Structural Definitions

National Structural Code of the Philippines 2001 Edition

Interpreting Provisions

by

Engr. Sherwin V. SEGUI

RCE 0070355
 List down structural code used in the development
of NSCP (2001 edition) and the corresponding
professional group who authored.

Following structural codes and responsible professional group

were used in the construction of NSCP.
1.1 Building Codes of the Philippines
1.2 Structural Codes of the Philippines

Who authored the NSCP 2001 edition?

National Structural Code of the Philippines was created by the
society of Association of Structural Engineers of the
Philippines.

Differentiate structure from building.

3.1 Structure - A structure usually refers to any large, man-
made object permanently fixed to Earth's surface or in its orbit, as a
result of construction. These are divided into building and non-
building structures, and make up the infrastructure of a human
society. Structures built by humans are broadly divided into
categories because of their varying design approaches and standards
such as residential buildings, commercial buildings and complexes,
industrial buildings, sites and installations, civil constructions and
other network infrastructure constructions.
3.2 Building - Any man-made structure used or intended for
supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or an act
of construction.

Site the provision use of computer programs

in the structural analysis.
Under SECTION 106 – SPECIFICATIONS, DRAWINGS, AND
CALCULATIONS; sub-paragraph 106.4.3 it stated that:
1. A drawing of the complete mathematical model used
to represent the structure in the computer-generated
analysis shall be provided. Design assumptions shall be
clearly describe.

What are as “built” drawings?

As built drawings shall be prepared by the permit holder or a
person retained to provide such service to document the work as
actually constructed. As-built drawings can be documented either
after or during construction. When it's after construction, a qualified
technician collects accurate data to reconstruct the drawings. When
it's during construction, the design drawings are red-marked for
editing.
For example, if you are a Contractor installing sewer pipe in the
road at a buried depth of 5.00' and you suddenly encounter an
abandoned pipe and must change your buried depth to 6.50' , then
you should be responsible for the as-built conditions. The installing
contractor should red-mark his set of drawings to show how the
sewer line was actually installed so that a draftsman can later edit
the drawings into an "as-built" set.

Differentiate Structural Engineer from Civil Engineer.

6.1 Structural Engineer – A registered Civil Engineer with

special qualification in the practice of Structural Engineering as
recognized by the Board of Civil Engineering of the Professional
Regulation Commission.
6.2 Civil Engineer - Is a professional engineer licensed to
practice in the field of civil engineering, one of the many professions
of engineering. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works
projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked
on armaments and defenses.

Name three (3) classification of loads.

7.1 Lateral load - That load caused by winds, earthquakes,

or other dynamic forces.
7.2 Horizontal load - They were also designed to be strong
enough to support and properly shear dead and live loads from the
equipment storage buildings.
7.3 Vertical load - Analysis of the vertical load carrying
system of the structure was based on the assumption that all
members would behave within their elastic limits.

What are gravity load? Name the load

falling under this category.

Gravity loads are independent of the type of lateral loading

and here they are considered part of the structural model.
8.1 Dead load - The weight of the permanent portions of a
building or structure; it includes the weight of the walls, permanent
partitions, framing, floors, roofs, and all other permanent and
stationary fixtures, mechanisms, and other construction entering into
and becoming a part of a building or structure.
8.2 Live load - The weight of the contents of a building or
structure; it includes all loads except dead and lateral loads, and
weight of temporary partitions, cases, counters, and similar
equipment, and all loads imposed due to the occupancy of the
building or structure.
8.3 Static load - These are loads that build up gradually
over time, or with negligible dynamic effects. Since structural
analysis for static loads is much simpler than for dynamic loads,
design codes usually specify statically-equivalent loads for dynamic
loads caused by wind, traffic or earthquake.

List the five (5) occupancy categories of structures.

Occupancy Name of Occupancy

 Category
 Hospitals and other medical facilities
having surgery, and emergency treatment
areas.
 Fire and police stations
 Tanks or other structures containing,
housing, or supporting water or other fire-
suppression materials or equipment required
for the protection of essential or hazardous
Essential facilities, or special occupancy
Facilities structures.
 Emergency vehicle and equipment shelters
and garages
 Structures and equipment in emergency
preparedness centers.
 Stand-by-power generating equipment for
essential facilities
 Structures and equipment in
communication centers and other facilities
required for emergency response.
 Structures housing, supporting or
Hazardous containing sufficient quantities of toxic or
Facilities explosive substances to be dangerous to the
safety of the general public if released.

 Covered structures whose primary

occupancy is public assembly-capacity more
than 300 persons.
 Buildings for schools (through secondary)
or day-care centers-capacity more than 250
students.
 Buildings for colleges or adult education
schools-capacity more than 500 students.
Special
Occupancy  Medical facilities with 50 or more resident
Structures incapacitated patients, but not included
above.
 Fails and detention facilities.
 All structures with occupancy more than
5000 persons.
 Structures and equipment in power
generating stations and other public utility
facilities not included above, and required for
continued operation.

Standard
Occupancy  All structures having occupancies or
Structure functions not listed above.

Miscellaneous  Private garages, carports, sheds,

Structures agricultural buildings, and fences over 1.8
meters high.

In general, what are the three (3) most important

characteristics of essential structures?

10.1 Distribution of Horizontal Shear. The total lateral

force shall be distributed to the various vertical elements of the
lateral-force-resisting system in proportion to their rigidities
considering the rigidity of the horizontal bracing system or
diaphragm.
10.2 Stability against overturning. Every structure shall be
designed to resist the overturning effects caused by the lateral force.
10.3 Self Straining Forces. Restrained dimensional changes
due to temperature, moisture, shrinkage, creep and similar.
10.4 Anchorage. Resist uplift and sliding forces.

Differentiate live loads from dead loads.

11.1 Live loads. Generally classified as movable loads and

moving loads.
11.2 Dead loads. It is the weight of the structure itself
together with the material permanently attached to it.

Name at least three (3) actual illustrative

of live load.

12.1 Wind load. A load cause by wind from any horizontal

directions.
12.2 Snow load. Snow loading is the downward force exerted
on structures by the weight of accumulated snow.
12.3 Hydrostatic load. The pressure at any depth due to
hydrostatic pressures is found using the equation for hydrostatic
pressure

What are the two (2) approach to

seismic or earthquake load analysis?

13.1 Response spectrum analysis. An elastic dynamic

analysis of structure utilizing the peak dynamic response of all modes
having a significant contribution to total structural response. Peak
modal responses are calculated using the ordinates of the
appropriate response spectrum curve which correspond to the modal
periods. Maximum modal contributions are combined in statistical
manner to obtain an approximate total structural response.
13.2 Time History Analysis. An elastic or inelastic dynamic
analysis in which a mathematical model structure is subjected to a
specified ground motion time history. The structure's time-dependent
dynamic response to these motion is obtained through numerical
integration of its equations of motion.
 What are the basis zone for wind load in the
Philippines. How many do we have?

Zone I II III
Basic Wind
250 kPa 200 kPa 125 kPa
Speed
qs, wind
stagnation 2500 Pa 2000 Pa 1500 Pa
pressure

Define exposure categories for wind?

15.1 Exposure A. Large city centers with at least 50% of the

buildings having a height in excess of 21 meters. Use of this
exposure category shall be limited to those areas for which terrain
representative of Exposure A prevails in the upwind direction for a
distance of at least 1 km or 10 times the height of the building or
other structure, whichever is greater. Possible channeling effects or
increased velocity pressures due to the building or structure being
located in the wake of adjacent building shall be taken into account.
15.2 Exposure B. Urban and suburban areas, wooded areas, or
other terrain with numerous closely spaced obstructions having the
size of single-family dwelling or larger. Use of this exposure category
shall be limited to those areas for which terrain representative of
Exposure B prevails in the upwind direction for a distance of at least
0.5 km or 10 times the height of the building on other structure,
whichever is greater.
15.3 Exposure C. Open terrain with scattered obstructions
having heights generally less than 9 meters. This category includes
flat open country and grasslands.
15.4 Exposure D. Flat, unobstructed areas exposed to wind
flowing over open water for a distance of at least 2 km. This exposure
shall apply only to those building and other structures exposed to the
wind coming from over the water. Exposure D extends inland from
the shoreline a distance of 0.5 km or 10 times the height of the
building or structure, whichever is greater.

What are solid signs reference to wind load? State

the basis of its classification.

Importance Factor, IW (Wind Loads)

Occupancy
Description IW (Wind Loads)
Category
 I Essential 1.15
II Hazardous 1.15
III Special Occupancy 1.15
IV Standard Occupancy 1.00
V Miscellaneous 0.87

Describe structural system for earthquake load

analysis.

17.1 Bearing Wall System. A structural system without a

complete vertical load-carrying space frame. Bearing walls or bracing
systems provide support for all or most gravity loads. Resistance to
lateral load is provided by shear walls or braced frames.
17.2 Building Frame System. A structural system with an
essentially complete space frame providing support for gravity loads.
Resistance to lateral load is provided by shear walls or braced
frames.
17.3 Moment-Resisting Frame System. A structural system
with an essentially complete space frame providing support for
gravity loads. Moment-resisting frames provide resistance to lateral
load primarily by flexural action of numbers.

17.4 Dual System. A structural system with following features:

17.4.1 AAn essentially complete space frame that
provides support for gravity loads.
17.4.2 rResistance to lateral load is provided by shear
walls or braced frames and moment-resisting frames. The
moment-resisting frames shall be designated to
independently resist at least 25 percent of the design base
shear.
17.4.3 TThe two systems shall be designed to resist the
total design base shear in proportion to their relative
rigidities considering the interaction of the dual system at
all levels.

17.5 Cantilevered Column System. A structural system

relying on cantilevered column elements for lateral resistance.

17.6 Undefined Structural System. A structural system not

listed in Table 208-11.

17.7 Non-building Structural System. A structural system

confirming the following:

17.7.1 Stiffness irregularities or soft storey: A storey in

which the lateral stiffness is less than 70 percent of that in
the storey above or less than 80 percent of the average
stiffness of the three storeys above.
17.7.2 Mass (Weight) Irregularities: Mass irregularities is
considered to exist when the effective mass of any storey
is more than 150 percent of the effective mass of an
 adjacent storey. A roof that is lighter than the floor below
need not be considered.
17.7.3 Geometric Irregularities: Geometric irregularity is
considered to exist where the horizontal dimension of the
lateral-force-resisting system in any storey is more than
130 percent of that in an adjacent storey. One-storey
penthouses need not be considered.
17.7.4 In-Plane Discontinuity in Vertical Lateral-Force-
Resisting Elements: An in-plane discontinuity is an in-plane
offset of the lateral-load-resisting elements greater than
the length of those elements.
17.7.5 Discontinuity in Capacity or Weak Storey: A storey
in which the storey strength is less than 80 percent of that
in the storey above. The storey strength is the total
strength of all seismic-resisting elements sharing the storey
shear for the direction under consideration.

What are impact loads?

"Impact loads are those that result from debris, ice, and any object
transported by floodwater's striking against buildings and structures,
or parts thereof.

What could be the basis for seismic zone? How

many do we have in the Philippines.

The basis for the seismic design shall be stated on the structural
drawings. The statement shall include:

(a) The governing edition

of the building code;
(b) The total base shear
coefficient used for seismic
design,
(c) A description of the
lateral force resisting system.

Seismic Zone Factor, Z

Zone 1 2 3 4
Z ** 0.2 0.3 0.4
 State four (4) basis for wind load.

Wind loading standards provide procedures for determining the

loads on specific structures in specific locations for specific conditions
and needs. They start with general (or neutral) conditions and move
towards the specific.
The basic (or reference) wind speed is then adjusted for specific
cases using various parameters including:
20.1 Averaging period. Direct measurements of wind speeds
are made by anemometers. These instruments vary in the way they
sample the wind and in the way they report the results. One of the
characteristics of mechanical anemometers is the response time.
20.2 Return period. Wind speeds are amenable to statistical
analysis. It could be argued that the historical record is not
sufficiently long for such analysis to be reliable.
20.3 Ground roughness. The roughness of the surface over
which the wind passes has two effects on the wind – speed and
turbulence. The rougher the surface the lower the wind speed but the
greater the turbulence.
20.4 Height. Ground roughness is usually combined with
height above ground in wind-loading standards.
20.5 Topography. The topographic effect is now well
recognized in most wind-loading standards. Wind-tunnel modeling
and large-scale tests in the real environment have been carried out.
20.6 Size of Structure. The size of the structure for which
the design wind speed is required also affects that design wind
speed. This is so because of the spacial variations within a cyclone. A
gust has a “size”, a relatively small size. Therefore a gust cannot
envelope an entire structure even of modest scale. Gust loading is
therefore relevant to components such as cladding panels, windows
and small elements such as purlins and individual rafters.