Engineering structures to withstand earthquakes is serious business. In the last 15 years, Little P.Eng. Engineering has designed lots of construction projects located in areas of high earthquake activity, including buildings assigned to the most extreme seismic design categories of international building codes.
Given our offices in southern / northern California, Vancouver, British Columbia, Toronto, Ontario ones of the most seismically active regions in the United States and Canada, we have assembled 20 years of data on actual versus predicted building performance when subjected to earthquake forces. By analyzing the data collected, as well as participating in extensive research and testing of seismic materials and systems, we provide high end designs that are highly refined and innovative, and which advance the state-of-the-excellence.
Seismic design is a vital process of structural analysis while designing a building, which is subjected to Earthquake ground motions, such that the facility continues to function and serve its purpose even after an Earthquake.
Seismic Engineering has evolved over a period of time, the complexity of analysis which used to contain numerous iterations of formulas have now been automated with tools like ETABS, STAAD. Pro, Risa 3D, and others. These tools results in advantageous outcomes including but not limited to safe, stable & durable structure along with optimization of design & cost-efficient structures.
Hospital, Educational, Municipal, and Governmental Buildings are special structures with high importance factor ranging around 25-50% analysis score than the residential or commercial structures.
Seismic resistance of a building can be increased by adopting different types of structural systems, seismic isolation system, energy dissipation system and active control systems etc., which enhances the seismic behavior of a building by dissipating the lateral forces without damaging the structural elements. The development of new structural systems and devices will proliferate the non-traditional civil engineering materials and techniques. By adopting such advanced system approaches based on dynamic analysis gives better representation of the behavior when simulated for seismic conditions.
Little P.Eng. Engineering excellent structural and earthquake engineering firm that has been in continuous practice for 20+ years. Our large portfolio of projects comprises new and rehabilitated facilities of all types of construction, demonstrating our experience in all aspects of structural engineering and seismic design.
We consider ourselves to be “problem-solvers” who bring a fresh outlook to each structural challenge and who also take into account individual and unique project requirements, criteria, and budget limitations. Our broad experience with structural concepts enables us to develop integrated structural solutions for our clients and produce cost-effective and innovative design solutions.
Little P.Eng. leads the way in developing new and innovative seismic-resistant designs. In keeping with this, we are also early adopters of applications based on new research findings and innovations. Because of our commitment to innovation in engineering, we have pioneered the use of seismic base isolation systems, passive damping systems, and buckling restrained brace frames, amongst other design innovations.
Our methodology consists of using custom nonlinear procedures to predict and assess the structural performance of a building beyond what is possible with simplified linear analyses as well as studying numerous alternatives, which enables us to estimate earthquake damage and its impact on building occupants and building function.
Services:
Project Feasibility Studies
Seismic Risk Evaluations
Structural System Studies
Complete Structural Engineering Services
Design and Construction Document Services
Post Earthquake and Seismic Evaluations and Strengthening
Restoration and Rehabilitation
Special Seismic Analysis
Building Surveys and Studies
Construction Engineering for Contractors
Legal Consulting
Code and Peer Reviews
Value Engineering
Seismic load Calculation as per ASCE 7-16, IBC, NBC
Accounting for thermal loads in the seismic bracing design of mechanical piping systems has become an area of increased focus over the last several years, as evidenced not only in Building Code updates, but also by the level of scrutiny thermal systems receive during the review of seismic bracing submittal drawings. Often times, mechanical contractors attempt to follow a design shown on the contract drawings that utilizes oversized anchors and guides, flex connectors and other expansion compensators, resulting in considerable labor and material costs. In addition, the contractor typically still has to provide and install a seismic bracing system. In this scenario, when thermal and seismic systems are designed independently, loading effects required to be taken into consideration are not factored in, leaving the contractor to figure it out. This is where Little P.Eng. Engineering can help!
Little P.Eng. Engineering can provide an ASME B31 stress analysis package for your piping system that accommodates both the thermal stresses and seismic loads, all in one design. (gravity, pressure, wind, building drift, and even transient loads, such as water hammer are also considered). We then incorporate these loads into a comprehensive support and restraint design, satisfying the most current American, Canadian and international design codes such as IBC, CBC, NBC and ASCE code.
Our professional engineers have not only in-depth code knowledge and a solid understanding of mechanical piping systems, but also understand how seismic bracing design and bracing placement interacts with the expansion and contraction of thermal piping systems. The result is typically a drastic reduction in the frequency and cost of seismic bracing, expansion anchors and pipe guides. In most cases, Little P.Eng. Engineering can eliminate expensive components like spider guides from the system, and replace them with a simple seismic brace and standard hanger.
Little P.Eng. Engineering pipe stress analysis Services can also eliminate or greatly reduce all expansion compensators from the system, eliminating not only the cost of the compensators themselves but also the labor and warranty issues associated with them! Typically the material and labor savings can easily pay for the cost of this complex analysis. Whether the system stresses are imparted due to thermal loads, high pressure thrust loads (i.e. water hammer) or blast loads, we can find a streamlined solution for your project. When Little P.Eng. professional engineers working on your project, will combine this specialized code knowledge with advanced engineering principles to provide the leanest design possible.
We present our Seismic Structural Engineering Services and Seismic Piping Engineering Services the following industries: