Theory and Design of structures II 1

Load Types 2023

Chapter 4
Load types
Learning outcomes: at the end of this chapter; one should be able to:
 Classify loads on structures
 Analyse dead load.
 Analyse live load
 Determine factors which increase wind load
 Determine factors which increase Earthquake load

Introduction

Structures must be proportioned so that they will not fail or deform excessively under loads.
The designer must decide which loads to apply based on the type of structures (Shape and
Function).

Once the dimensional requirements for a structure have been defined, it becomes necessary to
determine the loads the structure must support. Often, it is the anticipation of the various
loads that will be imposed on the structure that provides the basic type of structure that will
be chosen for design. For example, high-rise structures must endure large lateral loadings
caused by wind, and so shear walls and tubular frame systems are selected, whereas buildings
located in areas prone to earthquakes must be designed having ductile frames and
connections.

Once the structural form has been determined, the actual design begins with those elements
that are subjected to the primary loads the structure is intended to carry, and proceeds in
sequence to the various supporting members until the foundation is reached. Thus, a building
floor slab would be designed first, followed by the supporting beams, columns, and last, the
foundation footings. In order to design a structure, it is therefore necessary to first specify the
loads that act on it.

The design loading for a structure is often specified in codes. Codes provide only a general
guide for design. The ultimate responsibility for the design lies with the structural engineer.

Since a structure is generally subjected to several types of loads, a brief discussion of these
loadings will now be presented to illustrate how one must consider their effects in practice.

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4.1. Gravity loads

4.1.1. Dead load

Dead loads are those that act on the structure as a result of the weight of the structure itself
and of the components of the system that are permanent fixtures. As a result, dead loads are
characterized as having fixed magnitudes and positions. Examples of dead loads are the
weights of the structural members themselves, such as beams and columns, the weights of
roof surfaces, floor slabs, ceilings, or permanent partitions, and so on.
The dead loads associated with the structure can be determined if the materials and sizes of
the various components are known. Some of standard material unit weights are shown in
table 1.
Table 1Material Unit weights

Material Unit weight (kN/m3)

Concrete with reinforcement 25
Mortar (cement) 19 to 23
Hollow Concrete Block (HCB) 14 to 20
Solid Brick 22
Steel 77
Natural stones 20 to 31
wood 3.5 to 10.8
Aluminium 27
Glass, in sheets 25
tar, bitumen 14
Example:
• The floor shown below is 12 cm thick reinforced concrete slab of unit weight 25 kN/m3
supported by STEEL BEAMS (see Figure b). The beams are connected by CLIP ANGLES
(pin support). An acoustical board ceiling of unit weight 0.07 kN/m2 is suspended from the
concrete slab. An additional dead load of 0.95 kN/m2 is considered to take into account duct,
piping, conduit. The self-weight of beam B1 is 0.04 kN/m and for the beam B2 is 0.067 kN/m
• Find the magnitude of the dead load distribution on beam B1 and B2.

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For B1:
• Weight of the slab: (1 m + 1 m) * (0.12 m) * (25 kN/m3) = 6 kN/m
• Weight of the ceiling: (1 m + 1 m) * 0.07 kN/m2 = 0.14 kN/m
• Weight of the additional non-structural elements: (1 m + 1 m) * 0.95 kN/m2 = 1.9 kN/m
• Weight of the beam itself: 0.04 kN/m
• Total weight per unit length: 6 + 0.14 + 1.9 + 0.04 = ~8.1 kN/m (rounded up)

For B2:
• Notice that the slab load is carried by the B1 beam ONLY (due to the rectangular shape of
the slab),
• Therefore B2 only carries its own weight: 0.067 kN/m
• As well as the concentrated reaction forces due to B1 applied at the third points of girder B2
(see figure f)

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Load Types 2023

Distribution of Dead Loads to Framed Floor Systems

It is a square floor system,

• The edge beams support the same triangular load
• The area of the slab portion that is supported by a particular beam is called the tributary
area.

• Total force of the slab is w*L2 where w is the load per unit area (kN/m2),
• ¼ of that total load is w*L2/4,
• This total force has to be in triangular shape, therefore the height of the load can be
calculated as follows

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Case 2:

• It is a rectangular floor system,

• The rectangular slab is supported by two parallel beams,
• The tributary area is (Ls/2) * Lb (shaded grey area)
• Along the beam B1, the magnitude of the distributed load will be
dist. load = w*Ls/2 [kN/m]
where w is the load per unit area (kN/m2).

Case 3:

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• A slab carrying a uniformly distributed load of w, and is supported on a rectangular grid of

beams (Figure d)
• Figure e shows the “assumed” and “simplified” distributed forces acting on the beam B2,
respectively.

• Figures (f) and (g) show the forces acting on the beam B1,Notice that there are distributed
as well as concentrated forces.

4.1.2. Live load

These loads are dynamic in character in that they vary both in magnitude and position. Live
loads where the dynamic nature has significance because of the rapidity with which change in
position occurs are called moving loads, whereas live loads in which change occurs over an
extended period of time, or where there is the potential for change whether exercised or not,
are referred to as movable loads. Moving loads include vehicular loads on bridges or crane
loads in industrial buildings.
Another type of live load is a variable load or a time dependent load-that is, one whose
magnitude changes with time, such as a load induced through the operation of machinery.
Occupancy live loads for buildings are usually specified in terms of the minimum values that
must be used for design purposes. Some representative values are given in Table 2.2.(Refer
EBCS-1, 1995 Ethiopian Building Code Standards, part 1- Loadings)
Table 2 Live Load values for different building structures

Specific use Typical Load ( )

Areas for domestic and residential activities 1.5 to 2.0 (on floors)
Office areas 2.0 to 3.0
Areas with tables, etc. e.g. areas in schools, cafés, restaurants, 2.0 to 3.0

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Specific use Typical Load ( )

dining halls, reading rooms, receptions.
Areas with fixed seats, e.g. areas in churches, theatres or cinemas, 3.0 to 4.0
conference rooms, lecture halls, assembly halls, waiting rooms,
railway waiting rooms.
Areas without obstacles for moving people, e.g. areas in museums, 3.0 to 5.0
exhibition rooms, etc. and access areas in public and administration
buildings, hotels, hospitals, railway station forecourts.
Areas with possible physical activities, e.g. dance halls, gymnastic 4.5 to 5.0
rooms, stages.
Areas susceptible to large crowds, e.g. in buildings for public 5.0 to 7.5
events like concert halls, sports halls including stands, terraces and
access areas and railway platforms.
Areas in general retail shops 4.0 to 5.0
Areas in department stores 4.0 to 5.0
Areas for storage use including storage of books and other. 7.5
Roofs not accessible except for normal maintenance and repair. 0.4kN/m2, 1kN

4.2. Lateral loads

4.2.1. Wind load

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The wind loads that act on a structure result from movement of the air against the obstructing
surfaces. Wind effects induce forces, vibrations, and in some cases instabilities in the overall
structure as well as its non-structural components. These wind effects depend on the wind
speed, mass density of the air, location and geometry of the structure, and vibrational
characteristics of the system.

The design wind pressure that is used to establish the wind load on a structure is directly
related to velocity pressure (q) and is given by:

Where p is the mass density of air, and v is the wind velocity.

Wind Forces According to EBSC-1, 1995
Wind Pressure: The external and internal wind pressures are given as:

Where q ref is the reference wind pressure; We and Wi are the external and internal pressures;
ce(ze) and ce(zi) are the external and internal exposure coefficients; cpe and cpi are the
external and internal pressure coefficients.
Reference Wind Pressure: The reference wind pressure is given by:
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Where p is air density and vref is the reference wind velocity which is taken as 22m/s.
Ce(z) =fn (terrain category, topographic coefficient, elevation)
The external pressure coefficients cpe for buildings and individual parts of building depend
on the size of the loaded area A. Values of external pressure coefficients for different cases
are given in codes.
4.2.2. Earthquake load

A common dynamic loading that structures must resist is that associated with earthquake
motions. Here, loads are not applied to the structure in the normal fashion. Instead, the base
of the structure is subjected to a sudden movement. Since the upper portion of the structure
resists motion because of its inertia, a deformation is induced in the structure. This
deformation, in turn, induces a horizontal vibration that causes horizontal shear forces
throughout the structure. It results from the acceleration of the supporting earth. Movement of
the ground during EQ in the direction parallel to the ground surface has the most damaging
effect on structures.

The resulting earthquake loads are dependent on the nature of the ground movement and the
inertia response characteristics of the structure. The computation of lateral loads due to Earth
Quake is presented in building design codes.

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Some codes require that specific attention be given to earthquake design, especially in areas
of the country where strong earthquakes predominate. Also, these loads should be seriously
considered when designing high-rise buildings or nuclear power plants. In order to assess the
importance of earthquake design consideration, one can check the seismic ground
acceleration maps
For small structures, a static analysis for earthquake design may be satisfactory. This case
approximates the dynamic loads by a set of externally applied static forces that are applied
laterally to the structure.
It is based upon finding a seismic response coefficient, determined from the soil properties,
the ground accelerations, and the vibrational response of the structure. For most structures,
this coefficient is then multiplied by the structure’s total dead load W to obtain the “base
shear” in the structure.

Where =total lateral load on the structure (seismic base shear)

, is determined based on soil properties, the ground acceleration, and the
vibrational characteristics/response of the system.

Figure 1: Earthquake activity around the world in the period from 1977 to 1994
(http://denali.

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Figure 2: Ethiopia’s Seismic hazard map in terms of peak ground acceleration

Thus, the total lateral load distributed to various level of the building frame is given by the
Fi formula.

4.2.3. Hydrostatic and Soil Pressure.

When structures are used to retain water, soil, or granular materials, the pressure developed
by these loadings becomes an important criterion for their design. Examples of such types of
structures include water tanks, dams, and retaining walls. Here the laws of hydrostatics and
soil mechanics are applied to define the intensity of the loadings on the structure.

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4.3. Rain load

Roof loads that result from the accumulation of rainwater on flat roofs can be a serious
problem. This condition is produced by the ponding that occurs when the water accumulates
faster than it runs off, either because of the intensity of the rainfall or because of the
inadequacy or blockage of the drainage system. The real danger is that as ponding occurs the
roof deflects into a dished configuration, which can accommodate more water, and thus
greater loads result. The best way to prevent the problem is to provide a modest slope to the
roof (0.25 in. per ft or 2cm. per m or more) and to design an adequate drainage system. In
addition to the primary drainage, there should be a secondary system to preclude the
accumulation of standing water above a certain level.
4.4. Impact load

Loads that are applied over a very short period of time have a greater effect on the structure
than would occur if the same loads were applied statically. The manner in which a load varies
with time and the time over which the full load is placed on the structure will determine the
factor by which the static response should be increased to obtain the dynamic response.
For building occupancy loads, the minimum design loads normally include adequate
allowance for ordinary impact conditions. However, provisions must be made in the
structural design for uses and loads that involve unusual vibrations and impact forces. One
situation in which an impact effect (IM is defined as the dynamic load allowance) is applied
for moving vehicular loads on a highway bridge.
4.5 Other Loads

Several other types of loads may also have to be considered in the design of a structure,
depending on its location or use. These include the effect of blast, temperature changes, and
differential settlement of the foundation.
4.5. Load Combinations
Ultimate Design Load
The ultimate design load acting on a member will be the summation of the relevant
characteristic load combinations multiplied by their respective partial safety factors. Thus, the
ultimate design load for the combination of dead and live loads will be expressed as follows:

Partial Safety Factors for Load

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In practice the applied load may be greater than the characteristic load for any of the
following reasons:
a. Calculation errors
b. Constructional inaccuracies
c. Unforeseen increases in load
To allow for these the respective characteristic loads are multiplied by a partial safety factor
γf to give the ultimate design load appropriate to the limit state being considered. That is,
Ultimate design load = γf x characteristic load
Load combinations depend on the design philosophy adopted.
A). Load Combinations for Ultimate Limit States (ULS)
 Fd = 1.35Gk + 1.5Qki
Permanent action, variable action and accidental (seismic) action
 Fd = GK + Qki +AEd = 0.75 (l.3Gk + 1.5Qk) + AEd
B). Load Combinations for Serviceability Limit States (SLS)
 Fd = Gk + Qki
The final design of a structure must be consistent with the most critical combination of loads
that the structure is to support. However, some judgment is necessary in selecting loading
conditions that can reasonably be combined. Obviously, the maximum effects of all loading
conditions should not be combined because it is unlikely that they will all occur
simultaneously.

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