Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company

DGS-CU-002
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CRITERIA
Rev-4 Feb 2015

7.11 ERECTION LOAD

Erection loads are temporary forces caused by the installation or erection of equipment or
structures. Erection loads are considered in load combinations as live load.
Beams and floor slabs in multi-story structures e.g., fire decks, shall be designed to carry
the full construction loads imposed by the props supporting the structure immediately
above. A note shall be added on the relevant construction drawings to highlight the
adopted design philosophy.
Heavy equipment lowered onto a supporting structure can introduce extreme point loads
on structural members, exceeding any operating or test load. After placing of equipment,
the exact positioning (lining out and levelling) can also introduce extreme point loads. This
potential loading condition shall be considered in design calculations where appropriate.
7.12 MAINTENANCE LOAD
7.12.1 Maintenance loads are temporary forces caused by the dismantling, repair, or painting of
equipment. Maintenance loads, including Bundle Pulling Forces, shall be considered in
load combinations as live load.
7.12.2 The supports of heat exchangers shall be designed to withstand a longitudinal bundle pull
force of 200% of the bundle weight, unless the bundles are pulled by means of a
mechanical device which acts on the principle of equilibrium of forces.
7.13 DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT
Provisions shall be made for forces arising from assumed differential settlements of
foundations and from restrained dimensional changes due to temperature changes,
moisture expansion, shrinkage, creep, and similar effects. These loads are considered in
load combinations as dead load.
7.14 EARTH AND WATER PRESSURE
Earth and hydrostatic water pressures on retaining walls and underground structures shall
be determined. Outward pressures on liquid-retaining structures shall also be considered.
Earth and water pressures are considered in load combinations as live load.
Concrete bund walls shall be designed for accidental load condition when the bund is
completely filled with water to the crest. Only the hydrostatic fluid acting in the outward
direction and gravity loading need be considered. The factor of safety shall not be less
than 1.3 for this loading condition.
7.15 BLAST LOAD
Blast load design of plant buildings shall be based on building design philosophy and
criteria defined in Project specifications and narratives elsewhere in the CONTRACT
DOCUMENTS. Blast load characteristics shall be obtained as specified in the next
subsections.
7.15.1 QRA Based Blast Load

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 Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company

DGS-CU-002
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CRITERIA
Rev-4 Feb 2015

Dynamic Blast Load characteristics shall be determined from a dedicated Quantitative

Risk Assessment (QRA) of the building site. The following parameters are required from
the QRA to define the blast load:
Blast side-on overpressure curve shape and peak magnitude Pso (kPa)
Blast duration td (milliseconds)
The above primary parameters shall be used as per methods of ASCE Task Committee
Report; “Design of Blast Resistant Buildings in Petrochemical Facilities”, to fully describe
the blast load characteristics. Other alternative methods for structural design, as specified
under section 4.0 of Shell DEP 34.17.10.30-Gen. may be applied.
Buildings subjected to the above dynamic blast loading shall be analyzed and designed to
meet the ductility demand limits defined in the Project Building Design Criteria or
Philosophy.
Where Blast Resilience is specified, concrete building framing shall be detailed to satisfy
the requirements of ACI 318M Chapter 21 for Intermediate Moment Resisting Frames.
Requirements of Special Moment Resisting Frame shall be implemented where building
Blast Resistance is specified.
Alternatively in the absence of a dedicated QRA, the following criteria under subsections
7.15.2 thru 7.15.4 may be implemented subject to COMPANY approval:
7.15.2 Negligible or No Blast Load
Buildings located more than 500m away from hydrocarbon processing equipment do not
require special provisions with regards to explosion resistance. Building framing details
shall satisfy the requirements of ACI 318M Chapter 21, “Special Provisions for Seismic
Design” for Intermediate Moment Resisting Frames.
7.15.3 Blast Resilient
Buildings within 200m to 500m distance shall be designed in accordance with the following
blast design concepts:
7.15.3.1 The building structure frame, roof, walls, bracing, and connections shall be designed in
such a manner that large plastic deformations of the major frame members and external
wall panels will be allowed to take place without causing partial or total building collapse.
7.15.3.2 Blast resilient concrete buildings shall be detailed in accordance with ACI 318M Chapter
21, “Special Provisions for Seismic Design”. Building framing shall comply with Special
Moment Resisting Frame provisions. No special explicit blast loading needs be applied in
load cases or combinations.
7.15.4 Blast Resistant
Building within 200m distance from hydrocarbon processing equipment shall be designed
to withstand the anticipated blast effect. Structural elements shall be based on the
following (clauses 7.15.4.1 – 7.15.4.4) equivalent static loads acting perpendicularly to the
surface. Lesser loads may be used, subject to prior COMPANY approval, provided that
they can be justified by a site-specific hazard assessment.

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 Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company

DGS-CU-002
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CRITERIA
Rev-4 Feb 2015

7.15.4.1 External walls 100 KN/m2, except loads on doors and windows which may be assumed to
be 30 KN/m2. In addition, all requirements for blast doors and windows given under
section 5.0 of SHELL DEP 34.17.00.30-Gen, needs to be considered.
7.15.4.2 Blast load on the roof slab is dependent on the span between supports.

Static Blast Load Span

50 KN/m2 3m

45 KN/m2 4m

40 KN/m2 5m

35 KN/m2 6m

30 KN/m2 7m

25 KN/m2 8 m and over

These loads shall act simultaneously on one wall and the roof. Blast load acts with
applicable dead load.
7.15.4.3 Suction from blast loads shall be 50% of the loads listed in Section 7.15.4.2 of this
specification. Suction loads shall be calculated on the walls and roof.
7.15.4.4 Suction loads shall act simultaneously on one wall and the roof and not in combination
with the blast loads listed in Section 7.15.4.2 of this specification.
7.15.5 Minimum Design Requirements
The following minimum requirements shall be applied for design of buildings subject to
blast loading unless the relevant design or detailing provisions in the referenced codes are
more stringent:
7.15.5.1 BLAST RESILIENT BUILDINGS
7.15.5.1.1 The building frame shall be either reinforced concrete or structural steel.
7.15.5.1.2 The building walls shall be constructed as precast or cast in-situ reinforced concrete
modules, fully grouted reinforced masonry, or a properly designed structural steel cladding
system. Walls for these buildings shall be structurally isolated from the main moment
resisting framing and shall not be used as main frame members or to provide structural
stability and/or structural strength.
7.15.5.1.3 Materials with a brittle behaviour, such as masonry, shall not be used in such a way that
they have a strength function.
7.15.5.1.4 The building roofs shall be constructed of monolithic reinforced concrete or a properly
designed structural steel roofing system. Loose light-weight concrete roof slabs or
asbestos cement sheeting shall not be used. Gravel as a protection of roof finish, or loose
tiles for walkways on top of the roof finish, shall not be used.
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 Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company

DGS-CU-002
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CRITERIA
Rev-4 Feb 2015

7.15.5.1.5 For steel structures, structural steel bracing in the roof and walls shall be provided.
7.15.5.1.6 Concrete Framing design and detailing shall as a minimum satisfy the requirements of
Section 7.7.6 above
7.15.5.2 BLAST RESISTENT BUILDINGS
In addition to the minimum requirements for Blast Resilient Buildings the following
provisions shall be implemented for Blast Resistant Buildings:
7.15.5.2.1 Pre-stressed concrete shall not be used. In general, special attention shall be paid to
ensure continuity and a minimum of local stress concentration. Adequate lapping and
confining of reinforcement is required at beam/column joints.
7.15.5.2.2 Blast resistant concrete structures framing shall be detailed in accordance to ACI 318M,
Ch 21 “Special Provisions for Seismic Design" to satisfy Special Moment Resisting Frames
provisions in addition to the following:
a) Concrete walls and slabs shall be reinforced each side in the main direction with a
minimum percentage of steel bars equivalent to 1.7/fy, where fy (mPa) is the yield
strength of the steel bars.
In the other direction on both sides, a distribution reinforcement of at least 20% of that
in the main direction shall be applied. Maximum spacing of bars shall be 150 mm
centre to centre. Unless otherwise shown on the Contract drawings, wall and roof
minimum thickness shall be between the limits of 250 and 400 mm in order to facilitate
the placing of the required reinforcing bars. All walls and roof slab thicknesses shall be
multiples of 50mm
b) Shear reinforcement shall be applied in beams only and shall be a combination of
stirrups and horizontal side bars web reinforcement.
When the actual shear stress (V) is less than 1.3 N/mm2 (Vc1): no web reinforcement is
required.
When the actual shear stress (V) is more than 1.3 N/mm2 (Vc1), but less than
4.5 N/mm2 (Vc2): web reinforcement shall be required for (V-Vc1) N/mm2.
Where:
V = Actual shear stress
Vc1 = Concrete shear stress lower limit
Vc2 = Concrete shear stress upper limit
7.15.5.2.3 At least 50 percent of the top and bottom main reinforcement of framed girders shall
extend beyond the face of the support and shall be adequately developed and confined in
the joint region to ensure joint integrity during strain reversal.
7.15.5.2.4 Wind or earthquake loads shall not be combined with blast loads.
7.15.5.2.5 A load factor of 1.0 shall be used for all loads when combined with blast load.
7.15.5.2.6 Blast loads need not be taken into account for walls or foundations below ground level.

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 Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company

DGS-CU-002
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING DESIGN CRITERIA
Rev-4 Feb 2015

7.15.5.2.7 Under blast conditions a maximum allowable soil bearing pressure equal to 75% of the
ultimate static bearing capacity may be used.
7.15.5.2.8 The foundation shall be designed so that the safety factor against overturning due to the
unbalanced lateral reactions in not less than 1.2 under the load combination of dead plus
blast loads.
7.15.5.2.9 Passive resistance of the foundation, where required in addition to the friction to resist
sliding, shall be at least 1.5 times the unbalanced lateral load under the load combination
of dead plus blast loads. The unbalanced lateral load is defined as the total horizontal
reaction force less the frictional resistance.
7.15.5.2.10 Individual foundations shall be tied together by grade beams to preserve the
foundation system integrity
7.15.5.2.11 The structure shall be firmly embedded in the ground by having the foundations at
least 1.5 m below grade, and having the same strength walls and columns below and
above grade.
7.15.5.2.12 Blast resistant structures shall be designed using the “ASCE Task Committee Report
on Design of Blast Resistant Buildings in Petrochemical Facilities”.
8.0 LOAD COMBINATIONS
8.1 Piles, structures and members of structures as well as their support and fixing points shall
be designed for the various loading combinations given in the following tables:

Load Description Abbr. Ref. Section

Weight of Structure DL 7.1

Empty Weight of Vessels and Equipment DLempty 7.1

Operating Load DLop 7.2

Hydrostatic Test Load Test 7.3

Live Load LL 7.4

Moving/Truck Load LLmove 7.5

Wind Load WL 7.6

Earthquake Load EQ 7.7

Crane/Impact Load CR 7.8

Dynamic Load DY 7.9

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