Determintion of design snow load in absence of code specified values

[PSEPK]

What should be the criterion to determine design snow load at a station, for which no ground snow load map or specified ground snow values exist?

References or links to relevant code sections or research articles etc, would be highly appreciated.

 

[woodman88]

Per which code?

Under the IBC code the AHJ is required to provide it.

Garth Dreger PE - AZ Phoenix area
As EOR's we should take the responsibility to design our structures to support the components we allow in our design per that industry standards.

 

[dcarr82775]

Where about in the world is the Project. Like Woodman said, in the US the AHJ has to provide you with that information. Failing that, what is the weather history? Is there a blizzard of 78 type event known to the area you could use as a starting point? If you are in the mountains I am not sure how to even wager a guess. Colorado and Montana have their own state specific maps that might give you a mountain perspective but they vary wildly from location to location (as they should).

 

[PSEPK]

Thanks, woodman88 and dcarr82775.

The project is located in an asian country, and US codes are to be followed. Local code does not provide ground snow load values, nor the information is available elesewhere. However, it is possible to obtain snowfall record from local Meteorological Department.

What I am interested to know, is;
a. what type of snowfall record I should collect from Meteorological Department,
b. the snowfall record should for how many years, at least? and
c. how I should select the value of applicable ground snow depth ? Whether the selected snow depth should correspond to daily maximum snow depth, monthly maximum, or seasonal maximum etc?

 

[flight7]

The ASCE 7-10 commentary makes reference to a method for determining design snow load from weather records. See Section C7.2 for some discussion. If you don't have ASCE 7 handy, here is the paper they direct you to:

Tobiasson, W., and Greatorex, A. (1996). "Database and methodology for conducting site specific snow load case studies for the United States." In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Snow Engineering, Sendai, Japan, 249-256.

Unfortunately, I don't know where you would be able to get a copy. Your local university or ASCE itself may be able to help.

 

[steellion]

Is this a military/government project? You can use the UFC criteria (available for free at

http://www.wbdg.org)

for the nearest U.S. military base for a good idea of what design snow to expect, calibrated to U.S. codes.

 

[dcarr82775]

We looked at a structure in Siberia that had nothing anywhere near it (Gold Mine) so no data. Pre-Fab metal buildings designed in North America and shipped over there. It was having trouble with drifting loads. We knew the terrain, and as a gut check we gathered Canadian data from similar latitudes and terrain. When using those values we got in the ballpark to what they were seeing.