Course Description:
For many structural engineers, wind design remains straightforward—until the building stops behaving like a regular, prismatic box. Once setbacks, multiple roof elevations, eccentric stiffness, discontinuous load paths, or torsion-sensitive response enter the problem, simplified envelope assumptions may no longer be enough. At that point, the quality of the design depends on whether the engineer can recognize the limitation early and apply the ASCE 7-22 Directional Procedure correctly.
This course is designed for practicing structural engineers who need more than a general code overview. It provides a complete, step-by-step professional workflow for applying the ASCE 7-22 Directional Procedure to irregular and multi-level buildings, with focused treatment of directional pressure development, torsional response, load-path interpretation, software verification, and defensible design documentation.
Through realistic building scenarios, worked SI-based calculations, and practice-driven engineering judgment, you will learn how to determine wind loads more accurately, evaluate torsional effects more realistically, avoid common software and modeling blind spots, and produce review-ready wind design calculations for professional practice.
By the end of the course, you will not only understand the Directional Procedure more clearly—you will know how to apply it with greater confidence when simplified methods are no longer sufficient and when the technical defensibility of the design truly matters.
Upon completion of the course review, participants must pass a 25-question multiple-choice examination to earn 5 PDH credits. The exam is based on the full course content.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Determine when irregular, setback, or multi-level building behavior requires the ASCE 7-22 Directional Procedure rather than simplified envelope-based wind analysis.
2. Execute a complete directional wind-design workflow from velocity pressure calculation through MWFRS force development, load combinations, and structural interpretation.
3. Evaluate torsional wind effects more realistically by recognizing eccentricity, stiffness imbalance, and force redistribution in wall-frame systems.
4. Incorporate setbacks, roof transitions, and geometric irregularities into more representative wind-load determination.
5. Detect common software and modeling errors that can suppress or distort critical directional wind response.
6. Produce technically defensible wind design calculations and documentation suitable for professional practice, peer review, and higher-risk building conditions.
