Loads and Load

Path
The Art Of Using Materials to Build Real Structures to Withstand
Forces

Chapter 4
Introduction
 A structure must be adequate to support all of the loads it
may foreseeably be subjected to during its lifetime without
excessive deflections and vibrations.
 Calculating the loads is not always easy, especially loads
caused by environmental events such as wind, earthquake,
and snow. Therefore, engineers refer to the local codes and
specifications to determine the minimum expected loads for
which structures are to be designed.
 Despite the availability of this information, however, the
designer’s ingenuity and knowledge of the situation are often
needed to predict the loads a particular structure will have to
support in years to come.

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 Typical Types of Loading
Loads
Source Nature

Environmental
Gravity Loads Static Loads Dynamic Loads
Loads
• Dead loads • Soil lateral
• Static loads. Those that are
loads
• Live loads slowly applied to a structure.
• Snow Loads • Dynamic loads. Those that
• Rain loads are applied to a structure
• Flood loads suddenly and characterized
• Wind loads by rapid changes in
magnitude, direction, and
• Earthquake location
loads 3
Dead Loads
 Dead loads are loads of constant
magnitude that remain in one
position throughout the life of
the structure. They include the
weight of the structure under
consideration as well as any
fixtures that are permanently
attached to it.
 Calculation of dead loads
requires knowledge of the
materials' density, in addition to
a thorough review of the
architectural and other
engineering drawings and
details. 4
Dead Loads

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Dead Loads
Example: Calculate the Dead loads for the slab and the wall shown
in the section below. Assume the wall height is 3 m.

A. Wall B. Slab

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Dead Loads
A. Wall

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Dead Loads
B. Slab

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Dead Loads
Example: Calculate the
Dead loads for the slab
shown in the section
below.

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Dead Loads

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Live Loads
 Live loads are loads that
can change in magnitude
and position. Usually,
they are acting
downward and are
distributed uniformly
over the entire floor or
roof area.
 They include occupancy
loads, warehouse
materials, construction
loads, overhead service
cranes, and equipment
operating loads.
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Live Loads

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SNOW LOAD
 Snow Load is the load applied to building roofs due to snow
accumulation.
 As shown in the table, the
Ground Snow Load (So) is given
based on the site height above
sea level. S0 is modified based
on several other factors, such as

1. Site Sun and Wind Exposure (Exposure Category)

Exposure B in urban and suburban residential areas

Exposure C in open terrain with scattered obstructions

Exposure D in flat, unobstructed areas and water surfaces 13

SNOW LOADS
2. Thermal Conditions of the structure – Heating and insolation
conditions.
3. Roof slope and Layout geometry.

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WIND LOAD
 Winds are a dynamic force on buildings, highly fluid and quickly
changing, and must always be considered multi-directional.
 Winds create external and internal pressure in a submerged
building as shown below.

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WIND LOAD
Determination of the wind load in a specific
structure depends on:
• Basic wind speed. Three-second gust speed at
10 m above the ground in Exposure C. (varies
from 34m/s to 50 m/s in Palestine)
• Risk category for the building or other
structure. The risk category serves as a
threshold for a variety of code provisions
related to earthquakes, floods, snow, wind
loads, and even the magnitude of special
inspections.
• Exposure Category. Reflects the change in
wind speeds from standard conditions to the
conditions of the specific site based on the
surface roughness of the surrounding site. 16
WIND LOAD
Risk category
of Buildings

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WIND LOAD
classification
• Enclosure

• Topographic factor Kzt. Reflect the increase in the wind speeds

due to the topography (speed-up).

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EARTHQUAKE LOAD
Original static position
 Earthquake load refers to the before earthquake EQL
inertia force that a structure
experiences due to ground motion Deflected shape
due to dynamic
or acceleration. effects caused
by ground
motion

Seismic wave

 Usually, for most small and

moderate-sized buildings,
earthquake loads are
represented as "static
equivalent load" applied to
the structure.

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EARTHQUAKE LOAD
 Earthquake load calculations
consider factors such as:
• The intensity and duration
of ground shaking, as
reflected by the risk maps.
• The type of site soil.
• Building risk category or
occupancy.
• The structure’s dynamic
characteristics including
the structure’s mass,
natural period or frequency Risk-Targeted Maximum
and damping ratio. considered earthquake (MCER)
Ground motion Response
Accelerations Ss and S1. 20
LOAD COMBINATION
 Whilst each load or set of loads can be considered acting
independently, buildings are usually loaded by combinations of
the various loads. As the building must carry any combination, it
is usual to consider a range of combinations called load cases.

Notation
D = dead load
E = earthquake load
L = live load
Lr = roof live load
R = rain load
S = snow load
U = Ultimate load
W = wind load
( )= + 21
Vertical Load Path
The load path is the track all loads follow from their point of
application on the structure to the foundations or supports of the
structure.

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Vertical Load Path Hierarchy

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Slab Behavior
Based on the Load transformation concept, Slabs are
• One-way slab: curves and carry the load in one direction only.
• Two-way slab: curves and carry the load in two directions.

One-way system – single curvature Two-way system – Load distributed to

Load distributed to the longer edges all edges 24
One-Way Vs Two Way slabs
Classification is based on load distribution in one or two directions.
This can be determined based on:
I. Structural Geometry: Where the ratio
of the long side to the short side of a
panel >2, the load is transferred
primarily by bending in the short
direction and the panel acts as a one-
way slab. Otherwise, the load will be
distributed in two directions.

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One-Way Vs Two Way slabs
II. Method of construction and the construction materials

One-way system –
due to construction
method

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Tributary Area
Tributary area (At): The loaded area of a structure that directly
contributes to the load applied to a particular member. The
tributary boundary is often defined by drawing dividing lines
midway between adjacent supporting members.

=( )( )
=( )( )
At = Tributary area
bt= width of the tributary area
UL = Calculated slab load
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Tributary Area
Consider the floor framing system shown. Assume that the area
load applied to the slab is DL = 5 KN/m2, LL = 3 KN/ m2, L = 2m,
and L2 = 5 m. Calculate and sketch the load which should be applied
to B1, B2, and the girder.

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Tributary Area
Consider the floor framing system shown here. Assume that the
area load applied to the slab is DL = 8 KN/m2; LL=2 KN/m2.
Calculate and sketch the load that should be applied to beam B1
and girder G2. find the total load going to the column located on
gridline A2.

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Tributary Area

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Lateral Load Path
Lateral load path hierarchy
Out-of-plane wall

Diaphragms and/or footing

Vertical lateral force

resisting system (in-plane)

Foundation