empirical design of masonry
 

empirical design of masonry
can you please elaborate the "empirical design of masonry" per mbc 2003? what design is considered empirical or if yu are using the ncma software is it considered as a special design or just empirical?
empirical design is more like rule of thumb rather than actually being engineered.
i am looking for a more detailed explanation of section 2109 of mbc 2003.
if the software is set up to follow the empirical design rules, then the design is empirical. if the software uses engineering and physics to design the masonry, then it is engineered. you will have to look in the help file for the software, in the instruction book or call the manufacturer to see how the software does what it does.
when you say you want a more detailed explanation, for what are you looking? empirical design is a rule-of-thumb approach and is an alternative for having to use principles of engineering mechanics and masonry design in order to design masonry. you may also look in the aci 530 chapter 5 for empirical design and read the commentary for that section. the masonry designer's guide may also have information concerning empirical masonry design.