Questioning Ballast 5.0 Practice Problems

Questioning Ballast 5.0 Practice Problems

Postby Zanno » Sun May 21, 2017 5:18 pm

From the ARE 5.0 Ballast Practice Problems:

"A building is being planned for the storage of industrial equipment and machinery. What is the most appropriate reinforced concrete slab system for this building?"

A. Flat slab on columns
B. Flat slab on columns equipped with shearheads
C. Flat slab on beams on all four sides
D. Pan joist concrete deck system

In typical Ballast fashion, I don't see the 'best' option listed under my 4 choices (which I would think was a 2-way or waffle slab), so, going with the best available options I would pick B or maybe C. But Ballast says D is correct because 'a pan joist system is the strongest system of the options listed.' Really? I'm questioning the accuracy of this statement. We see composite metal decks used a lot in multifamily housing construction (at least in the Pacific NW), because it's lighter and more efficient, but is this truly the best solution for an industrial application?

Thoughts?
Zanno
 
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Re: Questioning Ballast 5.0 Practice Problems

Postby Magic Loogies » Sun May 21, 2017 8:24 pm

I think there are a lot of problems with the Ballast practice problems (not to mention the actual ARE problems). I ran into another problem in my studying that referenced pan joists, from what I can tell, they are not used very often. But they are very deep, giving them a lot more strength than a typical flat slab or composite metal deck system - which is what the problem is wanting you to pick up on I think (industrial equipment and machinery = heavy). Think like a waffle slab, except using long pans instead of small squares for the formwork.

I found these links somewhat helpful, but like I said, there doesn't appear to be much info out there. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in

http://www.cecoconcrete.com/wp-content/ ... ebsite.pdf
http://www.engr.psu.edu/ae/thesis/portf ... al%202.pdf
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Re: Questioning Ballast 5.0 Practice Problems

Postby msharif » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:21 am

Ballast for 5.0 - the tabs for PDD are labeled: Product Development. Ouch.
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