You’d think it would easy to put a hole in a floor of a building, but it isn’t. The building code (here I’m talking about the International Building Code, or IBC, latest 2009 version) is organized so that code enforcement people can check whether plans for buildings are in compliance with the code, rather than [...]
Archive for the 'Writings' Category
structural calculators
25Jul08I’ve been working on some structural calculators lately, using some new software to convert Excel spreadsheets into HTML (web) applications. Examples include wood column design, wind and seismic load calculations, and steel beam design. I’ve always wanted to develop web-based calculators that would allow anyone with a browser to solve various structural problems; with this new [...]
buckling
29Feb08Two nights ago, I was lying in bed, thinking about how one might derive the critical buckling load of a column by considering such a column loaded instead like a beam (causing a similar deflected shape). The two equations governing the mid-span moment and deflection of such a beam are, of course, ingrained in my [...]
hawaii conference
16Jan08I just returned from Hawai’i, where I presented a paper at the Hawai’i International Conference on Arts & Humanities. The abstract for the paper was originally targeted for another conference in Washington, D.C., but, having failed to make the cut there, I submitted the abstract to, and it was accepted at, this conference on Waikiki Beach: [...]
First post: sustainability
28Dec07Not your ordinary sustainability essays: see What Sustainability Sustains and some notes on the LEED 2.2 New Construction Reference Guide.




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