A Trine University faculty member co-authored a paper that was included in a recent
publication covering the design of concrete structural elements to withstand torsion.
Gary Greene, Jr., Ph.D., associate professor in Trine University’s Reiners Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, co-authored “Design of a Grade Beam to Resist
Torsion due to Wind Loading on CMU Wall” with Mark Hartmann, a practicing design engineer
based in Fort Worth, Texas.
The paper is one of 11 design examples that make up Special Publication (SP) 344,
titled, “Examples for the Design of Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Members Under
Torsion.” The American Concrete Institute (ACI) released the publication in October.
“Design of reinforced concrete structures for torsion is not typically taught at the
undergraduate level, so design engineers rely on references such as ACI SP-344 to
give them guidance on how to design such structures,” Greene said.
Greene and Hartmann’s paper provides a design example of wind loading on a concrete
masonry unit (CMU) wall. The CMU wall is supported by a reinforced concrete-grade
beam that experiences the combined actions of torsional moment, bi-axial bending moment
and bi-axial shear force.
The paper describes how to provide adequate steel reinforcement for strength and how
to properly detail the reinforcement for torsion according to ACI 318-19, a document
that provides the rules for designers to properly design concrete buildings. The example
is based on a real project designed by Hartmann.
Greene said the paper grew out of a 2013 report titled “Report on Torsion in Structural
Concrete” produced by the ACI subcommittee on Torsion. Greene was one of the lead
authors of that report, and currently co-chairs the subcommittee.
“This report summarized the state-of-the-art in research on the behavior, predictive
equations and design equations for building loads that include torsional moments,”
Greene said. “The technical review board at ACI liked the document, but asked the
subcommittee to develop another document providing realistic examples to help designers
with how to design for torsion in building structures.”
During the Fall 2020 ACI Convention, held virtually in October, the subcommittee hosted
two sessions to present the papers in SP-344. Greene co-moderated the sessions and
presented his paper at the session.
Greene also served as one of the three editors of SP-344.
The publication is available for purchase on the ACI website.
Last Updated: 11/16/2020
