A Beginner's Guide to Structural Engineering

Homework/Example Problem Structures

© 2007 T. Bartlett Quimby

Overview
Dormitory
Communications Tower
Truss Bridge
House
Miscellaneous Details
 
Report Errors or Make Suggestions

 

The Dormitory

The Drawings

The PDF drawing set consists of 11"x17" drawings.  They print well on 8.1/2"x11" paper as well. 

Figure Bldg-1 is an isometric view of the building that will be designed in the homework problems. 

Figure Bldg-1
Dormitory Isometric View

Discussion

This three story building was originally designed to be constructed in Seward, Alaska in the mid 1980s.  A major down turn in the economy delayed it's construction.  When later built, another design was used.

The building has a steel frame supporting concrete floors and a brick exterior.  It was difficult to find locations for braced frames in the building, so it has moment frames resisting East/West lateral forces and braced frames resisting North/South lateral forces.

A quick look at the framing drawings can be intimidating for anyone unaccustomed to looking at structural engineering drawings.  There are lots of members in this building.  A very detailed grid system has been established to aid in referencing different locations within the structure.

This building, as presented in the drawings, is very much in the schematic phase.  In fact, you will undoubtedly notice that several smaller parts of the architecture have yet to be accounted for in the structural plans.  As you will only be doing component design in this course, there is sufficient detail provided to serve the purposes of the course without doing a complete design of the building.