To: Ameri Gurley

From: Team 1
Date: December 12, 2023
Subject: Emergency
Communications Center in
Biloxi, Mississippi

Dear Mrs. Ameri Gurley,

The attached report is a structural proposal for an emergency communications center located in
Biloxi, Mississippi. This proposal provides detailed design procedures, specifications, and final
sizing selections for all support members in the building. Calculations are provided based on the
different floor levels of the building spanning from the foundation to the roof members.
Calculations are provided for joists, beams, girders, columns, footings, and lateral force resisting
system, or the x-bracing sizes are clearly presented and labeled to correspond with the attached
plan drawings. The selection computations were done in the attached excel spreadsheet.

Sincerely,

Elio Castanuela
Jordan Duarte
Devin Gray
Jackson Still
Structural Design of Emergency Communications Center
Biloxi, MS

Principles of Structural Design

Texas Tech University

CE 3341-001
Team 1:
Elio Castanuela
Jordan Duarte
Devin Gray
Jackson Still
Project Overview
This design project was conducted for a proposed emergency communications center located in
Biloxi, Mississippi. The building is located on the coast of a beach on the south side of town and
is assumed to be an essential building with Risk Category IV. The building has three stories with
the wall heights and basic floor plans provided. The dead load and roof live load are given. Other
loads, such as the snow load, seismic load, wind load, and live roof load will be determined
using standards outlined in the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) 7-22 design
manual. The online ASCE Hazard Tool ([Link] was also used to assist
in determining the design loads.

Once the design loads are determined, all structural members, including joists, beams, girders,
columns, foundations, and lateral force resisting systems will be sized based on these design
loads. All design sizes are provided in floor plans throughout the report. These floor plans are
prepared using the AutoCAD design software.

All members are designed using standard sizes given in the American Institute of Steel
Construction (AISC) Steel Construction Manual (16th edition).

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 Table of Contents
Project Overview ............................................................................................................................. i
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ ii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 1
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 1
Loads ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Live Load Reductions ................................................................................................................. 2
Wind ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Seismic ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Snow ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Load Combinations ......................................................................................................................... 8
Foundation Design and Floor Plan ................................................................................................. 9
Column Design ........................................................................................................................... 9
Foundation Sizing ..................................................................................................................... 10
2nd and 3rd Floor Design and Floor Plan ....................................................................................... 12
Column Design ......................................................................................................................... 12
Beams and Girder Design ......................................................................................................... 12
X-Bracing Design ..................................................................................................................... 14
Roof Design and Framing Plan ..................................................................................................... 16
Joist Design ............................................................................................................................... 16
Beams and Girder Design ......................................................................................................... 16
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 20
Wind Diaphragm Calculations .................................................................................................. 20
Other Sample Calculations ....................................................................................................... 22

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List of Tables
Table 1. Given Loads .................................................................................................................... 2
Table 2. Column Size Results ....................................................................................................... 9
Table 3. Individual Foundation Sizing ...................................................................................... 10
Table 4. 2nd and 3rd Floor Repetitive Members ..................................................................... 12
Table 5. 2nd and 3rd Floor Girders .......................................................................................... 13
Table 6. 2nd Floor X-Bracing Sizing ......................................................................................... 14
Table 7. 3rd Floor X-Bracing Sizing ......................................................................................... 14
Table 8. Roof Joist Sizing ........................................................................................................... 16
Table 9. Roof Girder Sizing ....................................................................................................... 17

List of Figures
Figure 1. Section 4.7.2 ASCE 7-22 ............................................................................................... 3
Figure 2. Section 4.8.2 ASCE 7-22 ............................................................................................... 4
Figure 3. Roof N-S & E-W Wind Calculations .......................................................................... 5
Figure 4. Seismic Excel Loads Calculations ............................................................................... 6
Figure 5. Calculated Snow Load.................................................................................................. 7
Figure 6. Standard Load Combination Formulas ..................................................................... 8
Figure 7. Seismic Load Combinations ........................................................................................ 8
Figure 8. Foundation Plan .......................................................................................................... 11
Figure 9. 2nd and 3rd Floor Framing Plan .............................................................................. 15
Figure 10. Roof Framing Plan ................................................................................................... 19
Figure 11. Windward Wall Section (N-S) ................................................................................. 20
Figure 12. Windward Floor Plan FBD (E-W) .......................................................................... 21

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Loads
As stated previously, the dead loads for each floor were provided as well as the roof live load
and are given in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Given Loads

D Roof Deal Load -

Maximum Dead Load, psf 24
Second and Third Floor Dead Loads -
Dead Load of Floor Construction, psf 80
Partition allowance, psf 15
Wall Dead Load, psf 50
Lo Roof Live Load, psf 20

The floor live load was determined from ASCE 7-22 Table 4.3-1. The emergency
communications center used the office space designation in this table as a conservative estimate
due to the importance of the location. This gave a floor live load of 50 psf for the second and
third floors. Other loads that were calculated using the ASCE 7-22 standard are wind, seismic,
and snow which are discussed in further sections.

Live Load Reductions

Based on section 4.7.2 of the ASCE standard, uniform live loads are permitted to be reduced
based on the following formulas given in Figure 1.

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 Figure 1. Section 4.7.2 ASCE 7-22

This live load reduction is based primarily on the tributary area and cannot be reduced beyond
50% of the original load for members supporting one floor and beyond 40% for members
supporting two or more floors. The standard further states that live loads that exceed 100 psf
shall not be reduced at all unless they support two or more floors, in which case they can be
reduced by a maximum of 20% using the above formula. This live load reduction was used
where applicable throughout this design.

The live roof load is also permitted to be reduced per ASCE standards based on the formulas
given in Figure 2.

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 Figure 2. Section 4.8.2 ASCE 7-22

This reduction is based on the tributary area (At) and the roof slope (F). It is generally applicable
for members with large tributary areas and roofs with large slopes. In the case of this project, the
reduction was used where applicable depending on the tributary area of each individual member.
R2 is always one in this case as the communications center has a flat roof.

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Wind

Figure 3. Windward and Leeward Calculations

The preceding images of excel sheets show the calculated wind loads that should be designed for
in regard to N-S and E-W roof loads as well as Windward and Leeward load calculations. The
recommendations for design based on these calculations are as follows:
Windward Wall: 0’-15’ use 36.11psf, 15’-20’ use 38.43psf, 20’-25’ use 40.289psf, 25’-30’ use
42.14psf, 30’-40’ use 43.99, 40’-44’ use 46.32psf
Leeward Wall: N-S design for -32.52psf, E-W design for -28.46psf

Figure 3. Roof N-S & E-W Wind Calculations

N-S Roof: 0’-22’ use -50.89psf, 22’-44’ use -50.89psf, 44’-88’ use -32.58psf and at 88’ use
23.42psf
E-W Roof: Design using the same values as N-S
Note: over the whole roof, regardless of direction, there is a positive pressure of 1.45psf that
needs to be accounted for when designing the building

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Seismic
The seismic design loads were calculated for the horizontal and vertical directions. The seismic
forces at each diaphragm were found by the equivalent lateral force procedure. The ATC ground
motion, accelerated value, seismic design value, design category, and long-period transition
period were found using ASC7-22. The values were compared to those of the Applied
Technology Council (ATC) Hazards by Location service. The table below shows the ATC values
and is followed by the calculations for seismic.

Figure 4. Seismic Excel Loads Calculations

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Snow
The calculated snow load was calculated using the base snow load given in the ASCE 7 Hazard
Tool and the methods outlined in Chapter 7 of ASCE 7-22. The balanced snow load and
corresponding factors used to calculate it is shown in Figure 5. A surcharge of 8 psf was applied
to the sloped roof snow load.

Figure 5. Calculated Snow Load

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Load Combinations
After determining the design loads, a factored design load was often determined for various
structural members using the load combination formulas outlined in Chapter 2 of the ASCE 7-22
Design Manual. The load combination formulas are outlined below in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Standard Load Combination Formulas

In these formulas, D is the dead load, L is the live load, Lr is the live roof load, S is the snow
load, and R is the rain load. After calculating each load combination, the highest load was used
as the most conservative option. ASCE 7-22 also provides two additional formulas for use with
seismic loads, shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Seismic Load Combinations

In these formulas, Ev is the vertical seismic load and Eh is the horizontal seismic load. These
seven formulas and the tributary width or tributary area of each individual member are used to
calculate the factored design loads used throughout this report.

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Foundation Design and Floor Plan

The floor plan of the first floor and foundation design is given at the end of this section in Error! R
eference source not found.. Column and foundation sizes are shown on the floor plan. The floor
plan uses a grid system to label columns and foundations labeled A1 through E5. All members
were designed using A992 steel and the Load and Resistance Factor Design, or LRFD.

Column Design
Table 2. Column Size Results

25 steel W-shape columns were sized for this foundation plan labeled A1 through E5. The size of
each column is shown on Error! Reference source not found. and listed in Table 2. The
compressive load was determined using the factored load combinations discussed in previous
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sections and the tributary area. The columns were assumed to be fixed-fixed with a Kx and Ky of
0.5 and an effective length in both directions of 8.5 feet. The compressive strength was checked
for each column individually as well as the assumption that buckling occurred around the y-axis.
From these considerations, the lightest option was chosen from the member sizes provided in the
AISC steel construction manual whose capacity met the required compressive strength.

Foundation Sizing
Table 3. Individual Foundation Sizing

The foundations of each column were sized based on the total unfactored load acting on each
column and the given allowable bearing pressure of 3,500 psf. The sizes of each foundation are
shown in Error! Reference source not found. and listed above in Table 3.

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Figure 8. Foundation Plan

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2nd and 3rd Floor Design and Floor Plan
The floor plan of the 2nd and 3rd floors are given at the end of this section in Figure 8.
Foundation Plan. Beam, repetitive members, and girder sizes are shown on the floor plan. All
members were designed using A992 steel and the LRFD.

Column Design
To maintain a uniform design and reduce labor costs, the columns on floors two and three were
sized based on the ground floor columns and are identically sized to those columns listed in
Table 3. Due to the load on the ground floor being larger than any other floor, this is a
conservative approach and all columns on higher floors will meet strength requirements.

Beams and Girder Design

The beams and the girders supporting them were calculated using both the factored and
unfactored loads. The factored load was determined by multiplying the combined load by the
tributary width of each member. This factored load was used to determine the member size. The
unfactored load was then used to determine deflection requirements and the member was upsized
accordingly.

Table 4. 2nd and 3rd Floor Repetitive Members

Due to there being no joists on this floor, a set of beams form the repetitive members that support
the decking of the 2nd and 3rd floors. These are labeled in Figure 8. Foundation Plan as
repetitive member sets one through seven. They are sized in Figure 8. Foundation Plan and
listed in Table 4. The unbraced length for these repetitive members was assumed to be one foot
due how the beams are attached to the decking.

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 Table 5. 2nd and 3rd Floor Girders

Five girder lines were also sized and are shown in Figure 8. Foundation Plan as girders A1-A2
through E4-E5. The sizing of each girder is shown in Figure 8. Foundation Plan and listed in
Table 4. Each girder was sized based on the maximum moment, maximum shear, and maximum
deflection determined from the factored and unfactored floor loads and the span length. The
unbraced length for these girders is the distance between the attacked repetitive members. To
maintain a uniform design and reduce labor costs, each girder line was sized uniformly based on
the longest span in the girder line. The longest span was 30 feet for all girder lines. This is the
member requiring the greatest strength and thus can be used as a conservative approximation for
other girders in the line. In all cases, deflection, either from total or live loads, was the
controlling factor, not shear forces or moment capacity. The lightest member was selected that
met all deflection, shear, and moment requirements.

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X-Bracing Design
Table 6. 2nd Floor X-Bracing Sizing

Table 7. 3rd Floor X-Bracing Sizing

The 2nd and 3rd floors each possess four cross-bracing structures, one in each wall. These are
shown and labelled in Figure 8. Foundation Plan. The tensile loads for each member were
determined based on the controlling lateral load for each floor. These loads were determined by
choosing the more severe diaphragm load between the design seismic and wind loads. Sample
calculations for the wind diaphragm loads are shown in the Appendix. Once these loads were
determined, the required cross-sectional area of each member was determined whose tensile
strength would exceed the tensile load. This tensile strength was determined using a phi value of
0.9, a yield stress of 36 ksi, and the gross area of the member. The lightest option that possessed
the required tensile strength was used. The final design sizes are shown on Figure 8.
Foundation Plan and listed in Table 6 and Table 7.

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Figure 9. 2nd and 3rd Floor Framing Plan

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Roof Design and Framing Plan
The framing plan of the roof is given at the end of this section in Figure 10. Joists, beams, and
girders are shown and labelled on the floor plan. All members were designed using A992 steel
and the LRFD.

Joist Design
K-series open web steel joists were used in the design with a maximum yield strength of 50 ksi.
Maximum moment, shear, and deflection were the three main factors that affected design.
However, in most cases deflection was the governing factor in the design.

Table 8. Roof Joist Sizing

The roof framing plan possesses 20 roof joists supporting the decking spaced five feet apart.
These have been broken up by span into four groups. The joists between girder lines 1-2, joists
between girder lines 2-3, and so on. Using the tributary width and factored load, the required
strength based on the moment was determined. Using the unfactored live and unfactored total
loads respectively, the maximum live and total deflection was likewise determined, and the
member upsized to accommodate accordingly. The final member sizes are shown on Figure 10
and listed in Table 8.

Beams and Girder Design

Similar to the 2nd and 3rd floors, the girders supporting the roof joists were calculated using the
LRFD. The factored load was determined by multiplying the combined load by the tributary
width of each member. The unfactored load was determined by adding all dead, live, snow, and
wind loads and multiplying those by the tributary width. Similar to the 2nd and 3rd floors, five
girder lines were sized and are shown in Figure 10 as girders A1-A2 through E4-E5. The sizing
of each girder is shown in Figure 10 and listed in Table 9.

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 Table 9. Roof Girder Sizing

Each girder was sized based on the maximum moment, maximum shear, and maximum
deflection determined from the factored and unfactored floor loads and the span length. Each
girder line was uniformly designed based on the longest span. For girder lines 1 through 5, the
unbraced length was determined from the joist spacing. For the exterior vertical girder lines, A
and E, the unbraced length was equal to the span length. This unbraced length was used along
with the factored load to determine the initial size based on the moment capacity. However, in all
cases, deflection, either from total or live loads, was the controlling factor, not shear force or

17
moment. All members were upsized to account for deflection requirements accordingly. The
lightest member was selected that met all deflection, shear, and moment requirements.

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Figure 10. Roof Framing Plan

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Appendix
Wind Diaphragm Calculations

Figure 11. Windward Wall Section (N-S)

Above is a windward wall section (N-S) that shows the plf (pounds per linear foot) throughout
the building ranging from the foundation to the 2-foot parapet.

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 Figure 12. Windward Floor Plan FBD (E-W)

Above are windward floor plans (E-W) that show the windward and leeward wind loads on each
floor.

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Other Sample Calculations
It should be noted that all other sample calculations are included in the attached excel file and
therefore no hard copy sample calculations are included other than those shown above.

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