ACES100 INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING

Loads

Objective

In this lecture we will learn about the forces on a structure and structural strength.

Loads

The forces on a structure are made of loads and reactions.

Loads are the forces applied to the structure, e.g. weight of people, vehicles, wind.

Reactions are the forces that support the structure.

There are dead loads (“permanent loads” in Eurocode) which do not change, e.g.
self-weight of structure.

There are live loads (“variable loads” in Eurocode) which change, e.g. weight of
vehicles on a bridge.

The structure transfers the loads to the reactions.

Strength

The ability of the structure to support the loads is its strength.

However, we don’t want our structure to be only just strong enough, that would be
dangerous. We need some extra strength so that the structure is safe.

So, in design we use Factors of Safety (FoS) so that the structure should always be
stronger than it needs to be.
actual strength
FoS = always > 1.0
required strength
This allows to a certain extent for accidental overloading, mistakes in design and
construction and poor quality materials.

Design codes and standards tell us what the values of the Factor of Safety should
be. They usually contain a list of partial factors that should be applied in different
parts of the design (e.g. dead loads, live loads, material properties, etc.) which
together make up the overall Factor of Safety.