In mechanical and structural engineering, live loads and dead loads are two kinds of forces

exerted on an object. The concepts are used especially where analysis of real-world objects is
required. A 'load' is any type of force exerted on an object, which may be in the form of an
"unrevealed weight" (gravitational force), a pressure, or anything that stresses the object in
question.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Dead loads
 2 Live loads
 3 Real world usage
 4 Calculating combined loads
 5 See also
 6 References
 7 External links

[edit] Dead loads

Dead loads are the self weight of components put on the structure like plasterboard or carpet
and the structure itself. Typically they are relatively constant throughout the structure's life,
and so they are also known as Permanent loads[1][2][3]. The designer can also be relatively sure
of the magnitude of the load as it is closely linked to density of the material, which has a low
variance, and is normally responsible for the specification of the component (e.g.
plasterboard thickness) and can check it on-site.

Dead loads also include forces set up by irreversible changes in a structure's constraints. For
example, loads due to settlement, the effects of pre-stress or due to shrinkage and creep in
concrete.

[edit] Live loads

Live loads, sometimes referred to as probabilistic loads include all the forces that are
variable within the object's normal operation cycle not including construction or
environmental loads. Using the staircase example the live load would be considered to be –

 Pressure of feet on the stair treads (variable depending on usage and size)
 Wind load (if the staircase happens to be outside)

Live loads (roof) produced (1) during maintenance by workers, equipment and materials;
and (2) during the life of the structure by movable objects such as planters and by people.[1]

Live Load (Bridge) produced by vehicles traveling over the deck of the bridge.[4]

[edit] Real world usage

The reason for splitting loads into these categories is not always apparent, and in terms of the
actual load on the object there is no difference between dead or live loading (neglecting
inertial and vibrational characteristics). For the most part, the split occurs for use in safety
calculations or ease of analysis on complex models.

When considering the feasibility of a structure, safety always takes precedence and because
of this, governing bodies around the world have regulations to which structures have to
adhere. Using the example of the staircase, if it was intended for use in the UK it would have
to follow British and European Standards

 BS 4592 – Industrial type flooring and stair treads

 BS 5395 – Code of practice for the design of straight stairs
 Other standards specific to the application (e.g. BS 14122-3:2001 – Permanent means
of access to machinery. Stairways, stepladders and guard-rails)

Within these standards a safety factor is usually determined where the structure should be
able to withstand a certain force above the maximum expected load. Once again using the
staircase example, assuming it is an indoor medium-usage industrial staircase the current
safety factor would be 1.2 times the maximum stress imposed by the dead load and 1.6 times
the maximum stress imposed by the live load. The reason for the disparity between values,
and thus the reason the loads are initially categorised as dead or live is because while it is not
unreasonable to expect a large number of people ascending the staircase at once (or the wind
speed increasing, snowfall or any other live load increase), it is less likely that the structure
will experience much change in its permanent load. The same can be said of many structures
and so it is convenient to assess loading based on its application.

[edit] Calculating combined loads

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please
improve this section if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (July 2007)

On first inspection it seems one should find the maximum stress for each of dead and live,
factor them and add them together. This will give you a massively overestimated stress
result. The combination needs to be applied with great care and almost exclusively
programmatically because you may combine two stress results only at the same point. Since
the maximum stress is very rarely at the same place in a structure for dead and live loads, it
may well be the case that the overall increase is a fraction of the addition of the two
maximum stresses and in a completely different position to either of the two original
maximums.

To clarify, take the staircase analysis. The maximum stress under dead load appears at the
foot of a support beam and it is 80 newtons per square millimeter(N·mm−2), at this point the
stress from the live load is 5 N·mm−2. The maximum stress under live load is 60 N·mm−2 and
appears at the corner of the second stairtread where the dead load stress is 30 N·mm−2. At a
third point the stresses from both dead and live are 50 N·mm−2. Given these figures you can
see that the combined load cases for each point would be:

1. 80 × 1.2 + 5 × 1.6 = 120

2. 30 × 1.2 + 60 × 1.6 = 138
 3. 50 × 1.2 + 50 × 1.6 = 150

As you can see the maximum combined stress appears away from both the original maxima
but is still well under the 275 N·mm−2 yield point of the structural steel this staircase is made
of so in this case we could say that the structure is safe.
 LOADS ON BUILDINGS
LOAD TYPES

The determination of the loads acting on a structure is a complex problem. The

nature of the loads varies essentially with the architectural design, the materials,
and the location of the structure. Loading conditions on the same structure may
change from time to time, or may change rapidly with time.

Loads are usually classified into two broad groups: dead loads and live loads. Dead
loads (DL) are essentially constant during the life of the structure and normally
consist of the weight of the structural elements. On the other hand, live loads (LL)
usually vary greatly. The weight of occupants, snow and vehicles, and the forces
induced by wind or earthquakes are examples of live loads. The magnitudes of
these loads are not known with great accuracy and the design values must depend
on the intended use of the structure.
In structural analysis three kinds of loads are generally used:

1. Concentrated loads that are single forces acting over a relatively small area,
for example vehicle wheel loads, column loads, or the force exerted by a
beam on another perpendicular beam.
2. Line loads that act along a line, for example the weight of a partition resting
on a floor, calculated in units of force per unit length.
3. Distributed (or surface) loads that act over a surface area. Most loads are
distributed or are treated as such, for example wind or soil pressure, and
the weight of floors and roofing materials.

Dead Loads (DL)

The structure first of all carries the dead load, which includes its own weight, the
weight of any permanent non-structural partitions, built-in cupboards, floor
surfacing materials and other finishes. It can be worked out precisely from the
known weights of the materials and the dimensions on the working drawings.
Although the dead load can be accurately determined, it is wise to make a
conservative estimate to allow for changes in occupancy; for example, the next
owner might wish to demolish some of the fixed partitions and erect others
elsewhere.

Live Loads (LL)

All the movable objects in a building such as people, desks, cupboards and filing
cabinets produce an imposed load on the structure. This loading may come and
go with the result that its intensity will vary considerably. At one moment a room
may be empty, yet at another packed with people. Imagine the `extra' live load at
a lively party!

Wind Load (WL)

Wind has become a very important load in recent years due to the extensive use
of lighter materials and more efficient building techniques. A building built with
heavy masonry, timber tiled roof may not be affected by the wind load, but on
the other hand the structural design of a modern light gauge steel framed
building is dominated by the wind load, which will affect its strength, stability and
serviceability. The wind acts both on the main structure and on the individual
cladding units. The structure has to be braced to resist the horizontal load and
anchored to the ground to prevent the whole building from being blown away, if
the dead weight of the building is not sufficient to hold it down. The cladding has
to be securely fixed to prevent the wind from ripping it away from the structure.

Snow Load (SL)

The magnitude of the snow load will depend upon the latitude and altitude of the
site. In the lower latitudes no snow would be expected while in the high latitudes
snow could last for six months or more. In such locations buildings have to be
designed to withstand the appropriate amount of snow. The shape of the roof
also plays an important part in the magnitude of the snow load. The steeper the
pitch, the smaller the load. The snow falling on a flat roof will continue to build up
and the load will continue to increase, but on a pitched roof a point is reached
when the snow will slide off.

Earthquake Load

Earthquake loads affect the design of structures in areas of great seismic activity,
such as north and south American west coast, New Zealand, Japan, and several
Mediterranean countries. Only minor disturbances have been recorded in east
Asia and Australia.

Thermal Loads

All building materials expand or contract with temperature change. Long

continuous buildings will expand, and it is necessary to consider the expansion
stresses. It is usual to divide a reinforced concrete framed building into lengths
not exceeding 30 m and to divide a brick wall into lengths not exceeding 10 m.
Expansion joints are provided at these points so that the structure is physically
separated and can expand without causing structural damage.

Settlement Loads

If one part of a building settles more than another part, then stresses are set up in
the structures. If the structure is flexible then the stresses will be small, but if the
structure is stiff the stresses will be severe unless the two parts of the building are
physically separated.

Dynamic Loads

Dynamic loads, which include impact and aerodynamic loads, are complex. In
essence, the magnitude of a load can be greatly increased by its dynamic effect.

CALCULATION OF LOADS

Actual loadings in a building are typically either concentrated or uniformly

distributed over an area. The former need no further consideration other than as
necessary to characterise them as a force vector. In the latter, however, some
modelling is needed when the area considered is actually made up of an assembly
of one-way line and surface elements. These elements would pick up different
portions of the total load acting over the surface, depending on their
arrangement.

Consider the simple structural assembly shown in Figure 1 (a). Eight pre-cast
concrete elements are supported by three beams Both external beams have to
carry the weight of a half concrete element The middle beam carries the weight
of one element (½ of the left and right element as illustrated in Figure 1 (b)). The
reactions from all the elements supported by a beam then become loads acting
on the beam. Note that these loads form a continuous line load on the beam.
Loads of this type are expressed in terms of a load or force per unit length (i.e.
N/m) and are commonly encountered in the structural analysis process.
 Figure 1

Another way of looking at this same loading is to think in terms of contributory

areas. Each of the beams can be considered as supporting an area of the extent
indicated in Figure 2 (a) and (b). The width of each area is often called the load
strip. The load acting over the width of the load strip is transferred to the support
beams. If the uniformly distributed load is constant and the load strip is of a
constant width, the amount of load carried per unit length by the support beam is
simply the load per unit area multiplied by the width of the load strip. This process
is illustrated in Figure 2. The result is again a continuous line load describable in
terms of a load per unit length. This process is valid for equal uniformly distributed
loads only.

Figure 1

The loading considered should, of course, include both live- and dead-load
components. The exact value of the latter can be found by calculating the volume
contributary area ´ the thickness of the material and multiply it by the unit weights
for that material. Determining these values can be tedious. An alternative is to use
a unit weight, e.g. the weight for one square metre, typically expressed as a force
per unit area, to represent the weight expressed as N/m 2,. Since live loads are also
expressed in terms of a force per unit area, the calculation process is facilitated,
since both loads can be considered simultaneously. Some sample load calculations
per m2 are shown below.

SAMPLE DESIGN CALCULATIONS

For design purposes it is most appropriate to select a unit area for all loads (dead,
live, wind etc.). This often simplifies the calculation because the unit area may be
used for members with the same loading but different contributory areas.

To determine the load per unit area is the most appropriate procedure in
structural design. The total load can easily be calculated by load per unit area
times the contributary area. For design purposes often the unit loading strip is
used as indicated in Figure 1 (b) above.

It is convenient to determine first all the loadings per unit area that occur
frequently throughout the building. The advantage is that these figures can then
be used for all different areas or floor levels with the same loading.

The following is an example of a unit load determination for an office building.

FLAT ROOF

Tanking (Bituminous felt (5-ply) and 50 mm gravel 1.20 kN/m2

50 mm Insulation 0.03 "

180 mm Concrete slab (0.18 x 25 kN/m 3) 4.50 "

13 mm Gypsum plaster 0.22 "

DEAD LOAD 5.95 kN/m2

LIVE LOAD (SA 1170.1 & 4.8.1.1) 0.25 kN/m2

TOTAL LOAD 6.20 kN/m2

OFFICES

Carpet 0.05 kN/m2

50 mm Insulation 0.03 "

200 mm Concrete slab (0.20 x 25 kN/m 3) 5.00 "

 13 mm Gypsum plaster 0.22 "

DEAD LOAD 5.30 kN/m2

LIVE LOAD(Appendix B 6.11) 3.00 kN/m2

TOTAL LOAD 8.30 kN/m2

CORRIDORS AND PASSAGEWAYS

Carpet 0.05 kN/m2

40 mm Screed (0.04 x 22 kN/m3) 0.88 "

20 mm Insulation 0.05 "

200 mm Concrete slab (0.20 x 25 kN/m 3) 5.00 "

13 mm Gypsum plaster 0.22 "

DEAD LOAD 6.20 kN/m2

LIVE LOAD(Appendix B 6.4) 4.00 kN/m2

TOTAL LOAD 10.20 kN/m2

STAIRS AND LANDINGS

Stairs

Marble tiles 0.42 kN/m2

Concrete wedge (2 x 0.17 x 0.25 x 4 x 23.5 kN/m 2 2.08 kN/m2

160 mm Concrete slab (0.16 x 25 kN/m 2) 4.00 "

DEAD LOAD 6.50 kN/m2

LIVE LOAD(Appendix B 6.4) 4.00 kN/m2

TOTAL LOAD 10.50 kN/m2

 Landings

Marble tiles 0.42 kN/m2

160 mm Concrete slab (0.16 x 25 kN/m 2) 4.00 "

DEAD LOAD 4.42 kN/m2

LIVE LOAD(Appendix B 6.4) 4.00 kN/m2

TOTAL LOAD 8.42 kN/m2

Having compiled the required unit loading figures the load per running metre for a
particular member can be calculated quite quickly by multiplying the unit load
with the appropriate depth of the loading strip, or in case the total dead load on a
member is needed by multiplying the unit load with the contributary area.

AUSTRALIAN STANDARD LOADING CODE (AS 1170 PART 1)

In the previous Unit the external loads on structures were classified in several
different ways. The minimum design load on structures must be in accordance with
the SAA Loading Code SA 1170 Parts 1 to 3. According to Part 1 `Dead and Live
Loads and Load Combination', the structure must be designed for the worst load
combination for strength, stability and serviceability for limit states design.

It is beyond the scope of this subject to consider all load combinations (strength
limit stages, stability limit stages and serviceability stages) of the standard. We will
only consider the following load combination for strength limit stage:

Where G,Q,Wu are parts of dead, live, and wind loads, and have the following
meaning:

There are some other live loads, which are considered in this subject.
1. Handrails, balustrades and railings of private dwellings must resist a single
force of 0.6 kN acting inward, outward or downward at any point on the
handrail, a continuous load of 0.4 kN/m, and the wind load acting on or
transmitted to the handrail.

All other handrails including parapets and railings to all roofs shall resist a
static load of 0.75 kN/m acting inward, outward or downward or the
appropriate wind load, whichever produces the most adverse effects.

2. For all non-trafficable roofs, either flat or pitched, each member providing
support to the cladding thereof (including decking, purlins, beams and
trusses) shall be designed to withstand the live load resultant from stacked
materials or equipment used in repair or maintenance operations which
shall be taken as 0.25 kPa on the plan projection, except that where the
area supported by any structural member is less than 14.0 m², the intensity
of live loads on that member shall be determined as follows:

Live load = (1.8/A + 0.12) kPa

A = the plan projection of the surface area of roof supported by the member
under analysis, in square metres.

3. For flat or near-flat roofs and balconies which are intended to be available
for pedestrian traffic or resort, the construction (including decking, purlins,
beams and trusses) shall be designed to support the following uniformly
distributed live load or a concentrated load of 1.8 kN, whichever load gives
the more adverse effect -
1. (a) for houses: 3 kPa (for 10.0 m² or less) varying linearly to 1.5 kPa
(for 40.0 m² or greater);
2. (b) for all other buildings: 4 kPa (for 10.0 m² or less) varying linearly
to 3 kPa (for 40.0 m² or greater);
3. Cantilevered sections of trafficable roofs shall be designed for the
live load corresponding to the area of 10.0 m² or less.

Students who want more depth of information may refer to Part 1 and Part 2
of the Loading Code

The following examples show you how to calculate the dead load (DL) of a
structural member or component and live load (LL) on a floor area of a
residential building.

Example 1
 We use the following formula to calculate the dead load:

Dead load = Volume × Density (DL = m3 × kN / m3

Calculate the weight (DL) for a Glulam beam, size 420 × 75 mm 5.4 m long.
Density of timber is 1100 kg/m3

Solution:
First convert mass density in weight density.1100 kg/m 3 = 11000 N/m3 = 11
kN/m3

Now we can calculate the weight of the timber beam (bearer):

W = 0.420 × 0.075 × 5.4 × 11

= 1.87 kN

Example 2:
Calculate the live load (LL) that the bearer has to carry (contritbutary area is
5.4 × 3.6 m). The applicable LL according to AS 1170 Part 1 (Dead and live
load) is 1.5 kPa for residential application.
Remember 1 kPa = 1 kN/m2

Solution:
Using the formula LL = m (length) × m (width) × kN/m2

LL = 5.4 × 3.6 × 1.5

= 29.16 kN

You have studied hard take a break before you click here for more load
calculations.

3 General Construction
3.2  Design criteria 

3.2.1 Conventional design

Buildings and structures, and all parts thereof, shall be constructed to support safely all loads,
including dead loads.

Where different construction methods and structural materials are used for various portions of a
building, the applicable requirements of this part for each portion shall apply. 

3.2.1.1 Conventional building

Conventional construction shall be considered as building with acceptable shape of the figures A2-1
(a to c)   “1 and 2 level house type”. All conventional construction shall be designed in accordance
with this code.

3.2.1.2 Irregular building

Irregular buildings shall have an engineered lateral-force resisting system designed in accordance
with accepted engineering practice.

A building shall be considered to be irregular when one or more of the following conditions occur:  

a) When exterior shear panels or reinforced frame is not in one plane vertically from the foundation to
the uppermost story in which they are required. (See Framed structure)  

b) When a section of floor or roof is not laterally supported by shear panel or reinforced frame on all
edges.  

c) When an opening in a floor or roof exceeds the lesser of 3.60m or 50% of the least floors or roofs
dimension.  

d) When portions of a floor level are vertically offset.  

e) When shear panel or reinforced frame is do not occur in two perpendicular directions.  

f) When shear panel or reinforced frame are constructed of dissimilar bracing systems on any one-
story level above grade. 3.2.1.3  Limit of this code. When a building of otherwise conventional
construction contains structural elements, which exceed the limits of this code, those elements shall
be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice.

Fig A2-2 Trinidad & Tobago winds3.2.2  Engineered design.  

3.2.2.1 General

Buildings shall be constructed in accordance with the provisions of this code as limited by the
provisions of this section.  

3.2.2.2 Wind design.

The requirements in this document are based on design wind speed over open water at equivalent
elevation of 10m average over 10 minutes with a recurrence of one in 50 year. (See figure A2-2
Trinidad and Tobago Winds) 

Table 1 Design pressure for winds

Design pressure Trinidad Trinidad Tobago

  Central Coastal
 Basic wind speed      

Km/hr 72 92 101

       

Wall (horizontal load) 0.70 0.90 1.00

kN/m2
       

Roof (uplift) kN/m2 1.00 1.30 1.45

3.2.2.3  Seismic design.

All buildings shall be constructed in accordance with the provisions of this section. 

3.2.2.3.1 Seismic design category.

3.2.2.3.1.1   Ground acceleration

The requirements in this document are based on maximum ground acceleration associated with 10%
probability of occurrence in 50 years. For Trinidad & Tobago 0.3 g (g refers to the gravity and g =
9.81m/s2)  

3.2.2.3.1.2   Amplification factor

Where the soil is 100% saturated (low land, reclaimed land, etc.) an amplification factor of 2 shall be
applied to the ground acceleration.  See calculation for shear load.  

3.2.2.3.1.3   Soil liquefaction

To prevent any soil liquefaction on the same type of land than above a special attention shall be
carried out with an engineer specialist for the choice of the appropriate type of foundation. See
calculation for shear load.
  3.2.2.3.2 Weights of applied finishes Dead load finishes shall not exceed 1 kN/m2 for roofs or 0.5
kN/m2 for floors.  Dead load finishes for walls above grade shall not exceed: a- light-frame walls 0.75
kN/m2 for exterior 0.50 kN/m2 for interior b- masonry walls. 2.50 kN/m2 for 150mm thick masonry wall.
3.80 kN/m2 for 200 mm thick masonry wall. c- concrete walls. 4.10 kN/m2 for 150 mm thick concrete
walls. 3.2.2.3.3 Height limitations.  The design applied to any construction is limited to two stories with
a maximum of 9m to the top of the building.

3.2.2.4 Flood plain construction. 

Buildings andstructures constructed in flood prone areas as established in Fig. A2-1 shall bedesigned
and constructed in accordance with Clause Flood resistant constructionand Clause Coastal high
hazard areas of Part "Minimal requirements".

3.2.3Dead load.

The actual weights of materials and constructionshall be used for determining dead load with
consideration for the dead load offixed service equipment.

3.2.4Live load.

The minimum uniformly distributed live load shall be asprovided inTable 2.

Table 2 Minimum uniformlydistributed live loads

Use Live loads(kN/m2)

Exterior balconies 5

Domestic floor / All rooms, stairsand corridors 1.5

Office floor 2.5

Small industrial and storage 5

Use Horizontal loads (kN/m)

Guard rails and handrails 1

Fig A2-3 Trinidadflood prone areas

3.2.5 Roof load

Roofshall be designed for the live load indicated inTable 3.

Table 3 Minimum roof live loads(kN/m2)

Roof slope Tributary loaded area forany structural members

Area (m2)
0 to 20m2 20 to 55m2 over 55m2
Flat or rise less than(20°) 33% slope 1 0.75 0.6
Rise (20°) 33% to (45°)100% 0.75 0.7 0.6
Rise greater than (45°)100% 0.6 0.6 0.6

3.2.6Lateral load design

3.2.6.1

PreambleWind and earthquake introduce horizontal loads in thesuperstructure that are transferred to
the foundation. We have to consider 2steps:a) Transfer of the horizontal loadfrom- wind to vertical
wall and roof- acceleration of mass located everywhere in thesuperstructureto the appropriated wall or
framedstructure.b) Transfer of the load from the topto the bottom of the wall or superstructure and the
foundation.According to this code-horizontal transfer is done by horizontaldiaphragmor horizontal
beam- vertical transfer is one byshear panel, cross, or framedstructure3.2.6.2DiaphragmFloor, roof
orceiling assemblies may be constructed with the necessary stiffness and load pathcontinuity to
distribute lateral loads (wind and earthquake) to lateral supportsubsystems. In this role, floor, roof or
ceiling surface act as horizontal beams(also called a diaphragm) spanning lateral supports points.Use
of floor, roof or ceiling assembly, as a diaphragm requires bothstrength and stiffness properties and
development of connections to transfer thediaphragm force.

Fig B6-2 Shear panel - Horizontal coreblocks

3.2.6.3Shear panel

3.2.6.3.1

ConcretewallA shear panel (see figures B-6-1 and B-6-2Shear panel) is a portion or section of a
150mm exterior wall that performs thefunction of resisting lateral earthquake or wind
forces.3.2.6.3.2TimberSee paragraph "Wallbracing".

3.2.7Loadfactors.

All structuresshallresist combined loads as follows;

3.2.7.1

Gravity1.40 D + 1.70 L3.2.7.2

Earthquakea) 0.75 (1.40 D + 1.70 L +/- 1.87 E)andb) 0.90 D +/- 1.43 E3.2.7.2.1
Shear load calculation

A simplified formula, for this code isV = 0.05 x S xWtotal shear in kNWhereas :The0.05coefficient
integrated the Z = ground acceleration, C = amplification factor dueto structure frequency, I =
Importance factor =1 in this code and Rw =Ductility factor related with respect to the column design
reinforcement used inthe normal practice formula.S =sitefactorS = 1 For good soil (rock, gravel)S =
1.2 For softer material (clay, fill )S = 1.5 For deep alluvial depositsS =2.5 maximum for reclaimed land
and saturated soils (due to the amplificationfactor) W =total load inkN

3.2.7.3
Wind1.40 D + 1.70 L + 1.75 W Note:D = deadloadL = live loadE = earthquake loadW = windload

3.2.8 Deflection.

The allowed deflection of any structural memberunder the live load shall not exceed the following
values inTable 4Table 4 – Maximum deflection authorised.

Rafters and purlins L/180

Interior walls andpartitions H/180
Floors and ceilings L/360
All others structuralmembers L/240
NOTES:L = span length H =span height

The Generic Formula

For using the actual sustained wind speed expected (were we to actually determine it) :

Force, F = A x P x Cd

A = The projected area of the item

P , Wind pressure (Psf), = .00256 x V^2  (V= wind speed in Mph)

Cd , Drag coefficient,  = 2.0 for flat plates. For a long cylinder (like most
antenna tubes), Cd = 1.2.
Note the relationship between them is 1.2/2 = .6, not quite 2/3.

This is the force on a discreet constant section. I.E. A length of tubing or some other such
member that is part of a structure. The Force per unit area would be found by setting the area
to 1.
This is the simplest form of all that stuff in the textbooks, at standard temp and atmospheric
pressure, for the range of wind speeds we see and the general size of the members on our
toys.