A Joint Publication of NCSEA | CASE | SEI

STRUCTURE

April 2013 Concrete

Special Section:
Steel Sector Looking
Good

SEI Structures Congress

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
May 2 4

W. Gene Corley
1935 2013

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CONTENTS

FEATURES

April 2013

A Worthy Wager

26

By Jim O. Swenson, P.E., S.E. and Jason Black, P.E., S.E.

Federal Center South Building 1202 is a state-of-the-art, high
performance office space for the Seattle District Headquarters of
the United States Army Corps of Engineers This showcase High
Performance Green Building project included many innovative
design features, the top of which was perhaps the largest use of a
composite concrete and timber floor system in the United States.

SFPUC Headquarters Building

30

By Leo Panian, S.E. and Nick Bucci, S.E.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commissions innovative
headquarters set a new standard for high-performance structures
when it opened in June 2012. The building is a showcase for a
host of leading-edge sustainable design elements. The design of the
structural system made key contributions in achieving this distinction.

Gene Corley

34

Steel Sector Looking Good

By Larry Kahaner

STRUCTURE

With the U.S. economy improving slowly, and global economies

booming in certain regions, those in the steel sector are optimistic
about what lies ahead. The software industry is seeing improvements
in sales, and the steel/construction industry backs up the optimism.

SEI Structures Congress

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
May 2 4

ON
W. Gene Corley
1935 2013

THE

COVER

A Joint Publication of NCSEA | CASE | SEI

On March 1st, we
learned of the passing
of W. Gene Corley. In
this photo, Dr. Corley
investigates a piece of
steel at the World Trade
Center site. STRUCTURE magazine has
never in its history put an individuals picture
on its cover. The death of Gene Corley warrants
this occasion (Page 34).
April 2013 Concrete

Like A Flight of Geese

By John A. Mercer, P.E., SECB

9 Historic Structures

The Kahn System of

Reinforced Concrete
By Ryan Salmon, EIT and
Meghan Elliott, P.E., Associate AIA

12 Engineers Notebook

Simplified Methods in
Reinforced Concrete Design
By Jerod G. Johnson, Ph.D., S.E.

14 Practical Solutions

Creating an Opening in
Existing Floors

18 Technology

Using Software to Control

Anchor Design
By Marshall P. Carman, P.E., S.E.

23 Outside the Box

Space Structures Reach Siberia

By Denis Gerasimov

47
Special
Section

Steel Sector Looking

Good

7 Editorial

By Dominick R. Pilla, P.E., C.E., S.E.

and Xiaoli Tong, P.E.

On March 1st, the structural engineering community was saddened

by the news of the passing of Dr. Gene Corley after a brief battle
with cancer. A recognized industry leader, Dr. Corley was at the
forefront of the structural engineering profession, and the development of building codes and standards.

Special Section:

COLUMNS

IN EVERY ISSUE
8 Advertiser Index

36 InSights
Bridge Fatigue
By Y. Edward Zhou, Ph.D., P.E.

38 Legal Perspectives

Can I Just Cross Out The Words

Payment In Full?
By Gail S. Kelley, P.E.

40 Education Issues

Socrates, How Is Engineering

Knowledge Attained?

56 Resource Guide
(Engineered Wood Products)

By Erik Anders Nelson, P.E., S.E.

42 Great Achievements
Othmar H. Ammann

60 NCSEA News
62 SEI Structural Columns
64 CASE in Point

By Frank Griggs, Jr., P.E., P.L.S.

59 Spotlight

Crystal Bridges Museum of

American Art
By Craig Schwitter, P.E. and
Cristobal Correa, P.E.

Publication of any article, image, or advertisement in STRUCTURE magazine does not constitute endorsement
by NCSEA, CASE, SEI, C 3 Ink, or the Editorial Board. Authors, contributors, and advertisers retain sole
responsibility for the content of their submissions.

STRUCTURE magazine

DEPARTMENTS

April 2013

66 Structural Forum

Consequences of the Gendered

Culture of Engineering
By Lara K. Schubert, P.E.

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Editorial

Like
new trends,
A new
Flight
techniques
ofand
Geese
current industry issues
By John A. Mercer, P.E., SECB

population growth to a projected 9 billion people, a shift in primary

global languages putting Chinese and Arabic on top, pushing English
lower on the list, the need to maximize resource utilization, and
realities of nature, e.g. global warming. A take away from Glenns
presentation is, will you be relevant in the future?
Ben Nelson of Martin & Martin spoke about Establishing a
Successful Structural Engineering Training Program. This was
followed by two presentations by Jon Stigliano, Top 10 Keys to
Managing Multiple Deadlines & Expectations, and 8 Actions to
Get People Goal Directed, Self-Motivated and Engaged in the
Relentless Pursuit of Excellence.
NCSEAs excellent program is just a taste of the upcoming ACEC
2013 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit in Washington DC,
April 21-24. If you were excited by speakers at the NCSEA Leadership
Forum, you will be totally inspired by the ACEC Convention. They
have one day of round tables based on firm size addressing HR, M&A,
Finance, Legal, and other issues, and three days of nationally acclaimed
speakers on a multitude of relevant business issues. This years convention will feature Geoff Colvin, Fortune speaking on Outpacing
Business Trends and Chuck Todd from NBC News will talk about
Battleground Politics. I would encourage you to consider attending.
(www.acec.org/conferences/annual-13/index.cfm)
Structural engineers are best equipped to provide vision, insight,
and innovation into the problems our nation faces going forward.
As trusted advisors, our honesty and integrity, lacking in so many
other professions, gives structural engineers a solid foundation from
which to launch a regime of initiatives to make significant contributions to society. We each have the opportunity to make a significant
contribution to sustainability of our infrastructure, our resources,
and mankind. It is in our culture to do so.
As my swan song editorial, I would like to express my appreciation
to everyone that made it possible for me to Chair CASE for the past
3 years. I would like to thank the leadership and staff of ACEC/
CASE, NCSEA, and ASCE/SEI for their willingness to cooperate
and coordinate the activities of the three organizations.
I have been a proponent of participative membership in one or
more of our 3 organizations. I envision the three Organizations like
a 3-legged stool, CASE/NCSEA/SEI = Best Business Practice &
Risk Management/Technical Practice/Technical Codes, providing
a stable foundation for the future practice of structural
engineering.
I will now drop back in the flight with honks of encouragement to our incoming CASE Chair, Andy Rauch.

a member benefit

structurE

am sure you have seen a gaggle of geese flying in a V formation.

The lead goose creates an aerodynamic draft for the other geese
in the flight enabling them to fly farther. He expends his energy
fighting headwinds to create the draft while the other geese in
the flight honk, encouraging the lead goose along their journey. From
time to time the lead goose will fall back into the V and honk to
encourage another goose taking the lead position.
As the soon to be Past Chair of CASE, I will be dropping back into
the flight, to honk encouragement for our new Chair, Andy Rauch of
BKBM from Minneapolis, MN. Andy will become CASE Chair for
2013-2015 at the conclusion of the ACEC Annual Convention the
end of this month. CASE is all about the business of the structural
engineering and Andy is going to be a great leader.
CASE recently held its Winter Planning Meeting preceding the
NCSEA Leadership Forum in Tucson. AZ. A round table discussion
kicked off the CASE meeting, with several discussion topics including: reduction in cost of professional liability insurance, design-build
issues, social media and the use within firms. One participant expressed
how great it was to be able to sit among fellow structural engineers and
openly discuss internal business issues and challenges.
The following day, CASE held its committee meetings to continue
developing, updating, and improving CASE products supporting
Best Business Practices and Risk Management Enhancement for CASE
firm members. Watch for new and updated publications later this
year from CASE.
As one of the 57 attendees of NCSEAs two day Winter Leadership
Forum, I had the privilege to hear the guest speakers make presentations on the following topics:
Kelly Riggs discussed Winning Business in a Losing Economy.
Kellys take away is that we all look alike to the buyer and will likely
be selected on price instead of capability or quality of service. He
discussed strategies that we can use to overcome the price mentality.
Scott Braleys presentation was entitled Key Financial Indicators
for Leading Your Firm to Success. One take away was, profits will
depend more on productivity than on support from the economy.
Kelly returned kicking off the
afternoon with Coaching for
Leaders: Transforming Potential
into Performance. One quote I
wrote down was, you cant be
efficient with people, you can be
effective with people.
Glenn Bell, CEO of Simpson
Gumpertz & Heger, kicked off
day two of the Winter Leadership
Forum with a presentation
Developing the Next Generation
STRUCTURAL
of Structural Engineers looking
ENGINEERING
INSTITUTE
towards the future out to 2050.
The forthcoming challenges for
US engineers will include global

STRUCTURE magazine

John A. Mercer, P.E., SECB (Engineer@minot.com), is the

president of Mercer Engineering, PC, in Minot, North Dakota.
He currently serves as Chair of the Council of American Structural
Engineers (CASE) and is a CASE representative on STRUCTUREs
Editorial Board.

April 2013

ADVERTISER INDEX

PLEASE SUPPORT THESE ADVERTISERS

American Concrete Institute ................. 37

Applied Bolting Technology .................. 52
AZZ Galvanizing .................................. 39
Canadian Wood Council ....................... 57
Computers & Structures, Inc. ............... 68
CSC Inc. ............................................... 49
CTP Inc. ............................................... 29
CTS Cement Manufacturing Corp........ 13
Design Data .......................................... 46
Enercalc, Inc. .......................................... 3
Engineering International Inc................ 19

ESAB Welding and Cutting Products .... 55

Foundation Performance Association..... 44
Fyfe ....................................................... 43
Gerdau .................................................. 22
GT STRUDL........................................ 51
Hilti, Inc. .............................................. 45
Integrated Engineering Software, Inc..... 50
ITW TrusSteel & BCG Hardware ... 15, 54
ITW Red Head ..................................... 58
JMC Steel Group .................................... 6
KPFF Consulting Engineers .................... 8

Editorial Board

ADVErtIsING AccOuNt MANAGEr

Chair

Interactive Sales Associates

Jon A. Schmidt, P.E., SECB

Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, MO

chair@structuremag.org

Craig E. Barnes, P.E., SECB

Brian W. Miller

CBI Consulting, Inc., Boston, MA

Nucor Vulcraft Group ........................... 53

Polyguard Products, Inc......................... 17
Powers Fasteners, Inc. .............................. 2
PT&C Forensic Consult. Serv., P.A. ...... 11
Quikrete ................................................ 33
RISA Technologies ................................ 67
S-Frame Software, Inc. ............................ 4
Simpson Strong-Tie............................... 25
Soilstructure.com .................................. 31
Struware, Inc. ........................................ 21

Chuck Minor

Dick Railton

Eastern Sales
847-854-1666

Western Sales
951-587-2982

sales@STRUCTUREmag.org

Davis, CA

Mark W. Holmberg, P.E.

Evans Mountzouris, P.E.

Heath & Lineback Engineers, Inc., Marietta, GA

The DiSalvo Ericson Group, Ridgefield, CT

Dilip Khatri, Ph.D., S.E.

Greg Schindler, P.E., S.E.

Khatri International Inc., Pasadena, CA

KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle, WA

Roger A. LaBoube, Ph.D., P.E.

Stephen P. Schneider, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.

CCFSS, Rolla, MO

BergerABAM, Vancouver, WA

Brian J. Leshko, P.E.

John Buddy Showalter, P.E.

John A. Mercer, P.E.

Amy Trygestad, P.E.

HDR Engineering, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA

American Wood Council, Leesburg, VA

Mercer Engineering, PC, Minot, ND

Chase Engineering, LLC, New Prague, MN

EDItOrIAL stAFF
Executive Editor Jeanne Vogelzang, JD, CAE

execdir@ncsea.com

Editor

Christine M. Sloat, P.E.

publisher@STRUCTUREmag.org

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STRUCTURE magazine

April 2013

Historic
structures
significant structures of the past

Figure 1: Illustration of cross-sectional and perspective views of the Kahn reinforcement bar, along with
a diagram of the theoretical truss action.

t the time of this writing, a vacant

former bakery is standing for a few
more days at the corner of Fifth Street
North and Seventh Avenue North,
just outside of the official boundary of the local
and national historic Warehouse District of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The building is typical of others in the area: a one- to three-story
utilitarian structure with little architectural ornamentation and several additions. The hodgepodge
of construction styles is reflected by the variety
of structural systems found within, including
load-bearing masonry walls, cast iron columns,
and framing of heavy timber, structural steel and
reinforced concrete; the building is a dictionary of
historic construction techniques. It is a familiar
scene in many urban industrial areas: declining
industries leave behind a decaying infrastructure
and abandoned buildings. For years this bakery
has stood with boarded windows, roof leaks,
squatters, and active plundering of any metals
of value. However, a recent urban revitalization
has brought redevelopment interest to many of
the buildings nearby.
The Warehouse District is notable for its
representation of the growth of industry in
Minneapolis, which was supported by the early
arrival of the railroads. The initial construction in
the area was from the mid-19th century to support
the local milling industry first lumber, and then
flour. By 1902, the connection of major railroad
lines brought industries such as wholesaling and
manufacturing; Minneapolis eventually became
the center of distribution for Americas farm
machinery. Growth in the District reached its
peak around 1930, and then declined along with
the rest of the American economy. Concurrently,
several changes in interstate shipping legislation
allowed for independence from the railroads that
had been so critical to the growth of the economy
in Minneapolis. The District remained relatively
unchanged between 1930 and 1990, which left
many of the original historic structures intact,
albeit untended.

A recent survey of the area identified buildings

that are potentially historic. A low-rise structure
without any prominent architectural features,
a series of mismatched additions, and a leaking roof might typically
be dismissed. However,
a 1909 building permit
card for the bakery noted
that the fireproof Kahn
concrete tile system was
used in the buildings early
construction. Furthermore, the bakery is purportedly the site of the invention of sliced bread
and other innovations in the baking industry.
Thus, when a proposal for a new apartment
building suggested demolition of the bakery, the
Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission
was charged with making the decision as to
whether to allow it: could the use of the Kahn
system be significant enough to merit saving it?
Furthermore, how important is sliced bread
anyway? An engineering condition assessment was
ordered to determine the structural integrity of
the building, and the importance of sliced bread
was left to the opinion of the Commission.
The Kahn System was invented by Julius Kahn,
who filed a patent for it on December 11, 1902.
Julius was the brother of the more well-known
Albert Kahn, a nationally prominent architect
based in Detroit who is best known for the factories he designed for automotive companies such as
Packard and Ford in the early 20th century. Albert
incorporated his brothers patented reinforcement into many of the buildings he designed.
Meanwhile, Julius formed the Trussed Concrete
Steel Company, also based in Detroit, to manufacture, market, and provide structural engineering
services for his proprietary system. It serves as the
structure for buildings throughout the country,
such as the Engineering Building (1904) at the
University of Michigan and the Blenheim Hotel
(1906) in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
At that time, reinforced concrete was inherently
experimental as engineers and builders worked

STRUCTURE magazine

The Kahn System of

Reinforced Concrete

Why it Almost Mattered

By Ryan Salmon, EIT and
Meghan Elliott, P.E., Associate AIA

Ryan Salmon, EIT

(salmon@pvnworks.com), is
a project associate and Meghan
Elliott, P.E., Associate AIA
(elliott@pvnworks.com), is the
founder and owner at Preservation
Design Works, LLC, a consulting
and project management firm
in Minneapolis, Minnesota that
specializes in the preservation and
redevelopment of historic buildings.

The online version of this

article contains detailed
references. Please visit
www.STRUCTUREmag.org.

the longitudinal reinforcement. While the

lack of testing standards and documentation
from that time leaves some questions today
about the validity of the tests, the intention
of the testing was clear: to demonstrate the
strength of the product, to create confidence
in the product for contractors and building
code officials, and to promote a proprietary
reinforcing method.
Kahns reinforcing system drew both attention
and criticism from contemporary practitioners. In particular, C.A.P. Turner, a nationally
prominent engineer based in Minneapolis,
vehemently objected to Kahns system in his
1909 book, Concrete-Steel Construction:

Figure 2: Illustration of Kahns reinforcement as installed in floors, beams and columns.

to understand how to design and construct

safe and efficient structures from the material.
Numerous patented systems were developed,
such as Ernest Ransomes twisted steel reinforcement and Claude (C.A.P.) Turners
mushroom system of flat-slab floor construction using smooth round rods. Kahns
reinforcement system was unique: it consisted
of visually distinctive rolled diamond-shaped
bars with flat-plate flanges (or wings) that
were sliced and bent up at regular intervals
at approximately 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the reinforcement. Kahn
rationalized that concrete members constructed with his reinforcement, particularly
beams, would act in bending as a Pratt or
Warren truss, with the diagonal wings and
longitudinal bars serving as tension members
and the concrete serving as vertical (or diagonal) compression members (Figure 1 , page
9 ). The diagonal wings were also theorized
as shear reinforcement. The system was incorporated into reinforced concrete beams, joists
and in early examples columns (Figure 2 ).
Joists were typically installed with a hollow
clay tile block system that consisted of rows
of blocks laid with a three- to four-inch space
between. Kahn-style reinforcement was placed
into the voids between the blocks, which were
subsequently filled with concrete (Figure 3).
The hollow clay tile blocks were left in place,

which resulted in a smooth underside suitable

for finishing with plaster. The bakery used the
hollow clay tile joist construction method for
the floor in the 1909 addition.
A publication by the Trussed Concrete Steel
Company claimed that the system offered
20-30% greater capacity compared to beams
reinforced with horizontal rods and loose
stirrups with the same area of reinforcement.
These claims were based on tests performed
in 1907 at the University of Wisconsin on
simply supported beams. According to the test
report provided in the Trussed Concrete Steel
Company publication, the beams with loose
stirrups failed due to slippage of the rods and
concrete shear near the supports. In contrast,
the Kahn-reinforced beams were claimed to
fail in flexure near the center (Figure 4 ). A
review today of the test data shows that the
test beams with loose stirrups were constructed with smooth longitudinal bars and
U-shaped shear reinforcement spaced at intervals of at least three-quarters of the depth of

Figure 3: Cross-section of hollow clay tile joist

floor system.

Figure 4: Load test of a Kahn System beam to failure.

STRUCTURE magazine

10

April 2013

In theory the Kahn bar is supposed to act

with the concrete after the manner of a
Warren Truss, and proof of this theory as
advanced by the advocates of this type of
reinforcement, reminds one of the story of
the friendly discussion between two lawyers, in which the question came up as to
who was recognized as the most prominent
attorney in the place.
I am of course, said the first. How can
you prove it? asked his friend. Why, I
do not need to prove it, I am willing to
admit it, replied the first.
Thus the advocate of this type of reinforcement apparently advances similarly
convincing proof that the bar acts in the
manner claimed.
Turner also pointed out that because of how
the bar was manufactured, the wings at
the ends of the bars were shorter. He noted
that shear stresses were greatest at the ends
of a simply supported beam, where the Kahn
System provided the least amount of shear
reinforcement. Turner further critiqued it
for not providing continuous longitudinal
reinforcement for the beams at the columns,
which created a potentially catastrophic
and brittle failure mechanism; in contrast,

System. Reports published

by the Joint Committee on
Standard Specifications for
Concrete and Reinforced
Concrete in 1908, 1912, 1916
and 1924 provided specifications and guidelines for the
design and construction of
nonproprietary reinforced
concrete structures. As concrete reinforcement became
standardized into the form
most commonly used today,
the Trussed Concrete Steel
Company broadened its
market into products such as
concrete pan joist formwork
Figure 5: Test panel constructed with the Kahn System loaded to 4,000
and steel window frames, and
psf with iron ingots for the Nichols, Dean and Gregg Warehouse Building shortened its name to the
in St. Paul, Minnesota (demolished 1990).
Truscon Steel Company in
the 1920s. In 1935, it became
a subsidiary of the Republic
Turner and several other engineers at the Steel Corporation. The company no longer
time promoted a configuration of continu- exists today.
ous longitudinal reinforcing over the top of
The pending demolition of the bakery
the columns. Another shortcoming was that presented many questions about both
as the length of the wings increased, the the structural and historic integrity of
spacing of the wings also increased, which the building. From a structural perspeceffectively imposed an upper limit on the tive, the consulting engineering company
shear strength of a beam of fixed depth.
(Minneapolis-based Meyer Borgman
The Kahn System was involved in at Johnson) was required to determine
least two catastrophic building failures. In whether the building, and especially the
November 1906, the Bixby Hotel in Long Kahn System, was adequate to support curBeach, California partially collapsed during rent and proposed floor loads. A partial
construction. Engineers investigating the collapse in the area of the Kahn reinforcecollapse of the hotel concluded that pre- ment, coupled with the known inadequacies
mature removal of formwork and shoring of the reinforcing and significant corrowas the cause. Two weeks later, the Eastman sion after years of water intrusion, led to
Kodak Building in Rochester, New York the conclusion that the floor system likely
collapsed during construction. Investigators lacked sufficient strength to support any
found numerous flaws in the quality of the code-mandated loads in its current conwork. They found a large amount of wood dition. Repair of the system was deemed
debris and sawdust in the concrete, as well cost-prohibitive and invasive.
as improperly placed reinforcement in many
The historic integrity and significance of the
locations. Both investigations concluded that system is less clear than an engineering comthe collapses were not due to faulty design or parison of demand versus capacity: did the
flaws in the Kahn-style reinforcement; rather, bakery building, and specifically the Kahn
they were the result of poor workmanship.
reinforcing, represent an important part of
Ultimately, increasing standardization of construction history in the Twin Cities of St.
concrete reinforcement systems and greater Paul and Minneapolis? There are a few other
understanding of reinforced concrete behavior remaining buildings in the area that incorled to the decline of numerous proprietary porated the Kahn System. The Northwest
methods of reinforcement, including the Kahn branch office of the Trussed Concrete Steel

Company designed the structure for the

Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, as well
as the Lowry Building in St. Paul. A description of the Kahn System in Cement Age, a
trade journal of the time, mentioned that
the nine-story, 450,000-square-foot Farwell,
Ozmum, Kirk & Co. warehouse in St. Paul
was built in 1906 with a reinforced concrete
structure using the Kahn System throughout.
The warehouse was designed to carry 500
psf, and was load-tested after construction
to 1,500 psf by piling pig iron eight feet
high in a floor bay. It currently serves as
the East Building of the Ramsey County
Government Center. The Nichols, Dean, and
Gregg Company Warehouse in St. Paul was
constructed in 1906, and was claimed to be
the strongest in the world by the architect
and contractor. Although the veracity of this
claim is unknown, it was certainly a strong
building as proven by load testing (Figure 5 ).
Other buildings may have used the system,
but documentation of the reinforcement
type is not available.
Kahns type of reinforcement is one of
dozens of novel patented systems available at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Kahn system exemplifies the intensive
innovation, entrepreneurship, and experimentation seen in reinforced concrete
construction during this period. Perhaps it is
not coincidental that the inventive engineers
commonly named their proprietary systems
after themselves, and actively marketed their
technology through testing programs, technical treatises, and paid advertising. Many of
these systems have been lost to demolition,
neglect, or simple lack of documentation.
As engineers and historians, we ask what
role engineering and construction history
should play in the field of historic preservation. What lessons can we learn from these
systems and this period of time? How did
these engineers and their inventions influence concrete construction today?
The demolition of the building was ultimately approved. The Kahn system, and the
original home of sliced bread, will no longer
be in Minneapolis.
All graphics from the Kahn System of
Reinforced Concrete or Kahn System
Standards publications.

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STRUCTURE magazine

11

April 2013

EnginEErs
notEbook
aids for the structural
engineers toolbox

f you are like me, you emerged from your

collegiate experience with a broad array of
fundamental tools in structural design that,
hopefully, armed you adequately for your
chosen career. I recall finishing my bachelors
degree and having a skill set that, in retrospect,
might be described as barely sufficient. With
this statement, I do not mean to diminish the
quality of my education, nor the dedication or
expertise of excellent professors. I simply mean
that a four-year college experience laced with a
generous dose of liberal arts education requirements barely compares to the experience and
learning that take place in actual practice. Among
the skills that I gained as an undergraduate were
the basics of reinforced concrete design, including beams and columns. I eventually came to
understand that the concepts that pertain to
these elements also permeate nearly every aspect
of reinforced concrete design, from footings to
shear walls. I have also come to understand that,
like many other materials, there are simplified
approaches for reinforced concrete design.
Although they should
not become the final
basis of design, they
can serve as effective tools to corroborate more
detailed calculations or to estimate geometries,
sizes and proportions as part of a preliminary or
schematic design. This article seeks to address and
elaborate upon a few of the simplified methods
commonly used for reinforced concrete.
First, consider the familiar As~Mu/4d approach
that is commonly used in the design of reinforced concrete beams. Quite simply, the
required area of steel is approximately equal to
the factored moment (in kip-feet) divided by 4d,
where d is the effective depth from the extreme
compression fiber to the centroid of the tensile
reinforcement (in inches). When sizing a beam,
it is advisable to start with the ACI provisions
for span-to-depth ratios. You may recall that for
a simply supported beam having a total height
(h) not less than span/16, deflection calculations may be omitted. This is good precedent
for beginning a beam design. As for the width,
good proportioning of sizes will often show that
widths between one-half and two-thirds of the
depth are often appropriate.
Regarding the reinforcement, contemporary
texts offer elaborate approaches for determining
how much steel to use, and computers can make
the trial-and-error process relatively quick and
painless. Examination of the basic equations,

Simplified Methods in
Reinforced Concrete Design
By Jerod G. Johnson, Ph.D., S.E.

Jerod G. Johnson, Ph.D., S.E.

( jjohnson@reaveley.com), is a
principal with Reaveley Engineers +
Associates in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A similar article was published in

the SEAU Newsletter (Fall 2012).
It is reprinted with permission.

a = A s fy /0.85f 'c b
and
Mn = As fy (d-a/2),

12 April 2013

Figure 1.

shows that a second-order polynomial can be

developed for which the required area of steel (As )
can be solved by substituting Mu for Mn. The
problem is that this is tedious and yields an exact
result that is not necessarily pragmatic considering
the discrete bar sizes available.
This is why the As~Mu/4d method is so useful.
This equation is not typically found in modern
concrete design textbooks, yet it is perhaps one of
the most prolific approximations within structural
engineering. Does it have a rational basis? One
would assume that it must, because it always
seems to work, provided that the beam dimensions are reasonable. If we make the simple yet
rational approximation that the internal lever
arm between tensile and compressive resultants
in a concrete beam is equal to 90% of the effective depth (d ), then the (d-a/2) component of
the exact equation above simply becomes 0.9d
(Figure 1). Assuming fy = 60 ksi since this is almost
always the case, we now have a simple equation
for approximate nominal flexural capacity:

Mn = As(60 ksi)(0.9d )
Now, substitute Mu for Mn and convert from
units of kip-feet to kip-inches by multiplying Mu
by 12. Next, assign = 0.9, which is usually the
case unless reinforcing ratios become extremely
high or the beam is unusually shallow, and we
get the result:
As

Mu
Mu(12)
=
0.9(60)(0.9d )
4.05d

Hence the long-held approximation does have

a rational basis.
What about column axial/flexural design? A
knee-jerk reaction for many might be to open
up a spreadsheet or some other automated tool.
Before doing this, we might ask the following:
What are the two most descriptive points on an
interaction diagram? I believe that they are the
points intersecting the x and y axes; in other
words, the moment capacity when there is no
axial load, and the axial capacity when there is
no moment. Knowing what interaction curves
will likely develop with respect to these points
can be instructive.

CONSTRUCTION CEMENT

FA S T ER
Figure 2.

Pn 0.65(0.80)(0.85f 'c A g+fy As)

0.44f 'c A g + 0.52f y A s

calculations, rather than the dozens or perhaps

hundreds of calculations necessary to develop
the complete interaction curve.
The approximate interaction curve is established using the aforementioned calculations as
a basis and then superimposing what may be
deemed a standard interaction curve shape,
scaled to match the two previously determined
points. This curve should not be used where a
high degree of accuracy is needed. For instance,
if a point representing simultaneous bending
and axial loads (Mu , Pu) falls directly on the
approximate curve, more refined calculations or
a more conservative design should be considered.
Upon validating a simplified method such
as this, it becomes possible to adapt it to
other design scenarios. In particular, in-plane
flexural design of concrete shear walls can be
particularly tedious. While redundancy precludes elaborating upon a simplified method
for concrete shear wall flexural design, it is
sufficient to say that most concrete shear walls
are not loaded anywhere near their peak axial
capacities. In fact, axial loads on shear walls
are often so low that they can simply be characterized as vertical beams. Considering the
typical interaction curve, it is no stretch to
rationalize that accounting for axial load will
likely increase flexural capacity, at least to a
point. In that sense, simplified methods (like
Mu /4d ) to determine approximate areas of
boundary element steel can be useful and are
likely to be conservative.

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Applying the parameters of our 18-inch square

column yields Pn ~ 720 kips. I now have two
points on the interaction diagram that I can use
to make an educated guess of the interaction
diagram shape, which can be compared with
the interaction diagram based on the provisions of ACI 318 (Figure 2). Although there
are some differences, the approach yields a
speculative but conservative interaction curve
that is reasonably close to the actual curve.
This was achieved with only two fundamental

This article is intended for structural engineering practitioners and other design
professionals seeking to expand their repertoire
of fundamental skills and tools. The suggested
techniques and simplified methods are derived
from general principles of concrete design and
relevant ACI code provisions. These procedures
should not be used for final structural design,
but may serve well as preliminary estimates
or for verification of final design. Assurance
of code compliance remains the responsibility
of the Structural Engineer of Record.

STRUCTURE magazine

13

April 2013

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So, how can we estimate these points without

a bunch of tedious calculations? Start by looking at the moment capacity under zero axial
load (i.e., the column behaves like a beam).
If reinforcing ratios are relatively low (1%
to 3%), then it stands to reason that bars in
compression or near the neutral axis probably
do not contribute much to flexural capacity.
Consider an 18-inch square column with f 'c
= 4,000 psi and eight #7 vertical bars (about
1.5% steel) in a standard 3x3 pattern and 2.5
inches of cover to bar center. At zero axial load,
the compression zone becomes relatively small,
such that the neutral axis lies relatively close to
the extreme compression fiber. Drawing upon
this logic, we can conclude that the centroid
of tensile forces for the reinforcement at the
opposite side of the column is typically about
two-thirds of the column thickness (h), which
would be 12 inches in this example. Using this
as the effective depth results in an approximate
flexural capacity of 142 kip-feet. Note that this
process may be done in reverse with the Mu /4d
approach when starting from scratch.
Next, consider the axial capacity. We start
by examining the column cross-section. We
need to sum the capacity of the concrete and
the steel; for simplicity, ignore the area of
concrete replaced by the reinforcement since
this is only 1% to 3% of the gross concrete
area. Since the column is tied, we will use
= 0.65. Adapting the ACI column equation
to these ideas yields:

STRONGER
MORE DURABLE

Practical
SolutionS
solutions for the practicing
structural engineer

Typical floor construction types.

t is not unusual to create an opening in

existing floors during building renovations
and alterations. A new opening may be used
for stairs, an elevator shaft, a duct penetration, skylights, etc. In order to execute a feasible
modification and maintain the existing buildings
structural stability, a qualified structural engineer
should be involved during the initial planning
phase. With varied knowledge of floor construction types and extensive experience in structural
evaluation and strengthening, the structural
engineer can present valuable suggestions regarding
the selection of opening
locations, construction
feasibility and possible
strengthening options. This article presents a
typical procedure to create openings in existing
floors, and discusses some practical issues.

Creating an Opening in
Existing Floors
From Planning
to Completion
By Dominick R. Pilla, P.E., C.E.,
S.E., RA and Xiaoli Tong, P.E.

Dominick R. Pilla, P.E., C.E.,

S.E., R.A., owns and operates
Dominick R. Pilla Associates,
P.C. In addition, Mr. Pilla is
an associate professor at the
Bernard & Anne Spitzer School
of Architecture at City College of
New York. He can be reached at
dominick@drpilla.com.
Xiaoli Tong, P.E., is an Engineer
with DRPILLA. Prior to joining
DRPILLA, Mr. Tong gained most
of his professional experience while
working in a prominent national
research institute on building
technology in China. He can be
reached at xiaolit@drpilla.com.

Planning of an Opening
Where to make an opening in a floor sounds
very simple just put it where it should be but
this is true only for new construction, when all
kinds of openings can be accommodated using
various structural design methods. However, it is
a very different situation to create a new opening
in an existing floor where construction is constrained by surrounding elements that are part of
structural systems. An improper location of the
opening may lead to a large amount of renovation work, making the project uneconomical and
perhaps even rendering it impossible to develop
a feasible structural solution.
A good plan for an opening is half the battle;
the first and primary rule of thumb is to avoid
locating the opening across major existing building elements i.e., girders, columns and walls
to limit the affected zone, in regard to altering
the structural continuity of the building. Due
to the many possible types of construction that
may be encountered such as a masonry arch
floor, a steel-wire catenary floor, and modern
beam/plate floor types that consist of wood or
light gauge steel joists, steel beams, precast concrete planks, cast-in-place concrete slabs, etc. a
thorough understanding of the existing building
type and floor system must be obtained. A review

14 April 2013

of existing construction documents, if available,

will provide basic information; however, physical
inspections and probes are essential to determine
as-built conditions. Based on the findings of a
comprehensive study of the floor system, the location of the openings can be adjusted and finalized.

Evaluation of Existing Structures

Once the opening is located, relevant existing floor structures must be carefully assessed.
The proposed opening may affect existing floor
structures in one or all of the following ways:
(1) the design live load is increased at the new
stair landing area, thereby overloading adjacent
portions of the floor; (2) the original structural
design assumptions (e.g., continuous beam, arch
action, etc.) will not be satisfied after the opening
is made; (3) in the case of a T-beam, the flange is
partially or completely removed at the opening
side, thereby reducing flexural resistance and stiffness; and (4) structural capacities are undermined
when floor reinforcement is eliminated or cut
off when creating an opening in a concrete slab.
Actual effects on any existing floor structures are
dependent on its construction type.
Masonry arch floor construction, made of hollow
tiles or terra cotta, was very popular for buildings
constructed from the late 1800s to early 1900s.
The segmental masonry pieces work together, and
span between adjacent steel beams by using arch
action with tie rods to resist the tension thrust.
Once some segments are removed for an opening,
the corresponding arch action will be lost. The
remaining pieces will not be stable and should
be removed. If a tie rod is to be cut off, it may be
necessary to install a new steel beam beforehand,
unless field conditions suggest that the required
tension thrust is properly resolved by the stability
of the adjacent spans or bays.
Steel wire catenary floor construction became
popular in 1910 and disappeared gradually after
World War II. The steel wires are draped and continuous over steel beams so that gravity loads are
sustained by the tension in the suspended wires,
which are encased in cinder concrete mainly for
the purpose of fire protection. When an opening
is to be made in this system, it is inevitable that
some wires will need to be cut, which will disrupt
the continuity and stability of the system. In order

Finite element analysis of a two-way slab

with opening.
Effects of an opening to existing concrete slab.

to stabilize the floor at adjacent spans, proper

anchorage of the cut wires must be designed.
For floors consisting of joists or floor beams,
an opening can usually be framed simply by
installing new transfer beams, which form
the perimeter of the new opening. These
transfer beams can support the floor joists/
beams at the opening, and distribute design
loads to adjacent girders, columns and walls.
Evaluation of the existing structures under
new loading conditions is straightforward
but essential.
An opening in precast plank floors can be
framed by the installation of steel headers.
The new members will redistribute the design

loads to adjacent planks in accordance with

the guidelines presented in the PCI Design
Manual, and the relevant planks should be
evaluated for design loads per the renovation
plan in addition to the distributed loads from
the header. Moreover, the remaining parts
of planks with proposed openings must be
reassessed to determine whether the development length of the residual strands, from the
cut edge to the point of maximum required
moment, is still valid for the full specified tensile strength. Otherwise, the residual flexural
resistance should be adjusted.
A reinforced concrete slab may be treated
as either a one-way slab or a two-way slab
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STRUCTURE magazine

15

April 2013

based on the aspect ratio of the length in

the long direction to the width in the short
direction. A one-way slab is considered when
an aspect ratio of at least two is realized. A
one-way slab will function like a beam in the
short direction, continuously spanning over
supports such as T-beams or walls. However,
continuity will be interrupted at the proposed opening and the slabs required design
moments at adjacent spans will be increased.
In addition, the T-beams flange will be partially or completely removed at the opening
side, weakening the T-beams design strength
and stiffness and perhaps even inducing torsion effects.
continued on next page.

New transfer beams around the opening.

Externally bonded/bolted steel plates method.

A two-way slab is considered when an aspect

ratio of less than two is realized. It supports
the design loads in both directions on its
column strips and middle strips simultaneously. When an opening is to be made, part
of the slabs column strip and/or middle strip
is removed, and relevant reinforcement is
cut off. To calculate the required moment
capacity after creation of the opening, the
equivalent frame method specified in ACI
318 is still applicable as long as the assumptions are satisfied. However, a finite element
analysis is a better way to find relatively more
accurate solutions to the design moments and
maximum deflections concerned.
In a finite element model, at least two adjacent floor spans around the opening must be
considered. Load-bearing walls and additional
spans of the floor slab may be simplified as
proper boundary conditions. To calculate the
residual flexural resistance, the actual amount
and placement of steel reinforcement in the
slab must be investigated and verified by
using non-destructive test instruments such
as ground penetration radar. By comparing
the required design moment to the residual
flexural resistance, it can be determined if
strengthening of the slab due to the opening is
necessary. It should be noted that if an opening is located completely within the slab
portion of a two-way slabi.e., not located
across column strips then the resulting
opening may not require reinforcement.

Strengthening Design Options

An efficient strengthening method is to install
new transfer beams to frame an opening. The

new beams will take design loads on residual

floor structures around the opening and distribute the loads to adjacent existing girders,
columns or walls. The new beams can often
be framed flush with existing floor structures
and totally hidden inside finish ceilings. Due
to its simplicity and efficiency, the transfer
beam is generally the first choice to strengthen
an opening whenever possible.
However, for certain floor construction
types like concrete slabs, new transfer beams
cannot be framed flush, but must instead be
installed underneath the slab to connect with
adjacent existing columns or girders. When
floor headroom and aesthetic appearance are
of paramount concern, externally bonded or
bolted plate methods may be employed.
For this popular and economical strengthening
approach, the steel plates are considered to be
tension reinforcement placed on the surfaces
of concrete slabs. The plates are sized based on
the required design moments under superimposed loads. The bonding agent (e.g., epoxy
resin) and anchor bolts provide the surface shear
stresses needed for composite action between the
plates and the concrete. When it is necessary to
strengthen the slab in both directions, the intersection of steel plates must be properly detailed.
Some practical solutions include encasing the
steel plate in one direction into the concrete slab
or pre-welding the steel plates in both directions
at the intersection points.

Peer Review and Construction

Prior to making a new opening in an existing building, a construction permit is often
required, for which an independent structural

Ground penetration radar image of slab reinforcement.

STRUCTURE magazine

16

April 2013

peer review is mandatory per the building

code. If possible, the buildings original structural engineer of record, who has the greatest
knowledge of the existing structural design,
is the most appropriate design professional
to serve as the peer reviewer. The peer review
involves confirming the renovation design
criteria, attesting to the general completeness
of the construction documents, and verifying
the new design in accordance with building codes and relevant industry standards.
All comments by the peer review must be
answered and manifested in the final construction documents.
The construction itself begins with shoring
installation to support all interim design loads
during construction. The shoring often simply
consists of 2x stud walls around the proposed
opening. It may be omitted if floor structures
are to be properly strengthened, as per the
design, prior to making the opening. An overcut should be prohibited; marking opening
edges and drilling holes at the corners is good
practice to prevent this. Diamond blade saws
are commonly used to cut existing floors. After
the opening is made, fire protection should be
applied on new steel members either by spray
or as part of a rated ceiling assembly.

Summary
Each building is unique, and there is no
one universal method by which to create
openings in every building type. In this
article, we have discussed basic principles
that should be respected when considering a proposed opening. There will arise
many deviations when facing actual projects. A structural engineer, with appropriate
knowledge and experience, will be required
to coordinate thoroughly with the owner,
architect and other relevant parties in order
to evaluate and implement an appropriate
and economical proposal, design and construction for a new floor opening.

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Technology
information and updates on
the impact of technology on
structural engineering

oncrete Capacity Design (CCD)

has been a code methodology for
anchor design since it was introduced directly into section 1913 of
the 2000 International Building Code (IBC). It
was initially a strength design option and was
limited to cast-in-place anchors only. The CCD
method provided better predictions of concrete
breakout strengths than the previously common
45-degree cone method. The new provisions also
clearly identified specific limit states, which may
not have been apparent in older design tables.
The scope of the provisions expanded when they
appeared in Appendix D of ACI 318-02, which
standardized the analysis methodology for postinstalled anchors.
Improved accuracy came at a cost. One of the
advantages of the CCD method was that it used a
simpler rectangular area, rather than overlapping
circular cone areas. Unfortunately, over the past
decade, a few paragraphs of text and an allowable stress design table
have turned into the 48
pages of provisions and
commentary that now
reside in Appendix D of
ACI 318-11.
Fortunately, there are
several software applications that can assist with
the heavy lifting of anchor design. However, each
application has its own default set of assumptions,
features, and limitations. It is incumbent upon the
designer to be aware of these and work within the
capabilities of each software application. Different
applications can provide significantly different
results for what may appear to be the same input
parameters.
Seven different software applications are discussed below (see table), and are broken into the
following three categories.
1) Proprietary Anchor Manufacturer Software
a. Hilti PROFIS Anchor (Version 2.3.3)
b.Powers Design Assist (Version
2.1.4762.17678)
c. Simpson Strong-Tie Anchor Selector
(Version 4.11.0.0)
2) Third-Party Anchor Software
a. Quick Anchor by SK Ghosh Associates
(Version 2.0.4)
b.DS Anchor by Dimensional Solutions
(Version 5.0.0)
3) Integrated Base Plate Design Software
a. RISABase by RISA Technologies
(Version 2.1)
b.RAM Connection V8i Standalone by
Bentley Systems (Version 8.0)
Each vendor filled out a survey describing the
assumptions and analysis methodology that its
software used for various limit states, and identified its softwares features. In addition to the
survey, example problems were run comparing

Using Software to Control

Anchor Design
By Marshall P. Carman, P.E., S.E.

Marshall P. Carman, P.E., S.E.

(mpc@ssastructural.com), is a
project manager at Steven Schaefer
Associates, Inc., Consulting Structural
Engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio.

18 April 2013

the results with the survey responses (see sidebar,

Example Problems, page 21). All of the applications typically provided the same results for
anchor groups subjected to concentrically applied
tension, but results varied for anchor groups subjected to a bending moment or to shear.

Shear in Anchor Rod for

Base Plates with Grout Pad
or Stand-Off
If anchors rods are used to resist shear forces
from a base plate, they may also be subject to
flexure. Because of this, shear lugs, embedded
columns, or other alternatives are likely better
options for transferring shear unless the loads
are small. Where shear is transferred through
the anchor rods in lightly loaded connections,
oversized holes to accommodate erection tolerances prevent predictable shear transfer through
the anchors. In this case, shear can be transferred
to the anchor rods via plate washers welded to the
top of the base plate. This will result in a moment
arm at least as long as the base plate thickness.
Furthermore, some flexure could be induced into
the anchor rods for any base plates with a standoff condition, with or without grout.
ACI 318 Appendix D does not explicitly contain provisions for considering flexural forces in
anchor rods. Any reduction in capacity due to
stand-off is limited to the provisions in section
D.6.1.3, which require that the shear capacity of
the anchor rods be multiplied by 0.8 when used
with a built-up grout pad.
Other publications, which are not referenced by
the IBC, have a more thorough treatment of this
condition. AISC Steel Design Guide 1, Base Plate
and Anchor Rod Design, Second Edition, provides
a design example in section 4.11 considering flexure in anchor rods for base plates with oversized
holes. Section 4.2.2.4 of Annex C of ETAG 001,
Guideline for European Technical Approval of Metal
Anchors for Use in Concrete, provides more detailed
requirements for considering flexure in anchor
rods for base plates with grout or a clear stand-off.
None of the software applications currently
use the AISC methodology. Most of them only
consider the 0.8 reduction factor as required by
ACI 318 Appendix D. Hilti PROFIS Anchor and
Powers Design Assist consider the ETAG methodology by default. This results in a significant
difference in anchor shear capacities between
software applications, especially where smalldiameter anchors or thick grout pads are used. In
Example Problem #1, the capacity differed by a
factor greater than five between applications that
considered flexure and those that did not. The
detailed output in both Hilti PROFIS Anchor
and Powers Design Assist provides a capacity that
does not consider flexure due to the stand-off or

Cay2

Vy

HSS 4x4x1/4 COLUMN

0' - 8"

Vx

Cay1

1/2" x 12" x 12" BASE PLATE ON

1 1/2" GROUT PAD w/ (4) 1/2"
DIAMETER ANCHOR
RODS (F1554 GR 36 w STD HEX
HED), EMBED = 6".

48" x ??" x 12"

CONCRETE FOOTING
(3000 PSI NWC)

Cax1 0' - 8"

Cax2

grout pad, but that value is not included in

the final interaction equations or the typical
results shown on the screen.

Concrete Breakout in
Shear for Loads Perpendicular
to an Edge

Concrete Breakout in Shear

for Loads Parallel to an Edge
Per section 6.2.1.c of ACI 318 Appendix D,
the breakout capacity for a shear load parallel
to an edge is equal to two times the capacity
of a fictitious load perpendicular to the edge.
While the commentary provides potential
breakout cases for loads perpendicular to an
edge, there is no corresponding commentary
regarding concrete breakout in shear for loads
parallel to an edge.
Powers Design Assist and Hilti PROFIS
Anchor both use the anchor row nearest to
the edge to determine the breakout area. Hilti
PROFIS Anchor compares this capacity to the
shear demand on the entire anchor group,
which is consistent with how the software
considers shear perpendicular to an edge
(Case 3). By contrast, Powers Design Assist
treats shear parallel to an edge differently
than it treats shear perpendicular to an edge,
comparing the breakout capacity to the proportional shear demand on the anchor row
nearest to the edge (Case 1).

STRUCTURE magazine

19

April 2013

Consideration of Base Plate

and Distribution of Axial
Forces to Anchors
When an anchor group is subject to an eccentric tension load or applied moment, how
the software models or considers the base
plate will affect the resulting tension force
in the anchors.
DS Anchor and Quick Anchor do not consider a base plate at all. In DS Anchor, if a
moment is applied to an anchor group, the
software will distribute tension and compression loads to the anchors based upon the
section modulus of the bolt group. In Quick
Anchor, the anchor bolts are not assumed to
take any compression, so the designer has to
model only the anchors subject to tension
and determine the resultant tension force
on the anchor group outside of the software.
Generally, the force distribution assumed
by DS Anchor will be conservative, but if
the designer is concerned that the difference
between the base plate bearing method and
the anchor rod section modulus method is
significant, then the approach required by
Quick Anchor could be applied to a DS
Anchor model as well.
The other software applications consider
base plate bearing to resist compression and

220

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Commentary section RD.6.2.1 of ACI

318-11 describes three potential cases for
evaluating concrete breakout perpendicular
to an edge for a group of anchors with multiple rows. Case 1 assumes that the critical
breakout is based upon the front anchors and
their projected area, and evaluates it against
the shear load proportional to that row. Case
2 permits the breakout area to be based upon
the rear anchors, but evaluates the capacity
against the total shear on the anchor group.
Case 3 assumes that the breakout area is
based upon the front anchors and evaluates
the capacity against the total shear on the
anchor group. Case 3 could conservatively
be applied to all situations, but is only referenced for specific anchor spacing and edge
distance conditions.
Since this information is in the commentary,
it is not actually part of the code itself. It is
therefore the responsibility of the designer to
determine the appropriate breakout behavior for each situation. However, the default
breakout area varies between programs. For
example, Hilti PROFIS Anchor and Powers
Design Assist always use Case 3, which will
provide a significantly lower capacity than
applications using Case 1 or Case 2. In
Example Problem 2, the difference between
these two assumptions was a factor of two.
The designer has control over the breakout
areas in some of the software applications.
Simpson Strong-Tie Anchor Selector allows

the designer to select a check box to Apply

entire shear load at front row for breakout
in order to force the use of Case 3. The stated
rationale for this is that, due to the potential
annular space between the rod and the baseplate, it is possible that the baseplate will
engage only the front row of anchors and
transfer the entire shear load to it prior to
making contact with the rear row. Both Hilti
PROFIS Anchor and Powers Design Assist
allow the designer to select from anchor group
templates that have slotted holes to prevent
the application of shear to specific anchors.
DS Anchor allows the designer to select which
specific anchors take shear or tension.

Where anchors are located near a narrow section of a slab or wall, the provisions of section
D.6.2.4 of ACI 318 may result in a significant
reduction in the allowable breakout area in the
perpendicular direction, such that the parallel breakout case no long controls. Software
applications that allow the user to enter an
infinite edge distance will apply this provision
differently than applications that consider a
large but finite edge distance. In Example
Problem #1a, concrete breakout shear capacities differed by a factor greater than three.

distribute tension to the anchors accordingly.

However, their results differ slightly, depending on how they model the base plate. Most
of the applications treat the base plate as
rigid, but RISABase considers the stiffness
of the base plate, so changing the thickness
will result in a different load distribution.
This analysis methodology will identify the
effects of prying action for thin base plates
subject to uplift, which can result in a higher
tension demand.

RAM Connection allows the user to choose

whether to consider strain compatibility, and
whether compressive bearing stress is distributed in a rectangular or triangular pattern.
Each of these choices can affect the tension
force indicated for the anchors.

Custom Anchor Layouts

Most of the applications are limited to rectangular or preselected anchor layouts. Hilti PROFIS

Anchor, DS Anchor, and RAM Connection

permit custom anchor layouts. This can be
helpful when analyzing circular patterns, or
asymmetric patterns subject to a moment or
eccentric load. However, analyzing a custom
anchor bolt pattern may provide unexpected
results for shear breakout limit states.
The concrete breakout cases described in
commentary section RD.6.2.1 of ACI 318
are set up for rows or columns of anchors
orthogonal to the concrete edge. Anchors that

Anchor Design Software Comparison.

Proprietary Anchor Manufacturer Software

CIP Anchor
Type
Grout Bed

Governing
Code

Post-Installed
Anchor Type

Anchor Patterns

Breakout Edge
Distance

Pullout Bearing
Area

Headed Bolt

Flexure in Rod

Powers
Design
Assist

Simpson
Strong-Tie
Anchor
Selector

Dimensional
Solutions DS
Anchor

S.K. Ghosh
Associates
Inc. Quick
Anchor

RAM
Connection

RISABase

ACI 318
D6.3.1

ACI 318
D6.3.1

ACI 318
D6.3.1

ACI 318
D6.3.1

X
ETAG 001
Annex C

ETAG 001
Annex C

ACI 318
D6.3.1

ACI 318-02

ACI 318-05

Custom
Database

Custom

N/A

N/A

ACI 318-08

ACI 318-11

X*

X
X

X
X

Adhesive

Hilti

Powers +
Custom

Undercut

Hilti

Powers +
Custom

Custom
Database

Custom

N/A

N/A

Expansion

Hilti

Powers +
Custom

Custom
Database

Custom

N/A

N/A

Concrete Screw

Hilti

Powers +
Custom

Custom
Database

Custom

N/A

N/A

Rectangular/Predefined

Custom/Asymmetric

**

Perpendicular Rigid

Case 2

N/A

Parallel Rigid

Case 2

X
N/A

Case 2

Case 2

Cases 1&2

Case 2

N/A

N/A

Case 2

Case 1

Cases 1&2

Case 2

Cases 1&2

Cases 1&2

Cases 1&2

Cases 1&2

Cases 1&2

Case 1

Cases 1&2

Cases 1&2

Perpendicular

Case 3

Case 3

Cases 1&2
or 3

Parallel

Case 3

Case 1

Case 1

Standard Hex Nut

Heavy Hex Nut

Square Nut

Heavy Square Nut

Custom Input / Plate

Washer
Miscellaneous
Features

Integrated Base Plate

Design Software

Hilti
PROFIS
Anchor
L or J Bolt
Welded Headed Studs

Third-Party Anchor Software

Lightweight Concrete

ACI 318-11
Only

X***

PAB
Anchors

Custom/
User Input

Multiple Load
Combinations

* Post-installed mechanical anchors only

** Does not evaluate anchor groups with asymmetric layout
*** Sand-lightweight concrete only

STRUCTURE magazine

20

April 2013

N/A

are not perfectly equidistant from an edge are

considered different rows.
Anchor software that assumes Case 3 for
breakout behavior, such as Hilti PROFIS
Anchor, provides the unexpected result of
significantly decreasing the shear breakout
capacity of an anchor group when a single
anchor is moved away from the row nearest
the edge. With one less anchor in this row, the
breakout area of the row nearest to the edge is
reduced, but the software still assumes the full
shear on the anchor group is resisted by this
row, so the demand/capacity ratio increases.
Anchor software that assumes Case 1 or
Case 2 behavior, such as RAM Connection,
provides the opposite but equally unexpected
result. If a single anchor is moved slightly
towards the edge, the group breakout capacity may actually increase. Similar to the above
example, the breakout area of the front row
is still reduced, but the shear demand on
this anchor may be reduced even more. The
software is no longer subtracting the overlapping breakout areas of individual anchors,
because they are not technically located in
the same row.

Analysis of Third-Party or
Generic Anchors

Other Features
The applications have several other different
features and limitations. Some can handle
multiple load combinations, while others

Code:
Concrete Strength:
Cracked Concrete:
Concrete Thickness:
Grout Pad:
Anchor Type:

ACI 318-08
3,000 psi, Normal Weight
Yes
12 inches
1 inches
-inch Dia ASTM F 1554 Gr 36 (Std Hex Head),
Embed = 6 inches
Anchor Spacing:
8 inches in square pattern, unless noted otherwise
Anchors Welded:
No
Ductility:
Assumed No Ductility in Connection
Supplemental Reinf: No
Anchor Reinf:
No
Edge Reinf:
No
Baseplate:
inch x 12 inches x 1 foot 0 inches
Column Profile:
HSS 4x4x1/4
Example Problem 1: Shear Parallel to Edge with Grout Pad/Small Edge Distance
Edge Distance:
Cax1 = 5 inches, Cax2 = 35 inches, Cay1 = 20 inches,
Cay2 = 20 inches
Applied Load:
Vy = 3,000 pounds, T = 3,000 pounds, All Seismic Load (SDC C+)
Example Problem 1a: Shear Parallel to Edge with Grout Pad/Large Edge Distance
Edge Distance:
Cax1 = 5 inches, Cax2 = 35 inches, Cay1 = 300 inches
(or infinite), Cay2 = 300 inches (or infinite)
Applied Load:
Vy = 3,000 pounds, T = 3,000 pounds, All Seismic Load (SDC C+)
Example Problem 2: Shear Perpendicular to Edge with Grout Pad/Symmetric
Edge Distance:
Cax1 = 5 inches, Cax2 = 35 inches Cay1 = 20inches,
Cay2 = 20 inches, C
Applied Load:
Vx = -1,500 pounds, T = 3,000 pounds, All Seismic Load
(SDC C+)
Example Problem 3: Shear Perpendicular to Edge with Grout Pad/Asymmetric
Anchor Spacing:
1 anchor moved 1/4 inch out of near row
Edge Distance:
Cax1 = 5 inches, Cax2 = 35 inches Cay1 = 20 inches,
Cay2 = 20 inches, C
Applied Load:
Vx = -1,500 pounds, T = 3,000 pounds, All Seismic Load
(SDC C+)
are limited to a single load case. Some do
not include reduction factors for lightweight
concrete, while others do. Some incorporate baseplate design, include headed
studs for embed plate design, or permit
custom bearing areas for cast-in-place
anchors with plate washers. If an application is missing a feature, some hand
calculations in the margins can usually
fill in the missing information. In addition, the software vendors are constantly
updating and improving their software.
What may seem like a missing feature
in one application today may be added
in the near future.
In conclusion, it is very important to
be aware of the assumptions that are
being made by the software, be familiar
with the output, and recognize that

STRUCTURE magazine

21

April 2013

when switching between applications, results

may vary even though both may very well
be correct.

The easiest to use software for calculating

wind, seismic, snow and other loadings for
IBC, ASCE7, and all state codes based on
these codes ($195.00).
Tilt-up Concrete Wall Panels ($95.00).
Floor Vibration for Steel Beams and Joists
($100.00).
Concrete beams with torsion ($45.00).
Demos at: www.struware.com

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An engineer may design for a specific postinstalled anchor, but a contractor may submit
a request for substitution to use an alternate
product. If the designer uses software from
a different vendor to analyze the substitute
anchor, it may be difficult to determine if
the results are different because the anchors
are different, or simply because the softwares
assumptions are different.
Powers Design Assist and Quick Anchor
both allow the designer to enter parameters
for a generic or third-party post-installed
anchor. While this requires manually entering anchor properties each time, it allows
for comparison between anchor products
while keeping all other modeling assumptions the same. DS Anchor allows the
user to create a database of post installed
anchors, which can be referenced from any
subsequent model. The engineer is responsible for maintaining the third-party anchor
data and ensuring that it is being applied
appropriately, in accordance with the corresponding Evaluation Report.

Example Problems

Building dreams that inspire future generations.

Gerdau is installing 6,650
tons of steel in San Diegos
New Central Library.

All across America, Gerdau helps build dreams.

San Diego dreamed of a library with 3.8 million books. Every day,
people will walk in curious and emerge inspired.

www.gerdau.com/longsteel

Outside
the BOx
highlighting the out-of-theordinary within the realm of
structural engineering

Figure 1: Flower bud.

nine-story glass building, shaped like a

flower bud, is being built in the young
scientific and industrial center of Siberia,
Novosibirsk (Figure 1).
In such a harsh
weather environment
where during five cold
days in January the
temperature can drop
down to -39 degrees
(C), and the difference between the day and night
temperatures in March can reach 30 degrees (C) (from
-15degrees to +15 degrees (C)) such a building may
seem to be very risky and unexpected. Nevertheless, the
designers deliberately chose the natural and transparent
shape of a flower bud to challenge and confront the
Siberian winter. This structure is directly connected to
an existing rectangular building, creating a significant
contrast with the unopened petals.
The foundation and framework are built from reinforced concrete. The facade is fully captured by a
cylindrical node system, a single-layer structure in
the triangular geometry of the surface. Supporting
elements are directly connected to the structure. The
nodes are shaped aluminum tubes, and regions for
rod assemblies are milled on the cylindrical nodes
(Figure 2). The configuration of the node is defined
by three parameters (Figure 3 , page 24):
the angle between the tangent plane and the
surface ();
the angle of rotation (); and
the screw angle for the desired edge ().
The windows are heat strengthened glass units with
both panes made of laminated glass.
The most important point of the design was not to
play too much with biological form associations, and
to prevent naturalization so that people will get only
a hint of the floral form. To emphasize the shape of
the bud, the designers focused on the faces of the
petals, which were difficult to design, calculate and
make landfall with a negative angle. An additional
challenge was relating the curvilinear outlines of the
concrete-iron overlaps with the curvature of the shells.
continued on next page

Space Structures Reach Siberia

Figure 2: Node connections as viewed from the

outside and inside.

STRUCTURE magazine

23

By Denis Gerasimov

Denis Gerasimov is the founder

of SPACESTRUCTURE in
Novosibirsk, Russia. He can be
reached at 2147409@ngs.ru, or
visit http://spacestructure.ru.

Figure 3: Angular parameters of each node element.

Another important decision was how

to combine the elements of the shell; i.e.,
whether to use welding or bolting. The designers chose bolted connections, because visually
they are more clear and linear.
The main difficulty encountered during the
project installation was not having a proper
construction site, which hindered mechanization and made it impractical to mount large
assembled elements. As a result, installers
had to work with climbing equipment, using
winches and hoists (Figure 4).
Initially there was a permit for a threestory building, which was almost completely
designed and built. During its construction,
a ten-story building permit was obtained.
Needless to say, it was difficult to adjust the
project accordingly, strengthening the foundation and columns and maintaining the
architectural idea without dismantling the
erected frame.
Planning and coordination of the project took place within the existing Russian
framework of procedures and standards for
design and construction. Some of the difficulties were associated with gaining approval
from various government departments. The
main concern was structural and fire safety.

Designing the reinforced concrete frame in

SCAD software (Figure 5 ), which is used a
lot in Russia, helped the team to avoid questions and comments on that aspect of the
project. On the other hand, the space frame
facade represents a completely new product
and therefore needed special tests for durability and fire resistance.
Structure CAD (SCAD) is a computer
program for structural analysis that uses
the finite element method to determine
the stress-strain state of the structure
under static and dynamic effects, and also
performs certain aspects of the design of
structural elements. The software is based
on a system of complex functional units
connected by a single information environment. The project is created by verbally
describing the design scheme in the input
language. The import process then converts
this representation into the internal format,
which can also be converted back into text.
The geometry of the design model can be
formed with the help of AutoCAD.
ANSYS is another computer tool for solving engineering problems and carrying out
the calculation process (CAE-tools). This
software was designed to optimize the

Figure 5: Computer models of the structure.

STRUCTURE magazine

24

April 2013

Figure 4: Installing elements by working with

climbing equipment.

development of the early stages of design,

reduce the cost of production and the
development cycle of new products, and
minimize the number of field tests. It performs simulation using the finite element
method and facilitates solving all kinds of
problems from various areas of physics,
including structural, thermal, hydrodynamic, and electromagnetic mechanics, as
well as combinations thereof.
Finally, ADVANCE STEEL provides
parametric three-dimensional modeling
of steel structures and provides tasks for a
5-axis CNC machine to manufacture components.It is a powerful, easy-to-use tool
based on Building Information Modeling
(BIM) technology. The program automates
the entire process of creating working
drawings, specification sheets according
to Government Standards, and CNC data.
This improved the quality of the drawings,
reducing the risk of errors.
The main lessons from the design and construction of the flower bud will be learned
later, after the building has been operating for some time, and will be linked to
the climatic conditions of Siberia not
just winters cold, but also summers heat.
However, from one standpoint, the experiment is already a success: the entire process
used only local labor, without the involvement of outside contractors, and its features
and overall aesthetic are promising to serve
as a new beginning in the architecture of
the Siberian city.

 2013 Simpson StrongTie Company Inc. ATXP13

Formulated
for success.

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fully at temperatures as low as 14F (10C) with little to no odor. The new 10 oz.
cartridge is dispensed easily using a standard caulking gun. ATXP adhesive has
the easiest hole cleaning procedure on the market. It's qualified under AC308
for static and seismic conditions in cracked and uncracked concrete and has the
largest codelisted range of insert sizes (3 8"1 1 4"; #3 #10 rebar). ATXP is
the first acrylic adhesive offering anchoring solutions at 1 3 4" edge distances.
Available in three sizes at dealers nationwide, ATXP is your new allweather adhesive.
For more information, call (800) 9995099 or visit www.strongtie.com/atxp.

Code Listed

IAPMO UES ER263

In the SpecS
On the JOb
At YOur ServIce

A Worthy Wager
Innovation at Federal Center South
By Jim O. Swenson, P.E., S.E. and Jason Black, P.E., S.E.

The Commons. Courtesy of Benjamin Benschneider.

ederal Center South Building 1202 is a state-of-the-art, high

performance office space for the Seattle District Headquarters
of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
KPFF Consulting Engineers provided both civil and structural engineering services, from the design competition phase through
to completion of this showcase High Performance Green Building
project. Top among the many innovative design features that the
project boasts is perhaps the largest use of a composite concrete and
timber floor system in the United States.
Composite concrete and wood floors were not part of the original
design concept but ultimately became critical to achieving the project
goals. This is that story.

conference rooms and shared facilities. The design called for a beautifully finished, exposed, concrete floor that could also be used to
encapsulate and hide some building system elements such as conduit. A
concrete floor also had the advantage of being highly durable and low
maintenance, and could be used as a structural diaphragm to transmit
lateral forces to concrete shear walls. There was also a strong desire
that the structure of the Commons feature the salvaged timber. The
final architectural/structural floor solution in the Commons consisted
of 4 inches of concrete over salvaged 2x6 timber decking supported
by 8x16 wood beams spanning an average of 22 feet.
This framing system was accepted by the GSA and was the basis for
the pricing submitted by the design-build team.

Design-Build Competition

Discovery after Deconstruction

In 2009, the General Services Administration (GSA) solicited designbuild proposals for a high performance office building for the USACE
at the Federal Center South campus along the Duwamish Waterway
in Seattle, Washington.
Led by Sellen Construction and ZGF Architects, LLP, the team
won the design-build competition in March 2010. Integral to the
winning design was the concept of reclaiming heavy timber framing
from the existing 1940s warehouse on the proposed building site,
and incorporating it into a significant portion of the new facility.

After deconstruction of the existing warehouse, a comprehensive

timber inventory was developed by the GR Plume Company, the

TEMPORARY SUPPORT,
TO ALLOW CONC
PLACEMENT

The Commons
One of the more striking spaces in the building is the centrally
located atrium, or the Commons, which includes a gathering place,
STRUCTURE magazine

4" REINFORCED
CONCRETE SLAB
5' WIDE TEST ASSEMBLY

26

Test assembly diagram.

April 2013

CUSTOM
LAG BOLT

2x RECLAIMED
TIMBER DECKING

8" x 16"
RECLAIMED
BEAM

Beam #3 test just prior to failure.

Deconstruction of the warehouse. Courtesy of Charles Lozner.

timber fabricator. This led to the unfortunate discovery that not

enough salvaged timber was recovered to completely frame the
Commons if the beams were spaced at 4 feet on-center, the calculated
spacing using the National Design Specification for Wood (NDS) for
conventional non-composite timber beams.
A creative solution was required to save the design concept.

hole diameters with a single plunge; a smaller one for the threaded
portion and a larger one for the smooth shank. This streamlined the
amount of labor required to drill all the lag screw holes and install
the lags.
Now all that was needed was to put the assembly to the test.

Test Procedure

Defining a Solution
KPFF proposed completing the Commons using only the reclaimed
timber from the old warehouse by increasing the beam spacing to 5
feet oc. and using composite construction. This innovative approach
eliminated the need for non-salvaged timber and retained the character
desired by the architect.
This was important because the intent was to expose all the framing
and it would be difficult to match the aesthetic of the on-site salvaged
timber with new wood pieces.
Although unproven, the team believed that using composite beams
was a gamble worth taking, and one that seemed achievable within
the schedule and budget. The GSA and USACE were approached
about the idea, with the caveat that they would be able to review and
approve both the design and testing procedures.
Approval was obtained to proceed.

Design
While allowed by the current Uniform Building Code, a specific
design methodology is not provided for composite concrete-timber
beams by the National Design Specification (NDS), ACI 318,
or 2009 International Building Code (IBC). This meant that testing would be required as an undefined system per IBC 1604.7.
Interestingly, the Eurocode has a method for designing composite
concrete-timber elements. In fact, several techniques for achieving
composite action are used in Europe, often driven by a need to
retrofit very old timber buildings.
KPFFs approach for achieving composite action was to use lag screws
as the connectors between the wood and the concrete. To control the
number of lag screws required on each timber beam, lag screws were
custom fabricated that contained a longer section of un-threaded bolt
length than a standard lag.
This custom lag led to an innovative fabrication method by the GR
Plume Company, which developed a drill bit that drilled two different

The team initially chose 3 full-size, representative beams from the

salvaged timber for full scale testing. It was acknowledged that 3
samples would not necessarily represent a significant statistical data
set, and that the result of each test sample would ultimately have to
be taken on its own merits. Then a decision would have to be made
as to whether to proceed with construction using composite beams.
KPFF developed a test procedure in accordance with IBC section
1715. The procedure addressed the physical test setup, the load
increments (concrete eco-blocks), the order and location of how the
load increments would be applied, what kind of data would be collected, how the beams would be instrumented, and what the criteria
for success and failure would be. It was also critical that all aspects
of the test assemblies replicate the eventual in-place construction as
close as reasonably possible.
The onsite testing was conducted in an area of the warehouse that
had previously been used for heavy manufacturing. KPFF performed
finite element modeling to evaluate the existing slab and foundations
below where the testing would occur. The analysis demonstrated that
the testing would not be affected by deflections of the existing floor
and foundation system.
Another issue was how to pour the concrete slabs for each test beam.
The actual building construction would involve single span wood
decking spanning between the beams. In order to produce a flat
surface for the bottom form of the concrete, but still ensure a direct
connection between the slab and the beams, small notches were cut
into the top of the beams to create seats for deck bearing. This kept
the top of decking relatively flush with the top of the beams and
allowed direct contact between the slab and the beams.
Since the test slabs would need to include only half of a span on
each side of a beam, the edges of the concrete were supported by
short pony walls. It was critical to repeatedly cut down these walls
to shorten them after the initial concrete set to ensure they were not
shoring up the composite slabs during the curing process. These walls
remained as a safety measure during test loading.
continued on next page

STRUCTURE magazine

27

April 2013

Commons interior. Composite floor above. Courtesy of Benjamin Benschneider.

Initial Beam Testing

Before installing the decking, lag screws, reinforcement, and slabs, it
was decided to try and obtain modulus of elasticity (E) values for the
bare beams. A test was performed to load a beam with a single load
increment, measure the deflection and back-calculate a value of E.
Additionally, vibration testing was performed to establish the natural
frequency and back-calculate an E value using the vibration response.
This testing indicated an average E of 2,500 ksi, compared to the
NDS design value of 1,600 ksi. Taking the time to establish this true
value of E would prove to be a very useful decision.
After the composite test beams were constructed, the slabs were
allowed to cure for 28 to 30 days, with 12 to 14 deflection measurements taken to evaluate creep over the cure time. The amount of
measured creep for the 3 beams ranged from about 3/16 to inch,
showing very little spread between them.
Sellen constructed the test beams, support frames, and loaded the
beams during testing. KPFF instrumented the beams and took measurements during the tests. GSA and USACE were kept aware of the
testing process and were invited to attend.

Final Testing
With the test specimens cured and in place, it was time to try to
break things!
The test process required that each composite beam hold twice the
design live load (2x80 psf ) for 24 hours and then be able to recover
75% of the measured deflection within 24 hours of being unloaded.
The first beam passed this test with flying colors, as did the other two.
In fact, one beam recovered 91% of its measured deflection from this
portion of the test. None of the three exhibited any physical signs of
distress from this initial loading phase.
STRUCTURE magazine

Aerial of completed project.

After conducting the required test for twice the live load on each
specimen, each beam was tested with the intent of failing it. For beam
#1, concrete eco-blocks (weighing 1750 pounds each) were placed
until the beam was carrying 38,500 pounds of blocks, or more than
400% of the design live load. This was unexpected. Additionally, there
were no visible signs of distress at that point. It was decided to stop
at that load and let it sit fully loaded for 24 hours. No visible signs
of distress were observed after 24 hours.
For beam #2, concrete blocks were stacked on the assembly until
56,000 pounds of load was present, more than 600% of the design
live load. At this point there were safety concerns because the entire
slab-beam T section was beginning to rotate; loading was stopped
in order to avoid the whole assembly toppling over. No visible signs
of failure or distress were observed then, or after the blocks were
removed. The deflection gages had maxed out with a value of 1.285
inches at around 550% of design live load.
Due to the experiences with beams #1 and #2, the loading procedure
for beam #3 was altered to use larger eco-blocks for the initial loading course to allow more weight to be stacked with a lower center of
gravity. At just over 500% of the design live load, a small crack was

28

April 2013

detected around a knot at about a third point in the beam span. At

about 650% of design live load, the crack lengthened and a series
of cracking sounds were heard. Finally, at 61,250 pounds of load, it
was decided that it wasnt safe to load the beam any further. About
10 minutes after this last load increment was placed, the wood beam
failed in flexure with a sudden, loud crack!

Composite Action

Building Data:
Size: Three-story, 209,000 SF building
Reclaimed heavy timber and decking in Commons: 300,000 BF
Targeting LEED Gold

Team:

All three of the test specimens supported significantly more than the
required load with no signs of distress. There was no question that
the system had adequate capacity, but how much composite action
was achieved?
After analyzing the deflection results, it was estimated that the
amount of composite action achieved probably ranges from 60%
to 80%, depending the value of E used in the calculation. It is
likely closer to the lower end of this range, which is consistent with
results from testing in Europe for systems with lag screws. If higher
composite action is required, then a different technique should be
used to develop the composite action. In our case, it was enough.

Summary
Federal Center South Building 1202 is a definitive statement that visionary
architecture, innovative engineering and design/build delivery methods
can produce world class architecture worthy of celebration. Creative
problem solving, a willingness to take risks, and a high degree
of trust within the design build team all combined to allow
the delivery of a world class facility with a truly innovative
concrete and timber composite floor system.

Owner: General Services Administration (GSA)

Tenant: United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Seattle District
Structural & Civil Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Contractor: Sellen Construction
Timber Fabricator: GR Plume
Architect: ZGF Architects, LLP

Funding:

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Jim O. Swenson, P.E., S.E., is an Associate and project manager

with KPFF Consulting Engineers. He was the lead engineer for the
design and testing of the composite beam system used on Federal
Center South 1202. Jim can be reached at JimS@kpff.com.
Jason P. Black, P.E., S.E., is a Structural Principal with KPFF
Seattle. Jason can be reached at Jason.Black@kpff.com.

ADVERTISEMENT - For Advertiser Information, visit www.STRUCTUREmag.org

STRUCTURE magazine

29

April 2013

SFPUC Headquarters Building

An Innovative High Performance Structure
By Leo Panian, S.E. and Nick Bucci, S.E.

he San Francisco Public Utilities Commissions (SFPUC)

new headquarters in San Francisco, California, set a new
standard for high-performance structures when it opened
in June 2012. The building, slated for LEED Platinum
certification, is a showcase for a host of leading-edge sustainable
design elements, making it one of the greenest office buildings in the
nation. In this case, the design of the structural system, including its
post-tensioned concrete shear walls and construction materials, made
key contributions in achieving this distinction.
The structural design followed a simple strategy of creating a highly
durable and resilient structure that could be built with significantly
reduced environmental impact, for a cost that was comparable to a
more conventional design. In seismic country, the key to durability and resilience is designing a structure that is able to withstand
a major earthquake with minimal damage. As a provider of lifeline
infrastructure, the SFPUC was keen to ensure that the new facility
could be easily repaired and reoccupied immediately after a large
earthquake. This meant designing to a higher standard of seismic
performance, which would limit structural deformations during a
major shock and allowing the building to return to its original plumb
position, protecting the building, occupants, contents and its systems.
An innovative approach using post-tensioned concrete shear walls
with composite link beams was applied to cost effectively satisfy the
ambitious seismic criteria.
The high-performance seismic design of the SFPUC was based on
a two-tiered criteria, which required that the structure would meet
1.0% maximum interstory drift under the design basis earthquake
(DBE), corresponding to a return period of 475 years, and 1.5%
maximum drift under the maximum considered earthquake (MCE),
corresponding to a 2,500-year return period. Moreover, the structural
system has the ability to recenter the building,
resulting in negligible residual deformations.
In comparison, a similar building designed
to conventional standards would be allowed a
maximum drift of 2.0% under the DBE, with
no limit on residual drift. Major non-structural
components, including the exterior cladding
and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
equipment of the building were designed to

Figure 2: Schematic view of underside of floor

framing and core walls.

Figure 1: Completed SFPUC building.

Figure 3: Isometric view of core walls.

STRUCTURE magazine

30

April 2013

Figure 4: Schematic cutaway view of the

structural system.

Figure 5: Mat foundation reinforcing with curved saddle for post-tensioning

of the vertical post-tensioning cables.

remain substantially free from damage during the DBE event. The
exterior cladding system was explicitly designed to remain damage-free
at the DBE event and operable with limited damage at the MCE event.
The thirteen-story structure extends almost 200 feet above grade
and comprises roughly 277,500 square feet (Figure 1 ). The structural
system consists of a framing system of post-tensioned concrete slabs
and beams supported on concrete columns and concrete core walls.
The core walls, located at each end of the building, provide the buildings lateral resistance (Figure 2 ).
The floor plan consists of an asymmetrical column-grid arrangement
with long spans (nearly 41 feet) in the transverse direction of the building and short spans (20 feet) in the longitudinal direction (Figure 2 ).
With this arrangement, a flat-plate slab solution would be impractical
and inefficient. The structural engineers devised an efficient framing
solution consisting of shallow transverse post-tensioned beams and
one-way longitudinal post-tensioned slabs. The beams are typically
36 inches wide and 16 inches deep, and the slabs 6 inches thick.
The two concrete core shear walls are founded on a 10-foot-thick
mat foundation atop micropiles embedded 65 feet below. This combination of mat foundation and micropiles are intended to resist the
seismic overturning load (Figure 3 ). The micropiles are approximately
10 inches in overall diameter and consist of a continuous 2.5-inch
diameter high-strength threaded rod that is inserted into the drilled
shaft and then pressure grouted, creating piles capable of achieving

high tension and compression

strengths. While micropiles have
traditionally been used in retrofit
and transportation applications,
there are several advantages to
using micropiles for new construction. Their small diameter
allows for a higher concentration of strength and stiffness per
area, and the piles can be field
tested, which allows for a more
efficient design.
For seismic resistance, the building uses an innovative system of
self-centering concrete core shear Figure 7: Hydraulic stressing jack
walls and composite link beams being placed over the vertical post(Figure 4 ). The shear wall design tensioning tendons.
consists of conventional bonded
reinforcing and vertical unbonded post-tensioning (PT) cables. At
each core wall, the vertical post-tensioning tendons extend from the
top of the core wall down through a saddle within the mat foundation (Figure 5 ) and back up to the top of the wall. Each of the two
core walls contains eight tendon bundles that are about 400 feet
long. Each bundle comprises up to 28 continuous 0.6-inch diameter
strands. The vertical post-tensioning helps to provide the strength and
elasticity needed to recenter the structure. Additionally, the vertical
post-tensioning tendons allow for a reduction of approximately 50% in
the quantity of the vertical bonded mild-steel reinforcing in the walls.
This reduces labor costs and minimizes wall congestion. The cables
are post-installed through corrugated steel ducts that are installed in
the walls (Figure 6 ) and stressed at the top of the structure with a
hydraulic jack (Figure 7 ).
During a seismic event, the mild-steel reinforcing bars yield to dissipate
energy, much like the behavior of a conventional concrete shear wall.
However, the unbonded tendons remain elastic to provide a positive
restoring force that recenters the structure. The walls are proportioned
so that the overall flexural strength attributable to post-tensioning
alone is approximately 50% of the total flexural strength of the wall.
It is critical that the walls are detailed to maintain sufficient ductility and
good hysteretic behavior under the high compressive strains and repeated
load reversals. This is even more important for a PT shear wall, where the
PT imposes additional compressive force on the wall. In order to ensure
adequate compressive strength at the wall boundary
zones, the walls were constructed of high strength
concrete designed to reach a compressive strength of

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Figure 6: Core Wall reinforcing with corrugated steel ducts in walls used to post-install the vertical
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STRUCTURE magazine

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April 2013

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Figure 9: Rendering of the composite link beam and shear-wall reinforcing.

Figure 8: Typical shear-wall cross section.

8,000 psi at 90 days. Additionally, special care was taken while detailing
the boundary zones by adding extra confining reinforcing to extend the
strain capacity of the concrete at ultimate loading. Nonlinear response
history analysis was used to predict forces in critical elements, eliminate
non-ductile failure modes, and ensure stable flexural mechanisms.
The walls are heavily reinforced at the plastic hinge zone and first several
levels of the structure. A typical wall cross section at the plastic hinge zone
is shown in Figure 8. The wall consists of #10 vertical bars at both the
boundary areas and at the distributed field reinforcing, with #9 horizontal
shear reinforcing. At the boundary zones and areas of high compression
force, the walls are confined with #5 cross ties and stirrups. In order to
expedite onsite construction speed, the boundary reinforcing cages were
preassembled with the stirrups installed. The horizontal reinforcing bars
were lapped outside of the boundary zone to allow for easier field installation and T-heads were used to limit the congestion.
The composite link beams are another innovation incorporated into
the structural design (Figure 9 ). The core walls enclose some of the
buildings elevators, stairs, and mechanical shaft. The door openings into
the core create coupling beams formed over the doorways. Traditionally,
coupling beams are heavily reinforced, often with diagonal reinforcing, which makes them difficult to construct. For this building, the
composite coupling beams were formed with a 3/8-inch thick steel jacket
that was designed as both a stay-in-place formwork and beam reinforcing. The link beams are 30 inches wide and vary from 20 to 36 inches
deep (Figure 10). The external steel jacket alters the behavior of the
link beam in a fundamental way. Under cyclical seismic loading, the
steel jacket forces a single flexural crack to form at the face of the wall,
rather than allowing the distributed cracking that would be expected
in a plastic hinge region of a conventional beam. Furthermore, the steel
jacket relieves the compressive strains on the concrete and allows for a
more ductile response with less degradation in strength and stiffness.
These effects required several specialized design considerations. The
longitudinal reinforcing bars in the link beams were debonded from
the surrounding concrete with waxed sleeves at the joint between the
steel jacket and the concrete core wall to allow an adequate plastic strain
length, to prevent premature tensile fracture. In addition, embedded
steel brackets were provided to mechanically restrain the link beam,
ensuring a direct, reliable transfer of shear at the interface with the walls.
The external steel jacket eliminates the cracking and spalling damage
that would otherwise be expected with a conventional coupling beam,
thus minimizing the need for extensive post-earthquake repairs.
STRUCTURE magazine

Figure 10: Link beam steel jacket.

As the SFPUC was designed to achieve LEED platinum status, it was

important for the team to address the environmental impact of the
concrete. Through a collaborative partnership between Tipping Mar,
the general contractor, and the concrete supplier, custom low-cement
concrete mixtures were developed that were shown to reduce the carbon
footprint of the material by 50% overall. The high-strength green-concrete
mixes were tailored for each application, and specified the replacement of
Portland cement by up to 70% using a combination of slag and flyash.
The SFPUC headquarters project embodies the spirit of the institution
it serves. It represents a significant advancement in how office buildings
are designed and built. In this spirit, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
was selected for the design and construction of the building. This delivery method allows for a collaborative relationship between the owner/
developer (SFPUC and SF DPW), the contractor, and designers, whereby
the risks and rewards are shared. This buildings design and
construction is a demonstration and guiding example of
how leading-edge technologies and innovations can come
together to fulfill an ambitious civic vision of sustainability.
The building was designed through the collaboration of KMD
Architects and Stevens and Associates Architects, with Tipping Mar
and SOHA Engineers performing the structural engineering design.
Webcor Builders was the general contractor and Central Concrete
was the concrete supplier for the project. San Franciscos Department
of Public Works was responsible for managing the project.

32

Leo Panian, S.E., is a principal at Tipping Mar, Berkeley, California,

and served as associate-in-charge on the SFPUC headquarters project.
Leo may be reached at Leo.Panian@tippingmar.com.
Nick Bucci, S.E., is a project manager at Tipping Mar and served as
project manager on the SFPUC headquarters project. Nick may be
reached at Nick.Bucci@tippingmar.com.
All graphics courtesy of Tipping Mar.
April 2013

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W. Gene Corley
The Structural Engineering Community
Mourns the Loss of an Innovative Leader

n March 1st, the structural engineering community was

saddened by the news of the passing of Dr. Gene Corley
after a brief battle with cancer. At age 77, Dr. Corley had
accomplished much in his career, but was most notably
known for his investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center
towers after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. A recognized
industry leader, Gene was at the forefront of the structural engineering
profession, and the development of building codes and standards.
W. Gene Corley was born in in 1935, the son of the late Clarence W.
and Mary Douthit Corley of Shelbyville, Illinois. Gene was influenced
from a young age by his father, a contractor who built single-family
homes, shopping malls and grocery stores. In an interview with Dr.
Corley by the Chicago Tribune in 2001, Gene mentioned that I
was on building sites even before I was big enough to crawl. He
graduated from Shelbyville High School in 1954 and went to study
architecture, but didnt think he could draw well enough. An early
indicator of his dedication to the field of structural engineering was his
commitment to his education, receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Civil Engineering (1958), and a Masters (1960) and Doctorate
in Structural Engineering (1961), all from the University of Illinois.
Upon completion of his Ph.D., he served as a commissioned officer
in the U.S. Army. During this period, Dr. Corley was a research and
development coordinator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at
Fort Belvoir, Virginia. His duties included bridge design, acceptance
testing of mobile floating assault bridge equipment, design of tank
launched bridges and fatigue testing of bridges fabricated from high
strength steel, aircraft aluminum and titanium alloys.
In the 1960s, Gene turned down a job with NASA working on the
lunar rover program, and took a position at the Portland Cement
Association (PCA), a nonprofit that represents cement companies.
According to Gene, After I finished my Ph.D at the University
of Illinois, I spent three years in the military. At the end of that, I
interviewed all over the state. I had some fantastic opportunities at
that time. It was a really good time for engineers to look for work. I
actually had offers for more money to do other things, but I felt that
the offer from the Portland Cement Association was exactly in line
with what Id been trained to do, and was my best opportunity...
As demand for consulting grew, the research and development
laboratory for PCA was eventually spun off as a for-profit company,
expanding into other building materials and engineering issues and
offering engineering, testing, and consulting services. First known as
Construction Technology Laboratories, the firm changed its name to
CTLGroup in 2005 to reflect the fact that it provided both laboratory
services and engineering consulting services.
When CTLGroup first became an independent subsidiary, it
expanded its scope of services beyond concrete and modified its
structures laboratory to incorporate the testing of steel structures.
While serving in successively more responsible positions, Dr. Corley
was directly involved in the development of improved design procedures for structural concrete, concrete pavement, railroads and
structures subjected to fire loads. In addition, he served on earthquake
STRUCTURE magazine

From Chicago Tribune, March 6, 2013 2013 Chicago Tribune.

All rights reserved.

damage investigation teams, carried out investigations of damaged or

deteriorated structures and developed repair procedures for numerous
buildings and bridges.
Gene served as an expert advisor during the investigation and trial
resulting from the 1993 fatal fire at the Branch Davidian complex in
Waco, Texas. In 1995, Dr. Corley led the investigation of the structural
performance of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma
City, following the bombing there. He served as the head of the
Building Performance Assessment Team (BPAT) which involved the
American Society of Civil Engineers, as well as representatives from
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United
States Army Corps of Engineers, the General Services Administration,
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Commenting on how his career evolved, Gene highlighted the
emergence of forensic engineering. there definitely have been
big changes. One of the changes is that at the time I was hired as a
development engineer for the PCA laboratories, the science of construction forensic work really didnt exist. There were very few people
doing anything like that at the time. When I started with PCA, I
was doing work to develop new design concepts and better ways to
use concrete. Really most of my work dealt with ways to develop
more economical and safer high-rise buildings. Thats what I started
doing. Then, as I progressed in my experience, I was put in charge
of all engineering uses of concrete as time went along, I started
getting hired as a consultant on jobs where people either wanted to

34

April 2013

do things that were unusual -that hadnt been done before -or they
had tried to do something and had run into trouble and needed help
in finding a solution to the problem. That led into the investigation
of more and more troubled structures and eventually into the investigation of collapses -finally, of major collapses and major problems
with structures of all types.
Dr. Corley built his reputation as one of the worlds experts on structures damaged by natural and manmade disasters as he investigated
some of the most notable building failures in recent U.S. history,
earning him the label of the preeminent expert on building collapse
investigations and building codes by the American Society of Civil
Engineers (ASCE).
As the nation and the world watched coverage of the September 11,
2001 attack on the World Trade Centers (WTC) twin towers, the
following fires, and the eventual collapse of the World Trade Center
Towers, the engineering community immediately began to ask questions: How were the towers able to withstand the enormous impact of a
767 without collapsing? Could anything be done to make the buildings
survive longer in the ensuing fires? To help answer these questions, the
American Society of Civil Engineers/Structural Engineering Institute
and FEMA joined together to study the performance of collapsed
and damaged buildings, and asked Dr. Corley to lead the team. With
the cooperation of nearly a dozen other societies and organizations,
this team of 23 Structural and Fire Protection Engineers completed
their work on May 1, 2002.
Gene would describe the methodologies and findings of the WTC
investigation in later interviews. There are usually two parts to any
investigation like that. The early investigation needs to be done rapidly
and with whatever resources are available at that point, and from that
first investigation, recommendations can be made for, in some cases,
further investigations, and for whatever can be done differently, such
as changes in building codes we had to find out what happened at
the WTC, to preserve evidence of what had happened, and to recommend what additional work, if any, needed to be done.
We found one piece of steel across the street from Tower 1 and
by reading the numbers on it, we could identify that it was from
the area above where the aircraft went in, and where there was
fire in Tower 1. The building it was imbedded in had no fire in it.
By looking at the piece of steel, we could see that on one end, it
showed no indication of fire, and that end was in a position low
enough to be below the fire, but the other end was smoke-coated
and had fire damage. This showed something very important,
and that was that at the time it was in the fire there was no fireproofing on that piece of steel. That was important in bringing us
to the conclusion which the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) came to also, i.e., that when the planes hit
the buildings, they knocked off fire proofing from the steel and
that left the steel more vulnerable to fire after impact.
W. Gene Corley authored hundreds of technical papers and books,
and frequently lectured on the subjects of prevention of failures,
effects of earthquakes and design and repair of structures. Dr. Corley
was passionate about codes and standards that affect structures,
and chaired ACI Committee 318 for six years as the committee developed the 1995 Building Code Requirements for Structural
Concrete. He also served on several other national and international
committees that prepared recommendations for structural design
and for design of earthquake resistant buildings and bridges. His
professional activities resulted in his receiving numerous national
and regional awards. Dr. Corley served in leadership roles for several professional organizations, both national and international,
including the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
STRUCTURE magazine

(NCSEA), the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI),

the Illinois Structural Engineering Board (ISEB), the National
Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES),
and the ASCE/SEI Technical Council on Forensic Engineering.
Notably, Gene was instrumental in the formation of NCSEA. As a
past president and leader of SEAOI, he, along with Jim Cagley, Paul
Fratessa (deceased), and a few others, founded NCSEA in 1993. Gene
served on the first Board of Directors and was the fourth NCSEA
President, from 1996-1997. During his presidency, the organization
recapitalized, moved its offices, and hired a new executive director.
Gene loaned his talents and prestige to the upstart organization and
was instrumental in its success. He was passionate regarding the role
of structural engineers in the protection of the public.
Dr. Corley also strongly supported licensing of structural engineers.
The structural engineer is the only one always responsible for life
safety, said Corley. To provide life safety takes a level of knowledge
in structural engineering. It is not enough to know civil engineering.
Genes legacy in the structural engineering profession is unparalleled.
He was an innovative thought leader who consistently contributed
generous amounts of his time and knowledge to the profession,
said Jeffrey L. Garrett, Ph.D., S.E., CTLGroup President & CEO.
Dr. Corleys interest in the structural engineering profession was
demonstrated daily by his tireless efforts in helping state structural
engineering associations, giving technical presentations and seminars,
and teaching examination review courses. He didnt leave a list of
monumental structures for the world to remember him by; and there
are no bridges or high rise buildings associated with his name. Gene
left something much more significant. He left a legacy of service to
the profession of structural engineering, along with a reputation of
integrity, astounding knowledge, and class.
Gene Corley is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lynd,
three children (Anne, Bob, and Scott) and nine grandchildren. Please join NCSEA, SEI, CASE and STRUCTURE
magazine in sending condolences to Dr. Corleys family.

35

Quotes attributed to Dr. Corley were taken from an interview

conducted by Laurence W. Johnson of the Skokie Public Library
in 2011, transcripts of numerous committee meetings, and general
comments recorded in the press.
April 2013

InSIghtS

new trends, new techniques and current industry issues

Bridge Fatigue
By Y. Edward Zhou, Ph.D., P.E., M. ASCE

atigue specifications for the design

of new, and evaluation of existing, highway bridges are provided
by AASHTO in the LRFD Bridge
Design Specifications (LRFD) and the Manual
for Bridge Evaluation (MBE), respectively.
Recently published NCHRP Report 721
Fatigue Evaluation of Steel Bridges contains
the latest developments in fatigue evaluation
of existing bridges.
Steel fatigue refers to localized damages
caused by cyclic stresses of nominal magnitudes well below the static yield strength
of the steel. Fatigue damage on steel bridges
has been categorized as either load-induced
or distortion-induced. Load-induced fatigue
is due to the primary in-plane stresses in the
steel plates that comprise bridge member
cross-sections. The stresses for load induced
fatigue can be directly correlated with the
bridge live load using conventional design
theories, and are typically calculated and
checked in the fatigue design or evaluation
process. Distortion-induced fatigue is due to
secondary stresses in the steel plates that comprise bridge members. These stresses, which
are typically caused by out-of-plane forces,
can only be calculated with refined methods
of analysis or measured by strain gages, far
beyond the scope of a conventional bridge
design or evaluation.
AASHTO fatigue specifications classify
commonly used steel bridge details into
fatigue Categories A, B, B', C, C', D, E
and E' based on their fatigue characteristics.
The S-N curves, where S is the stress range
of a constant amplitude cyclic loading and
N is the number of cycles to a fatigue failure, define a lower-bound fatigue resistance
for each of the categories. The S-N curves
also contain a constant-amplitude fatigue
threshold (CAFT) for each fatigue category.
No fatigue damage is assumed to occur if
the stress range from a constant-amplitude
loading is below the CAFT.
For the evaluation of existing riveted
bridges, AASHTO provides additional information for fatigue classification. The MBE
suggests that the base metal at net sections
of riveted connections of existing bridges be
evaluated as Category C fatigue detail instead

of Category D as specified in the LRFD for

the design of new bridges, to account for
the internal redundancy of riveted members. NCHRP Report 721 provides further
guidelines for the fatigue resistance of tack
welds and riveted connections. Tack welds
are common in old riveted steel structures,
and their fatigue strength has not been welldefined in previous specifications. It was
suggested that tack welds of normal conditions be evaluated as a Category C fatigue
detail, as opposed to Category E for base
metal for intermittent fillet welds as defined
in previous AASHTO specifications. It was
also suggested that for riveted members of
poor physical condition, such as with missing rivets or indications of punched holes,
Category D should be used.
One of the most important issues in bridge
fatigue life assessment is to determine the
variable-amplitude stress range spectrum,
or histogram, that the fatigue detail is
subjected to, and an effective stress range
that can properly represent the entire histogram for equivalent fatigue damage. The
AASHTO MBE allows alternative methods
for estimating load-induced stress ranges
for fatigue life assessment. These methods
include: simplified analysis and the LRFD
fatigue truck loading; simplified analysis
and truck weight from weigh-in-motion
study; refined analysis and the LRFD
fatigue truck loading; refined analysis and
truck weight from weigh-in-motion study;
and lastly, field-measured strains under
actual loads. The MBE provides different
load factors for estimating the effective
stress range using these methods.
NCHRP Report 721 introduced a Multiple
Presence Factor for adjusting the calculated
effective stress range based on the AASHTO
single-lane fatigue loading to account for the
simultaneous presence of trucks in multiple
lanes based on weigh-in-motion data.
Evaluation of load-induced fatigue includes
the infinite fatigue life check and finite
fatigue life estimate. Only bridge details
that fail the infinite life check are subject
to the more complex finite life assessment.
The fatigue life of a fatigue-susceptible detail
is infinite if all the stress ranges the detail

STRUCTURE magazine

36

April 2013

experiences throughout its service life are less

than the constant amplitude fatigue threshold (CAFT). NCHRP Report 721 clarified
the infinite life check and recommended that
(f )max (maximum stress range expected at
the fatigue-prone detail) be taken as 2.0(f )eff
(effective stress range due to variable amplitude bridge loading) for calculated stress
range due to a fatigue truck determined by
a truck survey or weigh-in-motion study, or
the larger value of two times field measured
effective stress range or the field measured
maximum stress range, unless another suitable value is justified.
NCHRP Report 721 also provided several
refinements to finite fatigue life assessment,
including: (1) adding an Evaluation 2 fatigue
life level; (2) providing a closed form solution for the total finite fatigue life using an
estimated traffic growth rate and the present (ADTT)SL (average number of trucks
per day in a single lane); (3) introduction
of Fatigue Serviceability Index for measuring the performance of a structural detail
with respect to its overall fatigue resistance;
and (4) providing recommended actions for
varying calculated values of the fatigue serviceability index.
The general procedure for evaluating
load-induced fatigue should begin with
the simplest stress-range estimate allowed
by AASHTO. If the detail passes the infinite
life check, no further refinement is required.
However, if the initial analysis suggests that
the detail does not have infinite fatigue life,
a refined procedure should be considered.
Engineering experience has demonstrated
that field strain measurement can most
accurately determine live load-induced
stress ranges of variable amplitude.
Y. Edward Zhou, Ph.D., P.E., M. ASCE,
is the National Practice Leader
Bridge Instrumentation & Evaluation
of URS Corporation, and is based in
Germantown, Maryland. He is a past
chairman of ASCE Committee on
Fatigue and Fracture. Edward may be
reached at ed.zhou@urs.com.

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LEGAL PERSPECTIVES

discussion of legal issues of interest to structural engineers

Can I Just Cross Out The Words Payment In Full?

By Gail S. Kelley, P.E.

isputes over payment are seldom

pleasant. They can be particularly unpleasant when a client
claims that the work was in some
way deficient or less than what was required
by its contract, and refuses to pay the full
amount of the contract. If the amount in
question is large and the claim is unjustified,
it may be worth taking legal action. Unless the
client can prove that the work was less than
what was contracted for, refusal to pay the
contract price constitutes a material breach
of contract.

L
L
U
F
T IN

N
E
M
PAY

Negotiating a Reduction in
the Contract Amount
If the amount in question is not large, it may
make more sense to negotiate a reduction in
the contract price. The legal term for this is
accord and satisfaction. The agreement on the
amount owed is the accord; payment of this
amount is the satisfaction. The legal basis for
the accord is that because the client allegedly
did not receive what it bargained for, it does
not actually owe the contract amount. The
amount owed is thus considered unliquidated,
which means that it cannot be determined
from the contract.
The doctrine of accord and satisfaction
evolved from common law principles that
encourage parties to settle a disputed debt
without judicial intervention. The client
must believe, in good faith, that the work
done was in some way less than what was
contracted for; it cannot simply refuse to pay
in order to reduce the contract amount. The
client is considered a debtor since it owes
some amount of money for the work done.
The party that did the work is considered
a creditor.
The accord is a second contract between the
parties; as such, it should specify not only the
amount that will be paid, but also when the
payment will be made, and any other relevant
payment terms. The accord does not replace
the original contract, but the original contract is suspended until the payment is made.
When the payment is made, both the original
contract and the accord are discharged. If the
payment is not made, there is no satisfaction
and the creditor can take legal action based
on either the original contract or the accord.

Receiving a Check for Less

than the Contract Amount
Sometimes, there is no negotiation on the
amount of the reduction, the client simply
sends a check for less than the amount of
the contract and writes a notation such as
payment in full on the face of the check
or the accompanying voucher. The creditors
rights in such a situation require a little
more discussion.
Historically, this was simply considered an
accord and satisfaction. As long as the check
or voucher made it clear that the check was
intended to be full payment, the creditor,
by cashing the check, was deemed to have
agreed to the amount. The creditor could
not avoid the accord by crossing out the
payment-in-full language. Similarly, it could
not avoid the accord by adding Cashed
under protest or Cashed with reservation of rights to its endorsement. In some
cases, the creditor may have been forced to
cash the check in order to pay its own bills.
Nevertheless, courts generally held that the
creditor had accepted the accord, even in
cases of extreme financial hardship. The only
way the creditor could avoid the accord was
by either returning or destroying the check.

Changes in the Uniform

Commercial Code
In the 1970s, however, a new version of
the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
was published. The UCC is a model code

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38

April 2013

whose goal is to harmonize the law related

to sales and financial transactions between
the dierent states. Like other model codes
such as the International Building Code,
the UCC does not become the law in any
state until it is adopted by that state. A state
may adopt all or part of a model code, or
may adopt it with amendments that modify
or add sections.
The new version of the UCC included
a section (1-207) which stated that if a
party accepted performance with an explicit
reservation of rights, it did not prejudice
the rights reserved. The new version of the
UCC also included a section that allowed
a creditor who had cashed a full payment
check to undo the satisfaction by returning the money within 90 days. Although
the UCC strictly applies only to the sale
of goods, several states have extended its
provisions to transactions involving services. In addition, some states have held
that UCC provisions apply to services when
payment is by check, because such a payment would fall within the UCC provisions
on Negotiable Instruments.
After adoption of the new version of the
UCC, courts in several states held that if the
recipient of a full payment check made it
clear that the check was being cashed under
protest, the recipient did not lose its rights
to sue for the balance owed. Words such
as without prejudice or under protest
(so-called words of protest) on the back of
the check were sucient to preserve the
recipients rights.

Return to the Common Law

Accord and Satisfaction
These rulings were widely challenged, though,
and in all states except New York, were subsequently overturned on appeal. By and large,
the appeals courts held that UCC 1-207
was not meant to supersede the common
law accord and satisfaction. UCC 1-207
was subsequently renumbered to 1-308 and
revised to make it clear that it did not apply
to an accord and satisfaction.
Reservation of rights under the UCC is now
limited to situations where a party agrees to
accept the other partys performance, even
though the performance is not in accordance with contractual requirements. As
an example, a party might agree to accept
delivery of defective items because they could
not obtain replacement items in time. If the
party made it clear that they were reserving
their rights, they would probably be entitled
to an adjustment in the contract price, unless
the contract explicitly stated that acceptance
waived all rights to an adjustment. The
amount of the adjustment would be based
on the partys damages in other words,
any costs the party had incurred because the
items were defective.

Current Holdings on
Accord and Satisfaction
Although there have not been any reported
cases recently, New York courts apparently still
allow the recipient of a full payment check
to reserve its rights even though it has cashed
the check. In addition, a few states allow a
creditor to undo a satisfaction by returning
whatever money was received within 90 days.
Nevertheless, public policy supports certainty
in business transactions; if a creditor cashes
a check marked payment in full, courts in
most states will hold that the entire debt is
discharged. One exception is if the debtor
intentionally misrepresented its entitlement

to a reduction in the amount of its debt.

Intentional misrepresentation is fraud; any
time a party is induced to enter into a contract by fraud, the contract (in this case the
accord) can be voided, even if it has already
been satisfied.
Gail S. Kelley, P.E., is a LEED Accredited
Professional as well as a licensed attorney in
Maryland and the District of Columbia. Ms.
Kelley is the author of Construction Law: An
Introduction for Engineers, Architects, and
Contractors, published in 2012 by John Wiley
& Sons. Ms. Kelley can be reached at
Gail.Kelley.Esq@gmail.com.

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STRUCTURE magazine

COLORS

JOB#

39

FILE NAME

April 2013
OK as is

Education issuEs

core requirements and lifelong learning for structural engineers

Socrates, How Is Engineering Knowledge Attained?

By Erik Anders Nelson, P.E., S.E.

ould Socrates help us understand

how structural engineering knowledge is attained? We know from
his actions, and through Platos
writings, that he is clearly able to help us
understand the importance of a liberal education. How does this translate to engineering
education? For Socrates, education within
any classroom needs to foster freedom and
inquiry. He is someone who literally lost his
life in defense of the spirit of inquiry (read
the Apology or Crito). The most telling dialog
of Socrates on the importance of inquiry is
Platos Meno. It is where we find Socrates
asking fundamental questions about learning
itself and the method of attaining knowledge.
The following text was written by Plato in 380
B.C.E. and translated by Benjamin Jowett.
I am going to borrow and edit heavily the
entire dialog (even replace words) because I
think this is exactly the type of conversation
that should take place in all of our classrooms.
Not only does it teach us the importance of
the Socratic method of inquiry, it also can
also help us as educators.
Meno. Can you tell me, Socrates, whether
structural engineering is acquired by theory
or by practice; or if neither, then whether it
comes to man through testing nature, or in
what other way?
Socrates. Oh Meno, you have far too good an
opinion of me, if you think that I can answer
your question. For I literally do not know
what structural engineering is, and much less
how it is acquired. I confess with shame that
I know literally nothing about engineering.
Meno. And how will you enquire, Socrates,
into that which you do not know? How do
we learn something of which we have no
knowledge?
Soc. I will tell you how: All enquiry and all
learning is but recollection. We do not learn,
we recollect.
Meno. What do you mean by saying that we
do not learn, and that what we call learning is
only a process of recollection? Can you teach
me how this is?
Soc. I told you, Meno, and now you ask
whether I can teach you, when I am saying
that there is no teaching, but only recollection; and thus you imagine that you will
involve me in a contradiction!

Meno. Indeed, Socrates, I protest that I had

no such intention. I only asked the question
from habit; but if you can prove to me that
what you say is true, I wish that you would.
Soc. It will be no easy matter, but I will try
to please you to the utmost of my power.
Suppose that you call one of your numerous
uneducated slaves, that I may demonstrate
on him that the question of learning is
recollection. We will have to get to what
structural engineering is another day and
concentrate on how one knows things. I
will, however, use the area of a column as
an example something I am sure is used
by the structural engineer.
Meno. Certainly. Come hither, boy.
Soc. Tell me, boy, do you know a figure like
this section of a column? Is it not a square?
Boy. Yes, I do. It is a square.
Soc. And you know that a square figure has
these four lines equal?
Boy. Certainly.
Soc. And these lines which I have drawn
through the middle of the square are also equal?

Boy. Clearly, Socrates, it will be double the

length of the side, so each side will be four.
Soc. Do you observe, Meno, that I am not
teaching the boy anything, but only asking him
questions; and now he fancies that he knows
how long the side of the column is necessary
in order to produce a column of eight square
feet; does he not? And does he really know?
Meno. Certainly not.
Soc. Observe him while he recalls the steps
in regular order. (To the Boy.) Tell me, boy,
do you assert that double the area comes from
doubling the side?
Boy. Yes
Soc. But does not this line become doubled
if we add another such line here?
Boy. Certainly.
Soc. And are there not these four divisions
in the figure, each of which is equal to the
figure of four feet?
Boy. True.
Soc. And four times is not double is it?
Boy. No, indeed. It is four times as much.

Boy. Yes.
Soc. A square may be of any size? So a
column may be of any size?
Boy. Certainly.
Soc. And if one side of the column be of two
feet, and the other side be of two feet, how
much area will the whole column be? Let me
explain: if in one direction the column was of
two feet, and in other direction of one foot,
the whole would be of two feet taken once?
Boy. Yes. So two by two would be four
square feet.
Soc. Good. And might there not be another
square column with an area twice as large as
this? And what is the area of that doubled
column?
Boy. Eight square feet of course.
Soc. Correct. And now try and tell me what
is the length each side if the area of the square
column is eight?

Sixteen! Oh no that column is huge!

Soc. So, what side length would give you a
space of eight square feet? Is not a space of
eight, half the size of sixteen?
Boy. Certainly.
Soc. Then the line which forms the side of
eight square feet ought to be more than this
line of two feet, and less than the other of
four feet?
Boy. It ought.
Soc. Try and see if you can tell me how much
it will be.

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April 2013

Boy. Three feet.

Soc. And how much are three times three feet?
Boy. I am counting and I am close but nine
is not eight. So I was wrong again!
Soc. But from what length of line would
give you eight square feet? Tell me exactly;
and if you would rather not reckon, try and
show me the line.
Boy. Indeed, Socrates, I do not know.
Soc. Do you see, Meno, what advances he
has made in his power of recollection? He did
not know at first, and he does not know now,
what is the side of a column of eight square
feet: but then he thought that he knew, and
answered confidently as if he knew, and had
no difficulty; now he has a difficulty, and
neither knows nor fancies that he knows.
Meno. True.
Soc. Is he not better off in knowing his ignorance? If we have made him doubt, and given
him the torpedos shock, have we done him
any harm? We have certainly, as would seem,
assisted him in some degree to the discovery
of the truth; and now he will wish to remedy
his ignorance, but then he would have been
ready to tell all the world again and again
that double the area should have a double
side. He would have lived his entire life with
false knowledge and this is just area stuff,
I have not even discussed column buckling!
Meno. True.
Soc. But do you suppose that he would ever
have enquired into or learned what he fancied
that he knew, though he was really ignorant
of it, until he had fallen into perplexity under
the idea that he did not know, and had desired
to know?
Meno. I think not, Socrates.
Soc. Mark now the farther development. I
shall only ask him, and not teach him, and
he shall share the enquiry with me: and do
you watch and see if you find me telling or
explaining anything to him, instead of eliciting his opinion. Tell me, boy, is not this a
square of four feet which I have drawn?
Boy. Yes.
Soc. And how many times larger is this space
than this other?
Boy. Four times.
Soc. But it ought to have been twice only, as
you will remember. And does not this line,
reaching from corner to corner, bisect each
of these spaces?
Boy. Yes.
Soc. And how many spaces are there in
each section?

Boy. Two, since there are two triangles and

one square.
Soc. And four is how many times two?
Boy. Twice, two times two is four.
Soc. And from what line do you get this figure?
Boy. From this.
Soc. That is, from the line which extends
from corner to corner of the figure of four
square feet?
Boy. Yes.
Soc. And that is the line which the learned
call the diagonal. And if this is the proper
name, then you, boy, are prepared to affirm
that in order to double the area of the column,
you would square the diagonal?

Boy. Certainly, Socrates.

Soc. What do you say of him, Meno? Were
not all these answers given out of his own head?
Meno. Yes, they were all his own.
Soc. And yet, as we were just now saying, he
did not know?
Meno. True.
Soc. But still he had in him those notions of
his had he not?
Meno. Yes.
Soc. Then he who does not know may still
have true notions of that which he does not
know? Without any one teaching him, he
will recover his knowledge for himself, if he
is only asked questions? And this spontaneous
recovery of knowledge in him is recollection?
Meno. True.
Soc. And this knowledge which he now has
must he not either have acquired or always
possessed?
Meno. Yes.
Soc. And if there have been always true
thoughts in him, both at the time when he
was and was not a man, which only need
to be awakened into knowledge by putting
questions to him, his soul must have always
possessed this knowledge, for he always either
was or was not a man?
Meno. I feel, somehow, that I like what you
are saying.
Soc. And, Meno, I like what I am saying.
Then, as we are agreed that a man should
enquire about that which he does not know;
that is a theme upon which I am ready to
fight, in word and deed, to the utmost of
my power.

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April 2013

In other words, we should want our students to acquire the freedom that allows
them to acknowledge the one certainty
in life: Indeed, Socrates, I do not know.
Recognition of that certainty we are all
ignorant is the pathway to learning. Then
learning things will belong to them, instead
of just repeating things that belong to others
(memorization of facts, test-taking, etc).
Future engineers need to process the tools
resulting from a liberal education to help
us listen and read attentively and deeply, to
express ourselves intelligibly and precisely,
to measure and question the world, and to
seek truth. This will help us become lifelong learners. Another useful result is that
it will make us better at understanding the
highly technical and theoretical aspects of
engineering, too.
This may also assist us in deciding difficult questions, such as: Is it a good idea to
teach a class that is new, like Sustainability
in Civil Structures or the highly technical
Advanced Matrix Analysis, and replace
classes that reinforce the basics? There are
only so many hours in the current curriculum, so this is important. However, we know
that regardless of which class we may add
and consequently which class we remove
every class needs to foster enquiry. We need
to resist cramming students heads with more
and more knowledge (so-called), whether it
is more mathematics, new theory based on a
particular research agenda, or trends in the
marketplace. This may numb the minds of
our future engineers. Teaching should be
about assisting the student in discovery i.e.,
a liberal education not supplying information or listing the latest facts.
We do not want engineers who merely
regurgitate what they have been taught and
what they have memorized. We want them to
struggle, and to engage the world and people
in meaningful ways. We want engineers with
a spirit of inquiry and love of learning that
will last a lifetime. So even if we add courses
that submit to trends in the marketplace or
wrongly decide that our students need more
mathematics, we had better make sure that
Socrates joins every class.
Erik Anders Nelson, P.E., S.E.
(ean@structuresworkshop.com), is
owner of Structures Workshop, Inc. in
Providence, RI and teaches at the Rhode
Island School of Design and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Please visit and
comment on his engineering blog at
www.structuresworkshop.com/blog.

Great achievements

notable structural engineers

Othmar H. Ammann
By Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P.E., P.L.S.

mmann was born on March

26, 1879, in Schaffhausen,
Switzerland, the home of the
famous 18th century Grubenman
wooden bridge. His family was of moderate
means with his father in manufacturing
and his mother in hat making. At an early
age he showed an aptitude for mathematics
and began studying for a civil engineering
degree at the Polytechnikum in Zrich,
Switzerland. He graduated in 1902. The
college, now named the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, was founded in
1854 and was one of the leading schools
of science and engineering at that time.
He studied under Wilhelm Ritter who visited the United States in 1893 to observe
engineering works and described them in
his lectures. After graduating, Ammann
worked on railroad layout and in 190304 he worked in Frankfurt, Germany on
reinforced concrete structures. In 1904,
Othmar came to the United States for
what he thought would be a few years to
work on the major projects he had heard
about while in college. He fortunately
found a position with the Union Bridge
Company under Charles Macdonald and
his engineer Joseph Mayer. The company
was building some of the major bridges in
the country, such as Macdonalds proposal
for a 2,400-foot span cantilever railroad
bridge across the Hudson River. With mentors like Mayer and Macdonald, Ammann
quickly learned the U.S. methods of building bridges fast and inexpensively. He then
moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a
short time to work with the Pennsylvania
Steel Company under Frederick Kunz. Then
Othmar worked with Gustav Lindenthal as
Consulting Engineer to the Department of
Bridges in New York City. The Pennsylvania
Steel Company was in the process of building the Queensboro (Blackwells Island)
Bridge at the time. Amman briefly returned
to Switzerland to marry Lilly Selma Wehrli
and then returned to Harrisburg. He spent
a short time at McClintic/Marshall followed
by a stint with Ralph Modjeski in Chicago
working on bridges for the Oregon Trunk
Railroad, including a 340-foot span arch
bridge over the Columbia River. He assisted
C. C. Schneider in writing a report on the
collapse of the Quebec Cantilever Bridge.

As a result of the Quebec failure, Kunz

and Ammann wrote a report confirming
the safety of the Queensboro Bridge and
its design.
Between 1909 and 1912, Ammann
worked with the newly formed firm, Kunz
& Schneider Consulting Engineers, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of their
major projects was an arch bridge across the
Reversing Falls at St. John, New Brunswick.
In 1912, he was hired by Gustav Lindenthal
as his chief assistant on the design of the
Hell Gate Arch Bridge. Lindenthal was
selected as Chief Engineer for the New York
Connecting Railroad, which included the
Hell Gate Bridge, as well as Chief Engineer
for a bridge across the Hudson River. The
Hell Gate Bridge was the longest span arch
bridge in the world at the time, and Ammann
was in charge of its design and construction,
with David B. Steinman as his assistant.
The threat of war in Switzerland resulted in
Ammann returning to his homeland as an
Army Lieutenant in the summer of 1914.
Lindenthal advanced Steinman to Ammanns
position. The threatened war did not occur,
and Ammann returned to his position and
Steinman was demoted. The shift resulted
in a bitter rivalry between the two men until
Ammanns death.
Lindenthal proposed a bridge across the
Hudson River as early as 1885. Due to financing and other concerns, it never got past a
groundbreaking in 1895. In 1920 he, with
Ammanns design help, proposed a huge bridge
at 57th Street for railroads, motor vehicles and
rapid transit costing in excess of $100,000,000.
Financing was slow, and Lindenthal and
Ammann, with Steinmans help, designed the
Sciotoville Continuous Truss bridge across the
Ohio River. It was the longest span truss bridge
in the country at the time (1922). Lindenthal
sent Ammann to Portland, Oregon where he

Hell Gate Bridge, Lindenthal and Ammann.

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April 2013

had received a contract

to design three bridges
across the Willamette
River. The Ross Island
Bridge was a cantilever, the Burnside
Bridge was a truss Othmar H. Ammann.
bridge with bascule
span and the Sellwood Bridge a continuous
truss. Each bridge was unique. Designed in
1922 to 1923, they were built between 1925
and 1926.
In 1923, when Ammann returned to the
New York office of Lindenthal, work was
proceeding on the Hudson River Bridge.
There were growing concerns that the
bridge was too large and the approaches
would take too much land and cost too
much. Lindenthal, however, was convinced
that a bridge of this size and at this location
was absolutely necessary. Ammann went to
Lindenthal suggesting that a smaller bridge
aimed primarily at automobiles and located
farther up the river would receive the necessary support from the city and states.
Lindenthal accused Ammann of timidity and shortsightedness, and that he was
looking ahead for 1,000 years. On March
23, 1923 Ammann left Lindenthal and set
up his own office in New York City.
He worked primarily on his own design
for the Hudson River Bridge with no client
to pay the bills. It would be at 179th Street
between Fort Lee (New Jersey) and Fort
Washington (New York), have a span of
3,500 feet and carry eight lanes of automobile and truck traffic. It would be built
for under $40,000,000. He first proposed
his design at a meeting of the Connecticut
Society of Civil Engineers on February 19,
1824 and sent his plan to Governor Silzer
of New Jersey. Silzer sent Ammanns drawings and proposal to the press, including
The Engineering Record that published them
with a small drawing and brief description in the January 3, 1924 issue. The
article mentioned the drawings were by
Ammann, and the bridge was estimated
to cost $30,000,000 and would connect
with the Washington Arch Bridge over
the Harlem River to provide direct access
to the Bronx Borough and to highways
leading to New England without entering New Yorks intensive traffic area. With

until 1951. This was followed by a survey of

the Brooklyn Bridge in 1941. He reported
the bridge was in excellent condition. He
was appointed chairman of a three man
commission, with Theodore VanKarman
and Glenn Woodruff, to report on the
failure of the Tacoma Narrows Suspension
bridge, designed by Leon Moisseff, which fell
November 7, 1940 shortly after it opened.
They found the long slender deck, designed
using the deflection theory, was susceptible to aerodynamic forces that led to the

STRUCTURE magazine

Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

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the support of New Jersey and New York,

Ammanns design was accepted and placed
under the Port Authority of New York
with Ammann designated as Chief Bridge
Engineer for the Authority. The bridge was
built between 1927 and 1931, and opened
October 24, 1931.
At the same time he was designing the
George Washington Bridge, Ammann was
also designing the Bayonne Arch Bridge
over the Kill Van Kull leading to Staten
Island. It was then the longest span arch
bridge in the world (1,652 feet). He also
supervised construction of two bridges
across the Arthur Kill, the Goethals and
Outerbridge, both of which were designed
by J. A. L. Waddell.
In 1923, Othmar was appointed Chief
Engineer of the Triborough Bridge
Authority under the legendary Robert
Moses. Moses planned a major project
consisting of a 1,380-foot span suspension bridge over the East River, 1,600
feet of truss bridge, a 770-foot long lift
bridge and 3 miles of viaduct. The
project was built between 1934 and
1936. This was followed by the BronxWhitestone Bridge. It was a 2,300-foot
span suspension bridge and opened in
1939 in time for the New York Worlds
Fair. While designing these bridges,
Ammann maintained his position with
the New York Port Authority. At the
same time, he was one of the consultants to Joseph B. Strauss on the design
and construction of the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco. Strauss also
consulted with Ammann on his George
Washington and Bayonne Bridges. The
Golden Gate Bridge, with its 4,200-foot
span, surpassed the George Washington
Bridge by 700 feet to become the longest suspension bridge in the world at
the time. It opened in 1937. He also
consulted with one of his early mentors, Ralph Modjeski, on his Benjamin
Franklin (originally the Delaware River)
Suspension Bridge across the Delaware
River that opened up July 1, 1926. Its
1,750 foot span was the longest in the
United States at the time.
In 1939, Ammann resigned from the
Port Authority and set up a partnership
with C. C. Combs, a well-known landscape architect. Highway work made up
most of their efforts in the first years.
Their first bridge work was a pedestrian
lift bridge to Wards Island in the East
River. Ammann called this his Little
Green Bridge. It had a lift span of 312
feet. Due to financing, it did not open

43

April 2013

George Washington Bridge 1931 to Present, Single deck shown.

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observed oscillation. With this information,

Ammann stiffened his Bronx-Whitestone
Bridge in 1946.
In 1947, the partnership of Ammann and
Combs came to an end, and Ammann formed
a new company, Ammann & Whitney
Consulting Engineers. Whitney was a well
known expert on reinforced concrete. Much
of their work came from Ammanns New York
contacts. In 1956, Moses hired the firm to
design the Throgs Neck suspension bridge
across the East River. The span was 1,800
feet, and it opened January 11, 1961. In
1957, Othmar was called back to his first
bridge, the George Washington, to add the
lower deck that he had provided for back in
the late 1920s. It was added between 1958
and 1961, without stopping traffic on the
original bridge. He was asked to serve on a
panel of engineers in 1947, with his long
time competitor David Steinman, on the
Mackinac Bridge connecting the upper and
lower peninsulas of Michigan. In 1951, the

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commission rejected a tunnel but determined

a bridge was feasible. The earlier design by
Modjeski and Masters was rejected, and a
new design was sought. Initially Ammann
was selected by the Board, but his fee was
considered excessive and the contract was
given to Steinman.
The culmination of his bridge career came
when he was selected to design the Verrazano
Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten
Island. David B. Steinman also planned a
bridge he called the Liberty Bridge at the site
as early as 1926. Ammann started his design
in 1948. Due to financing, he did not start
work until the mid 1950s. The span of the
bridge would be 4,260 feet, surpassing the
Golden Gate Bridge by 60 feet. Its upper deck
opened November 24, 1961 and its lower
deck June 28, 1968. When the Verrazano
Narrows Bridge opened, Ammann was 80
years old. At its dedication, the Mayor of
the City stated the bridge was a structure of
breathtaking beauty and super engineering.
Throughout his career, Ammann had as a
guiding philosophy, Economics and utility are not the engineers only concerns. He
must temper his practicality with aesthetic
sensitivity. His structures should please
the eye. In fact, an engineer designing a
bridge is justified in making a more expensive design for beautys sake alone. After
all, many people will have to look at the
bridge for the rest of their lives. Few of us
appreciate eyesores, even if we should save
a little money in building them. The story
of Ammann and his New York Bridges is
told in Six Bridges, The Legacy of Othmar
H. Ammann by Darl Rastorfer. Ammann
died September 23, 1965 at the age of 86

STRUCTURE magazine

44

April 2013

with the New York Times calling him one

of the great bridge builders of this century.
He had won many accolades over the years,
but his most significant was the National
Medal of Science granted him by President
Lyndon Johnson in 1964. He was the first
civil engineer to be honored in this way;
he was awarded the honor under the classification of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
His citation stated, For a half century of
distinguished leadership in the design of
great bridges which combine beauty and
utility with bold engineering concept and
method... Edward Cohen, a long time
associate with Ammann & Whitney, wrote,
The outstanding characteristic of Ammanns
design is simplicity; he was the enemy of the
ornate, the complicated, the extravagant,
the ponderous.
His image lives on in a bronze bust that
was unveiled in the George Washington
Bridge Bus Station in 1962, coinciding with
the dedication of its lower level. It is passed
by thousands every day, but few know the
story of the man behind Six Bridges of New
York City.
Dr. Griggs specializes in the restoration
of historic bridges, having restored many
19th Century cast and wrought iron
bridges. He was formerly Director of
Historic Bridge Programs for Clough,
Harbour & Associates LLP in Albany,
NY, and is now an independent
Consulting Engineer. Dr. Griggs can be
reached at fgriggs@nycap.rr.com.

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Steel Sector Looking Good

Software Industry Provides Design Barometer and
Steel Construction Industry Backs Up Projections
By Larry Kahaner

teady improvement seems to be the sentiment most often

expressed by company officials involved in the business
of steel construction. With the United States economy
improving slowly but surely and the global economies
booming in certain regions, those in the steel sector are optimistic
about what lies ahead for 2013.
From my conversations with people in the industry, things are
turning in the right direction. There are areas that are doing better
than others, but the worst of the economic downturn appears to be
behind us, says Michelle McCarthy, Strategic Sales Manager for software developer Design Data (www.sds2.com) of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Others concur. We continue to see improvement in the number
of projects in construction. Although I dont see the boom of five
years ago, we are definitely seeing a steady increase in projects and are
even seeing older projects being resurrected, notes Amber Freund,
Director of Marketing at RISA Technologies (www.risa.com), in
Foothill Ranch, California. Adds Michael Brooks, President of
Enercalc, Inc. (www.enercalc.com) of Corona del Mar, California,
Since last June weve noticed a surge in activity, meaning there is lots
of design work on the boards. Users are staying current with their
software maintenance, and new sales of full systems have increased.
After 30 years of observing economic cycles, we believe you will see
construction starts looking strong in mid-2013.
Companies are continuing to upgrade products, keeping them
current with new standards and customers demands. For example,
Design Data has been in business for more than 30 years and its
DS/2 software solutions provide automatic detailing, connection
design, engineering information, and other data for the steel
industrys fabrication, detailing and engineering sectors. The
release of SDS/2 v7.3 not only introduced an enhanced version
of our core product to the market, it also served as the launch of a
new suite of solutions designed to serve the needs of all members
of the construction team, says McCarthy. Of particular interest

STRUCTURE magazine

From my conversations with people in the

industry, things are turning in the right
direction. There are areas that are doing better
than others, but the worst of the economic
downturn appears to be behind us.
to structural engineers are SDS/2 Connect, SDS/2 Engineering,
SDS/2 Approval and SDS/2 Viewer. SDS/2 Connect is an add-in
for Autodesk Revit Structure that gives engineers access to the
powerful connection design of SDS/2 within their own Revit
model. Engineers can design and apply steel connections in Revit
that are backed by long-hand design calculations and provide a
higher level of detail for the model, she says. SDS/2 Engineering,
SDS/2 Approval and SDS/2 Viewer all work in the native SDS/2
model environment, but are segmented according to the users role.
SDS/2 Engineering is a structural analysis software that allows
users to design and size structural members, calculate loads on the
structure like wind loads or transfer forces, and still includes the
ability to design connections. Because SDS/2 Engineering works
in the SDS/2 native environment, this same model can be opened
by the detailer, reducing the time spent duplicating model input.
With SDS/2 Approval, approving engineers can view the model,
design calculations and drawings, giving easy access to vital information while eliminating the need to flip through hundreds of
pages of paper documents. The free SDS/2 Viewer can be used by
anyone who wants to view the projects progress. SDS/2 Viewer
provides engineers with an easy method to get an overall view of
the steel on the project, even if they are not taking part in the
model approval process, McCarthy says.
continued on next page

47

April 2013

RISA has added features to its software, too. Says Freund: Retaining
wall design was added to RISAFoundation last year, and we are
excited about this new feature. The interface is easy to use and allows
engineers to quickly input their soil and wall properties. This feature
is fully integrated with RISA-3D so your wall or column reactions
can be transferred to RISAFoundation to design your retaining walls,
mat slabs, pile caps or other foundation elements. It allows you to go
back and forth during your design process and these model changes
are automatically updated between the two programs.
She adds that the company is proud of reaching its 25th anniversary
last year, saying: RISAFoundation has had the ability to design all
other foundation types so retaining walls completes this program.
Whether an engineer is designing one retaining wall or an entire
building foundation system, RISAFoundation can handle all of
the different foundation elements. We have had a number of new
versions released this year that include many new features such as
64-bit versions of all of our programs which enables users to run
even larger models than before. (See ad on page 67.)

nother company celebrating an anniversary, its 30th year

in business, is Enercalc where Brooks notes, Were also
celebrating our sixth major release of our structural engineering software system. We tailor the software to the common
yet complex component calculations for low to mid-rise buildingsthe most common structures anywhere. Were a group of
experienced structural engineers and have a large and long term,
yet constantly growing, user base. He says that the company has
released its steel modules now conforming to AISC 360-710.
Enercalc also added to its series of loading development modules
with more wind, seismic and snow calculators. The new Project
Load Group Builder provides a way to list and tabulate individual
contributions of gravity loads for a project.
Providing a tool to assist the engineer in the calculation of loads
frees the engineer to apply his or her time on higher and better uses
such as economizing the structure, proportioning LFRS frames to
bring lateral drift under control, or coming up with creative solutions
to meet the needs of the owner and/or the architect. It also offers
the engineer an independent check on their input used to develop
loads in other programs, Brooks says. Our users provided feedback
indicating that these were areas that cost them a great deal of time, or
that require the development and maintenance of spreadsheets and
other tools. All of this becomes a distraction and an inefficiency to
our users keeping them from adding the greatest value to products
by functioning at their highest and best use. (See ad on page 3.)

ur products undergo constant enhancement and improvement to stay current with the ever-changing requirements
of the structural engineering profession, says Rob Tovani,
Director of Verification, Validation, and Training at Computers &
Structures, Inc. (www.csiberkeley.com) headquartered in Berkeley,
California. The company has four specific products: ETABS,
SAP2000 CSiBridge, and SAFE. ETABS is a building program,
just like Bridge is a bridge program, and SAFE is a concrete floor
and foundation program. SAP2000 is a general analysis program,
he says. Now were going to be releasing a product that enhances
the way we do detailing, so that engineers will be able to first analyze, then design, and have a whole set of drawings produced for
steel and concrete buildings. Its an enhancement to our existing

programs. We actually have a version of this which has been released

in our SAFE program, but were enhancing all of our programs
to have this feature.
As for the overall market, Tovani notes: We have four products
for different sectors, so it seems theres always some energetic
activity somewhere in the world Ive talked to some engineering firms who are slowing down, and that does trickle over into
software purchases. People werent making purchases of software
a while back, but now have to get current again. So, our software
sales remain brisk. (See ad on page 68.)

-Frame Software (www.s-frame.com) in Guilford,

Connecticut announced the release of S-FRAME Structural
Office R11 this year, according to CEO Marinos Stylianou.
This marks one of the most extensive releases ever delivered by
S-FRAME Software. It contains significant updates and new
functionality to the complete product line of S-FRAME Analysis,
S-STEEL Design, S-PAD Design, S-CONCRETE Design, S-LINE
Design & S-CALC plus two brand new products S-VIEW and
S-FOUNDATION. He adds: R11 includes important new functionality and many enhancements designed to improve our clients
user experience and to address their need to innovate and improve
their productivity: full integration of analysis and steel design,
addition of three new advanced analysis types, increased solver
performance and accuracy, new nonlinear material models, an
across-the-board new licensing system, two revamped BIM links for
Revit and Tekla, updates to several design codes and the addition
of new ones, ability to customize the programs based on language,
and a host of other new features and enhancements. In addition,
we introduced two brand new products, S-VIEW for structural
model viewing, sharing, and validating and S-FOUNDATION
for foundation analysis and design.
Stylianou says the company saw strong growth in 2012 and he
expects to see considerable business growth in North America and
Asia. We also believe that Europe will offer some opportunities that
we plan to evaluate with localized R11 products. (See ad on page 4.)

ccording to Stuart Broome, Vice President of Chicago-based

CSC, Inc. (www.cscworld.com), the company specializes
in developing code-based structural design solutions. This
means that rather than adding design post processors on a frame
analysis program, we build our software from the ground up around
the requirements of a design code (such as AISC360 in the case of
Fastrak). Broome adds: We have just launched our latest version
Tedds 2013 (Tedds is a structural calculations software). Up to
twice as fast as its predecessor, Tedds 2013 includes a new, fully
integrated 2D frame analysis application as well as many new and
enhanced calculations to both U.S. and Canadian design codes.
Tedds 2013 is also compatible with Microsoft Word 2013. Fastrak
is a steel building design software alongside CSCs Integrator.
As an Autodesk Structural Industry Partner, the company has
launched CSCs Integrator. Available as part of Fastrak, this
unique and free software enables structural engineers to synchronize models between Autodesk Revit Structure and Fastrak. It is
an industry-leading solution making two-way integration with
Revit Structure easy, highlighting any amendment made during
the synchronization process, thus enabling engineers to react to
changes quickly and reduce the risk of errors, says Broome.
continued on page 50

STRUCTURE magazine

48

April 2013

Visit us at NASCC 2013

Booth #930

Martin/Martin gains the

competitive edge with Tedds
Patrick McManus, Technical Director, explains how Martin/Martin
saved time, improved consistency and enhanced quality control
by standardizing on structural calculation software, Tedds.

At Martin/Martin we work on a variety

of commercial projects and specialize in
arena and stadium work, defensive design
and construction services. To meet the
requirements of such demanding and
differing projects we historically used
software packages from multiple vendors.
This was difficult to manage as each
software package had its own interface
and approached engineering problems
differently.
No single engineer knew every product
in-depth, which created problems with
quality control, consistency, and it impacted
project scheduling. What we really needed
was a single software package that could
reliably and accurately do everything we
needed.
Tedds was our ideal solution because it
provided an extensive library of calculations
and created transparent output with
detailed equations. It also reduced the
need to perform calculations by hand,
which had been very time consuming.

Tedds has an extensive calculation

library and produces transparent
output with detailed equations.

Tedds also offered us the capability to

write our own calculations which has been
invaluable. It works within the Microsoft
Word interface, enabling us to develop
custom tools that allow us to efficiently
handle complicated problems that have
not been well addressed by other software
developers. This has given us a competitive
advantage and we see great potential to
take this further.

We have been able to write our

own calculations in Tedds.
Since standardizing on Tedds we have
decreased our number of vendors,
which has saved time for our information
technology teams and our engineers speak
to fewer technical support teams.

Tedds is fast and intuitive and is

used by all our engineers.
Tedds is really easy to use so it has become
a staple tool for all our engineers, who now
use the Tedds library daily for our quick
component calculations. We have also
standardized our output which immediately
improved our consistency and quality
control.

Tedds has helped us to meet

aggressive project demands and
deliver a high quality service to
our clients.
Without Tedds, calculations would have
taken considerably longer to develop and
verify, with less transparent output. Tedds is
flexible, its regularly updated and the size
of the library means we can quickly respond
to the changing needs of our clients.
CSC thanks Martin/Martin for
its contribution to this case study.

See the benefits of Tedds for

yourself with our free trial.

Free Trial
Download Tedds at

cscworld.com/TryTedds

877 710 2053 (Toll Free)

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lso upgrading their software is IES, Inc. (www.iesweb.com)

in Bozeman, Montana. Engineer and Developer Terry
Kubat says: We are regularly upgrading our products,
like VisualAnalysis and ShapeBuilder to meet customer needs by
adding new features or just by simplifying existing tasks. Structural
engineering is a demanding profession that requires the use of
sophisticated tools, but that does not mean engineers should be
forced to decipher complicated software. If we have done our job,
then we will have fast tools that get the right answers. And, if we
have done our job well then even when engineers make mistakes
the software will catch those problems and clearly communicate
it back to the customer automatically. IES prides itself on
listening to customers and using what they say to improve their
products. We know that engineers are overworked and have little
time to evaluate new tools. Our web site offers very brief introductory videos to make it easy to find out what a product does and
how it works. Once they are ready to try a product, it takes less
than five minutes to get it downloaded and running, says Kubat.

lthough computers and software are vital to engineering,

Leroy Emkin, Founder and Co-Director of the CASE Center
(CASEC) in Atlanta (www.gtstrudl.gatech.edu), says that
SEs must be in control of the engineering analysis and design process,
with a clear understanding of the characteristics and facilities of the
computational tools used for that design. Those computational tools
cannot be simple and highly automated black boxes working in the

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way programmers have chosen them to work, rather than in the way
engineers intend them to work. He adds: This can only be achieved
by providing the engineer with control over software processing, and
by having complete and extensive user documentation. CASEC is
committed to the development of structural engineering software
that engages qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced structural
engineers in the modeling, analysis, and design process. We provide
structural engineers with a variety of powerful command, menu, and
GUI tools that allow them to implement analysis and design strategies
developed by the engineer for solving simple to complex structural
modeling, analysis, and design problems.
According to Emkin, the success of GT STRUDL its Structural
Design & Analysis software programs is demonstrated by its widespread use in the nuclear power and nuclear defense industries of the
United States and other countries.GTSTRUDL development fully
conforms to the rigorous ASME and NRC quality assurance and quality control regulations and guidelines. GTSTRUDLs verification and
validation procedures include more than 4,100 test problems ranging
from relatively simple textbook academic problems to highly complex
and very large structural models of actual heavy industry structures.

ompanies on the hardware side of the steel sector are

busy as well. Our international business is booming,
and the U.S. seem to be picking up, indicating a slow but
steady climb out of the funk of 2008, says Chris Curven, Vice
President, Field Bolting Specialist at Applied Bolting Technology
(www.appliedbolting.com) in Bellows
Falls, Vermont. Applied Bolting
Technology designs and manufacturers Direct Tension Indicators (DTIs)
used predominantly in structural bolting applications. They are designed
Your Success
to guarantee that bolts are installed
to the specified tension, regardless of
the torque required to get there, says
Curven. Our DTIs and Squirter DTIs
conform to ASTM standards, and can
be used in accordance with the RCSC
and AASHTO specifications.
Curven notes: The Squirter DTIs have
revolutionized the bolt-up process in structural applications. They have the added
feature of providing a visual indication
when the desired tension is achieved. They
make bolt installation and inspection easier
and more accurate. In large structural projects, bolting can consume over half of the
total labor expense. Improving accuracy
and efficiency translates into huge savings. Weve heard numbers as high as 20
percent. He says that Applied Bolting
provides training to engineers and iron
workers. We travel all over the world to
inform designers about the benefits of
using DTIs, and showing first-time users
how to use them properly, Curven says.
(See ad on page 52.)
continued on page 52

STRUCTURE magazine

50

April 2013

GT STRUDL
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ducation is also an important part of the agenda at JMC

Steel Group (www.jmcsteelgroup.com) in Chicago, says
Senior Sales Engineer Brad Fletcher. Weve done a number
of things along that front. Thats my main purpose for going out
and talking to people. We educate people about our company, as
well as about the product and the industry itself.
In order to help SEs understand more about hollow steel structures,
JMC has developed a video series which can be viewed on their
website. We debuted a number of the videos during our Steel Day
event last fall, and the immediate feedback from that crowd was
very positive. He says that the industry has grown in the past 10 to
15 years and with that growth has come many more available sizes.
We met and exceeded our goals last year of what we wanted to do
and so we set the bars a little higher this year. Were promoting a
jumbo-size range as well, so thats definitely something to show off.
In January, the company also launched an online forum called the
Atlas Connection that allows engineers to join a secure community
and ask questions of HSS experts inside and outside of the company.
Its a way to create a dialogue or a conversation about HSS and
the issues surrounding HSS, so were pretty excited about that. The
feedback for that has been really great. (See ad on page 6.)

Even though we are large, we listen to our customers to ensure we

are continuously improving, not only ourselves but our working
partnerships as well. We may have the largest range of steel joist and
deck products in the nation and produce more of it than anyone
else, but it is for naught if both our customers and ourselves arent
successful while doing it; that is a partnership. This mutual respect
is just part of why weve been taking care of our customers for more
than a half century, he says.
Mauk notes two products that he would like SEs to know about.
First is Ecospan, a Proprietary Composite Floor System that has been
around for several years and is starting to find its place in todays
economy. Our lightweight, mechanically fastened Ecospan system
with our proprietary Shearflex composite fasteners have really made
a lot of progress in areas like hotels, dormitories, multi-family residential, and mezzanines that increase floor space in already existing
warehouses. Second is NuBIM Vulcraft, a plug-ins for Tekla, SDS/2
and Revit. Vulcraft is continuing to provide value-added tools based
on listening to our customers. These BIM tools are assisting the AEC
community in specifying our products and providing easier communication methods for fabricators. While this is still an ever-changing
area, we believe we must commit time and resources to utilize these
tools to communicate more effectively with our customers.
ialogue is also an important goal at Vulcraft/Verco Group
Mauk adds: The last few years have been a challenge not only
(www.nucor.com), according to T.J. Mauk, Manager of for our customers, but for individual American families, difficult
New Product & Market Development in Norfolk, Nebraska. for American companies and difficult for the United States of
structure 1-2 april 13:show 2/28/13 10:59 AM Page 1
continued on page 54

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America as a whole We and our customers were forced to find

new ways to make and save money, and through this challenging
time weve all gotten better. As for the future outlook? Overall
business appears to be getting stronger every day. Everyone is cautiously optimistic that this is the year that things really start in
the 2nd half of 2013. (See ad on page 53.)

machines handles are built to be used with mechanical

hoisting. From the external body, to the visual display,
to the internal design, Warrior is meant to be used in
the most demanding environments.

n the welding side of the steel sector, officials at the ESAB

Group, Inc. (www.esab.com) in Hanover, Pennsylvania,
would like SEs to learn about Warrior, which they call
the next generation of welding technology. Greg Stauffer, Vice
President for Sales Support and Standard Equipment, ESAB North
America, says: Warrior is an inverter-based power source for
MIG, flux-cored, stick, and TIG welding. Its also for arc gouging.
Warrior delivers up to 500 amps and is designed for heavy-duty
use in rugged environments.
Stauffer says that fabricators want versatile equipment that can
consistently perform in dirty work environments. Of course, in
this economic climate, everyone needs tools that return value on
the investment. Warrior delivers value not only with price, but it
uses less energy than other machines, making it cost effective. It is
also one of ESABs user-friendliest machines, which makes it easy
for novice welders to use. The simplicity of Warrior means users
arent losing time on the learning curve. He adds: Our customers
also dont want to lose time when machines are down for repair.
Warrior is durable and designed to perform consistently in harsh
work environments. It is designed to work with generators, and the

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STRUCTURE magazine

54

April 2013

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ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS GUIDE

a definitive listing of wood product manufacturers and their product lines
WoodWorks Software

Associations
American Wood Council

Phone: 202-463-2766
Email: info@awc.org
Web: www.awc.org
Product: 2012 NDS Wood Design Package
Description: The 2012 NDS, 2012 NDS
Supplement: Design Values for Wood Construction,
2008 Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic
(SDPWS), and ASD/LRFD Manual set is available for
purchase at our website.

APA The Engineered Wood Association

Phone: 253-565-6600
Email: help@apawood.org
Web: www.apawood.org
Product: APA
Description: APA focuses on helping the industry
create structural wood products of exceptional strength,
versatility and reliability. Nearly 500 publications,
extensive research and technical reports, free CAD
details, comprehensive market studies and more.

Connectors
Simpson Strong-Tie

Wood Structural Panels

Phone: 800-844-1275
Email: sales@woodworks-software.com
Web: www.woodworks-software.com
Product: WoodWorks Design Office
Description: SHEARWALLS: designs perforated
and segmented shearwalls; generates loads; rigid and
flexible diaphragm distribution methods. SIZER:
designs beams, columns, studs, joists up to 6 spans;
automatic load patterning. CONNECTIONS: Wood
to: wood, steel or concrete. Canadian version available.

Engineered Lumber
Phone: 949-951-5815
Email: info@risatech.com
Web: www.risa.com
Product: RISA-3D
Description: RISAFloor and RISA-3D form the
premiere software package for wood design. Create 3D
models of your entire structure and get full design of
wood walls (with and without openings), flexible wood
diaphragms, dimension lumber, glulams, parallams,
LVLs, joists and more. Custom databases for species,
hold-downs-and panel nailing offer total flexibility.

TECO

Timberlinx

Phone: 800-844-8281
Email: marty.hawkins@trimjoist.com
Web: www.trimjoist.com
Product: TrimJoist
Description: The marriage of an open web floor truss
and a wood I Joist, bringing the best features of each
together to form an adjustable floor joist. TrimJoist is
produced in 2-foot increments ranging from 4 to 30
feet and in depths of 11, 14, 16 and 18 inches.

USP Structural Connectors

Phone: 952-898-8772
Email: Info@uspconnectors.com
Web: www.uspconnectors.com
Product: USP Structural Connectors
Description: The worlds leading manufacturer of
code approved, structural connectors and innovative
software solutions. Engineered, manufactured and
tested to withstand Mother Nature and are backed by
engineering and technical support teams.
All Resource Guides and Updates for the 2013
Editorial Calendar are now available on the website,
www.STRUCTUREmag.org. Listings are provided
as a courtesy. STRUCTURE magazine is not
responsible for errors.

Phone: 800-275-7086
Email: info@pbssips.com
Email: www.premiersips.com/bc
Product: Premier SIPs
Description: SIPs have been evaluated for
performance in demanding structural situations,
including under high winds, earthquakes and snow
loads. Exceptionally strong in racking diaphragm
shear capacities. Create tight, well-insulated building
envelopes for superior energy efficiency.

Simpson Strong-Tie

RISA Technologies

Phone: 925-560-9000
Email: web@strongtie.com
Web: www.strongtie.com
Product: Connectors for Engineered Wood
Description: Offer unmatched quality and are backed
by our uncompromising commitment to customer
service. You can count on Simpson Strong-Tie to work
closely with contractors, specifiers and code officials to
deliver innovative, code-listed solutions. Our full line
of EWP connector products includes I-Joist hangers
and structural composite lumber connectors.

Phone: 877-900-3111
Email: timberlinx@rogers.com
Web: www.timberlinx.com
Product: Timberlinx
Description: Embedded Steel Connections with
Defined Engineered Values.

Insulfoam

Phone: 608-403-4197
Email: steve.winistorfer@tecotested.com
Web: www.tecotested.com
Product: Certification and Testing
Description: Third-party certification and testing
agency for structural wood panels, engineered wood
products, and structural adhesives. Visit our website to
learn more about TECO and its services.

Phone: 925-560-9000
Email: web@strongtie.com
Web: www.strongtie.com
Product: Wood Strong-Wall Shearwall
Description: Can be installed around window and
door openings, on garage wing walls, interior walls
or other locations where increased lateral resistance
is required. Wood Strong-Wall panels can reduce the
amount of wall space required for shearwalls, allowing
for more windows and doors in house designs.

Wheeler

Phone: 800-328-3986
Email: info@wheeler-con.com
Web: www.wheeler-con.com
Product: Panel Lam Bridges
Description: Wheeler designs and supplies
treated timber bridge kits for recreation and
vehicular applications.

TrimJoist Corporation

Weyerhaeuser

Phone: 888-453-8358
Email: wood@weyerhaeuser.com
Web: www.woodbywy.com
Product: Trus Joist TJI Joists with
Flak Jacket Protection
Description: A simple, cost-effective way to achieve
one-hour floor/ceiling assemblies. Provide one-hour
fire-rated assembly with only a single gypsum layer
and no mineral wool in multi-family buildings.
Also help meet 2012 IRC R501.3 fire-protection
requirements in single-family homes.

STRUCTURE magazine

online

All past issues

News, Events, Book Reviews,

Letters to the Editor and more!

www.STRUCTUREmag.org

56

April 2013

Design wood structures effectively,

economically and with ease!

Design Office

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Gravity Design

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Lateral Design

CONNECTIONS
Fasteners

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EDITOR

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STANDARDS

(US version)

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Download a Free Demo at woodworks-software.com

AMERICAN WOOD COUNCIL

US Design Office 10 - Coming this Spring

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www.woodworks-software.com

Canadian Design Office 8

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800-844-1275

award winners and outstanding projects

Spotlight

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

By Craig Schwitter, P.E. and Cristobal Correa, P.E.
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers, PC was an Outstanding Award
Winner for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art project
in the 2012 NCSEA Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering
awards program (Category New Buildings over $100 Million)

rystal Bridges Museum of Art is

an iconic museum inspired by
the local Arkansas landscape and
the exotic suspension bridges of
Bhutan. The 201,000-square foot museum
is a complex of eight buildings located in
Bentonville, Arkansas. Designed by Safdie
Architects, each of the eight buildings,
although individually unique, relate to each
other through a unified palette of concrete,
wood, copper and glass. There are five land
structures that nestle into the hillsides and
three water structures that create a circular
promenade on the site.
The land buildings are set in the sloped
hillsides of the creek ravine. Where there is
only soil under the buildings, drilled piers
provide vertical support. Lateral loads are
taken back through floor diaphragms and
distributed to grade beam-supported minipiles farther up the slope that are inserted into
rock sound limestone. The sizes of the grade
beams are typically 30 feet deep with widths
varying from 30 to 64 inches to accommodate the minipile geometries. The drilled
pier diameters range from 2 to 3.5 feet, with
rock embedment depths of 3 to 18 feet. The
reinforcement included number 8 bar reinforcements with number 4 spiral ties.
The lower levels of the land buildings are
concrete frames that feature either beams
or flat slabs that span 20 to 30 feet and are
column supported. The upper-level columns
and retaining walls are spanned by curved laminated timber beams (glulams), 10.5 x 31 inches
in cross section. The building roofs are made of
locally sourced glulam beams with alternating
strips of copper cladding and glazed skylights.
The bridge buildings notable because of their
hanging arch forms, represented a real engineering challenge. Their bases form concrete
weir structures that serve as the floors and, in
the case of the two spanning buildings, also
control the streamflow to create the signature
museum ponds.
The roofs of these buildings are a series of nonrepeating glulam arches, each of which has a

unique inner and

outer radius. Each
arch is broken into
three segments and
tapers at the ends,
varying in cross
section from 10 x
32 inches to 10 x 24 inches. These arches rest
on pairs of 4-inch diameter stainless steel cables
strung between heavy concrete abutments that
support the roofs. The roofs and floors are connected by external steel facade mullions that
both support the facades and impart additional
stability to the roofs under live loads.
The glulams are connected to each other
by a series of T-shaped steel purlins, 5 x15
inches in cross section, located atop the
glulam beams. Since the number of purlins
is constant throughout the cross section, as
the bridge roofs become wider, the spacing
between the purlins gradually changes. This
provides the T-shaped purlins with both a
vertical and a horizontal inclination with
respect to the glulams. The engineers also
used smaller, secondary timber purlins to
divide the roof into opaque and skylighted
areas. These secondary purlins have -inch
cross bracing that provides the roof plane with
a structural diaphragm.
The roofs are based on catenary shapes that
are created by the deflection of the cables. The
structures are designed so that the cables carry
all of the dead load. Once the dead loads of
the roofs were installed, the cables deflected
and attained their final geometries. The facade
mullions were then added, connecting the
glulam beams directly to the ground. This
created stiffer load paths that carried any additional live loads from the roofs. The mullions
supplement the horizontal diaphragm of the
roofs and provide lateral stability under wind
and seismic loading.
The bridges are suspended from abutments
at either end; these abutments rest on mat
foundations that utilize shear keys and are
located directly on rock. Rock anchors
were installed along the rear portions of the

STRUCTURE magazine

59

April 2013

abutments and sleeved through the abutments. Once the concrete for the abutments
was placed, the anchors were pretensioned
in order to resist the cable pull loads. The
foundations of the peninsula-like Great
Hall building are slightly different in that
there is only one abutment. The cable structure is tied to rock anchors inserted into the
pond for added stability.
The design of typical and repeatable details
that could effectively be used with the complex geometry of the roof was one of the
principal challenges of this project. One of
these is the visible connection between the
cables and the glulams at the typical ball joint
castings. The detail functioned as a universal
joint within the degree of movement defined
by the geometry of the Great Hall, which
presented the most challenging conditions
of all of the bridge buildings. The repeatable
detail could accommodate the number of
variations that would occur as each glulam
advanced along the cable.
Crystal Bridges, with its complex geometries,
would not have been possible were it not for a
high level of collaboration between the design
team, contactors, and the owner, and the use
of BIM and digital fabrication technologies in
order to ensure that the complex geometries
specified could be designed and built.
Craig Schwitter, P.E., is a Partner
and Principal at Buro Happold.
Craig can be reached at
craig.schwitter@burohappold.com.
Cristobal Correa, P.E., is an Associate Principal
at Buro Happold. Cristobal can be reached at
cristobal.correa@burohappold.com.

GINEERS

Repair of Construction Defects

Every Project Has Them
David Flax, Euclid Chemical Company
There are construction defects on almost
every job, unless it is a very small job or
unless the owner is extremely fortunate.
The list of likely defects includes cracks,
spalls, rock pockets, delaminations, chips,
gouges, rained on slabs, uneven slabs, etc.
On a typical job, repairs may have to be done to slabs, or vertically, or overhead. This presentation will discuss identifying
the defects, repair material selection, repair methods, surface
preparation, bonding, curing, etc. In some cases it will be
important for the repairs to be aesthetic as well as functional
and we will cover how to accomplish that.

April 25, 2013

UR
CT
RU
TIN
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NCSEA

UIN

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EE

GIN

EN

AL

Designing Connections to HSS

Introduction to Moment and Truss
Connections
Brad Fletcher, S.E., Atlas Tube
Known for its strength and aesthetic
appeal, the usage and popularity of
hollow structural sections (HSS) continues to grow. Whether HSS is used as
a primary structural support or as an architectural element,
it is the designers responsibility to select and specify the
type of connections that will be used. This webinar will
provide engineers with an introduction to two of the most
commonly-used types of connections for hollow structural
sections. Topics covered will include key considerations in the
design of moment and truss connections, review of resources
available to assist designers, cost factors, and more.

Diamond
Reviewed

NCSEA News

NCSEA Signs New

Agreement with SECB

April 9, 2013

AT

News form the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations

COUNCI L

UC

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STRUCTU

OCIATI

NATIONAL

Requirements Change for SECB Certification

April NCSEA Webinars

ED

ASS

RAL

EN

These courses will award 1.5 hours of continuing

education. Approved for CE credit in all 50 States
through the NCSEA Diamond Review Program.
Time: 10:00 AM Pacific, 11:00 AM Mountain,
12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern. Register at
www.ncsea.com.

In Memoriam

Dr. W. Gene Corley, NCSEA President, 1996 1997

Gene Corley, left, receiving

the 1999 NCSEA Service
Award from NCSEA Board
President Emile Troup.

NCSEA mourns the passing of Dr. W.

Gene Corley. He was a jewel in our
crown, instrumental in founding, promoting, and maintaining everything
NCSEA stands for, and, especially, in
making structural engineering a recognized discipline across the nation. He
will be sorely missed.
Jeanne Vogelzang,
NCSEA Executive Director
on behalf of the Board, staff
& membership of NCSEA

STRUCTURE magazine

60

The National Council of Structural Engineers

Associations (NCSEA) has signed a new
partnering agreement with the Structural
Engineering Certification Board (SECB).
The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI)
also signed a new agreement with SECB.
The primary purpose of these partnering agreements is to have all
structural engineering professional organizations working together
and speaking with a unified voice. The agreements represent a
significant new step in this direction. Specific goals include:
To promote the structural engineering profession.
To promote structural engineering licensure in all
U.S. jurisdictions.
To promote meaningful continuing education for
structural engineers.
To encourage more NCSEA and SEI members to obtain SECB
certification, SECB has enacted a two-year minimum open
enrollment method for licensed professional engineers practicing structural engineering to attain certification based on
experience and education. The license and/or registration must
have been awarded on or before July 1, 2005 and must remain
valid continuously through the time of application. The open
enrollment period began January 1.
In addition, SECB has reduced application fees for NCSEA and
SEI members from $350 to $200. The reduced application fee will
be available for a minimum period of two years and is a one-time
(not annual) fee. For more details, or to view updates to the application requirements, go to www.secertboard.org/application.
The partnering agreements between SECB, NCSEA, and
SEI demonstrate that there is a unified voice in the structural
engineering profession, said Greg Soules, P.E., S.E., SECB,
Chair the SECB Board of Directors.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

2013 NCSEA Excellence in

Structural Engineering Awards
Highlighting the best examples of structural
engineering ingenuity throughout the world
Eight categories:
New Buildings under $10M
New Buildings $10M to $30M
New Buildings $30M to $100M
New Buildings over $100M
International Structures
Renovation/Retrofit Structures
Other Structures
New Bridges/Transportation Structures
Eligible projects must be substantially complete between
1.1.10 and 12.31.12.
Entries are due Friday, July 12, 2013, and awards will be
presented at the NCSEA Annual Conference September 20
in Atlanta.
More information and entry form at www.ncsea.com
April 2013

NCSEA News

NCSEA First Winter Leadership

Forum a Huge Success!
The inaugural NCSEA Winter Leadership Forum is history, and
the two-day event met and exceeded all expectations. Over 50
leaders and principals from a diverse group of structural engineering firms in the United States engaged in thought-provoking
sessions, meaningful interaction, and networking in Tucson.
Sessions included subjects like Developing the Next Generation
of Structural Engineers, Key Financial Indicators for Success,
Managing Multiple Deadlines and Expectations, and
Establishing a Structural Engineering Training Program in Your
Firm. The Forum also included an interactive Roundtable event
where attendees participated and discussed a range of topics.
This was the first year for the Leadership Forum, and plans
are already underway for the 2014 event.

News from the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations

Dont miss the video recap of

the Winter Leadership Forum
at www.ncsea.com!
Engineers from the following firms were represented at
the 2013 NCSEA Winter Leadership Forum:
AHJ Engineers, PC
Arup
ARW Engineers
Barter & Associates, Inc.
BHB Engineers
CH2MHILL
Cives Corporation
David E. Groblewski,
P.E., Inc.
DCI Engineers
Degenkolb Engineers
Dibble Engineers, Inc.
DiBlasi Associates, P.C.
Dunn Associates, Inc.
Gilsanz Murray Steficek
Gregory P. Luth & Assoc.
(GPLA)
Haskell
IBI Group / Giffels, LLC
Jacobs Engineering Grp
Jose I. Guerra, Inc.
Kiewit Power Engineers

KL&A, Inc.
Martin/Martin, Inc.
Mercer Engineering, PC
Nayyar and Nayyar Intl Inc.
NCI Group
PEAK Engineering
Reaveley Engineers + Assoc.
Rubinos & Mesia Engrs.
Ruby+Associates, Inc.
SESOL, Inc.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Sound Structures, Inc.
Stantec
Steven Schaefer Assoc.
TETER Architects & Engrs.
TGRWA, LLC
The Di Salvo Ericson Grp
Thornton Tomasetti
Wallace Engineering
Walter P Moore
Weidlinger Associates
Wiss Janney Elstner Assoc.

The Winter Leadership Forum was a nice

change from the past Winter Institutes
and afforded not only great learning
opportunities from terrific speakers, but
also a chance to meet and learn from other
firm leaders from across the country.
William D. Bast, P.E., S.E.
Principal, Thornton Tomasetti

NCSEA expresses its appreciation to platinum sponsor

GINEERS

STRUCTURE magazine

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April 2013

O NS

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OCIATI

for their support of the Winter Leadership Forum.

ASS

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Structural Columns

The Newsletter of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE

myLearning
Last Chance to Register for
the Structures 2013 Congress Your New PDH Tracker and Personalized
Dont miss this opportunity to attend this years
Structures Congress.
Offerings this year include:
Two Pre-Conference Seminars on Sustainability and
Accelerated Bridge Construction
Eleven Tracks of Technical Sessions
Outstanding Keynote Speakers
CASE 2013 Spring Risk Management Convocation
Student Program
Young Professionals Program
Thursday Night SEI Welcome Reception
Friday Night Reception at the Heinz History Center
Comprehensive Exhibit Hall
Many Opportunities to Network
Over Sixty Committee Meetings
And Much More
For more information about theStructures 2013 Congress and
to register, visit www.asce.org/SEI.

Errata
SEI posts up-to-date errata information for our publications at
www.asce.org/SEI. Click on Publications on our menu, and
select Errata. If you have any errata that you would like to
submit, please email it to Paul Sgambati at psgambati@asce.org.

Hub for Continuing Education

Manage your professional development and license renewal through

ASCEs new learning management
system myLearning. Track all your
PDHs/CEUs, including those from other providers; obtain
certificates of completion; take program-related exams; print
or save transcripts of your professional development all in
one place! Make myLearning your personalized hub for continuing education and explore the comprehensive program
catalogand track your PDHs. Visit the myLearning website at
www.asce.org/mylearning/ and get started today.

LOCAL ACTIVITIES
The SEI Illinois Chapter hosted its 20th Biennial Lecture
Series at the Union League Club of Chicago on March 6,
March 20, April 3, and April 17 in 2013. These prestigious
seminars featured distinguished speakers from all over North
America, and attracted many talented professionals from the
Chicago land area. For more information about this and
other chapter activities, please see the chapter webpage at
www.isasce.org/web/technical/structural.html.
To get involved with the events and activities of your
local SEI Chapter or Structural Technical Group (STG)
http://content.seinstitute.org/committees/local.html.
Local groups offer a variety of opportunities for professional
development, student and community outreach, mentoring,
scholarships, networking, and technical tours.

Structures Congress 2014

Call For Proposals

Be part of the cutting-edge technical program of the Structures

Congress 2014 in Boston, April 3-5, 2014. The Structural
Engineering Institute is now accepting session and presentation
proposals for the Structures Congress 2014.

Key Dates
All Abstract and Session Proposals due June 12, 2013
Notification of Acceptance September 18, 2013
All Final Papers due December 18, 2013
(extensions not possible)

Session proposals can take two forms, a traditional session

with 4 papers presented, or a panel session with no papers and
perhaps more audience interaction. In addition, you can submit
individual abstracts that may be combined with others to form
cohesive sessions. Topics will include but are not limited to:
Bridges
Buildings
Seismic
Wind and Flood Loads
Sustainability
Business and Professional Practice
Blast and Impact Loading
Nonbuilding and Special Structures
Nonstructural Systems and Components

Visit the Structures Congress 2014 website for more information and submission instructions
http://content.asce.org/conferences/structures2014/call.html.
STRUCTURE magazine

62

April 2013

Two SEI Members Added to

National Academy of Engineering

Brian Kukay (member of the SEI Technical Activities Division

Timber Bridge Committee), along with students Logan Dunlap
and Daniel Zieske of Montana Tech, are conducting a nationwide Survey of Timber Bridge Construction and Maintenance. The
survey was developed with input from Sheila Duwadi of FHWA,
Jim Wacker of ASCE and the Forest Products Laboratory, and
Phil Pierce, Chair of the Timber Bridge Committee. The survey
will determine the extent of the use of wood for vehicular bridges
and to assist in resolving issues of concern that bridge owners
might be experiencing. Results will be provided to the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and
may lead to potential further investigation and/or research. If
your state would like to participate in this survey, but has yet
to do so, please contact Brian Kukay at Montana Tech of the
University of Montana, bkukay@mtech.edu or 406-496-4517.

Congratulations to the following SEI members for their election to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the most
esteemed career honors an engineer may receive:
Gregory Deierlein, P.E., F. ASCE, civil and
environmental engineering professor, Stanford
University, Stanford, Calif. For development and
implementation of advanced structural analysis and
design techniques.
Sharon Wood, M. ASCE, professor and chair, University
of Texas civil, architectural, and environmental
engineering department, Austin. For design of
reinforced concrete structures and associated seismic
instrumentation for extreme loadings and environments.
Visit the NAE website at www.nae.edu to learn more about
the National Academy of Engineering.

Dont miss the opportunity to attend and expand your professional knowledge October 10-12, 2013 in Charlotte,
North Carolina. Join ASCE and industry professionals from across the globe in the Queen City to discover hot topics and the latest trends in Innovations in Project Financing. Visit the Annual 2013 Conference site at
www.asce.org/Conferences/ASCE-143rd-Annual-Civil-Engineering-Conference to learn more about this years conference.
Hope to see you in Charlotte.

New ASCE Structural Webinars Available

SEI partners with ASCE Continuing Education to present quality live interactive webinars on useful topics in structural engineering. Several new webinars are available:
Wind Design for Components and Cladding

April 4, 2013

Bill Coulbourne

Roof Failure due to Snow Loading 2010-11 Southern New England Case Study

April 15, 2013

Michael ORourke

Changes to the Nonbuilding Structures Provisions in ASCE 7-10

April 17, 2013

J.G. (Greg) Soules

The Five Most Common Errors Made During Bridge Inspections

April 22, 2013

Jennifer C. Laning

Connection Solutions for Wood Framed Structures

April 29, 2013

Tom Williamson

Wind Tunnel Testing for Wind Loads on Structures

May 1, 2013

Forrest J. Masters

Evaluating Damage & Repairing Metal-Plate-Connected Wood Trusses

May 15, 2013

Jim Vogt

Seismic Assessment and Design of Pipelines

March 27, 2013

Donald Ballantyne

Webinars are live interactive learning experiences. All you need is

a computer with high-speed internet access and a phone. These
events feature an expert speaker on practice-oriented technical
and management topics relevant to civil engineers.
Pay a single site fee and provide training for an unlimited
number of engineers at that site for one low fee, and no cost or
lost time for travel and lodging. ASCEs experienced instructors
STRUCTURE magazine

deliver the training to your location, with minimal disruption

in workflow ideal for brown-bag lunch training.
ASCE Webinars are completed in a short amount of time
generally 60 to 90 minutes and staff can earn one or more
PDHs for each Webinar.
Visit the ASCE Continuing Education website for more details
and to register: www.asce.org/conted.

63

April 2013

The Newsletter of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE

Save The Date ASCE Annual 2013 Conference

Structural Columns

Timber Bridge Survey

Announced

Creating a Culture of Quality

CASE in Point

The Newsletter of the Council of American Structural Engineers

CASE Tool 1-1: Create a Culture for

Managing Risks and
Preventing Claims

CASE Tool 1-2: Developing a Culture

of Quality

Inject into your firm a culture of risk management. This is

the first and most comprehensive tool offered on risk management in the engineering industry. It includes a video, a
story board and role playing guide to involve your staff in
the risk management discussion. If you want to put your
firms personnel on the path to good risk management habits,
this is where you start.

Culture is hard to define in an organization, but it is a key part of

what gives a design firm character. CASE Tool No. 1-2, Developing
a Culture of Quality was developed to identify ways to drive quality
into a firms culture. It is recognized that every firm will develop
its own approach to developing a culture of quality, but following these 10 key areas offers a substantial starting point. The tool
includes an attached white paper and PowerPoint presentation
that can be customized to facilitate the overall discussion.
You can purchase all CASE products at
www.booksforengineers.com.

CASE Risk Management

Convocation in Pittsburgh

Timing of ACEC Convention

Opportune for Industry Advocacy

The CASE Risk Management Convocation will be held in conjunction with the Structures Congress at the Westin Convention
Center in Pittsburgh, PA, May 2-4, 2013. For more information
and updates go to www.seinstitute.org.
The following CASE Convocation sessions are scheduled to
take place on Friday, May 3:

With Congress and the Administration again locked in a

budget showdown, the upcoming ACEC Annual Convention
in Washington, D.C., April 21-24, will provide a unique
opportunity for ACECs citizen lobbyists to urge lawmakers to advance federal infrastructure programs essential to the
nations growth.
ACECs lobbying effort will promote the passage of water,
transportation and energy initiatives that should receive bipartisan Congressional support.
The Convention also includes a wide range of expert panels,
including federal agency officials discussing new business opportunities. A Teaming Fair for small and large firms will also be
a highlight.
For more information on the ACEC Convention, go to the
following link: www.acec.org/conferences/annual-13/.

8:30 AM10:00 AM The Business of BIM

Speaker: David Odeh, Odeh Engineers, Inc.
10:30 AM 12 Noon Trends in Effective Use of Commercial
Software for Building Structural Design
Speakers: Pedro Sifre & James Parker, Simpson, Gumpertz &
Heger, Inc.
1:30 PM 3:00 PM Reviewing Contractors Electronic
Models in Lieu of Hard Copy Shop Drawings
Speakers: David Ruby, Ruby + Associates, Inc.
3:30 PM 5:00 PM BIM Validation: Modeling for
Downstream Success
Speakers: David Aucoin

You can follow ACEC Coalitions

on Twitter @ACECCoalitions.

Donate To The CASE Scholarship Fund!

The ACEC Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE)
is currently seeking contributions to help make the structural
engineering scholarship program a success. The CASE scholarship, administered by the ACEC College of Fellows, is awarded
to a student seeking a Bachelors degree, at minimum, in an
ABET-accredited engineering program.
We have all witnessed the stiff competition from other disciplines and professions eager to obtain the best and brightest
young talent from a dwindling pool of engineering graduates.
One way to enhance the ability of students in pursuing their
dreams to become professional engineers is to offer incentives
in educational support.
STRUCTURE magazine

64

In addition, the CASE scholarship offers an excellent opportunity for your firm to recommend eligible candidates for
our scholarship. If your firm already has a scholarship program, remember that potential candidates can also apply
for the CASE Scholarship or any other ACEC scholarship
currently available.
Your monetary support is vital in helping CASE and ACEC
increase scholarships to those students who are the future
of our industry. All donations toward the program may
be eligible for tax deduction and you dont have to be an
ACEC member to donate! Please contact Heather Talbert
at htalbert@acec.org to donate.
April 2013

Since its inception in 1995, the American Council of Engineering

Companies prestigious Senior Executives Institute (SEI) has
attracted public and private sector engineers and architects from
firms of all sizes, locations and practice specialties. Executives
and up-and-coming executives continue to be attracted by
the Institutes intense, highly interactive, energetic, exploratory,
and challenging learning opportunities.
In the course of five separate five-day sessions over an
18-month timeframe, participants acquire new high-level skills
and insights that facilitate adaptability and foster innovative
systems thinking to meet the challenges of a changed A/E/C
business environment.
The next SEI Class 19 meets in Washington, D.C. in
September 2013 for its first session. Registration for remaining slots is available.

Executives with at least five years experience managing professional design programs, departments, or firms are invited
to register for this unique leadership-building opportunity. As
always, course size is limited, allowing faculty to give personal
attention, feedback, and coaching to every participant about
their skills in management, communications, and leadership.
SEI graduates say that a major benefit of the SEI experience is
the relationships they build with each other during the program.
Participants learn that they are not alone in the challenges they
face both personally and professionally, and every SEI class has
graduated to an ongoing alumni group that meets to continue
the lifelong learning process and provide support.
For more information, visit www.acec.org/education/sei/ or contact Deirdre McKenna, dmckenna@acec.org, or 202-682-4328.

If you would like more information on the items below, please contact Ed Bajer, ebajer@acec.org.

Standard of Care: What the

Judge can tell the Jury
There are various instructions a judge can give a jury in determining the standard of care for an engineer. Below is just one
used (CA) that recognizes that an unsuccessful effort does not
necessarily mean a breach of the standard of care.
[A professional ] is not necessarily negligent just because [his/
her] efforts are unsuccessful or [he/she] makes an error that
was reasonable under the circumstances. [A professional ] is
negligent only if [he/she] was not as skillful, knowledgeable,
or careful as another reasonable [professional ] would have been
in similar circumstances.

Recovering Payment on a
Federal Project
The Miller Act was created to protect sub-contractors against
non-payment by the prime contractor. A design firm faced with
the risk of non-payment may only rely upon the protection of
STRUCTURE magazine

the Miller Act for compensation in limited circumstances. For

a design firm, it depends on the nature of the services provided.
If on-site services are not provided, it is clear they cannot use
the Miller Act to recover payment. However, recovery under the
act is possible when a designer performs on-site supervision or
inspection duties in addition to typical design services such
as the preparation of plans, details and specifications.

Gaining Mastery of the

EJCDC General Conditions
Construction administration calls for a thorough knowledge
of the general conditions of a contract. The more complete
your grasp of the details of that document, the more perfect
will be your mastery of the many situations which it controls.
No important decision affecting the owners rights should
be reached without consulting the general conditions, since
something in them is probably affected by it. The new 2013
version of EJCDC General Conditions will be available very
shortly, if not already available from ACEC. Check the ACEC
website, acec.org, for availability. Look for the 2013 edition.

65

April 2013

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Structural Forum

opinions on topics of current importance to structural engineers

Consequences of the Gendered Culture of Engineering

By Lara K. Schubert, P.E.

n my February column, I challenged

engineers to think about the culture
of structural engineering. The workplace that I described is now one where
about half the engineers are women, but the
gendered culture of engineering is still not
extinct. Challenges particular to women persist in the field. Again, I encourage you to
think about the invisible culture of your own
workplace and the culture of structural engineering more broadly. This follow-up piece
shows how some aspects of this culture may
be particularly stifling for women.
In a study for the National Bureau of
Economic Research, Jennifer Hunt shows
that women are not only more likely to leave
engineering than men, but also more likely
to leave engineering than other fields. Based
on my own experience and others work on
the perceptions of women in related fields of
science, technology, and mathematics, I offer
some possible contributing factors for this phenomenon. With this information, engineers in
management positions will be better equipped
to retain women, rather than losing the expertise and talents of this population; and, female
engineers might be better able to understand
some of their difficulties and be more likely to
believe in the possibility of change.
At the beginning of my career, I knew little
about day-to-day engineering. Consequently,
my first year was a period of intense absorption. From close observations of other
engineers, I perceived that a good engineer
has sound arguments not only for design
decisions but also all other assertions. This
pressure to be an expert in everything meant
always arguing a position rather than admitting being wrong. This demeanor comes freely
for some and is cultivated by others.
As I struggled to learn analysis methods and
code requirements on the job, I consistently
asked a senior engineer for help and wondered how others knew it all. After many
months, I had an extraordinary epiphany,
realizing two important truths: everyone makes
mistakes and no one knows everything. This
finally freed some conceptual space for me to
work. If only this had been transparent at the
start and inquisitiveness clearly valued over

Self-confidence is crucial in advancing and enjoying a research career. From an

early age, girls receive messages that they are not good enough to do science subjects
or will be less liked if they are good at them.
Ben Barres
mastery, I would have been able to muster
self-confidence much more quickly. A culture
that intentionally affirms inquiry, recognizes
that mistakes are unavoidable, and institutes
collaboration to ensure appropriate design
accordingly will free engineers to grow in
their profession.
Initial intimidation may be universal for
inexperienced engineers, but it has a substantial impact on women who more
commonly struggle with lack of self-confidence. Research sponsored by the National
Science Foundation reported this challenge
for women in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) fields. Girls assess
their own mathematical abilities at a lower
level than boys with similar achievements.
This lack of self-confidence aligns with the fact
that people are more likely to doubt womens
competence, intensifying the pressure that a
beginning female engineer puts on herself. A
New York Times article in September 2012,
Bias Persists for Women of Science, confirmed
yet again that both women and men tend to
favor male candidates.
Ben Barres wrote about perceptions based
on gender in a compelling article in the July
2006 issue of Nature. Barres is a neurobiology
professor at Stanford who started his career
as a woman. He has a unique perspective
because early in his career he went through
hormone treatments to transition from female
to male. Barres argues that the main factor
for the gender disparity in science is social.
Because people generally assume that women
are worse at science, women lack the selfconfidence that more men enjoy. He cites
a study showing that the bar is set higher
for women scientists; it found that women
applying for a research grant needed to be 2.5
times more productive than men in order to
be considered equally competent.
Barress own experience is telling. He recalls
that, shortly after his sex change, a faculty
member was heard to say, Ben Barres gave

a great seminar today, but then his work is

much better than his sisters. Barress sister
was simply Ben as a woman. Clearly his work
was not different, but it was assessed differently based on the gender of the researcher.
While biases are not easily changed, transforming the culture of structural engineering
is possible. An important step is to create a
culture in which engineers can retain respect
when they admit that they do not know something. Women need to feel both respected and
included. Such a transformation requires selfreflection within the field itself, as well as by
principals who provide intentional supportive
mentoring and begin to see the unacknowledged culture of engineering with a critical
lens in order to open it up.
If structural engineers think about how the
culture of engineering colludes with societal
pressures on women (and other under-represented populations), aspects of the culture
may begin to change and allow more talented
female engineers not only to enter the profession, but also to stay, grow, and advance.
Perhaps if I had perceived such success to
be possible, I would still be a full-time engineer. While I enjoy aspects of engineering, I
was not able to see the prospects for change
before gaining a certain distance from the
profession. I hope that what I have learned
will help all engineers to see the culture of
engineering and the potential for transformation. Subsequently, others who do not fit the
typical model of an engineer, but have desire
and skill, will choose to stay in the profession,
forcing the model to change and helping the
field itself to flourish.
Lara K. Schubert, P.E., works part-time
for Holmes Culley Structural Engineers,
has taught at Cal Poly Pomona, and is a
PhD candidate in religion at Claremont
Graduate University. She can be reached
at lschubert@holmesculley.com.

Structural Forum is intended to stimulate thoughtful dialogue and debate among structural engineers and other participants in the design and
construction process. Any opinions expressed in Structural Forum are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NCSEA,
CASE, SEI, C 3 Ink, or the STRUCTURE magazine Editorial Board.
STRUCTURE magazine

66

April 2013

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