1

Introduction to EC1
EN 1991 Eurocode 1: Basis of Design
and Actions on Structures
2
Relevant actions
The actions most relevant to building design and the
corresponding parts of EC1 are:
Dead and imposed loads - EC1 Part 2.1
Snow loads - EC1 Part 2.3
Wind loads - EC1 Part 2.4

Other relevant parts of EC1 are:
Part 1.1 Basis of design
Part 2.2 Actions on structures exposed to fire
3
Classification of actions
Actions may be classified according to:
variation in duration:
permanent (dead loads)
variable (imposed, wind, snow)
accidental (fire, impact)

spatial variation:
fixed; free

nature:
static; dynamic
4
Notation
The following notation is adopted in EC1:
Dead loads - G
Imposed loads - Q
Snow loads - Q
Wind loads - W
Accidental loads - A

Suffices inf and sup are used to signify lower and
upper bound values respectively.

5
Dead loads (self weight)
Permanent, fixed action.

Calculated on basis of material densities and nominal
dimensions.

Include allowances for partitions, services...etc as
uniformly distributed loads:
No guidance for calculating values to use
Estimate based on experience and practice
6
Imposed loads
Variable, free action.

Characteristic value based on building category
(Tables 6.1 and 6.2):
A Residential
B Office
C Assembly areas (5 sub-categories)
D Shopping
E Storage
7
Reductions to imposed loads
Maximum imposed load may not apply
simultaneously throughout a building.

For beams supporting large areas (A) and columns in
multi-storey (n) construction reduction factors, a, can be
applied:
Beams: a = 5y
o
/ 7 + 10 / A
Columns: a = {2 + (n - 2)} / n
8
Snow loads
Characteristic snow load s
k
based on uniform
accumulations on flat ground.

s
k
is determined from national snow maps.

Some countries include adjustments for altitude.
9
Snow map for Finland (part)
Contours indicate
values of s
k

characteristic snow
load at a particular
location
10
Snow load on roofs - s

s
k
is modified to account for roof
form and shape using a shape
coefficient m
i

a : 0 - 15 15- 30
30 - 60

m
1
:

0,8 0,8
0,8(60-a)/30

m
2
0,0 0,8 + 0,6(a-15)/30
1,1(60-a)/30

For a 60 m = 0,0
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

2.1
0.5
1.1

1.1

1.2

2.2

0.5
1.
11
Determine the characteristic value of snow on
the ground according to geographic location,
including appropriate allowance for altitude
{Annex A}.
Determine snow load shape coefficient,
?
i
, according to the type of roof and its
pitch
Calculate the characteristic
snow load on the roof:
s = s
k
?
i
Flow chart for calculating snow
loads
12
Wind loads
The simple procedures below are for structures not
susceptible to dynamic excitation.

The more thorough treatments in EC1-2-4 should be
used for:
buildings taller than 200m
very slender or unusual structures
temporary structures (lower wind pressures)
13
Wind loads
Characteristic wind load w
k
is based on the reference
mean wind pressure q
ref(0)
which depends on the
corresponding velocity v
ref(0).

v
ref(0)
is determined from national wind maps.

q
ref(0)
= 0.5* r * v
ref(0)
2
where r is the density of air (= 1.25 kg/m
3
).


14
Terrain category
The reference mean wind pressure q
ref(0)
is modified
to account for terrain category (Table 8.1) and height
(Figure 8.3).

4 basic categories of terrain are defined:
open with no obstacles (eg flat country)
occasional obstacles (eg farmland)
suburban or forest areas
urban (>15% of area with buildings >15m high)
15
Terrain category - simplified case
The simple approach described here may be adopted
for flat terrain.

Terrain is flat unless close to isolated hills.

The exposure coefficient c
e
(z) can be determined
from Figure 8.3 which relates:
reference height
terrain category
16
Reference height
3 classes of buildings may be considered.

They are defined on the basis of the building height,
h, divided by its crosswind width, b:
Low rise h < b
Medium rise b < h < 2b
High rise h > 2b
17
Reference height - zones
(c)
(b) (a)
z
e
= h
h < b
b < h < 2b
b: crosswind width
h > 2b
z
e
= h - b
z
e
= z
z
e
= b
z
e
= h
z
e
= b
z
e
= h
18
Exposure coefficient c
e
(z)
0
5
10
20
50
100
200
0 1 2 3 4 5
z (m)
Special
advice
c
e
(z)
IV III II I
c
e
(z) is related to
the terrain category
and reference
height, z
e
Terrain categories:
open with no
obstacles (eg flat
country)
occasional
obstacles (eg
farmland)
suburban or
forest areas
V urban
19
Pressure coefficients
The distribution of internal and external pressures on
walls and roofs is represented by pressure coefficients.

The internal pressure is assumed to be uniform and
may be positive (pressure acting outwards) or negative
(suction).

The external pressure distribution is non-uniform, and
must be determined for each surface.
20
Internal pressure coefficient
Internal pressure coefficient, c
pi
, depends on the size
and distribution of openings, :

= Total area of openings on leeward and side walls
Total area of openings on all walls

Special cases:
evenly distributed openings in a square building -
c
pi
= 0,25
closed buildings
- c
pi
= 0,8 or -0,5 (worst case)
21
External pressure coefficient
External pressure coefficients, c
pe
must be
determined for:
Each surface
Two orthogonal wind directions

For walls values of c
pe
are determined from Table
10.2.1 and Figure 10.2.3.

Values of c
pe
for roofs depend on the shape (Tables
10.2.2 to 5)
22
External wind pressure
coefficients - key diagram
ELEVATION
Case d > e
e/5
B C
h A
wind
wind
Case d < e
e = b or 2h
whichever is smaller
A
B
h
e/5
PLAN
C
E b
WIND
A B
A B
d
D
23
External pressure coefficients
Obtained for each surface in relation to wind
direction:
Zone A B B* C D E
D/h C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
C
pe10
<1 -1,0 -1,3 -0,8 -1,0 -0,5 +0,8 +1,0 -0,3
>4 -1,0 -1,3 -0,8 -1,0 -0,5 +0,6 +1,0 -0,3
24
Net wind pressures
Internal and external pressures (or suctions) are
calculated for each surface as follows:
External pressure: w
e
= q
ref
c
e
(z
e
) c
pe
Internal pressure: w
i
= q
ref
c
e
(z
i
) c
pi

Net wind pressure on a surface is the algebraic sum
of w
e
and w
i

25
Load combinations - ULS
Load combinations can be simplified as:
1,35 G
k
+ 1,5 Q
k

where Q
k
is the dominant imposed load &
1,35 G
k
+ 1,35 SQ
k
where there are more than one imposed loads

Where loads have a beneficial effect:
0.9 G
k
26
Load combinations - SLS
Load combinations can be simplified as:
1,0 G
k
+ 1,0 Q
k

where Q
k
is the dominant imposed load, and
1,0 G
k
+ 0,9 SQ
k
where there are more than one imposed loads