brick serpentine wall
 

brick serpentine wall
does anyone know how to analyze and design a brick serpentine wall? i found some guidelines from bia technical notes 29a - brick in landscape architecture - garden walls
rev [nov. 1968] (reissued jan. 1999). it applies to "minor" garden walls.
however, these are rules of thumb. they don't tell me if they can withstand a 120 mph wind or for what height limits.
thanks
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i would design based on a unit length, as with a straight wall. if the curvature is high, you may get some benefit but it's probably a disproportionate amount of more work on your part for the benefit you gain, i would guess. if you absolutely need to squeeze every drop out of your design, of course, you can sharpen the pencil and get to work, but i wouldn't bother with that unless i had to.
ucfse,
thanks. that echoes my initial thoughts. however, the architect is pushing us to do a thin wall 6 feet high above grade in a 120 mph zone "just like the ones" thomas jefferson did and are found in the reference 29a.
i came up with a wind load of 16.2 psf and a section modulus for the curvy wall geometry. the p/a+m/s yields a very small tension in the brick mortar.
i was going to suggest patterning them after jefferson's walls at william and mary college, but you beat me to it. if i recall correctly they are fairly thick but graceful at the same time.
if it works, it works. the trick, of course, will be checking that your curved wall behaves as a unit as is being assumed. at 6 feet tall, it seems the wall would have to be to be pretty short (length wise) in order for m/s to be have reasonable accuracy, like avoiding deep beam behavior.
ucfse,
"behaving as a unit" is my concern also.
concerning the section modulus, i calculated the section very similar to a corrugated metal deck. as far as the length is concerned, i will put pilasters at corners, junctions and any change of direction.