STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
TIDES Consulting Ltd. Has extensive experience in structural engineering. Our experience includes residential buildings, office building, health care facilities, educational buildings, industrial facilities, bridges and waste water treatment plants. We are fluent with the design of all primary structural materials and we worked on projects with up to $120M capital cost. We designed projects in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and abroad.
BUILDING ASSESSMENT
TIDES Consulting provides structural assessment of existing buildings. The objective of such assessment is to comment on any recorded structural damage (excessive deflection, cracking, etc.) and assure the building's integrity and safety. The work is typically carried out in corporation with other consultants such as architectural mechanical, building envelope, etc.
SPECIALTY ENGINEERING
TIDES Consulting provides design of buildings components to contractors and building owners. These include: – Structural steel connections engineering. – Light gauge steel studs engineering. – Seismic restraint of brick facade. – Seismic restraint of mechanical equipment. – Design of structural glass. – Design of structural aluminum.
STRENGTHENING & SEISMIC UPGRADE
Strengthening of existing structural may be necessary to accommodate higher loads or due to change of use. Many of the existing building were designed to earlier version of seismic codes and do not comply with current standards. Upgrading these deficient structure would preserve the Owner’s capital assets. TIDES Consulting has extensive experience in upgrading existing buildings to meet current codes. Our team had several publication in upgrading concrete structure using FRP and traditional materials.
INVESTIGATION & INSURANCE CLAIMS
Anything can fail. Buildings. Bridges. Even sidewalks. To know why, you really have to know your forensic engineering – often across many disciplines. And that’s hard enough. Even harder can be knowing how to remedy the matter. This can take more than engineering expertise. It needs a feel for the business case. TIDES provides forensic investigation assessment for insurance claims. As well, we investigate the possible failure mechanisms.
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING:
TIDES Consulting provide geotechnical engineering services for single family houses, multi family buildings and commercial structures. We carry out site investigation, perform geotechnical assessment and analysis, and provide geotechnical reports.
DYNAMIC & SEISMIC ANALYSIS
TIDES Consulting provides structural analysis due to dynamic loading such as equipment and earthquake excitation. We use analytical methods such as response spectrum analysis, modal analysis and time history analysis using computer software. Frequency domain or known as response spectra analysis tends to be the most cost effective, as they require the least computational effort. Frequency domain analysis includes mode extraction and modal response, and harmonic analysis. Mode frequency analysis will identify the natural frequencies of structures and their sub systems, to allow analysis of the expected response of a structure. Once natural frequencies are known, areas of possible interaction and resonance can be isolated and modified if necessary. Applying a response spectrum to the identified frequencies and mode shapes, responses of the structure can be calculated. It is then possible to analyze load paths, deflections and stressing. Modal response analysis will also involve the combination of modes, using any of the common methods, direct sum, absolute sum, square root sum of squares (SRSS) and Complete Quadratic Combination (CQC).
VIBRATION ANALYSIS
Excessive vibration of the structure can cause tenant distressing in an office building or may affect the equipment malfunction in an industrial or healthcare facility. TIDES offer a variety of vibration analysis services. We offer high end engineering services dealing with vibration. We can tackle the toughest vibration problems. We use finite element analysis (FEA) software for computer animation and simulation. We have capability of modelling vibration problems with FEA. We can use FEA simulations to predict the modes of vibration (shapes and frequencies), the transient response subject to forcing frequencies, and the response of a system due to random excitation.
FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING
TIDES Consulting provides finite element modelling (FEM) of complex structures using STAAD Pro, SAP2000 and Etabs9. We provide FEM of special structures such as penstock and mechanical fittings using advanced software such as ANSYS, LS DYNA and ABAQUS software. We provide our services to owners or to other engineering firms.
STRATA ENGINEERING
We focus on solving issues related existing buildings specifically focussing on stratas. Each strata is defined by its unique culture, history and demographics. A strata is much more than the building itself. Our proposals are made after a discussion with the strata council members, maintenance managers, property managers and owners. No job is too large or too small. Regardless of size, we constantly strive to ensure the satisfaction of the client.
1 - CONDITION ASSESSMENT & INVESTIGATION
A building envelope condition assessment (BECA) and investigation is required when an enclosure is suspected of having a problem, such as a leak. A BECA report describes either the current condition of the overall enclosure or specific components such as windows or balconies and aims to identify potential problems. A condition assessment involves first undertaking an investigation to find out the cause of a deficiencies with the building envelope. Next, a detail review of plans, maintenance records and visual inspection are conducted accompanied by specific testing. Following this step, recommendations are provided for the remediation of the specific deficiencies. Furthermore, a potential scope of work along with cost for the remediation management is provided if the strata wishes to hire us as construction managers.
3 - BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTING
Building envelope restoration is one of the most expensive procedures most buildings will have to face during their course of life. The first step of any repair or rehabilitation program is a building envelope condition assessment that includes but is not limited to the following components: roofs, balconies, parkades, windows and exterior doors, cladding (siding), membrane and any other waterproofing assemblies. Our building envelope consulting team consists of experienced and knowledgeable building science professionals who have worked in all types of projects in the residential and commercial sector. We always aim to identify the most reliable, long lasting and cost effective solutions, customized for each building based on our findings and clients feedback