Performance-Based Design for Wood Residential Construction Subjected to Snow Loads

Most housing in the United States is light-frame wood construction and natural hazards have caused extensive property damage to it. Performance-based design (PBD), in which a range of performance objectives are considered in design, is a potential design approach for the future. PBD provides a rational basis for design, with flexibility in accommodating various needs of building occupants, owners and the public, while maintaining the traditional objective of life safety. However, the implications of PBD for snow hazard have not been considered. The objective of this study is to propose a framework for developing PBD for snow loads and examine the challenge of developing such a framework by considering the performance of wood residential construction and the vulnerability of the building inventory. Understanding and quantification of various sources of uncertainties in snow hazard, structural demand, and structural capacity are essential to developing such a framework. The proposed framework has two major components — structural system fragility models developed to assess damage states and probabilistic models of snow hazard occurrence and intensity. Challenges in performance limit states of wood-frame structures due to snow, and modeling of roof snow load and roof systems will be discussed.