In typical strength design practice, for components not wind-dominated, which two load combinations should not govern?

• A. Strength I and II
• B. Strength III and V
• C. Strength II and IV
• D. Strength I and III

Answer: (B)

In strength design, you check multiple load combinations to capture different ways a member could be stressed. If a component isn’t wind-dominated, the combinations that are built to test extreme wind effects don’t control the design, because wind isn’t the factor that governs its failure. Those wind-including combinations are meant to represent worst cases with wind, and for non-wind-dominated members they won’t govern the capacity check. So the two load combinations that should not govern are the ones that include wind, since they are not controlling for components where wind isn’t the primary concern. The governing combinations for such members come from the gravity-dominated cases that reflect dead and live loads without the wind emphasis.