Lesson 8 Assessment

Difficulty Level: 5/5

Estimated Time to Complete: 30 minutes

Problem Statement: Design of a 3-story Building

The figure below shows a floor plan and elevation along with the preliminary shear wall locations for a 3-storey light wood-frame building. It is assumed that some preliminary calculations have been provided to determine the approximate length of the wall required to resist the lateral seismic loads.


Given Data:

  • Building area: A = 40’  x 60’
  • Seismic mass
    • Wr = 25 psf (roof) (Included dead load)
    • Ws = 10 psf (full snow load on roof)
    • Wf = 40 psf (floor)
    • The mass of walls are already factored in the mass of floors
  • Floor to floor height: h = 8’
  • The roof is flat (2 degrees slope and no overhang)
  • Building is regular
  • Wind speed =  130 mph
  • Seismic risk category 2
  • Ss = 0.75 and Sa = 0.4
  • Sheathing and framing
    • Use plywood for sheathing
    • SS D.Fir. L (38 x 140) for framing
    • Stud spacing: To be determined
    • 4 Studs at each end of shearwall segments
  • Hold-down type : HDU8-SDS2.5
  • Use hold-downs on all segments
  • Apply hold-downs at all openings
  • Use the shearwall deflection to calculate rigidity, and distribute force on wall segments based on rigidity
  • Always linearize deflection equation

Design Requirement:

Use the software to design the shearwalls and provide answers to the questions below.


Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4