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Note 6Level 1

Technical Technical Guidance Note

TheStructuralEngineer March 2012

25

Notional loading
Introduction

This Technical Guidance Note concerns the concept of notional loading, which the Eurocodes classifies as Equivalent Horizontal Forces. These are loads that exist due to inaccuracies and imperfections introduced into the structure during its construction. The following text explains how notional lateral loads are incorporated into the design process. All of the guides in this series have an icon based navigation system, designed to aid the reader.

Icon Legend

Design principles

Applied practice

Worked example

Further reading

Web resources

Design principles
A notional load is based on a proportion of the vertical load the structure is supporting. Typically they are applied in conjunction with other loads during analysis.

Notional Loads in Steel Frames

Steel frames are very sensitive to notional loads. This is because imperfections within the fabricated elements and their connections are inevitable as they are impactful. It is for this reason that any design of a steel frame structure must take them into account. Eurocode 3-1-1, Clause 5.3.2(3) covers this by creating coefficient (), which the vertical load of a structure is multiplied by. This replaces (Fhn) notional load from Eurocode 1-1-6 described previously. Coefficient () is determined thus: = 0 h m (Equation 5.5, Eurocode 3-1) Where:

Generic Notional Horizontal Load

where m is the number of columns in a row that are connected to the bracing system being considered. These columns must also be supporting at least 50% of the average vertical load of those columns in the row being considered (Figure 1):

It is defined as m =

0.5 1+

1 m

(Fhn)

Eurocode 1-1-6 concerns loading during the construction of structures. Within Annex A, Clause A1.3 of Eurocode 1-1-6 there is a generic definition of a notional horizontal load (Fhn) that can be applied to all structures. The magnitude of this force is 3% of the vertical loads from the worst case load combination for a given structure. This can be adopted for all structures, regardless of the material they have been constructed from.

rotates due to notional loads and has a base value of 1/200

0 is the sway angle at which the structure

Material Sensitivity to Notional Load

Notional loads represent forces that come about due to imperfections in the structure. Some materials are more sensitive to this phenomena than others and it is for this reason that notional loads are linked directly to the material a structure is constructed from. The Eurocodes for steel and concrete structures have sections within them that are dedicated to deriving notional horizontal loads within structures. The following sections explain how each material addresses notional loading.

h is the factor that is related to the height of vertical elements within the structure.
This is defined as h = where h is the height of the structure.

2 h

This factor can only be within the range of 0.66 < h <1.0. If the calculated value lies outside of this bracket, then the closer extreme is taken.

m is the factor that takes into account the

number of vertical elements in a row.

Clause 5.3.2(4)B in Eurocode 3-1 states that where the overall applied lateral load is more than 15% of the vertical load in a member then the notional horizontal load can be ignored. This is expressed as Hd 0.15 Vd in the above referenced clause.

Figure 1 Extent of columns that influence the value of m


Note 6Level 1

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TheStructuralEngineer March 2012

Technical Technical Guidance Note

Notional Loads in Concrete Frames

The Eurocodes approach to imperfections of elements within concrete structures is very similar to the one adopted for steel framed structures. The only key difference is that there is some provision for horizontally aligned elements as well as those that are vertical. Eurocode 2-1-1 Clause 5.2(5) defines the notional load coefficient ()in a similar way to Eurocode 3-1-1 in that it is a function of the vertical load the structure is supporting. There is however a slight difference to the derivation of () to take into account the length of elements as well as their height:

ei = l0/2 in the case of concrete frames. ei is the eccentricity

Where:

the primary action. See the UK National Annex to Eurocode 0, Table NA.A1.1 for the applicable factors.

/ is the angle of rotation due to the

l0 is the length of the element

application of the notional load as per steel and concrete framed structures

Applied practice
The applicable codes of practice for the derivation of notional loads are as follows: BS EN 1991-1-6 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures Part 1-6: General actions Actions during execution BS EN 1991-1-6 UK National Annex to Eurocode 1: Actions on structures Part 1-6: General actions Actions during execution BS EN 1992-1-1 Eurocode 2: Design of reinforced concrete structures Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings BS EN 1992-1-1 UK National Annex to Eurocode 2: Design of reinforced concrete structures Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings BS EN 1993-1-1 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings BS EN 1993-1-1 UK National Annex to Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings

Where: 0 is defined as the sway angle of the structure, in a similar fashion to Eurocode 3-1-1, described above.

= 0 h m

(Equation 5.1, Eurocode 2-1)

When considering a wall or an isolated column within a braced structure, ei can be estimated to be l0/400. Once the value of ei is determined, it is multiplied by the maximum axial load of the member being considered.

h is the factor that is related to the height or length of vertical elements within the structure. 2 This is defined as h = l
where l is the length or height of members.

Method (b) imposes a lateral force, Hi onto the element at a point along the element that generates the maximum bending moment from this load. Typically this is at the midspan position. For members that are not within a braced frame, the force Hi is defined as N or N, where N is the total axial force and / is defined above. For elements within the braced frame the value of Hi is 2N or 2N, depending on the structures material.

This factor can only be within the range of 0.66 < h <1.0. If the calculated value lies outside of this range, then the closer extreme is taken.

Partial Factors for Notional Loads

as per steelwork structures - with the value of m varying in accordance with the extent to which the structure is being analysed. For isolated members, the value of m is 1, while for braced frames m is the number of vertical elements contributing to a braced frame. If a floor slab is being assessed, the value of m is the number of vertical members contributing to the horizontal force that is exerted onto the floor slab.

m =

0.5 1+

1 m

Notional loads are considered in combination with applied lateral loads, such as wind. The partial factors applied to them reflect that they exist within the structure prior to any load being applied to it. They are treated in the same way as a wind load and are classified as a variable static action within the Eurocodes. When notional loads are combined with only the dead and imposed loads, they typically adopt the 0 combination factor, which is 0.5. When used in combination with the wind load, the combination factor 1 is applied (typically 0.2).

Glossary and further reading

Action An applied load, both due to a direct application or as a consequence of an indirect effect such as thermal expansion of the structure. Accidental Action A loading condition
that is unlikely to occur. As such partial factors are not applied to it during ULS analysis.

Notional Loads in Isolated Elements within Concrete and Steel Frames

It is possible to assess the impact that notional loading has on isolated elements within structures. Clause 5.2(7) in Eurocode 2-1-1 describes two different methods of assessing the impact of imperfections on individual elements within a structure. Either can be employed, but once a method has been selected, it should be used exclusively throughout the project. Method (a) considers the eccentricity of elements as they are constructed. This is defined as: ei = l0/2 for steel frames or

1.35Gk + 1.5Qk,1 + (0.70)1.5Qk,2 + (0.21)1.5Qk,3

Here is an example of how notional horizontal loads would be combined into a single load case when the imposed load (Qk,1) is the leading variable action for a commercial office building:

Characteristic load A base load that National Annex A part of the Eurocode
that has been written specifically for a particular region. has not had any partial factors applied to it.

Where Gk is the dead load, Qk,1 is the imposed load, Qk,2 is the wind load, and Qk,3 is the notional load. The combination factor for the wind load is 0 and the combination factor for the notional load is 1. Combination factors can vary depending upon the type of use of the building when the wind load is taken as

Notional load A load that exists within

the structure due to imperfections that cause a lack-of-fit.

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Worked example
A 5 storey commercial property is to be constructed from a steel frame structure. It has a 10m by 8m grid layout and the wind load upon it is 1 kN/m2. The internal columns have an axial load of 2.5 MN and all edge columns have 1.25MN. Corner columns have an axial load of 0.75MN. The structure is braced via a pair of concrete lift shaft and stair cores. Figure 2 shows the overall dimensions of the structure. Determine whether or not notional loads should be applied to this structure and if so, what their magnitude is. This should be carried out for all orthogonal directions in accordance with good practice.

Initially the need to include notional loading within the analysis of the structure is checked. This is done by comparing the applied wind load on a vertical element against 15% of the axial load, thus:

Now that the need for the inclusion of notional loading has been proven to be positive, factor () needs to be calculated.

With the value of () calculated, the magnitude of the notional horizontal load can be calculated:

Figure 2 Isometric view of proposed commercial building

Partial factor A factor that is applied to characteristic loads when carrying out design of structures and the elements they are constructed from. Variable static action A load that is
static, yet variable. Notional loads are typical of this type of action.

Web resources
For more information on this subject, please visit: www.istructe.org/resources-centre/ library

Further Reading
Manual for the design of steelwork building structures to Eurocode 3 Institution of Structural Engineers October 2010