huangyhg

snow loads on chain link material
i have been asked to analyze a baseball backstop that has a relatively large "roof". the structure consists of steel poles embeded in the ground, with chain link fencing on the sides and "roof". i know how to handle wind loads, via a document from the chain link fence manufacturer's institute.
does anyone know what to use for snow loads on a horizontal plane of chain link fence material? i will also be contacting the chain link fence people.
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never thought about it before, but i guess i would design it for the weight of ice, not snow. maybe 1/2" thick ice over the entire area?
daveatkins
thanks for the reply. i was going to design for ice, according to asce 7-98. i have asked a manufacturer of backstops what they do, and he said that they didn't apply snow load. based on some really quick calcs, this thing is stressed to 80% of the allowable due to dead load alone, with large calculated deflections that have also been observed in the field. once i start adding wind and ice i don't think this thing going to be overstressed.
i once checked the design for netting supports for a driving range. these were 100 ft tall poles. the governing load case was wind on ice. although the wind speed at this limit state was 40 mph, the netting was 90% solid under this condition.
just re-read my second post. i do beleive this structure will be significantly overstressed when i add wind and ice, i believe that this backstop is poorly designed (probably wasn't designed at all).
i've designed a number of these kinds of thing...netting at driving ranges, chain link fences, taut barbed wire for prisons, open wire corn crib silos, ...
i concur with the direction you're taking - design for ice and wind per asce-98. they have a map (fig. c10-1) that shows how much wind/ice for your region of the country, assuming this is in the us.
good luck!

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