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A. GENERAL

Section 1605 of IBC lists one set of load combinations for use with LRFD method (1605.2) and
two sets of load combinations for use with ASD design method (1605.3). BlueScope allows
either design method to be used; however, for the ASD method only the basic set of load
combinations from section 1605.3.1 is available in VISION.1

IBC also invokes the load combinations with overstrength factor o specified in ASCE7,
intended only for seismic design of some members or systems, when specifically called for2 by
the referenced standard.

This document lists all load combinations required for ASD and LRFD design. For each design
method, the standard set of load combinations is presented first, followed by seismic
combinations that use the overstrength factor. These are followed by additional combinations
which are required when floor live loads or crane live loads are considered.

The following references are used throughout this document:

Table 1
Limit State / Design Consideration References
Seismic Loads (ASCE 7) DP 1.4.6
AISC 341 (Seismic Provisions) DP 1.5
IBC 1604.3
Serviceability
DP 6.3
Crane load combinations with seismic loads AISE Technical Report No. 13, 2003 Ed. 3.9 and 3.10

1
The Alternate set of load combinations in IBC 1605.3.2 is not compatible with BlueScope design. It is intended
primarily for construction where material standards still allow one-third stress increase.
2
IBC requires load combinations with the overstrength factor for the design of collectors and elements supporting
discontinuous walls or frames, when in Seismic Design Category C or above. Other use of load combinations with
overstrength comes from AISC 341 (Seismic Provisions), which is mandatory for all buildings in high seismic
applications, i.e., those assigned to Seismic Design Category D, E or F. For specific requirements, such as frame
columns, anchor rods, and brace connections, please refer to other sections of this DP.
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B. LRFD LOAD COMBINATIONS

B1. Basic Load Combinations

(a) 1.4 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp)
(b) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 (Lr or S or R)
(c) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 (Lr or S or R) + 0.5 W
(d) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 Su
(e) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 Sp
(f) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 S + 1.6 Sd
(g) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 S + 1.6 Ss
(h) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 S + 1.6 Sr
(i) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.0 W
(j) 1.0 MW
(k) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.0 W + 0.5 (Lr or S or R)
(l) (1.2 + 0.2 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) QE + f2 S
(m) 0.9 (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) + 1.0 W
(n) (0.9 - 0.2 SDS) (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) QE

f2 = 0.7 for roof configurations (such as saw tooth) that do not shed snow off the structure,
= 0.2 for all other roof configurations

B1.1 Seismic load combinations with overstrength

(o) (1.2 + 0.2 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) oQE
(p) (0.9 - 0.2 SDS) (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) o Q E

B2. Additional Load Combinations Involving Floor Live Load (LF)

(q) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 LF
(r) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 LF + 0.5 (Lr or S or R)
(s) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 (Lr or S or R) + f1 LF
(t) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.0 W + 0.5 (Lr or S or R) + f1 LF
(u) (1.2 + 0.2 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) QE + f1 LF + f2 S
(v) (1.2 + 0.2 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) o QE + f1 LF
f 1 = 0.5. Exception: When floor live load > 100 psf, in places of public assembly, and for
parking garages use f 1 = 1.0.

B3. Additional Load Combinations Involving Crane Live Loads (Lc)

(w) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 Lc
(x) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 Lc + 0.5 (S or R or LF)
(y) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.6 (S or R or LF) + 0.5 Lc
(z) 1.2 (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) + 1.0 W + 0.5 Lc
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C. ASD LOAD COMBINATIONS

C1. Basic Load Combinations

(a) D + Cg + Dc + Dp
(b) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + (Lr or S or R)
(c) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + Su
(d) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + Sp
(e) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + S + Sd
(f) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + S + Ss
(g) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + S + Sr
(h) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.6 W
(i) 0.6 MW
(j) (1.0+ 0.14 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.7 QE
(k) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.45 W + 0.75 (Lr or S or R)
(l) (1.0+ 0.105 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.525 QE + (f3 S or f4 Lr)
(m) 0.6 (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) + 0.6 W
(n) (0.6 0.14 SDS) (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) 0.7 QE

f 3 = 0.15 when flat roof snow load > 30 psf, otherwise zero
f 4 = 0.75 when roof live load > 30 psf, otherwise zero

Commentary: For IBC editions prior to 2009 VISION uses f 4 = 0 in all cases

C1.1 Seismic Load Combinations with Overstrength

(o) (1.0+ 0.14 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.7 o QE
(p) (1.0+ 0.105 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.525 o QE + (f3 S or f4 Lr)
(q) (0.6 0.14 SDS) (D + Cu + Dc + Dp) 0.7 o QE

C2. Additional Load Combinations Involving Floor Load (LF)

(r) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + LF
(s) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.75 LF + 0.75 (Lr or S or R)
(t) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.45 W + 0.75 LF + 0.75 (Lr or S or R)
(u) (1.0+ 0.105 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.525 QE + 0.75 LF + (f3 S or f4 Lr or 0.75 R)
(v) (1.0+ 0.105 SDS) (D + Cg + Dc + Dp) 0.525 o QE + 0.75 LF + (f 3 S or f 4 Lr or 0.75 R)

C3. Additional Load Combinations Involving Crane Load (Lc)

(w) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + Lc
(x) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.75 Lc + 0.5625 S
(y) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.75 Lc + 0.225 W
(z) D + Cg + Dc + Dp + 0.75 Lc + 0.75 LF

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D. NOTES ABOUT LOAD COMBINATIONS

IBC makes a distinction between Roof Live Load (Lr) and Live Load (L), that includes
floor live load, cranes etc. Note that VISION uses the symbol L for Roof Live Load
(instead of Lr).
Unlike IBC which lists load combination using the generic term E for seismic loads,
ASCE 7 section 12.4 resolves the seismic load effect E = QE 0.2 SDS D into
horizontal and vertical components, and shows all seismic load combination in its final
form. This ASCE 7 approach is adopted by BlueScope, as outlined in this document.
Snow and wind load factor in ASD crane combinations (x) and (y) are the product of
ASD combination factor (0.75), ASD basic wind load factor (0.6), and ASD exception for
crane loads.
The seismic mass of cranes and trolleys that lift a suspended load need include only the
empty weight of the equipment (see the AISE ref. in Table 1).
IBC 1605.1 also requires that each load combinations be investigated with one or more
of the load factors set to zero, which is already included in the previously shown load
combinations for LRFD and ASD.
ASCE7 makes a distinction, as explained in the commentary, between minimum design
wind loads (MW) and wind loads derived using coefficients determined by the provisions
of the code based on wind tunnel research (W). MW and W are separate load types.
MW is applied independently of any other transient loads. W is combined with other
load types.
By experience, self-straining loads, i.e., temperature loads (T) are not critical in
BlueScope buildings construction; therefore, are not shown in the combinations.

D1. Notations
D = dead load of steel framing system furnished by BlueScope (actual steel weight), crane
runway systems, and dead weight of floor systems
Cg, Cu = user specified collateral load including dead weight of ceilings, sprinklers,
permanent equipment, piping, ductwork, HVAC systems, etc.
Dc = dead weight of the crane system: runway, bridge and trolley, as applicable (see D5)
Dp = dead weight of partitions
Lc = live load due to crane lifted loads
Lr = roof live load due to use & occupancy
LF =uniform floor live load due to use and occupancy
MW = Minimum wind load per ASCE7 (16 psf).
S = uniformly distributed snow load (see D3)
Sd = drifting snow load
Sp = partial loading snow
Sr = rain-on-snow surcharge snow load
Ss = sliding snow load
Su = unbalanced roof snow load
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R = rain accumulation load (not rain on snow surcharge)

W = wind load, based on code required coefficients and ultimate wind speed, Vult
QE = earthquake load, base shear (V) or component force (Fp)
SDS = seismic spectral response acceleration parameter at short periods
= redundancy coefficient (=1.3, except where specific condition satisfied use 1.0)
o = overstrength factor (between 2.0 and 3.0, except 1.25 for cantilevered systems)

D2. Stress increase

Strength based steel design, whether using the LRFD or ASD method, does not leave room for
any kind of stress increases or adjustments to strength values. Conversion from ASD to LRFD
strength is neither necessary nor allowed since all design equations are provided in a dual,
LRFD/ASD format.

D3. Snow in load combinations

IBC (ASCE 7) defines two types of snow loads: a) the nominal snow load, which is the
representative values for the 50-year mean recurrence interval, and b) the arbitrary-point-in-
time snow load which corresponds to an extreme and rare snow event. The first type of snow
load is often referred to as the companion load as it is intended to be combined and
evaluated in combination with other transient and non-transient loads. The other type of snow
load represents an extreme load whose occurrence is not likely to coincide with the peak value
of any other transient loads; hence, this load is considered acting alone, in combination with
dead loads only.

The resulting rules for use of snow load in LRFD and ASD load combinations are summarized
as follows:
(a) Uniform (balanced) snow load (S) is used in all applicable LRFD and ASD load
combinations, as shown in sections B1 and C1.
(b) If any of the extreme snow load effects are required for the job under
consideration, i.e., the unbalanced snow, partial snow, drifting snow, sliding snow,
or the rain-on-snow surcharge load, separate load combinations would be required
for each applicable snow effect, but not in combination with any other transient
loads.

D4. Two-bay buildings

For two-bay buildings, the interior support load (reaction) increase due to system continuity is
utilized only with the sustained gravity loads that are uniformly applied over the whole roof
surface, or for rectangular and line loads that are applied along the entire length of the roof, if
supported by continuous purlins. This includes dead loads (self weight and collateral) and
uniform snow loads, such as the unbalanced snow, the drifting snow (longitudinally only) and
the specified minimum snow load (SMS).

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There is no increase for live, roof live, wind and seismic loads, or various non-uniform snow
load applications. The Building Code prescribed loads already include the effect of time and
special distribution for these loads; hence, no further adjustment or increase is required,
regardless of one, two, three, or multi-bay condition.

D5. Crane dead loads

The magnitude of crane dead loads, although represented here by a single symbol, Dc,
depends on the load case under consideration. For wind uplift cases it includes the weight of
the unmovable parts of the crane system only, such as runways. For the downward load cases
the load Dc includes the weight of the unmovable parts and the weight of the crane bridge and
trolley.

Similarly, in seismic load cases the dead load Dc is the minimum load effect (runways only)
when considering the subtractive load cases, and the maximum load effect (runways, bridge
and trolley) for the additive load cases.

Commentary: At this time VISION includes the dead weight of the crane bridge and trolley under the crane live
loads, together with the lifted loads (live loads). This approach produces no adverse load effects. Using the
previously listed state of the art LRFD load combinations, the VISION approach is conservative. For ASD design,
due to non-linear LRFD-to-ASD conversion the VISION approach may produce somewhat unconservative results.
As verified by numerous cases studies, this discrepancy has negligible impact on final design, since VISION
effectively captures the extreme load cases, and the actual member design is normally governed by other more
severe load combinations.

E. SERVICEABILITY LOAD COMBINATIONS

E1. General
IBC Section 1604.3 requires that structural systems and members have adequate stiffness to
limit deflection and lateral drift.
Buildings and components shall be checked for serviceability limit states under the
effect of service loads (i.e.- NOT factored up as ultimate strength limit states are).
The serviceability load combinations and BlueScope limits summarized in DP 6.1
comply with the recommendations of IBC Table 1604.3. Additional criteria applicable to
metal building systems are also listed.
Magnitude of loads to be used in serviceability checks are NOT the same as those used
in LRFD or ASD strength checks, and are explained in the appropriate loading sections
of this document.

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Document and Revision History

REV. # DATE NAME DESCRIPTION
0 10/01/2009 Igor Marinovic Original document
1 10/31/2009 Igor Marinovic Section D4 added describes BBNA procedure for two-bay buildings.
2 11/24/2009 Igor Marinovic Section D5 added - clarify application of crane dead loads. Comment box added to explain VISION approach.
3 07/01/2010 Igor Marinovic Updated to reflect the requirements of the 2009 IBC; ASD load cases k, o, t and u updated (added +f4 Lr)
4 09/20/2010 Igor Marinovic Revised D4 two-bay condition extended to other loads applied uniformly along the length
5 03/08/2012 Al Harrold Update for ASCE7-10 / IBC 2012
6 Oct 2013 S.Hyder Clarified the MW and W definitions and combinations. Also see DP 1.4.5 R5 related.

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