LOADS

Dead Load Live Loads Wind Load Earthquake Loads

Dead Load
The self weight of a structure with all its building components is called the dead load.This load cannot be determined unless all member sizes are known. These sizes in turn depend on critical combinations of various loads.

Live Loads
All possible movable and moving loads acting on floors,roofs and bridges are called live loads.These load intensities depend upon the following

Live Loads
The type of occupancy in residential,industrial and mercantile building. The type of vehicles,such as trucks,tractors,buses,trains,tankers,etc. on bridges,and The type of materials stored in silos,bunkers,tanks,etc.

Live Loads
Based on a number of surveys,load intensities for different class of buildings and bridges have been recommended for uniform adoption of loads by designers. Relevent I.S.code to be referred. I.S.875,IRC6 and bridge rules of Ministry of Railways.

Impact Loads

Moving Loads Cause Impact,vibration,kinetic Action of Acceleration and Retardation and Shock in Structures,resulting in Additional Stresses.Many Factors Contribute to This Complex Phenomena. For Example,the Speed,condition of Vehicle,its Relative Mass,and Irregularities in Floors,tracks and Wheels Influence the behaviour of the Structure.

Impact Loads
These effects are termed as impact loads. They are standardised for cranes,on girders in factories and for railway loadings on bridges. The impact factors,by which live loads are to be multiplied to obtain impact loads are given in respective I.S.codes.

Wind Loads
The evaluation of wind effects on structures is a complex problem. The kinetic energy of wind is converted to potential energy when an obstacle is placed in its path. The wind pressure intensity at any height of a structure depends upon the velocity and the density of air, shape and the height of the structure ,proximity of other obstructing structures ,topography of the surrounding ground surface and the angle of wind attack.

Wind Loads
The velocity of air is not steady but varies due to turbulence produced by the friction of the irregular ground surface and other obstructing structures. From the wind data collected from meteorological observations, the maximum wind speed, called basic wind speeds,Vb over a short interval of three seconds,likely to occur over a period of 50 years or so,are predicted for different zones of a country.

Wind Loads
These speeds are generally applicable to a height of 10 m above the mean ground level. The wind effect on structures is explained as per Indian code,I.S.875.

I.S.875 : Design wind Speed and Pressure

The basic wind speed Vb is multiplied by factors k1, k2 and k3 which take into account the probability of occurrence, the terrain and structural geometry,and the topographical nature of the ground,to obtain a design wind speed at any height z in m/s. It is obtained from Vdz= Vb k1 k2 k3

Design Wind Speed and Pressure

Where k1=probability factor , k2 =terrain,height and structure size factor , k3 =topographical factor and Vb = basic wind speed in m/s at 10 m height. Subscript d is for design and z is for height in m. Design wind speed is constant up to a height of 10 m above mean ground level.

k1 factor(Risk Coefficient)
In the design of structures,a basic wind speed having a mean return period of 50 years is considered.If the suggested life of a structure is more than 50 years ( e.g. nuclear power reactors,satellite communication tower,dam etc.) k1 factor is found by,
K1=XN,P/X50,0.63=[A-B{log(-1/Nlog(1-PN))}]/{A+4B}

k1 factor(Risk Coefficient)
Where N= mean probable design life of structure in years,PN= risk level in N years,nominal value=o.63,XN,P=extreme wind speed for given values of N and PN, and X50,0.63=extreme wind speed for N=50 years and PN= 0.63. A,B are coefficients for different wind speeds. The values of k1 for the probable period of 5,25,50 and 100 years and basic wind speed of 33,39,44,47,50 and 55 m/s are tabulated in Table( )

Values of A and B
Zone 33 m/s 39 m/s 44 m/s 47 m/s 50 m/s 55 m/s A 83.2 84.0 88.0 88.0 88.8 90.8 B 9.2 14.0 18.0 20.5 22.8 27.3

Table for values of k1

Class of structure
Design life of structure in years.

K1factor for basic wind speed (m/s) 33 39 44 47 50 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

55 1.0

All General buildings and Structures Temporary sheds and structures under construction Buildings and structures cause low degree of hazard to life and property in event of failure Important buildings and structures,such as hospitals,communication buildings,power plants,etc.

50

0.82

0.76

0.73

0.71

0.70

0.67

25

0.94

0.92

0.91

0.9

0.9

0.89

100

1.05

1.06

1.07

1.07

1.08

1.08

k2 factor
(i) Terrain : the surface roughness depends on the height of obstructions.The terrain on which a specific structure stands is grouped under four categories. Category 1 : The height of obstruction is less than 1.5 m in this category.This includes open sea coast and flat freeless plains.

k2 factor
Category 2 : Open terrain with scattered obstructions whose height is between 1.5 m to 10 m. This includes open park land,airfields and sparsely builtup outskirts of towns and subsurbs. Category 3: Terrain with closely spaced obstructions with a height of 10 m. This category includes wooded areas,towns and industrial areas. Category 4:Terrain with numerous large high closely spaced obstructions of height 25 m. This category includes large city centres.

k2 factor
(ii)Size of Structures: Structures are classified into three different classes, A ,B and C depending upon their size. Class A : Structures having maximum dimension less than 20 m. Class B : Structures having maximum dimension between 20 m and 50 m. Class C : Structures having maximum dimension greater than 50 m.

k2 factor
Table ( ) gives the multiplying factor k2 by which the basic wind speeds need to be multiplied to obtain wind speed at different heights in each category of terrain for a different class of structures.

k2 factor
Height Terrain category 1
Class

Terrain category 2
Class

Terrain category 3
Class

Terrain category 4
Class

m
(1)
10 15 20 30 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

A B C (2) (3) (4)

1.05 1.09 1.12 1.15 1.20 1.26 1.30 1.32 1.34 1.35 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.03 1.07 1.10 1.13 1.18 1.24 1.28 1.30 1.32 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 0.99 1.03 1.06 1.09 1.14 1.20 1.24 1.26 1.28 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34

A B C (5) (6) (7)

1.00 1.05 1.07 1.12 1.17 1.24 1.28 1.30 1.32 1.34 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 0.98 1.02 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.22 1.25 1.28 1.31 1.32 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 0.93 0.97 1.00 1.04 1.10 1.17 1.21 1.24 1.26 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32

A B C (8) (9) (10)

0.91 0.97 1.01 1.06 1.12 1.20 1.24 1.27 1.29 1.31 1.32 1.34 1.35 1.36 0.88 0.94 0.98 1.03 1.09 1.17 1.21 1.24 1.26 1.28 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 0.82 0.87 0.91 0.96 1.02 1.10 1.15 1.18 1.20 1.22 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.28

A B C
(11) (12) (13)
0.8 0.80 0.80 0.97 1.10 1.20 1.24 1.27 1.28 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.93 1.05 1.15 1.20 1.22 1.24 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.83 0.95 1.05 1.10 1.13 1.16 1.17 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22

k3 factor
The basic wind speed is the speed measured or predicted at the general level of the site above sea level, but the effect of local topographical features such as hills,valleys,cliffs,escarpments or ridges is accounted for by multiplying the basic wind speed by k3.

k3 factor
This value is unity for level ground.For an upwind slope () more than 30 it is computed as explained in I.S.875(Part III). It lies in the range 1.0 to 1.36. For a hill and ridge it is calculated as follows. The topography factor k3 is given by K3=1 + Cs , where C has the following values:

Value of C
Slope
30 < < 170 > 170 0.36

C
1.2(Z/L)

Value of C
S = factor obtained from fig.( ) of I.S.Code., = upwind slope in the wind direction. Z=height of crest or hill and L=projected length of upwind zone from average ground level to crest in wind direction In Fig.( ),H is the height of the crest above ground level ,X is the distance from the summit to the effective length,Le , and Le is the effective horizontal length of the hill,depending on the slope .

The Effective Length of the hill

For 30 < < 170 ,Le=L > 170 ,Le= Y/0.3 where Y=effective height of the feature. The influence of topographic features is considered by modifying the effective length as follows. Upwind effective length = 1.5Le Downwind effective length=2.5Le

Design Wind Pressure

The design wind pressure at any height above mean ground level is obtained as pds=0.6V2 dz , where pds = design wind pressure in N/m2 at height z m ,and Vdz = design wind velocity in m/s at height z m. Offshore wind Velocity : The influence of a cyclonic storm off the coast up to a distance of 200 km may be taken as 1.15 times the value on the nearst coast,in the absence of any data.

Design Wind Loads

The wind load on a building should be calculated for (i) The building as a whole. (ii) Individual structural members. (iii) Individual Structural elements such as roofs and walls (iv) Individual Structural units,such as glazing and fixings.

(a)Wind Load on a building as a whole

The value of a force coefficient is applied to a building or a structure as a whole. When it is multiplied by the effective frontal area(Ae) of the structure and by the design wind pressure (pd),the total wind load is obtained on the structure as F=CfAepd , where Cf= force coefficient of the structure, and F=wind force acting in a specified direction. The force coefficients are given in I.S.Code.

(b)Wind Load on structural members

In case of flat sided members,the force coefficients for wind normal to the longitudinal axis of members should be as given in table ( ) of I.S.Code.The force coefficients are given for two mutually perpendicular directions,normal and transverse,Cfn and Cft respectively.The coefficients refer to members of infinite length. For members of finite length,the coefficients should be multiplied by a factor K that depends on the ratio l/b, where l is the length of the member and b the width across the direction of wind. Table ( ) in I.S.Code gives the required value of K value. Normal force =Fn=CfnpdK Transverse force =Ft=CftpdK

(b)Wind Load on structural members

where pd= design wind pressure. In estimating K , the following may be noted. (i) The ratio l/b should be doubled if the flow of air is not possible around one end of the member. (ii) The ratio l/b is taken as infinity if free flow of air is not possible around both ends of the member. In case of wires and cables,the force coefficients are given in table ( ) , of I.S.Code according to the diameter D, the design wind speed Vd and the surface roughness.

(c) Wind loads on roofs and walls

In case of of roofs and walls it is essential to consider the pressure difference between the opposite faces of such elements.For clad structures it is therefore necessary to know the external and internal pressure. The average values of these pressure coefficients have been obtained mainly from measurements on models in wind tunnels,generally for smooth flow conditions for different wind directions.The average external pressure coefficients Cpe for walls and pitched roofs of rectangular clad buildings are given in tables ( ) and ( ) respectively of I.S.Code. The internal air pressure in a building depends upon the degree of permeability of cladding to the flow of air. The internal pressure may be positive or negative,depending on the direction of flow of air in relation to the openings in the buildings.The permeability of cladding is broadly divided as zero,normal,medium and large, accordintg to the opening sizes for flow of air.The possible internal pressure coefficients are recommended correspondingly.

(c) Wind Load on roofs and walls.

Permeability Opening in relation to wall area 0% 5% 5% to 20% >20% Internal average pressure 0 0.2 0.5 0.7

Zero Normal Medium Large

(c) Wind Load on roofs and walls

A +ve sign indicates that the pressure is compression on the surface and a ve sign indicates that the pressure is suction on the surface. The internal pressure coefficient is arithmetically added to the ecternal pressure coefficient. That is,for a critical condition,the +ve external pressure is combined with ve internal pressure,or the ve external pressure is used with +ve internal pressure to obtain the maximum net pressure.The wind load F is obtained after taking into account the signs of internal pressure as follows. F=( Cpe Cpi )A pd , where Cpe = external pressure coefficient, Cpi = internal pressure coefficients, A = surface area of structural element, and pd = design wind pressure.

(d) Wind Load on glazing and fixings

In addition to to the average pressures,areas such as ridges,caves,cornices and corners of roofs are subjected to high local suction and the coefficients for local effects should be used to calculate forces on these local areas for roof sheetings,glass panels and their fixtures. The local suction coefficients are given in tables ( ) & ( ) of I.S.Code.

Lattice Towers
The overall force coefficients for lattice towers of a square or equilateral triangle section with flat sided members,for wind blowing against any face,are given in table ( ) of I.S.Code depending upon the magnitude of the solidity ratio . is equal to the effective area (projected area) of a frame normal to the wind direction, divided by the area enclosed by the boundary of the frame normal to the wind direction. For square lattice towers with flat sided members,the maximum load which occurs when the wind blows into a corner should be taken as 1.2 times the wind blowing against any face. For rounded members the effective area may be taken as 70% of the actual projected area.

Drag and shielding Effect

(i) Frictional drag : In addition to the wind loads mentioned above, a force due to frictional drag should be taken into account for buildings where dlh or dlb is greater than 4 . The frictional drag force F' is For h<b ,F'=Cf(d-4h)bpd+C'f(d-4h)2hpd For h>b ,F'=Cf(d-4b)bpd+C'f(d-4b)2hpd The first term in each case gives the drag on the roof and the second,on the walls. C'f takes the following values. C'f =o.o1 for smooth surfaces without corrugations C'f = 0.02 for surfaces with corrugations C'f = 0.04 for surfaces with ribs. d is the depth along the wind direction,b is transverse to the wind direction and h is the height of the building.

Drag and shielding Effect

(ii) Shielding effect: When two or more parallel girders,frames or trusses are at a distance apart from each other,the windward unit may have a shielding effect upon the other leeward units. But the wind load on the parts of the units sheltered should be multiplied by a shielding factor,which is dependent on the solidarity ratio of the windward unit,the spacing ratio and the least overall dimension of the frame.The spacing ratio of the frame is equal to the centre to centre distance of units divided by the least overall dimension of the windward unit,at right angles to the direction of wind.The values for shielding factors are given in table ( ) of I.S.Code. When there are more than two units ,the wind load on the third and subsequent unit is taken as the load on the second unit.