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CHAPTER 1 The Limit State Design Concepts

The document discusses the concepts of limit state design used for structural design. It defines two limit states - the ultimate limit state where the structure collapses, and the serviceability limit state where deflections or cracking become excessive. The structure is designed to withstand the ultimate limit state, and checked against the serviceability limit state. Characteristic material strengths and loads are used, along with partial safety factors applied to loads and strengths, to account for variability and ensure a very low probability of reaching the ultimate limit state. This allows the structure to safely fulfill its purpose over its intended lifespan.

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Ryane Cherifi
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137 views5 pages

CHAPTER 1 The Limit State Design Concepts

The document discusses the concepts of limit state design used for structural design. It defines two limit states - the ultimate limit state where the structure collapses, and the serviceability limit state where deflections or cracking become excessive. The structure is designed to withstand the ultimate limit state, and checked against the serviceability limit state. Characteristic material strengths and loads are used, along with partial safety factors applied to loads and strengths, to account for variability and ensure a very low probability of reaching the ultimate limit state. This allows the structure to safely fulfill its purpose over its intended lifespan.

Uploaded by

Ryane Cherifi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter I LIMIT STATE DESIGN CONCEPTS

By Prof. M.CHEMROUK

I. THE AIMS OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN


There are three main aims in structural design:
- First, the structure must be safe; indeed, society demands security in the structures it
inhabits (adequate safety)
- Second, the structure must fulfil its intended purpose during its intended life span
(adequate durability)
- Third, the structure must be economical with regards to first cost and to maintenance costs.
Indeed, nowadays, most design decisions are implicitly or explicitly economic decisions.

In the detailed analysis and design, the engineer is guided by codes of practice and standards
which are usually set up experienced Engineers.

II. LIMIT STATE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY


II.1. Definitions
The philosophy of LIMIT STATE DESIGN was developed by the Comité Europeen du Béton
(CEB) and the Federation Internationale de la Precontrainte (FIP), and has since gained
international acceptance.
Any design method aims at guaranteeing adequate safety against the structure being rendered
unfit for use.
A structure, or part of a structure, is rendered unfit for use when it reaches a LIMIT STATE,
defined as a particular state in which it ceases to fulfil the function or to satisfy the condition
for which it was designed. There are two categories of limite state:
a) - AN ULIMITE LIMIT STATE :
Such limit is reached when the structure or part of the structure collapses. The collapse may
arise from:
* The rupture of one or more member(s) of the structure after one of the materials
(concrete or steel) has reached its ultimate strength.
* The rupture of one or more member(s) by buckling (instability).
* The loss of equilibrium of the structure as a rigid body: Example of a retaining wall

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* Overturning moment:
MO = P.a
P (Pressure from the soil)
* Equilibrating moment:
ME = G1.b b
a
(the effect of the weight
of the wall is neglected)

A
Overturning G1 Weight of the soil
point
G2 Weight of the wall

* If ME ≥ MO, the equilibrium of the structure is guaranteed.

* If ME < MO, the structure looses the equilibrium and collapses.


b)- A SERVICEABILITY LIMIT STATE:
Such limit is reached when:
* The deflections (deformation) are large enough in the structure or part of it.
* The cracks are excessive in width.
A structure is often designed so that the defection (or deformation) in any of its members does
not exceed a certain limit beyond which the appearance of the structure is seriously affected.
This is also the case for the cracking which should not exceed certain limits depending on the
type of the structure. Excessive cracking may affect the appearance, cause the steel corrosion
and affect the function itself of the structure (the case of R.C. concrete tanks).

II.2. Reinforced concrete design procedure


These two limit states are considered in any design:
* The ultimate limit state
* The serviceability limit state of excessive defection under service loads
* The serviceability limit state of excessive cracking under service loads.
The structure is usually designed for the ultimate limit state and checked for the serviceability
limit state.
Structural collapses often have serious consequences; therefore in design, the probability of
reaching the ultimate limit state must be kept very low.

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The limit state design philosophy is based on the application of the methods of statistics to the
variations that may occur in practice in the loads acting on the structure or in the strength of
the material.

III. CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTHS AND CHARACTERISTIC LOADS


The variations occurring in practice may affect the strength of the materials used in the
structure as well as the loads acting on the structure. The strength of concrete provides a good
example of the variations that can occur. For example, the compressive strength of concrete
test specimens (cubes) which have been made as identically as possible under laboratory
conditions may have different values with a coefficient of variation of as much as 10 % .
In reinforced concrete construction, it is not practicable to specify that the concrete should
have a certain precise cube strength.
To cope with this, the limit state design uses the concept of characteristic strength which
means the compressive strength of concrete which has a higher probability to be achieved.

The limit state design philosophy assumes that the concrete strengths (the results of the
concrete test specimens) follow a normal probability distribution.
* Let n = the number of the concrete test specimens: f c1 ; f c 2 ; f c 3 ….. f ci ; f cn .
n

- The mean value: f  f c 2  f c 3  ......... f cn f ci


f c  c1  i 1

n n

 f 
n
2
ci  fc
- The standard deviation:
 i 1

n

- The coefficient of variation:    100
fc

The British Standards dealing with structural concrete (BS 8110), and indeed many other
international codes of practice (the American ACI (318), the Australian, the Canadian)
defines the characteristic strength of concrete as that value of the cube strength which has a
probability of at least 95% to be achieved.
It follows from the normal probability distribution that the probability of x  x  1,64.

is very nearly 95 % .
- x being a variable identical to the strength f ci

- x being the mean value of the set of variables identical to fc

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-  the standard deviation .
This means that the probability of x , and hence f ci , being smaller than  x  1,64  is not
more than 5 % and thus represents the characteristic strength as defined above by British
practice, and is generally writhen as :

f k  f m  1,64.

f m = mean value of the set of values (sample tested)

 = standard deviation of the set of values tested.

In the limit state design concept, the characteristic load is that value of the load which has an
accepted probability of not being exceeded during the life span of the structure. Ideally, such a
value should be determined from the mean load and its standard deviation. However, because
of a lack of statistical data, it is not yet possible to express loads as is expressed the strength.
In current practice, the characteristic loads are simply loads which have been arrived at by a
consensus that makes them characteristic loads ; For example in G.B. the load values quoted
in CP3 ; chapter V: Part.2 are accepted as characteristic loads.

IV. PARTIAL SAFETY FACTORS


In limit state design, the load actually used for each limit state is called the DESIGN LOAD
for that limit state and is the product of the characteristic load and the relevant PARTIAL
SAFETY FACTOR for LOADS  f :
DESIGN LOAD =  f x CHARACTERISTIC LOAD
The partial safety factor  f depends on the type of load (dead, imposed, wind) and on the
combination of loads considered as will be seen in chapter 4 (loads and load combinations).
This partial safety factor  f is intended to cover those variations in loading or in design
which might occur and for which the designer may not be aware (unconsidered possible
increase in loads, inaccurate assessment of load effects).

Similarly, in the design calculations, the DESIGN STRENGTH for a given material and a
given limit state is obtained by dividing the characteristic strength by the PARTIAL SAFETY
FACTOR for STRENGTH  m appropriate to that material and that limit state:

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1
Design strength = x characteristic strength
m

 m is sometimes called: partial safety factor for material or the strength reduction factor

since  m > 1.
The values assigned to  m will be discussed in chapter III ( MATERIALS).

The partial safety factor for strength is intended to cover the difference which might exist
between the strength of the material as tested in the laboratory and that of the material in the
structure, local weaknesses and inaccuracy in assessment of the resistance of the section.

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