Resources
A working index of what I point other structural engineers to: my own calculators, the blog posts worth starting with, the codes I design against, and a few outside tools.
Free calculators
Everything at calc.struct.workopens in a new tab, free and mostly open-source. Full writeup in Calculator Suite.
Loadings
- Dead LoadsOpen the Dead Loads app, opens in a new tabDensity of typical materials
- Snow/Wind Station LocatorOpen the Snow/Wind Station Locator app, opens in a new tabClosest design stations to GPS coords
- Seismic Tank LoadsOpen the Seismic Tank Loads app, opens in a new tabRect. liquid containing tanks
- Blast LoadsOpen the Blast Loads app, opens in a new tabBlast load calculations
- Load CombinationsOpen the Load Combinations app, opens in a new tabFactored load combinations
Steel
- Section PropertiesOpen the Section Properties app, opens in a new tabStructural steel sections
- Piping DimensionsOpen the Piping Dimensions app, opens in a new tabStd pipe sizes, weights, flow areas
- Weld CapacityOpen the Weld Capacity app, opens in a new tabWeld capacity per CSA S16 Cl.13.13.2.1
- Bolt CapacityOpen the Bolt Capacity app, opens in a new tabBolt capacity per CSA S16 Cl.13.11 and 13.12
- Bolt Prying ActionOpen the Bolt Prying Action app, opens in a new tabPrying action on bolted connections
Concrete
- Development LengthOpen the Development Length app, opens in a new tabTension/Compression/Hooked
- Shear FrictionOpen the Shear Friction app, opens in a new tabConcrete shear friction capacity
- RC CorbelOpen the RC Corbel app, opens in a new tabReinforced concrete corbel design
- Shear & TorsionOpen the Shear & Torsion app, opens in a new tabRC beam shear and torsion design
- One-way Slab DesignOpen the One-way Slab Design app, opens in a new tabRC slab design per CSA A23.3
Browser Add-ons
- Hilti Profis AidView Hilti Profis Aid on GitHub, opens in a new tabRecommendations to mitigate anchor failure
Blog posts by topic
Deep dives on Canadian structural engineering, from blog.struct.work.
Concrete Design
Structural Modelling & FEA
- Why Your Software Says 'Singular Matrix'
- Choosing the Right Finite Element Type
- Building Structural Models the Right Way
- Finite Element Meshing
- Shear Deformation in Deep Members
- A Guide to Joint Fixity in Structural Modelling
- Frame Stiffness vs FEA
- What to Change in Your Model to Gain Confidence
- Substitute Frame Method
- Understanding Shear Area
- Converting Geotechnical P-Y Curves Into Spring Models
- Why Your Pipeline Settlement Analysis May Be Wrong
Loads: Wind, Snow, Live (NBCC)
- Decoding the NBCC Wind Commentary
- Key Wind Design Changes in NBCC 2020
- The 'Why' Behind NBCC's Snow Load Factors
- A Structural Engineer's Guide to the Journey of Snow
- NBCC 2020 Snow Loads on Modern Roofs
- 5 Live Load Nuances in the NBCC Commentary
- Navigating Wind & Snow Loads in Part 4 vs Part 9
- Mastering NBC 2020 Load Combinations
- Nailing Importance Categories in NBC 2020
- Navigating Serviceability (SLS) in NBC 2020
The NBCC: Part 4 vs Part 9
Seismic & Performance-Based Design
Standards I design against
The codes and standards behind the work and the calculators.
NBCC 2020
CSA A23.3
CSA S16
ACI 350 / 350.3
ASME B36.10
UFC 3-340-02
EGBC Guidelines
Outside tools I lean on
The outside software my own tooling runs on. If you want a specific pointer, ask me.
- Ollamaopens in a new tab runs the local models behind ETABuddy
- Streamlitopens in a new tab is what every calculator in the suite is built in
- Claude Codeopens in a new tab is the agent harness ETABuddy's diagnostic skill runs in
- Giteaopens in a new tab hosts my code at gitea.struct.work
- Pi-holeopens in a new tab handles DNS and filtering across my network