LIMIT STATE DESIGN: BASIS FOR DESIGN

 

The current revision of the code of practice, IS 800:2000, recommends limit state method for design of structures using hot rolled sections. This method is outlined in section 5 of IS 800:2007. However, it retained working stress method of design which was the design method for decades. But the scope of the working stress method is limited to those situations where limit state method cannot be conveniently employed.

 

BASIS FOR DESIGN

 

In the limit state design method, the structure shall be designed to withstand safely all loads likely to act on it throughout its life. It shall not suffer total collapse under accidental loads such as from explosions or impact or due to consequences of human error to an extent beyond the local damages. The objective of the design is to achieve a structure that will remain fit for use during its life with acceptable target reliability. In other words, the probability of a limit state being reached during its lifetime should be very low. The acceptable limit for the safety and serviceability requirements before failure occurs is called a limit state. In general, the structure shall be designed on the basis of the most critical limit state and shall be checked for other limit states.

 

Steel structures are to be designed and constructed to satisfy the design requirements with regard to stability, strength, serviceability, brittle fracture, fatigue, fire, and durability such that they meet the following: a) Remain fit with adequate reliability and be able to sustain all actions (loads) and other influences experienced during construction and use; b) Have adequate durability under normal maintenance; c) Do not suffer overall damage or collapse disproportionately under accidental events like explosions, vehicle impact or due to consequences of human error to an extent beyond local damage. The potential for catastrophic damage shall be limited or avoided by appropriate choice of one or more of the following:

 

·         Avoiding,  eliminating  or  reducing  exposure  to  hazards,  which  the  structure  is  likely  to sustain.

 

·         Choosing structural forms, layouts and details and designing such that:

 

i) the structure has low sensitivity to hazardous conditions; and

 

ii) the structure survives with only local damage even  after serious damage to any one individual element by the hazard.

 

·          Choosing suitable material, design and detailing procedure, construction specifications, and control procedures for shop fabrication and field construction as relevant to the particular structure.

 

The following conditions may be satisfied to avoid a disproportionate collapse: The building should be effectively tied together at each principal floor level and each column should be effectively held in position by means of continuous ties (beams) nearly orthogonal, except where the steel work supports only cladding weighing not more than 0.7 kN/m2 along with imposed and wind loads. These ties must be steel members such as beams, which may be designed for other purposes, steel bar reinforcement anchoring the steel frame to concrete floor or steel mesh reinforcement in composite slab with steel profiled sheeting directly connected to beam with shear connectors. These steel ties and their end connections should be capable of resisting factored tensile force not less than the factored dead and imposed loads acting on the floor area tributary to the tie nor less than 75 kN. Such connection of ties to edge column should also be capable of resisting 1 percent of the maximum axial compression in the column at the level due to factored dead and imposed loads. All column splices should be capable of resisting a tensile force equal to the largest of a factored dead and live load reaction from a single floor level located between that column splice and the next column splice below that splice. Lateral load system to resist notional horizontal loads prescribed in Cl. 4.3.6 of IS 800:2007 should be distributed throughout the building in nearly orthogonal directions so that no substantial portion is connected at only one point to such a system. Precast concrete or other heavy floor or roof units should be effectively anchored in the direction of their span either to each other over the support or directly to the support. Where the above conditions to tie the columns to the floor adequately are not satisfied each storey of the building should be checked to ensure that disproportionate collapse would not precipitate by the notional removal, one at a time, of each column. Where each floor is not laterally supported by more than one system, check should be made at each storey by removing one such lateral support system at a time to ensure that disproportionate collapse would not occur. The collapse is considered disproportionate, if more than 15 percent of the floor or roof area of 70 m2 collapse at that level and at one adjoining level either above or below it, under a load equal to 1.05 or 0.9 times the dead load, 0.33 times temporary or full imposed load of permanent nature (as in storage buildings) and 0.33 times wind load acting together.