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StructuralloadWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Structuralload
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Structuralloadsoractionsareforces,deformations,oraccelerationsappliedtoastructureorits
components.[1][2]
Loadscausestresses,deformations,anddisplacementsinstructures.Assessmentoftheireffectsiscarried
outbythemethodsofstructuralanalysis.Excessloadoroverloadingmaycausestructuralfailure,and
hencesuchpossibilityshouldbeeitherconsideredinthedesignorstrictlycontrolled.
Mechanicalstructures,suchasaircraft,satellites,rockets,spacestations,shipsandsubmarines,havetheir
ownparticularstructuralloadsandactions.[3]
Engineersoftenevaluatestructuralloadsbaseduponpublishedregulations,contracts,orspecifications.
Acceptedtechnicalstandardsareusedforacceptancetestingandinspection.

Contents
1Typesofloads
2Loadsonarchitecturalandcivilengineeringstructures
2.1Deadload
2.2Imposedloads
2.3Environmentalloads
2.4Otherloads
2.5Loadcombinations
3Aircraftstructuralloads
4Seealso
5References
6Externallinks

Typesofloads
Deadloadsarestaticforcesthatarerelativelyconstantforanextendedtime.Theycanbeintensionor
compression.Thetermcanrefertoalaboratorytestmethodortothenormalusageofamaterialor
structure.
Liveloadsareusuallyunstableormovingloads.Thesedynamicloadsmayinvolveconsiderationssuchas
impact,momentum,vibration,sloshdynamicsoffluids,etc.
Animpactloadisonewhosetimeofapplicationonamaterialislessthanonethirdofthenaturalperiodof
vibrationofthatmaterial.
Cyclicloadsonastructurecanleadtofatiguedamage,cumulativedamage,orfailure.Theseloadscanbe
repeatedloadingsonastructureorcanbeduetovibration.
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Loadsonarchitecturalandcivilengineeringstructures
Buildingcodesrequirethatstructuresbedesignedandbuilttosafelyresistallactionsthattheyarelikelyto
faceduringtheirservicelife,whileremainingfitforuse.[4]Minimumloadsoractionsarespecifiedinthese
buildingcodesfortypesofstructures,geographiclocations,usageandmaterialsofconstruction.[5]
Structuralloadsaresplitintocategoriesbytheiroriginatingcause.Intermsoftheactualloadonastructure,
thereisnodifferencebetweendeadorliveloading,butthesplitoccursforuseinsafetycalculationsorease
ofanalysisoncomplexmodels.
Tomeettherequirementthatdesignstrengthbehigherthanmaximumloads,buildingcodesprescribethat,
forstructuraldesign,loadsareincreasedbyloadfactors.Theseloadfactorsare,roughly,aratioofthe
theoreticaldesignstrengthtothemaximumloadexpectedinservice.Theyaredevelopedtohelpachieve
thedesiredlevelofreliabilityofastructure[6]basedonprobabilisticstudiesthattakeintoaccounttheload's
originatingcause,recurrence,distribution,andstaticordynamicnature.[7]

Deadload
Thedeadloadincludesloadsthatarerelativelyconstantovertime,
includingtheweightofthestructureitself,andimmovablefixturessuch
aswalls,plasterboardorcarpet.Theroofisalsoadeadload.Deadloads
arealsoknownaspermanentorstaticloads.[8][9][10]

Imposedloads
Liveloads,orimposedloads,aretemporary,ofshortduration,ora
movingload.Thesedynamicloadsmayinvolveconsiderationssuchas
impact,momentum,vibration,sloshdynamicsoffluidsandmaterial
fatigue.

Deadload

Liveloads,sometimesalsoreferredtoasprobabilisticloads,includeallthe
forcesthatarevariablewithintheobject'snormaloperationcyclenot
includingconstructionorenvironmentalloads.
Roofandfloorliveloadsareproducedduringmaintenancebyworkers,
equipmentandmaterials,andduringthelifeofthestructurebymovable
objects,suchasplantersandpeople.
Bridgeliveloadsareproducedbyvehiclestravelingoverthedeckofthe
bridge.

Imposedload(liveload)

Environmentalloads
Theseareloadsthatactasaresultofweather,topographyandothernaturalphenomena.
Windloads
Snow,rainandiceloads
Seismicloads
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Temperaturechangesleadingtothermalexpansioncausethermalloads
Pondingloads
Frostheaving
Lateralpressureofsoil,groundwaterorbulkmaterials
Loadsfromfluidsorfloods
Permafrostmelting
Dustloads

Otherloads
Engineersmustalsobeawareofotheractionsthatmayaffectastructure,
suchas:
Foundationsettlementordisplacement
Fire
Corrosion
Explosion
Creeporshrinkage
Impactfromvehiclesormachineryvibration
Constructionloads

Livesnowload

Loadcombinations
Aloadcombinationresultswhenmorethanoneloadtypeactsonthestructure.Buildingcodesusually
specifyavarietyofloadcombinationstogetherwithloadfactors(weightings)foreachloadtypeinorderto
ensurethesafetyofthestructureunderdifferentmaximumexpectedloadingscenarios.Forexample,in
designingastaircase,adeadloadfactormaybe1.2timestheweightofthestructure,andaliveloadfactor
maybe1.6timesthemaximumexpectedliveload.Thesetwo"factoredloads"arecombined(added)to
determinethe"requiredstrength"ofthestaircase.
Thereasonforthedisparitybetweenfactorsfordeadloadandliveload,andthusthereasontheloadsare
initiallycategorizedasdeadorliveisbecausewhileitisnotunreasonabletoexpectalargenumberof
peopleascendingthestaircaseatonce,itislesslikelythatthestructurewillexperiencemuchchangeinits
permanentload.

Aircraftstructuralloads
Foraircraft,loadingisdividedintotwomajorcategories:limitloadsandultimateloads.Limitloadsare
oftenjustflightloadsandarefurtherdividedintomaneuveringloadsandgustloads.Ultimateloadsare
crashloads.Maneuveringloadsaredeterminedbasedontheperformancelimitsoftheaircraftwhether
imposedbytheflightmanualorbytheactualaerodynamicperformanceofaircraft.Gustloadsare
determinedstatisticallyaretakenfromguidelinesorrequirementsgivenbytheapplicableregulatory
agency.Crashloadsarelooselyboundedbytheabilityofhumanstosurviveextremeaccelerationsandare
alsotypicallytakenfromregulations.
Otherloadsthatmaybecriticalarepressureloads(forpressurized,highaltitudeaircraft)andgroundloads.
Loadsonthegroundcanbefromadversebrakingormaneuveringduringtaxi.
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Finally,youcannotdiscussaircraftloadingwithouthearingaboutfatigueanddamagetolerance.Aircraft
areconstantlysubjectedtocyclicloading.Thesecyclicloadsinitiatecracksandcausethemtogrow.
Thermalloadingisrarelyconsideredfortheanalysisoftheprimarystructureofaircraftbutitcanbecome
criticalunderextremeoperatingconditionsandshouldbeexaminedwherematerialsofdisparate
coefficientsofthermalexpansionarejoined.

Seealso
Probabilisticdesign
TheHotelNewWorlddisasterwascausedbyamiscalculationofthedeadloadofthebuilding.
InfluenceLines

References
1. ASCE/SEI705MinimumDesignLoadsforBuildingsandOtherStructures.AmericanSocietyofCivil
Engineers.2006.p.1.ISBN0784408092.
2. "1.5.3.1".Eurocode0:BasisofstructuraldesignEN1990.Bruxelles:EuropeanCommitteeforStandarization.
2002.
3. Avallone,E.A.,andBaumeister,T.(ed.).Mark'sStandardHandbookforMechanicalEngineers(10thed.).
McGrawHill.pp.1142.ISBN0070049971.
4. "2.2.1(1)".Eurocode0:BasisofstructuraldesignEN1990.Bruxelles:EuropeanCommitteeforStandarization.
2002.
5. "1604.2".InternationalBuildingCode.USA:InternationalCodeCouncil.2000.p.295.ISBN1892395266.
6. "2.2.5(b)".Eurocode0:BasisofstructuraldesignEN1990.Bruxelles:EuropeanCommitteeforStandarization.
2002.
7. Rao,SingiresuS.(1992).ReliabilityBasedDesign.USA:McGrawHill.pp.214227.ISBN0070511926.
8. 2006InternationalBuildingCodeSection1602.1.
9. EN1990EurocodeBasisofstructuraldesignsection4.1.1
10. EN199111Eurocode1:ActionsonStructuresPart11:Generalactionsdensities,selfweight,imposed
loadsforbuildingssection3.2

Externallinks
Luebkeman,ChrisH.,andDonaldPetting"Lecture17:PrimaryLoads".UniversityofOregon.
1996[1](http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~struct/courseware/461/461_lectures/461_lecture17/461_lecture17.html)
Fisette,Paul,andtheAmericanWoodCouncil."UnderstandingLoadsandUsingSpanTables".1997.
[2](http://www.awc.org/technical/spantables/tutorial.htm)

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