AN INTRODUCTION TO

LIMIT STATES DESIGN

CIVL 331 Steel and Timber Design

By:
Ferya Moayedi,
Salman Soleimani

January 16, 2013
Analysis Vs. Design
Analysis is understanding
the structure and
determining how the
effects of globally applied
forces are resisted by
individual structural
members
Design is an iterative
process to create a safe
and reliable structure
which is aesthetically
pleasing in an economical
manner

2 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Putting Thoughts Into a
Design Problem
Design is an iterative process
Structural layout Analyze the structure Find member forces
Assume structural members Analyze the structure again OK ??!
Modify member sizes Analyze again

3 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Structural Design
Tools available to engineers:
Codes
NBCC, IBC, BCBC
CSA-A23.3, CSA-S16-01
Software
SAP2000, ETABS, Perform 3D
S-Frame, RISA 3D, Opensees
ANSYS, ABAQUS, CANNY
Specifications & Standards
ASTM, ACI, AASHTO, ANSI, CGSB
Guidelines
Seismic Retrofit Guideline (SRG)

CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani 4
Structural Systems
Moment resisting frame
(Beam-column system)
Braced frame
Un-braced frame

Other available
Structural Systems
Bearing-wall
Rigid frame
Long-span
High-rise




CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani 5
Structural Design Approaches
Different design approaches
ASD
Allowable Stress Design
Also called Permissible Stress Design

WSD
Working Stress Design

LRFD
Load and Resistance Factor Design

LSD
Limit States Design
6 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Limit States Design (LSD)
LSD is a design method in which the performance
of a structure is checked against various limiting
conditions at appropriate load levels

In a structural steel design, the limiting conditions to
be checked are:
Ultimate Limit States (ULS)
These states concern safety
e.g. load carrying capacity, overturning, sliding, fatigue
Serviceability Limit States (SLS)
These states concern performance under normal operations
e.g. excessive deflection, vibration, or permanent deformation

Note: LSD is referred to as Load & Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) in US
7 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Limit States Design (LSD)
General Design Equation


Factored Resistance > Factored Load
| R > o

S


Where,
| = resistance factor
R = nominal resistance of structural element
o = load factor
S = specified load


8 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Limit States Design (LSD)
Design which is based on the probability and mode of
failure, or limit of usefulness, and the probability of the
occurrence and variation of the load

Characteristic resistance:


o 645 . 1
o 0 . 2
o 0 . 1
68%

95%

98%
9 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Probability of Failure
S
R2
R1
Failure occurs when R < S
The hatched area = probability of failure
The global safety factor:

s
R
o
m
m
=
10 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Probability of Failure
Although the distance between the mean values m
R
and m
S
is the
same, i.e., the same
o
, the probability of failure greatly depends on
the scatter of both S and R values, i.e., the magnitude of their
respective standard deviations

In order to achieve a consistent probability of failure, the global
safety factor will have to be adjusted depending on the scatter (i.e.,
reliability) of load and resistant values

Exact knowledge of the distribution function in the asymptotic
regions of the curves is essential, but unfortunately data for those
regions is usually not available or is too sparsely spaced
11 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Safety Index
Safety Index |
Limit States
Degree of Damage
small medium severe
Serviceability 2.0 2.5 3.0
Ultimate 4.2 4.7 5.2
2 2
s R
s R
z
z
m m m
o o
o
|
+

= =
12 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Reliability and Safety
The purpose of the design process is to maintain an
acceptable difference between the load S and the resistance R






Relationship between Safety Index | and Safety Factor



95
th
Percentile of
load ( )


5
th
Percentile of
resistance ( )
o 645 . 1 +
o 645 . 1
13 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Advantages of Limit States Design


Utilizing Load Factors
Using distinct load factors for different loads, makes
the probability of failure more consistent in different
loading conditions
However, the Working Stress Design (WSD) approach uses a
single factor of safety

Utilizing Resistance Factors
Applying different resistance factors in order to
determine resistances of different members with
different materials, would result in a more uniform
reliability in general
14 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Advantages of Limit States Design
15 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Design Equations
Ultimate Limit States



Where,
| = performance factor
R = nominal member strength, or resistance
o
i
= load factor for specified loads (Table 13)
S
i
= specified loads (Clause 6.2: D, L, S, W, E)
Serviceability Limit States



Where,
| = performance factor
R = nominal member strength, or resistance
o
i
= 1
S
i
= specified loads (Clause 6.2: D, L, S, W, E)

|R > o
i
S
i

|R > o
i
S
i

Note:
D = dead load
L = specified live load
S = snow load
W = specified wind load
E = specified earthquake load
16 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
*Ref. Clause 7.2.1
Globally Applied Loads
Gravity Loads (vertical)
Dead Load (DL)
Permanent structure loads
e.g. building weight, partition
walls,
Live Load (LL)
Temporary loads
Varying loads
Use and occupancy loads
Snow and rain loads
e.g. weight of the people
occupying the building,
17 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Lateral Loads (horizontally applied)

Earthquake Load
Wind Load


18
May cause uplift
CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Load Combinations
Structures, components, and foundations shall be
designed so that their design strength equals or exceeds
the effects of the factored load combinations

Analyze the structure considering all of the different
possible load combinations. Use the worst case scenario
as the governing load case





This will be the topic of next lecture

19 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Useful Tips



&




Housekeeping Notes

20 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Try to become a master in using your HSC !!!
Mark up your handbook very well, as you go
Refer to your handbook as much & frequent as you can

Read the book called Limit States Design in Structural
Steel, by Kulak Grondin

Try to utilize different software for different
applications as much as possible!!! (Take it as a hint)
Familiarize yourself with many software and make sure you
know how to use them efficiently and effectively
e.g. Cheops, S-Frame, RISA 2D, Excel Spreadsheets,
Useful Tips for CIVL 331
21 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Some Housekeeping Notes:

Educational licences available
for the S-Frame software
S-Frame request for licence
Deadline: Jan 31
st
2013
Licence Agreement Form needs to
be signed (Obtain from Salman)

Other available software
CHEOPS
RISA 2D (Educational Version)
http://www.risa.com/forms/2deducational.html
Dr. Frame, Dr. Beam, ?!

22 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani
Any Questions?



Salman Soleimani:
salman@civil.ubc.ca

Ferya Moayedi:
ferya@civil.ubc.ca

23 CIVL 331 - Intro to LSD by F. Moayedi, S.Soleimani