Structural Design Codes

Design Codes

A structural engineer will use numerous design codes. These codes are used to ensure that the material in use is safe and will react to outside forces as expected (An example to this is designing ductility into concrete members to ensure that they do not have a brittle failure in seismic? events).

This section will give a brief overview of the various design codes used for each type of material or structure. Codes can be broken up into two main categories (structure codes and material codes) although there will be some overlap between the two.

Building Codes:

• Structures
  • IBC 2006: International Building Code (2006)
    • The IBC 2006 is the most widely used building code being used in the United States. It is published by the International Code Council (ICC) and updated every 3 years.
  • ASCE 7-05: Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (2005)
    • Snow, Wind, Seismic, and Rain design from the IBC are taken from ASCE 7-05.

Material Codes:

• Concrete
  • ACI 318-05: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary (2005)
    • The main concrete code in use.
• Masonry
  • ACI 530/ ASCE 5/ TMS 402
  • MSJC Code : Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures
    • This is the main Masonry code in use
  • ACI 530.1/ ASCE 6/ TMS 602
• Steel
  • AISC 360: 'Steel Construction Manual' 13th Edition
    • This manual gives design criteria for all elements of a structure (e.g. beams, columns, bolts, welds, etc.)
• Wood
  • NDS