The New Columbia Joist Company
Joist Design Data Sheet Number 1
How to Specify Special Joists
To obtain correct and competitive bids the specifying professional must show any special loading on the structural drawings. Special loadings could include concentrated loads and any non-uniform load distribution as illustrated. The load diagram shows a 20' span with non uniform loads combined with a concentrated load.
The maximum moment for this loading is 20267 lb. ft (243 kip inches). The equivalent uniform load to produce this moment would be 405 lbs. per ft.
The maximum end reaction is 3588 lbs, which is also the maximum shear. The equivalent uniform load to produce this reaction would be 359 lbs. per ft.*
The K series joist tables show a 16K3 (with a 20' span) has a total load capacity of 410 lbs. per ft. The designer should show a 16K3SP on the drawings.
The SP indicates special requirements for the joist. The joist manufacturer will review the designated joist for its ability to carry the special load shown.
*For all standard K series joists the maximum end reaction is 8700 lbs. If more reaction capacity is needed, consider using two (or more) joists to share the load. For LH and DLH joists a conservative end reaction can be found by dividing the tabulated SAFE LOAD by two.
Another way to solve the problem is to use the tables for KCS joists. The new KCS joists have constant moment and shear strengths -- in the case of the illustrated example a 16KCS2 joist is found to resist a moment of 349 inch kips and a shear of 4000 pounds. By specifying this joist it is not necessary to call for a SP joist or show the loading diagram.
Joist girders with unequal panel point loads must be defined by showing the load diagram on the structural drawings.
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