redundancy factor

huangyhg

redundancy factor
hi, everyone
i've been asked to calculate redundancy factor for a one story dwelling (wood shear walls). when i calculate this factor (rho) the number is negative. do i have to assume p(rho)=1.0 or this one must be between 1 and 1.5.
thank you  
rho has to be 1.0 as a minimum.  if you come up with a number lower than that, you just use the 1.0 value.
cslater is right.
the redundancy factor is a means of penalizing lateral systems that are not redundant.  you get penalized for not being redundant enough but you don't get a "reward" for being overly redundant.
hi kano23, you should notice that the rho factor should be calculated for each direction and for each story so you might have diferents rho in each direction and in each story. also the way of calculate de rmax depends on the structural system that you use .my last advice, if you are using the ibc 2006 the rho values are 1.3 and 1, so check the code.
i hope that this could be helpfull.
lg
anything below one (including negative numbers - and it is common to get them), 1.0 should be used.