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Determination of Design Loads Specific for Structures in Coastal Areas

Jeffrey Havelin, P.E.


Course Outline

This course provides the design professional and others with guidance on how to determine-by calculation or graphical interpretation-the magnitude of the loads placed on a building by a particular natural hazard event or a combination of events. The calculation methods presented in this course are intended to serve as the basis of a methodology for applying the calculated loads to the building during the design process.

This course will review the procedures and formulas required to determine appropriate forces, which structures could become subjected to during hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other severe natural hazard events. The design procedures, which are required to determine site specific design loads (forces) which will be applied to the structure, is the basis of this course.

Various case studies of residential buildings will be analyzed with sample calculations demonstrating the procedures are covered in this course.

The design professional should be familiar with the pertinent sections of the IRC 2000, in addition to those sections of the IBC 2000, which may be cited within this course. Additional reference sources should also include one or more of the following sources in high wind zones. Specific sections of the code and tables have been referenced in these various sources; calculations outside of the confines of this course would require these reference materials, however the various references would not be required to complete the test for this course.

In this course the design method is Allowable Stress Design (ASD), so there are factors of safety (FS) built into the development of the material stresses and the forces at the connections. This design method has been chosen because (ASD) continues to be the predominant design method in light-frame, residential, wood construction.

The design process starts by determining all of the site-specific design loads (forces):

This course is based entirely on Chapter 11, " Determining Site Specific Loads" of the FEMA Publication- Coastal Construction Manual (FEMA-55). This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials. You will be quizzed on the subject document in its entirety

Learning Objective

At the completion of this course the student will know how to determine various types of loads, which could be applied to structures during hurricanes earthquakes or other severe natural hazard events.

Which would include o Dead loads o Live loads o Snow loads
Detailed formulas and procedures for determining the various components of Wind, Flood Tsunami, and Seismic loads

The following topics and procedures are included in this class:


Intended Audience

This course is intended for engineers or architects involved in design or construction of structures located in coastal areas, high-wind areas, or subject to flooding.


Benefit for Attendee

This course was intended to provide valuable design guidance for engineers or architects involved in the design of coastal structures. The information will provide additional guidance for projects, which are located specifically in high-wind or coastal areas. Step-by-step procedures with detailed examples are provided to guide the design professional through every step to calculate a multitude of potential coastal loads.


Course Introduction

The design procedures, which are required to determine site specific design loads (forces) which will be applied to the structure, is the basis of this course. This course will review the design procedures and formulas required to determine the appropriate forces, which structures can become subjected to during hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other severe natural hazard events.


Course Content

This course is based entirely on the Chapter 11, " Determining Site Specific Loads" from the third edition of "Coastal Construction Manual" -Publication (FEMA-55).

The link to the course materials is as follows:

Chapter 11, " Determining Site Specific Loads"


Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.


Related References

The course text references sections located within other chapters of the complete FEMA document. Although this additional information is not required to complete the quiz, a link is provided below with information on how to contact FEMA to obtain a full copy of the document for reference.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/nhp_fema55.pdf

Designers should refer to pertinent sections of the IRC, in addition to those of the IBC cited here.

Additional reference sources should also include one or more of the following sources in high wind zones.

Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and other structures (ASCE-7)


Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.