What's new at ClearCalcs? (October 2023)

This month, we're introducing new feature additions - including adding unbalanced snow loads and drift loads in the snow load calculator and lateral seismic loads to the retaining wall calculator!

Table of Contents:

• Snow Load Calculator to ASCE 7-16 now incorporates unbalanced and drift loads
• Cantilever retaining wall to IBC 2021, ASCE 7-16, ACI 318-19 now considers lateral seismic loads

Let's get right into it.

Lateral Loads

Snow Load Calculator to ASCE 7-16 now incorporates unbalanced and drift loads.

First of all, shout out to all of you who attended the ClearCalcs Learn Hour on Snow Loads Analysis - massive thanks for your feedback and suggestions. This update is for you!

The Snow Load Calculator now includes the ability to calculate unbalanced snow loads and drift loads.

With easy input for horizontal distance from eave to ridge and roof pitch, the calculator will automatically determine whether unbalanced snow loads need to be considered and give you the unbalanced snow surcharge with or without a rafter system.

Additionally, we also include simple table inputs for calculating snow drifts on lower roofs and projections/parapets, giving you instant results for your snow drift pressures.

This means you can now better anticipate and plan for different scenarios when calculating snow loads and prevent localized overloading on specific areas of your structure.

Watch the calculator in action.

Available on: Pro plan and above.

Retaining Wall

Cantilever retaining wall to IBC 2021, ASCE 7-16, ACI 318-19 now considers lateral seismic loads.

Now, you can easily incorporate seismic lateral loads into your cantilever retaining wall designs.

With a straightforward toggle, you can consider seismic lateral load in your retaining wall design. The calculator allows you to input the lateral pressure from seismic loads based on equivalent fluid pressure method, usually obtained from a geotechnical engineer or report .

And that's not all; we've considered the International Building Code's factor of safety, which sets the default value of 1.5, and can be optimized to 1.1 for more cost-effective designs when seismic loads are in play.

With this, whenever you're designing retaining walls in regions prone to earthquakes or your building code requires it, we've simplified the process to ensure that your retaining walls can withstand seismic events.

Watch the calculator in action

Available on: Pro plan and above.

ICMYI

Wondering what other goodies we have come up with in the last few months? Here's a roundup of updates in case you missed it (ICYMI):

• We launched the brand new Restrained Retaining Wall Calculator, currently in Beta version and available for all users to test and give feedback!
• Multi-story shear wall analysis is now enabled in the Wood Shear Wall Calculator.
• Sloped beams are now automatically considered in timber beam design to Australian Standard AS 1720.1:2010

Take Action

Improve your structural workflow and accelerate your productivity by joining live events and meet others power users in the ClearCalcs community.

Open Web Steel Joists Analysis and Design

Wednesday, October 25th, 1 pm (ET)

The Atlas Tube Advantage: HSS Specification and Its Applications in Structural Design

Wednesday, November 15th, 1 pm (ET)

Check out our upcoming webinars or watch previous webinars at your own pace!

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That's all for this month. If you have any feature requests, you can send them to help@clearcalcs.com or submit them in our subscribers-only community forum, the Blueprint.