Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lateral Stability of a Box Beam ?

I have a situation requiring two beams, approximately 12" apart spanning about 27 feet. They aren't supporting much more than their own weight, but I'm concerned that if I just use the span as the unbraced length, the beams are going to be very large.

 

I would like to put plywood top and bottom to increase the effective lateral torsional strength. Is there a good reference in determining the capacity of such an assembly in wood?

 

Thank you,

 

 

T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E.

ALLEN DESIGNS

Consulting Structural Engineers
 
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