Group18: Horse Stable

Case Study: Potential Wood For Horse Stable

Case study: Potential Wood For Horse Stable

There are multiple woods that could be used to build a sufficient horse stable. A few characteristics that these potential wood should have are: durability, high-bending strength, good nail holding power, moderate shrinkage, decay resistance, withstands splitting, good painting and weathering qualities, doesn't warp and is easy to work with.

Some of the top woods that are used to build horse stables are:

Southern Yellow Pine (Recommended)
Tongue and groove wood (stall lining)
Brazilian Hardwood
high-grade 90% Spruce J-Grade logs
Red Cedar
Bamboo (for tack room)

Links:

http://blog.classic-equine.com/2013/05/barn-building-101-the-word-on-wood/

http://www.tritonbarns.com/stall_wood_options.php

Case Study: Buckling Load

Buckling is critical in building a structure because it tells the stress load that the column could hold before it buckles, or bends. People often use Euler's formula to calculate the critical buckling load of the long columns with central loading.

E is the Young's modulus of the column material, or the elasticity of the column material. I is the area moment of inertia of the cross-section, and L is the length of the columns. The equation above is just a general equation. The calculation usually depending on the end conditions of the columns. Some of the common end conditions is in the figure 1.

Figure 1. End Conditions

Figure 2. Effective Lengths of the End Conditions

The table in figure 2 above shows an effective lengths of the column based on the end conditions in which L represents the actual length of the column.

http://www.amesweb.info/CompressionMemberDesign/CompressionMemberDesign.aspx

The link above is one of the sites that was built to calculate the buckling load of the columns.

Links:

http://www.efunda.com/formulae/solid_mechanics/columns/columns.cfm

http://www.amesweb.info/CompressionMemberDesign/CompressionMemberDesign.aspx

Week 6: 05/06/2016

This week, was the group's sixth meeting with Professor Mitchell. The Design Project is past the half way mark and so designs are being finalized. Therefore, during the meeting building orientation, the water cistern, heating of the building, and lighting were discussed.

Building Orientation: The way the building is oriented is important because it can determine how much light the solar panels will receive. For example, if building a pitch roof it is important that the building is oriented so that the sun will be able shine on both sides of the roof. However, if the roof will be a sawtooth roof it is important that the building is oriented so that the sun will be shining on the side with the solar panels.

Cistern: During the cistern discussion, calculations were gone over and a discussion on how much water should the cistern be able to hold was discussed. The calculations were based upon the area of the roof, how much water the horses need, and the average rainfall during a year. Due to the large size of the roof, if a cistern were to built based upon that there would be more than enough water captured yearly. Therefore it was decided that the cistern would be built to hold only a fraction of that amount and the overflow would be directed away from the building with the use of an overflow pipe.

Heating: There was a small discussion over whether or not heating would be necessary in the horse stable. The group was split over this and should reach a unanimous decision before the next group meeting. If heat is required then some ways it could be implemented would be through: a condensor, insulation, small electric heater, boiler, or solar panels. Insulation is extremely important because if the building is well insulated then the amount of heating would be minimized. The door is part of the building that requires special attention and needs extremely well insulation so that the cold air can be kept out.

Lighting: A skylight will be used but artificial lighting will also be required during the night. Solar panels will be placed on the roof to absorb energy throughout the day and will be utilized during the darker hours when necessary.

Group Meeting: 05/04/2016

Week 6: 05/04/2016

During this meeting, the group put together the sketches of the horse stable for the final sketch. The sketch contained the dimensions of the stable, such as the sizes of the stalls, doors, and the thickness of the walls. While making a rough sketch, the group came to a problem with the roof dimensions. The group did decide to have a sky light for the stable. However, the group did not go into depth about the roof. It was found that knowledge of Bernouli's principle is required in order to calculate the slope of the roof due to the pressure. The group will bring this problem up to Professor Mitchell during the team meeting on Friday. Besides the sketch, the group decided to include the cistern, and the compost into the horse stable design as a final deliverable. Below is a rough sketch of the horse stable.

Sketch 1

Sketch 2

The group decided to have both the 2D and 3D sketches of AutoCAD and SketchUp done by Wednesday night.

Case Study: Flooring for the Horse Stable

Case Study: Flooring of Horse Stable

Choosing the important flooring for a horse stable is extremely important. With the wrong type of flooring, it can hurt the horse. With different floors, there are different ways to maintenance it. Some owners might not want to always clean the floors and waste a large amount of money so these aspects need to be considered too. Other aspects that are considered when choosing a floor is if its non-odor retentive, provided traction, durable and lastly, affordable. Below is a chart that breaks down most of the materials used for floors.

X = Poor, + = Good, ? = highly dependent on other factors

Here are two floor types that are typically used with various to them:

Porous Floors

This type of floor usually helps water movement down into the ground. Some of the materials that usually makes up this floor are as followed:

Topsoil: Different types of soil will result in different drainage options. Also when used, it could create mud or puddles which will lead to uneven footing.
Clay: Traditionally a horse stable's favorite flooring.
Sand: Needs to be replaced frequently. Horses who feed off the ground might ingest it.
Road Base Mix: Depending on the location, the mix will be different. Usually 4-5 inches think over a 6-8 inch base of sand or small gravel.
Wood: Used less because its very expensive. Difficult to disinfect.
Grid Mats: Used to support another type of flooring.

Impervious Floors

A floor that has become rather popular due to low maintenance and durability. Some of the materials that usually makes up this floor are as followed:

Asphalt: A type of material which is alternative to concrete. A mixture of stone and sand held together with a tar compound. Uncomfortable for horses to walk on but after a period of time, it will feel more comfortable.
Solid Rubber Mats: Typically used over another flooring to support or aid it.

Different rooms and areas of the horse stable requires different materials. The aisleways should be somewhat similar to stalls. The feed room should have a type of floor which is low maintenance and rodent proof. Tack room are usually impervious floors such as concrete or asphalt. Wash area should be a non slippery impervious floor which helps with drainage or have a slope towards a drain.

Links:

http://extension.psu.edu/publications/ub036

http://horses.about.com/od/horsestablesandsheds/tp/Choosing-The-Right-Flooring-For-Your-Horse-Stable.htm

Case Study: Compressive Strength

Case Study: Compressive Strength and Bending Strength

Compressive strength is the maximum compressive load that the materials can withstand. Based on the compressive strength, one can calculate the size of the columns by taking the total forces coming down divided by the compressive strength. Different woods give different values of the compressive strength.

On the other hand, bending strength (also known as the Modulus of Rupture) is the measurement of the materials properties. It tells the stress in the materials before failure. The tables below listed the compressive strength and bending strength of the different types of woods.

Link: http://workshopcompanion.com/KnowHow/Design/Nature_of_Wood/3_Wood_Strength/3_Wood_Strength.htm

Week 5: 4/29/2016

This week, we had our fifth meeting with Professor Mitchell on April 29th, 2016. The first thing that we discussed at this meeting was some architectural terms. This first term that Professor Mitchell was "height zone", which means the height of a building. The other term that Professor Mitchell defined was "pitch". Pitch is the slope of the roof. For example, architects might say 8/12, which means 8 in the vertical direction and 12 in the horizontal direction.

We also talked about the sketch of the horse stable. There is a sketch in a previous blog post that includes four stalls and a tack room. The most recent sketch includes four stalls, a tack room, and an empty room that could be a utility room, hay storage, or possibly a office room.

Sketch 2

One task that we started talking about and have to complete is find out the thickness of our walls and insulation. The thickness of the wood for the walls should be at least six inches thick with insulation. The thickness of the walls would depend on how much weight has to be held up. One inch in depth for wood is for every foot in length is to find the thickness. It is better to make the span from one pillar to another shorter so that the thickness of the pillars would have to hold less weight at the top.

Week 6 Goals：

Create a proposal with each person's task

Kimberly: Composting + cistern
Muykim: Structure of the building
Hanlan: Heating and flooring
Timmothy: Lighting and roof
Julie: Structure of the building

Work on final report draft
Continue working with sketches