Shelf Angles For Masonry Veneer
Shelf Angles For Masonry Veneer
Shelf Angles For Masonry Veneer
and leakage of wind-driven rain, which in turn causes corrosion; volume change
of materials; freeze-thaw damage; destructive cryptofluorescence; increased heat
transmission; deterioration of interior finishes and building contents; tenant incon-
venience; and litigation. In the absence of an expansion joint between the hori-
zontal leg of the shelf angle and the top of the masonry below the angle, differ-
ential movement between the building frame and the masonry veneer may lift the
shelf angle vertically in a wedge insert in a concrete frame. Mortar rather than
sealant in the joint at the toe of the shelf angle and improper shimming of the
angle often result in spalled masonry. Shelf angle corrosion may be accelerated by
inadequacies in masonry construction, condensation due to exfiltration of interior
air, and improper angle protection. Dimension of masonry overhang beyond the
toe of the shelf angle is critical.
INTRODUCTION
When two building materials are juxtaposed, they interact physically and
chemically. The materials, design, construction, and maintenance of the as-
sembly should provide for that interaction to prevent premature performance
failure. Failure to accommodate the interaction between masonry veneer and
its supporting shelf angle in curtain walls on structural frames will result in
one or more of the following: spalling, cracking, and staining of the ma-
sonry; yielding or slipping of the shelf angle; and leakage of the assemblage
to wind-driven rain. Water causes most of the problems buildings have, in-
cluding: dimensional change; corrosion; biological decay; efflorescence; freeze-
thaw damage; increased heat transmission; condensation; deterioration of in-
terior finishes and building contents; tenant inconvenience; and litigation.
Important aspects of the shelf angle detail discussed herein include: (1)
Anchorage of the angle to the frame; (2) slippage, deflection, and rotation
of the shelf angle; (3) properties of the shelf angle section; (4) incompati-
bility of construction tolerances for frames and for masonry; (5) overhang
of masonry beyond the toe of the horizontal leg of the shelf angle; (6) water
drainage and shelf angle corrosion; and (7) expansion joints below shelf an-
gle at top of masonry. Equations for the structural design of shelf angles are
provided including deflection considerations.
Shelf angles are typically fabricated of American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) A36 steel, given a shop coat of paint, and anchored to
'Consulting Architectural Engr. and Sr. Lect. in Architectural Engrg., Univ. of
Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.
2
Prof. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Texas at Austin.
Note. Discussion open until August 1, 1989. To extend the closing date one month,
a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript
for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on January 26, 1988.
This paper is part of the Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 115, No. 3, March,
1989. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445/89/0003-0509/S1.00 + $.15 per page. Paper No.
22815.
509
The method of anchoring the angle to the building frame depends on the
type of frame. Shelf angles may be bolted or welded to steel frames. Bolted
connections may be of the bearing or friction type. Bolt holes in shelf angles
are typically slotted horizontally and in some cases the supporting steel mem-
ber are slotted vertically to provide for longitudinal and vertical adjustment
of the angle. In such a case a friction-type connection is required. The length
of the slot may not exceed 2.5 times the bolt diameter ("Manual of steel
construction" 1980). Bolt holes are usually spaced 2 ft (610 mm)-3 ft (914
mm) o.c. Closer spacing reduces shelf angle deflection and the required
thickness of expansion joints under shelf angles. When the angle is anchored
610
concrete
Expansion Joint
Scale
CONSTRUCTION TOLERANCES
The construction tolerances for masonry walls are incompatible with con-
struction tolerances for building frames of steel or concrete. In a seven-story
building an exterior column may be out of plumb by 1 in. (25 mm) if con-
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crete ("Recommended practice for concrete formwork" 1983) and 2 in. (50
mm) if steel ("Code of standard practice for steel buildings and bridges"
1976). However, a brick masonry wall may be out of plumb by only 1/2
in. (12 mm) ("Building code requirements for engineered brick masonry"
1969). It is not unusual for a building frame to be out of plumb by more
than permitted by the codes, and it is not unusual for architects and engineers
to ignore the breach of contract and/or violation of law. Architects are,
however, generally insistent that masonry walls not be excessively out of
plumb. If the frame leans outward or inward by 1 in. (25 mm) and the wall
leans inward or outward by 1/2 in. (12 mm), a 2-in. (50-mm) air space
between the frame and the back of the exterior masonry wythe may be re-
duced to a thickness of 1/2 in. (12 mm), or increased to 3-1/2 in. (89 mm),
even if the wall and column are both built within allowable tolerances. If
the masonry is placed on a steel frame, the thickness of the brick may have
to be reduced to 1-1/2 in. (38 mm) or 50% of the thickness of a 3-in. (76-
mm) brick wythe. An air space designed to be 2-in. (50-mm) wide may be
4-1/2 in. (114 mm), in which case wall ties may not fit.
Not only is brick often cut to pass the frame but often the horizontal leg
of the shelf angle must be burned off. All too frequently a plate must be
welded onto the horizontal leg of the shelf angle to extend its width. The
shelf angle is sometimes positioned so far inward that the masonry is built
continuously past the shelf angle (i.e., not supported by the angle). Nor-
mally, the width of the horizontal leg would be 5 in. (127 mm) to provide
a 2-in. (51-mm) air space behind a 3-5/8-in. (92-mm) brick wythe (see Fig.
1). If the cavity width were reduced by 1-1/2 in. (75 mm), the toe of a 5-
in. (127-mm) horizontal leg would protrude beyond the face of the wall by
about 7/8 in. (22 mm) and a width of 1-1/2 in. (38 mm) would have to be
cut from the leg to provide space for a proper sealant joint. All of this is
required when both frame and wall are built within permissible tolerances.
Such problems should be solved before the project goes to bid by requiring
the toe of the horizontal leg of shelf angles on successive floors to be placed
in the same vertical plane. Failure to do so is a costly design error because
it can create an impossible condition for the contractor. Two things cannot
occupy the same space at the same time even with the most advanced the-
ories of architectural techtonics.
EXPANSION JOINTS
513
S, = sealant joint
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thickness, in.
Ld
( tttxy
) •:•;•:•:-:•[
(
(. V ) vtv-A
:S*S\
Sealant
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The width of the horizontal leg of the angle / should be the next available
width larger than the sum of the cavity width and two-thirds of the masonry
thickness. The cavity width should be equal to 2 in. (50 mm) plus the thick-
ness of any rigid insulation in the cavity. Thus, for a nominal 4-in. (100-
mm) masonry wythe [specified dimension, 3.63 in. (92 mm) and a minimum
3-in. (75-mm) cavity], the width of the horizontal leg of the shelf angle
should be 6 in. (150 mm), in which case the actual cavity width would be
3.6 in. (91 mm). The actual cavity width is equal to the width of the hor-
izontal leg of the shelf angle less two-thirds of the masonry thickness. The
maximum allowable cavity width in a masonry wall is 4.5 in. (114 mm)
when one wall tie is provided for each 3 sq ft (0.28 m2) of wall area and
3.5 in. (89 mm) when one wall tie is provided for each 4.5 sq ft (0.42 m2)
515
518
NO B»- - ^ £>
j |
:J
t A
| f b
FIG. 5. Displacement of Shelf Angle: (a) Twist; (b) Distortion; (c) Flexure
As the horizontal leg of the shelf angle deflects, the resultant of the ma-
sonry reaction on the leg is assumed to move inward from the center line
of the masonry to the third point of the masonry's bearing length. Accord-
ingly, the maximum eccentricity of the dead load of properly placed masonry
about the heel of the angle, e, is
4
e = I - " tm (5)
Various dimensions are shown in Fig. 4. The deflection of the shelf angle
consists of three parts, as shown in Fig. 5: torsion, A,; flexure, A/, and leg
distortion, Ad. The leg distortion is caused by cantilever bending of the hor-
izontal leg.
If masonry were totally flexible, the shelf angle would be uniformly loaded
along its span S between support bolts. However, masonry is quite stiff and,
therefore, arches. The assumption is made that the load on the shelf angle
is distributed so that the deflection at a distance e from the heel is uniform
along the length of the angle. Solutions were also tried for other locations
of uniform deflection (e.g., at the toe of the angle). The results were not
very sensitive to the location chosen. The masonry-resultant location used
herein gives about 10% more conservative results compared to the toe lo-
cation. The load distribution along the span of the shelf angle was assumed
to follow the mathematical form shown in Fig. 6 with the load per unit length
at any point z defined as pn. Part of the total masonry load, S x pmx, was
assumed to be uniformly distributed and defined by Cp^. The remaining
load was assumed to be a function of (2z/S)N, where z is measured from
the midspan of the shelf angle. Preliminary calculations indicated that the
shelf angle deflection was dominated by torsion and distortion of the angle
and that flexural displacements A/ could be ignored for the span-to-depth
ratios, S/h, encountered in masonry wall construction.
517
The torsion load per unit length isp„(e — 0.5tsa). Using the classic torsion
differential equation, dQ = Torque/G/ with J = torsional constant = t]a(l
+ h — tsa)/3 and G = shear modulus of elasticity. The deflection at the
location of the masonry resultant, (e - 0 . 5 O from the shear center of the
angle, at any point z due to torsion, A,z, is
(e - 0.5tsa)2 (Sp„az
A,2 = 6(e - 0.5fJ = p„dz (6)
GJ
assuming no rotation at the bolt supports. The deflection of the horizontal
leg of the angle treated as a cantilever (distortion) at any point, z, is
4p„(e - 0.5U 3
4* — (7)
Etl
where E = modulus of elasticity. Adding Eqs. 6 and 7 and performing the
integration gives the total deflection, neglecting flexure,
EXACT
2 -
H
.05 .10 .15 .20
FIG. 7. iV versus K
K(N + 1)(JV + 2) - 1
C = (11)
K(N + l)(iV + 2) + 0.57V
and TV is a function of K as given in Fig. 7. The approximation
0.088
N = 2.03 + • (12)
K°
gives results within 1% of the true solution as shown in Fig. 7 for 0.02 fi
K ^ 0.20, which is the practical range. The value of C varies between 0.0
and 0.5. The solution indicates that as the eccentricity decreases and the
distance between bolts, S, increases, the load distribution becomes more
nonlinear (i.e., large N). The solution may not be valid when S/h S; 12,
because bending deformations will become significant when the bolt spacing
is large.
After the load distribution is determined by Eqs. 9, 10, 11 and 12, the
shelf angle and its connector can be checked for acceptable stress and de-
flection levels using the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC),
Specification for the Design, Fabrication and Erection of Structural Steel
Buildings, 8th Edition, 1978 for carbon steel angles (ASTM A36 and oth-
ers). Structural design of ASTM A666 austenitic stainless steel angles should
conform to Stainless Steel Cold-Formed Structural Design Manual, AISC,
1974.
The following conditions should be checked: bending and shear in the
horizontal leg at location a in Fig. 5(b); the maximum shear stress in the
vertical leg due to combined bending and torsion, which occurs at the bolt
support; the bending stress, which is maximum at the support; the bolt shear
and bearing capacity; and the maximum deflection at the toe of the angle
due to twist and leg distortion.
519
Section A-A
Check Bending
Load '
Stress Here
It is assumed that the bending and shear in the horizontal leg at the bolt
support is resisted by an effective angle length equal to /, as shown in Fig.
8. The masonry weight distribution function shown in Fig. 6 was integrated
over the distance / to get the average shear and moment at location a. A
comparison of the shear and bending stresses on the effective cross section,
I x ha, with the AISC allowable stresses of 0.4 Fy and 0.75 Fy, respectively,
shows that bending always controls. Therefore, the allowable masonry load
based on bending of the horizontal leg, pf per unit length of angle, is
0.75 i \
L
Pr (Af+IH (13)
(e ~ ha) /
C + (1 - C) 1 -
The maximum shear stress occurs in the vertical leg of the shelf angle.
For the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the vertical shear force, piJS/
2, is resisted by the vertical leg only, and the average shear stress is equal
to the shear force divided by the effective area of the vertical leg. For stan-
dard size holes, the effective shear area is tsa[h — (D + 0.125)] where D is
the bolt diameter. The torsional shear stress (Seely and Smith 1952) equals
T x ha/J where the maximum torque at the support is p„(e - 0.5tm)S/2.
The bolt hole should be considered when calculating J. The allowable ma-
sonry load, p v , limited by the combined effects of vertical and torsional shear
stresses in the vertical leg of the shelf angle with an allowable shear stress
of 0AFy, is obtained from the following expression:
PvS_ 1 3(e - 0.5tsa)
= 0.4F V (14)
2 _tsa(h - D - 0.125) tl(l + h - D - 0.125 - tsa).
The bending stresses in the shelf angle depend on the moment distribution
within the continuous span, which is complicated by the variable loading
pattern shown in Fig. 6. An elastic structural analysis of a fixed-end beam
(interior spans of a continuous shelf angle) with the nonuniform loading showed
EXAMPLE
Given a 3.63-in. wythe of brick masonry, 12-ft high between shelf angles
(for clarity in the calculations, only standard U.S. units are used), and a 2.6-
521
0.088
FromEq. 11, N = 2.03 + = 2.98
(0.0864) 097
0.0864(3.98)(4.98) 1
From Eq. 10, C = = 0.222
0.0864(3.98)(4.98) + 0.5(2.98)
For bending in the horizontal leg, from Eq. 13
_ 0.75(36,000)(0.313) 2 1
Pf
~ (3.39-0.31)6 0.222 + 0.778(24/5){l - [1 - (5/24)] 398 }
pf = 57.7 lb/in. = 690 lb/ft > 472 OK
Checking shear by Eq. 14 gives
p v (24) | 1 3[3.39 - (0.5 x 0.31)]
+ (0.31)2(5 0.4(36,000)
2 (.0.31(3 - 0.75) + 3 - 0.75 - 0.31)J
therefore pv = 76.2 lb/in. = 915 lb/ft > 472 OK
From the AISC Manual, the shear capacity of the bolt = 3,100 lb.
support reaction = 2(472) = 944 lb < 3,100 OK
The bending stresses will be small since S/h = 8, but they will be checked
for illustration purposes. From Eq. 133 in Seely and Smith (1952), the bend-
ing stress in the shelf angle at point A is / = 2,12M/Iy for lx = 6.26; ly =
1.75; and 1^ = 1.92. Using Eq. 15,
2.72 39.3(24) 2 0.222(2.98) + 3
/ = 1,800 psi < 0.6(36,000) OK
1.75 12 2.98 + 3
The shelf angle is satisfactory based on strength.
The deflection of the shelf angle is determined from Eq. 10 and 16.
2[3.39 - (0.5 x 0.31)]2(24)239.3
B,= = 0.072 in.
(0.31) 3 (29-10 6 )(5 + 3 - 0.31)
15 - 3.39 - 0.31
ATIP = 0.072(0.0864)[1 + 2.98 - (2.98 X 0.222)]
2(3.39) - 0.31
= 0.036 in.
CORROSION
523
CONCLUSION
Severe damage can result from the improper design, construction, and
maintenance of shelf angle details. Hot-dipped galvanized shelf angles should
be used in normal environments, excluding warm arid regions where paint
and well-sealed flashing should provide sufficient protection. Stainless steel
shelf angles should be used in severe exposures. Expansion points are man-
datory immediately below shelf angles. Structural design of shelf angles must
consider adequate stiffness to avoid excessive deflection under torsion and
APPENDIX. REFERENCES
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525