The 9th District Police Station, Chicago, Ill. The new facility sits on S. Halsted St. from W. 31st St. to just past W. 32nd St. One of its unique aspects is its water-management design, which was devised by Wight & Company’s civil engineering group and features a rain garden. Another notable achievement was diverting more than 97% of construction debris from landfills.

•Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Atlantic Hall No. 3, Great Lakes, Ill. The challenge in designing the 58,000-sq-ft building was to blend the U.S. Navy’s traditional design with environmentally friendly strategies and technologies. For example, the design maximizes open areas to minimize the building’s impact on the site. The design team provided a careful selection of site material and vegetation-enhanced stormwater management. The traditional design aesthetic was maintained using materials with high recycled content and low/no VOC emissions; and high efficiency mechanical and electrical systems were combined with the in-place base infrastructure. Originally targeted for Silver certification, the project received sufficient points for LEED Gold.

•Phase 2, Corporate Financial Institution, Chicago, Ill. While Phase 1 of the project revolved around the consolidation of several business groups at one location, Phase 2 focused on renovating existing space with a more modern, light and bright feel. The renovation included space for the consumer banking group, a large-scale training facility and an innovation lab.  The space achieved LEED-CI Gold certification in part due to re-use of existing furniture from Chicagoland and a near-40% reduction in water use.

•Phase 3, Corporate Financial Institution, Chicago, Ill. While the previous phase of the project focused primarily on renovating the client’s existing space, Phase 3 was a completely new build-out based on existing branch standards.  The design of the Phase 3 space included a handful of unique credits, such as achieving a LEED credit for allowing more than 90% of regularly occupied spaces a view to the outside world and the monitoring of dense areas to determine whether the CO2 levels are acceptable.

•A Laboratory in a Northern Chicago Suburb. Wight’s work required turning a former laboratory facility into environmentally friendly office space. The project achieved LEED Gold certification for its many sustainable features, including an efficient HVAC design with zoning controls to help improve energy use, and earning all credits in the indoor environmental quality section of the LEED review, other than the daylight and views credits.

RISA Engineering Software First with Full Range of Wood Features

The Wood Products Council’s WoodWorks initiative and RISA Technologies have released Phase II of RISA’s building-design software. The new release incorporates a full range of wood-design features.

The updated software can be used to design all-wood buildings or hybrid structures of wood and steel, concrete or masonry says Bruce Bates, president of RISA Technologies. Bates also says the new software can allow complete buildings to be designed with one software package.

Developed with WoodWorks, the update covers analysis and design of wood structures for both gravity and lateral forces, including shear wall and diaphragm modeling, analysis and design. It also integrates current codes—such as the National Design Specification for Wood Construction, International Building Code 2006, and California Building Code 2007.

RISA license holders will receive the update automatically. Support is available in the three regions covered by the WoodWorks program: the North-Central U.S. (Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin), California, and the Southeast (Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina). For more information, visit www.risa.com or www.woodworks.org.