Roof Wall Diaphram

The term diaphragm is usually applied to roofs and floors.

Roof wall diaphram.

A diaphragm structure results when a series of such vertical and horizontal diaphragms are properly tied together to form a structural unit. These construction systems can be used when designing a building for lateral loads such as those generated by wind or earthquakes. A shear wall however is a vertical cantilevered diaphragm. A diaphragm is a flat structural unit acting like a deep thin beam.

At the roof level these wall reactions turn the load in the roof system in the plane of the roof. A diaphragm is a flat structural unit acting like a deep thin beam. The term diaphragm is usually applied to roofs and floors. The roof structure consists of a panelized hybrid roof system which is very common in large diaphragm roofs in the seismically active western united states.

This roof system comprises structural wood panel sheathing with light dimensional lumber supports resting on open web steel joists and joist girders. The diaphragm resists the in plane loads by acting as a large horizontal beam spanning between the supporting end walls that are known as shear walls. In structural engineering a diaphragm is a structural element that transmits lateral loads to the vertical resisting elements of a structure such as shear walls or frames.