PPD Mix1 Flashcards
What is a skin loaded building?
Small buildings are skin or envelop loaded if their cooling need or heating need is mostly dictated by climate they are in however internal-load buildings tend to be larger and inner parts of the building usually have no contact to the climate around them. Larger buildings also tend to have more equipment, people and lighting which dictates heating or cooling needs.
Egress paths shall not pass through what rooms?
kitchens
storage rooms
closets
manufacturing rooms
What are ideal conditions where straw bale construction could be used?
intense winters in a temperate climate- good insulation
hot summer heat in temperate climate summers- good insulation
NOT good too much rain or snow BUT- a large wide overhangs will address that concern
What is the major benefit of precast, pre-stressed concrete solid slabs?
thinner structure- To reduce the floor thickness, architect should prefer a structural system that doesn’t have joists, or ribs in slab. Typically site cast and not post-tensioned slabs are thicker than, precast, prestressed or site-cast post tensioned slabs.
Name the three different types of fire separations?
Fire Barrier- enclosures around stairways and partitions that separates different occupancies into different fire areas.
Fire Walls-to separate a single structure into separate construction types.
Fire Partition- Partitions separating dwelling units in the same type of occupancy.
Fire Partitions-
- the least restrictive of the three assemblies, and have a minimum fire-resistance rating of 1 hour. Partitions are most-commonly used between mall tenants, or separate dwelling or sleeping units, as well as in elevator lobbies or corridors.
What else you should know:
+ The rating for fire partitions can be reduced when used to separate dwelling or sleeping units in Type IIB, IIIB, or VB construction if an automatic sprinkler system complying with NFPA 13 is provided throughout the building.
+ The reduction can also apply when code allows for a corridor wall to be a 30-minute assembly.
+ Fire partitions must extend from the top of the floor below, to the underside of the floor or roof sheathing …
+ OR, to the underside of the fire resistance-rated floor/ceiling, or roof/ceiling assembly above.
+ Openings, penetrations, joints and duct/air openings must be protected.
Fire Barrier-
-the IBC defines fire barriers as a “fire resistance-rated wall assembly of materials designed to restrict the spread of fire in which continuity is maintained.” Fire barriers include walls and horizontal assemblies, and vary in their rating between 1 and 4 hours. They typically separate occupancy classifications, atriums, exit stairways, shafts and fire areas.
What else you should know:
+ Fire barriers must extend from the top of the floor/ceiling assembly below, to the underside of the floor or roof sheathing, slab or deck above.
+ Barriers must be continuous through concealed locations, like the space above a suspended ceiling.
+ Any construction supporting a barrier must be protected to the same rating as the barrier.
+ Openings, penetrations, joints and duct/air openings must be protected.
Fire Walls-
- the most restrictive fire resistance-rated assembly, and create separate buildings for determining allowable area. Unlike partitions or barriers, fire walls must be vertical, and have a 2-hour minimum/4-hour maximum rating. Used to separate a single structure into separate construction types.
What else you should know:
+ Fire walls must provide for structural collapse on either side of the wall, without the wall collapsing.
+ Except when in building using Type V construction, walls must be made of non-combustible materials.
+ For vertical continuity, walls should extend from the foundation, to a point at least 30 inches above the roofs on both sides of the wall.
+ A wall must also extend horizontally to avoid potential fire spread from one building to the other around the wall.
+ The IBC does have exceptions for both horizontal and vertical wall continuity – be sure to check the code and verify the required continuity of your proposed wall.
+ Openings, penetrations and joints must be protected.
Two-way flat slabs are mostly preferred and are good choices for what type of installation?
- heavy loads such as parking garages. Their span range can be between 20-40 ft.
One way post tensioned slabs are good for what type of installation?
-for parking garages and other buildings where long span in one direction is needed. Their span range can be between 10-20 ft.
What is the approximate size of the “area of refuge” on a stair?
30 x 48
-communication station there as well
What is a VAV system?
Variable Air Volume
a type of heating and/or air-conditioning HVAC system that provides a varying rate of airflow through diffusers in each zone under control of zone thermostats.
What is a VRF system?
Variable Refrigerant Flow
a type of heating, ventilating, and/or air conditioning HVAC system which utilizes liquid refrigerant to heat or cool.
What is a Chilled Beam system?
a type of heating, ventilating, and/or air conditioning HVAC system which utilizes convection to heat and cool large buildings. Warm air rising to the chilled beam at the ceiling, is cooled as is passes across a heat exchange coil, and sinks tot he floor.
Public Land Survey System (PLSS)
A survey method used to divide or plat land throughout the U.S., using sections, townships, and checks as the main units of measure.
Exposure classification
An environmental classification that determines the risk of wind events based on building configuration and terrain type.
Reconstruction
One of the four approaches to the treatment of historic properties. Reconstruction recreates missing parts of a historic property with new construction.
Restoration
Restoration
One of the four approaches to the treatment of historic properties. Restoration is when a property is depicted at a certain point in time, and evidence of other time periods is removed.
Rehabilitation
One of the four approaches to the treatment of historic properties. This approach recognizes the need to change or add to a historic property while maintaining the original identity.
Preservation
Preservation is one of the four approaches to the treatment of historic properties defined by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Preservation focuses on maintenance and repair to ensure that a historic building’s or monument’s materials and form are retained.
Direct gain
An approach to passive solar heating which utilizes the sunlight that shines directly into a building to help heat a space. This method is best achieved through the use of south-facing windows to permit the entrance of light and heat, and a material with high thermal mass to absorb and store the heat.
Indirect gain
Solar radiation that falls on a buffer between the sun’s rays and the space, such as a thermal mass.
BREEAM
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method: an international sustainability certification standard for buildings, first published in 1990.
FSC certification
Forest Stewardship Council certification: a guarantee that the wood content of a product is sourced from either certified forests or from recycled waste.
GREENGUARD Certification
A product certification that verifies indoor air quality will not be harmed by chemical emissions from a product.
SHGC
Solar heat gain coefficient: the total quantity of solar radiation absorbed by a glazing assembly, including both direct transmittance through glazing and absorption by the frame. A lower value indicates lower total transmittance.
EPD
Environmental product declaration: a voluntary, standards-based reporting protocol that quantifies the material content of products.
Affirmative covenant
An agreement compelling a party to some action, such as maintenance of a property.
RSF
Rentable square footage: a calculation of square footage used for charging rent, which includes the tenant’s individual space plus a share of building common areas such as corridors, lobbies, etc.
USF
Usable square footage: a measure of building area that subtracts space which is not considered “occupied,” such as lobbies and hallways.
ANSI
The American National Standards Institute: a non-profit standards organization that develops voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel. These standards can impact building design and construction.
Risk category
A code-defined standard of risk assessment based on the hazard to human life in the event of a building failure.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
An international organization whose goal is to promote safety and minimize harm and loss from fire and electrical hazards.
Finish materials: Class A, B, C
A classification of interior finishes based on flame spread rating, as discussed in chapter 8 of the International Building Code.
IECC
International Energy Conservation Code: a model building code that establishes minimum energy performance standards.
Color temperature
Measured in degrees Kelvin, color temperature is a way to quantify the appearance of light produced by a lamp.
Lower values indicate warm lighting, whereas higher values correspond to cool lighting. A warm fixture will typically have a color temperature of around 2700K;
a cool fixture is closer to 3500K–4000K.
CRI
Color rendering index.
Measured from 0 to 100, CRI is a quantitative measure of how well a light source renders colors in relation to natural daylight. The higher the CRI, the more accurately colors are rendered.
Dew point (T)
The temperature at which water vapor starts to condense out of the air; above this temperature, the moisture will stay in the air. It is given in degrees Fahrenheit.
Psychrometric chart
A chart which illustrates relationships between different thermodynamic properties of air, such as dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, humidity, enthalpy, etc. This chart facilitates the evaluation of environmental comfort zones in different conditions.
Thermal comfort
The perception that an environment is generally acceptable for human occupation in the current climatic conditions. Factors impacting this include humidity, temperature, air movement, etc.
Degree-day
The number of degrees that a given day’s average temperature falls below or rises above a baseline standard of comfort. Put another way, this number represents the amount of heating or cooling needed to maintain thermal comfort for that day for that area.
Variable air volume (VAV) system
A type of heating, ventilation, and/or air-conditioning (HVAC) system that provides a varying rate of airflow through diffusers in each zone under the control of zone thermostats.
Fan coil unit (FCU)
A device containing a heat exchanger (coil) and a fan to circulate air over the coil. Commonly used to condition air in small, controlled zones, such as individual hotel rooms.
Hydronic convector
A heater that uses a heat exchange coil containing hot water or steam, and a fan to circulate air over the coil.
Single duct at constant air volume (CAV)
A type of HVAC system in which flow rate is constant, but the temperature of air is altered to achieve thermal comfort.
Invert
The lowest elevation of the existing public sewer line. It should be determined early during planning because any new building sewer lines will need to slope down to reach this elevation.
Expansion loop
A length of pipe which accommodates thermal movement in piping systems.
Soil stack
The vertical pipe which collects sewage from fixtures at different levels within a building, and conveys it to a municipal sewer system or other treatment system.
Stack vent
The exterior extension of a plumbing stack which vents to the atmosphere.
Vent stack
The vertical pipe to which all other vents are connected.
Waste stack
A vertical drain pipe that carries wastewater other than sewage.
Alternating current
An electric current which rapidly reverses the direction of flow of charge.
Direct current
An electric current which does not alternate the direction of the flow of charge.
Ohm’s Law
A law of physics which relates voltage, current and resistance using the formula V = I * R (where V = voltage, I = current, and R = resistance).
Transformer
An electrical device that raises or lowers the voltage and current in an electrical system.
Voltage
Also called electromotive force: the electric potential or potential difference between two points, expressed in volts.
Work ratio
A measure of efficiency of a heat pump or other machinery; useful as a metric for comparison between products to aid in systems selection.
Rotational force
Rotational force is a force that acts on a body and causes it to want to rotate. For example, a cantilever beam that is supported at one end must resist rotational force. Rotational force is also called moment and is a function of force times distance.
External force
External force is any force applied to a structure from outside the system. Dead loads, live loads, uniform loads, point loads, and moments are all external forces. External forces cause internal forces.
Soil types
The various combinations of bedrock, sand, gravel, silt, and clay that comprise the bearing strata for a building. Chapter 18 of the International Building Code discusses soils in greater detail.
Internal force
A force generated within a structure in response to resisting external forces. Includes normal (axial) forces, shear forces, and bending moments.
Second moment of inertia
Also called the area moment of inertia, or the second moment of area, this is the measurement of a structural member’s ability to resist bending. It is a geometrical property of a structural shape’s cross-section that measures the relative location of material with respect to an axis. In other words, cross-sectional material that is relatively far from the rotational axis contributes substantially more to that section’s ability to resist bending than material close to the axis. As such, this quantity is used in structural calculations to determine a beam’s resistance to bending and deflection.
