Industrial/Non-Building Structures Design Challenges [N2]

This session presents three different Industrial/Non-Building Structural design challenges: design of structural steel pipe racks, a methodology for transferring large uplift forces and a study of seismic performance of industrial buildings. - Pipe racks are structures in petrochemical, chemical, and power plants that are designed to support pipes, power cables, instrument trays, mechanical equipment, and access platforms. They are considered non-building structures (NBS) similar to buildings. Design requirements in applicable building codes are incomplete for most NBSs and must be supplemented by industry references and engineering practices. This portion of the presentation summarizes the building code and industry design practice for pipe racks. - In many heavy industrial facilities, column bases must transfer large uplift loads to the foundation, and if the tension load is too large to carry with a standard base plate, chairs are used to transfer the load. An equation was developed to calculate the ultimate bending strength of top plates in base chair connections. The design model, based on yield line theory, does not rely on the conservative assumptions inherent in current design methods. This portion of the presentation will focus on practical applications of the design model, including an example calculation. Industrial buildings house a wide variety of manufacturing, assembly, refining, mining or material handling processes, covering a broad range of products. They can also be part of critical facilities such as power plants and communication systems. Adequate seismic behavior is therefore critical for these structures in order to shorten downtime periods. This portion of the presentation will describe an on-going study investigating the seismic response of industrial buildings.

View content