Wood piling snapped at about 5' up if they did not tilt first, steel posts bent because the load duration was long and the exposure/corrosion was severe. In the rebuilding of the Ocean Beach(?) area of Mississippi, there are many good examples learned by experience based on the 20+' surge. ![]() Wood is not too effective because of the climate and exposure. Because of the climate, use and finishing options, concrete masonry 6" or 8" is used for the blow-out walls that are parallel to the typical surge direction. ![]() Between the piers/column there are usually walls on slab that are built to provide the normal separation and protection from the elements under normal conditions. The rectangular pier/columns are normally oriented to resist the surges. The better homes and apartments/condos are built using concrete masonry or reinforced rectangular concrete piers on spread footings below the normal water level. The amount of connection is limited, but if the wall stands, it can be easily cleaned and refinished if it is made from appropriate materials. government.Įngineer and international traveler interested in construction techniques, problems and proper design.Blow out walls on the Gulf coast are usually used on property near the water that is subjected to tides and storm surge.īecause they are designed to be weak, the only provide separation of areas. In New Orleans, I had two homes (12" water in the home) that I visited for loss verification and in both cases the owners said they actually manned the pumps to equalize the water levels between the problematic political parishes and they returned to see the homes flooded and qualify for aid and assistance from the U.S. Very little real information can be drawn for New Orleans because of the quality of construction, the rise was gradual and may not have been classified as a "surge", but just a rise. If it is a gradual river flooding the current and associated forces can be estimated using approximations. The major frequent storm surges and flood levels are not adequate for some typical surges to determine a structural analysis. ![]() Your estimated factor comparing a storm surge in comparison to wind may be realistic for small, slow surges. This system was used on many during the early rebuilding. The temporary/sacrificial blow-out walls (perpendicular to the coastline) were generally 6" CMUs (virtually unreinforced) and just were used for general protection and enclosure of lower bathrooms/showers, utility rooms, garages, dens, TV rooms and workshops. The other structures that survived were the elevated homes with a rigid concrete frame on deep spread footings or reinforced CMU columns with designe "blow-out walls". The reinforced concrete homes with a good foundation survived well and were habitable or cleaned up within a few days if you could get to them. This was a situation were the surges were generally perpendicular (within 30 degrees) to the coast line and normal tracks for most storms.Īnything with either steel, timber or concrete piles under an elevated home was gone and there where few blow-out walls that were in evidence after the surges. The most severe conditions for storm surge were on the Mississippi coast there there was a 28' or so surge and and and equally damaging outward surge because of the debris. ![]() Just after and later in Katrina country, after looking at the damage and typical failures, I can only offer observations and not too much in specifics.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |