Criteria
Limit state design requires the structure to satisfy two principal criteria: the ultimate limit state (ULS) and the serviceability limit state (SLS).[1] A limit state is a set of performance criteria (e.g. vibration levels, deflection, strength, stability, buckling, twisting, collapse) that must be met when the structure is subject to loads.
Example Treatment of LSD in Codes
The following is the treatment of LSD found in the National Building Code of Canada:
NBCC 1995 Format
φR > αDD + ψ γ {αLL + αQQ + αTT}
where φ = Resistance Factor
ψ = Load Combination Factor
γ = Importance Factor
αD = Dead Load Factor
αL = Live Load Factor
αQ = Earthquake Load Factor
αT = Thermal Effect (Temperature) Load Factor
Any design process involves a number of assumptions. The loads to which a structure will be subjected must be estimated, sizes of members to check must be chosen and design criteria must be selected. All engineering design criteria have a common goal: that of ensuring a safe structure and ensuring the functionality of the structure.
The State of the Art
Limit state design has replaced the older concept of permissible stress design in most forms of civil engineering. Notable exceptions are geotechnical engineering and transportation engineering. Even so, new codes are currently being developed for both geotechnical and transportation engineering which are LSD based. As a result, most modern buildings are designed in accordance with a code which is based on limit state theory. For example, in the UK, Steel structures are designed in accordance with BS 5950, and reinforced concrete structures to BS 8110, both of which are codes based on limit state theory. Australia, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, and New Zealand (among many others) utilise limit state theory in the development of their design codes. In the purest sense, it is now considered inappropriate to discuss safety factors when working with LSD, as there are concerns that this may lead to confusion.
Limit State Design in the United States
The United States has been particularly slow to adopt Limit State(s) design (known as Load and Resistance Factor Design in the US), and as a result it is more thoroughly adopted outside the United States. Inside the U.S. there has been significant resistance to this technique, so much so that the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is now issuing a combined manual of steel construction (the 2005 manual) that contains two methods of design side by side (newly named ASD - Allowable Strength Design, not to be confused with ASD - Allowable Stress Design last updated in 1989), and LRFD - load and resistance factor design).[citation needed] In terms of the US steel code, research and progress has been reserved to LRFD code, with the exception of addenda regarding safety concerns. Even so, many American engineers continue to prefer the former ASD code. The difficulty may lie in the high regionalization of US Engineering practice, coupled with the high number of governing bodies, codes and states which each regulate the engineering profession individually.
