Structural Engineering 1 (CEng 2311) Chapter 2: Loads on structures

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CHAPTER 2: LOADS ON STRUCTURES
2.1 Introduction
All structures are subjected to loads from their function and due to other unavoidable circumstances.
Establishment of the loads that act on a structure is one of the most difficult and important steps in the design
process.
The loads that act on a structure can be classified into three categories: dead loads, live loads and
environmental loads. Because the method of analysis is the same for each category of loading, all loads can be
combined before analysis is performed. However, separate analyses are usually carried out to facilitate the
consideration of various load combinations.
Different types of loads that may come on structures during their life period and their combination for design
will be discussed in this chapter.

2.2 Dead Loads

Dead loads are those that act on structures as a result of the weight of the structure itself and of components
that are permanent fixtures. As a result dead loads have fixed magnitudes and positions. Examples of dead
loads are the weights of the structural members, the weight of permanent partitions, roof materials, ceilings and
of fixed service equipments.
The dead loads on a structure can be determined from the sizes of various components and unit weights of
materials of construction. A complete list of minimum design loads for various building components, such as
typical flooring, ceiling and roofing materials is given in codes and standards. Table 2.1 gives unit weight of
construction materials from Ethiopian Building Code and Standards1 (EBCS 1, 1995)
Table 2.1 Construction materials (Table 2.1 of EBCS 1)
Materials Density γ (KN/m3)
Concrete
Light weight 9-20
Normal weight 24
Heavy weight >28
Reinforced and prestressed concrete +1
Unhardened concrete +1
Mortar
Cement mortar 23
Gypsum mortar 17
Lime mortar 19
Masonry units
Basalt 27
Limestone 25
Granite 27
Sandstone 23
Trachyte 26
Metals
Aluminum 27
Brass 83
Bronze 83
Copper 87
Iron, cast 71
Iron, wrought 76
Lead 112
Steel 77
Zinc 71

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Table 2.2 Flooring and walling materials (Table 2.8 of EBCS 1)

Material Unit weight(KN/m3)

- Flooring
- Clay tiling 21
- Marble tiling 27
- Parquet/timber board 9
- PVC covering 16
- Rubber covering 17
- Granolithic/terrazzo paving 23
-Walling
- Solid brick 22
- Perforated brick 19
- Hollow concrete block
- stone aggregate 14-20*
- Light weight (pumice) aggregate 10-14*
- Asbestos cement sheet 17
- Fibrous plaster board 10
* Lower values for smaller size thicknesses (100mm to 200mm)

2.3 Live load or imposed load

Live loads are those acting on structures during construction and due to use or occurrence of the structures.
These are of temporary nature. They are fixed neither in magnitude nor in direction (position).
These loads can further be classified as moving loads, movable loads and time dependent loads.
Moving loads are those whose position changes rapidly. Examples are vehicular loads on bridges and crane loads
in industrial buildings
Movable loads are those whose position change in position takes place over an extended period of time such as
people, merchandize, non-fixed furniture and equipment, stored material in a ware house and movable
partitions in an office building.
Time dependent loads are those whose magnitude as a function of time.

2.3.1 Occupancy loads for buildings

As explained in EBCS 1, imposed loads on buildings are those arising from occupancy. They may be caused by:
(a) normal use by persons;
(b) furniture and moveable objects (e. g. lightweight moveable partitions, storage, the contents of
containers;)
(c) machines and vebic1es
(d) exceptional use, such as exceptional concentrations of persons or of furniture, or the moving or stacking of
commodities which may occur during reorganization or redecoration.
Occupancy live loads for buildings are usually specified in terms of the minimum values that must be used for
design purposes. Characteristic live load specifications of EBCS 1-1995 is given in the table 2.3 and table 2.4
below.

2.3.2 Traffic loads for bridges

Bridges must be designed to support vehicular loads associated with their functional use and minimum loads are
suggested in highway codes and standards for design purposes. In Ethiopia there is ERA design manual for bridge
design.

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2.3.3 Impact loads

Loads that are applied over a very short period of time have greater effect on the structure than would occur if
the same loads were applied statically. The static response must be multiplied by impact factor to obtain the
dynamic response.
Table 2.3 Categories of Building Areas (Table 2.9, 2.11 & 2.13 of EBCS 1)

Category Specific use Example

Rooms in residential buildings and houses; rooms in
Area for domestic and residential
A wards in hospitals; bed rooms in hotels and hostels;
activities
kitchens and toilets
B Offices
C1: areas with tables, etc
e.g. areas in schools, cafes, restaurants, dining halls,
reading rooms, receptions etc.

C2: areas with fixed seats, e.g. areas in churches,

theatres or cinemas, conference rooms, lecture
halls, assembly halls, waiting rooms, etc

C3: Areas without obstacles for moving people, e.g.

Areas where people may
C areas in museums, exhibition rooms, etc and access
congregate(with the exception of areas in public and administration buildings, hotels,
areas defined under category A,B,D,
etc.
and E)
C4: Areas susceptible to overcrowding, e.g. dance
halls, gymnastic rooms, stages, etc.

C5: Areas susceptible to overcrowding, e.g. in

buildings for public events like concert halls, sports
halls including stands, terraces and access areas, etc.
D1: Areas in general retail shops, e.g. areas in
D Shopping areas
warehouses, stationery and office stores, etc.
Areas susceptible to accumulation of
E Areas for storage use including libraries.
goods, including access areas
Traffic and parking areas for light
F vehicles ( 30KN total weight and e.g. garages; parking areas, parking halls
8 seats not including driver)
Traffic and parking areas for medium
e.g. access routes; delivery zones; zones accessible
G vehicles(>30 KN, 160KN total
to fire engines( 160 KN total weight)
weight, on 2 axles)
Roofs not accessible except for
H normal maintenance, repair, painting
and minor repairs
Roofs accessible with occupancy
I
according to categories A-G
Roofs accessible for special services,
K
such as helicopter landing

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Table 2.4 Imposed loads on floors areas (Table 2.10, 2.12 and 2.14 of EBCS 1)

Loaded area Qk(kN)

Category A - general 2.0 2.0
- stairs 3.0 2.0
- balconies 4.0 2.0

Category B 3.0 2.0

Category C - C1 3.0 4.0

- C2 4.0 4.0
- C3 5.0 4.9
- C4 5.0 7.0
- C5 5.0 4.0

Category D - D1 5.0 4.0

- D2 5.0 7.0

Category E 6.0 7.0

Category F 2.0 10
Vehicle weight: 30, 160kN
Category G 5.0 45
Vehicle weight: >30, 160kN
Category H
Flat roof 0.5 1.0
Sloping roof 1.0
0.25

2.4 Environmental loads

There are numerous loading conditions that a structure experiences as a result of the environment in which it
exists. Examples are snow load, rain load, wind loads and earthquake loads. In this topic we will consider wind
and earthquake loads because they are applicable in Ethiopia.

2.4.2 Wind load

The wind loads that act on a structure result from change of velocity of air, due to obstruction by the structure,
friction between air and the structure and possible aerodynamic force. Wind actions are fluctuating with time.
They act directly on the external surfaces of enclosed structures and through porosity of external surface, also
act indirectly on the internal surfaces. They may also directly affect the internal surface of open structures.
Pressures act on areas of the surface producing forces normal to the surface for the structure or for individual
cladding components. Additionally when large areas of structures are swept by the wind, frictional forces acting
tangentially to the surface may be significant.
Wind action is represented either as a wind pressure or a wind force. The action on the structure caused by the
wind pressure is assumed to act normal to the surface except where otherwise specified; e.g. for tangential
friction forces.
As per article 3.7.2 of EBCS 1, Basic value of wind velocity for Ethiopia vref,o = 22 m/sec

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Reference wind velocity:
The reference wind velocity vref is defined as the 10 minute mean wind velocity at 10m above ground of terrain
category II having an annual probability of exceedence of 0.02 (commonly referred to as having a mean return
period of 50 years)
Reference wind velocity vref = CDIR CTEM CALT vref,o = 1 * 1 * 1 * 22 = 22 m/sec
CDIR = CTEM = CALT = 1 → shall be taken as per EBCS 1

Reference wind pressure:

Article 3.7.1 of EBCS 1 explains about Reference wind pressure q ref = ½ ρ vref2
Where the air density (kg/m3) and vref is in m/sec
The wind pressure depends on the density of air( which is the function of altitude), height of the structure , the
terrain of the area, forest cover of the land, the density of construction, relative facing of the structure to the
wind.
The air density is affected by altitude and depends on the temperature and pressure to be expected in the
region during wind storms. A temperature of 20 oC has been selected as appropriate for Ethiopia.

Site altitude(m)
(kg/m3)
above sea level
0 1.20
500 1.12
1000 1.06
1500 1.00
2000 0.94

External and Internal pressures:

Article 3.5.2 and 3.5.3 give the explanation about the external and internal pressures on the surfaces of the
structures as follows.
 The wind pressure acting on the external surfaces of a structure shall be obtained from

 The wind pressure acting on the internal surfaces of a structure shall be obtained from

Where is the reference wind pressure given above

is exposure coefficient accounting for terrain and height above ground Z
is external pressure coefficient
is internal pressure coefficient

Exposure coefficient: Ce(z)

Wind velocity tends to decease near ground level owing to frictional forces between the wind and the ground. If
the terrain is rugged, the decrease in velocity can be quite substantial. The exposure coefficient takes account of
the variation from the reference wind velocity due to the roughness around the structure, the local topography
and the height of the structure above ground level. EBCS1 defines the exposure coefficient at height z meters,
using the relationship:

Where Cr and Ct are roughness and topography coefficients respectively and kT is a terrain factor. The terrain
factor is a function of the nature of the terrain and is given in Table 4.1.

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Table 4.1 Ground roughness categories and parameter values (from EBCS)
Z0 zmin
Category Terrain description kT
(m) (m)

Rough open sae. Lakeshore with  5 km

1 fetch upwind and smooth flat country 0.17 0.01 2
without obstacles
Farmland with boundary hedges,
2 occasional small farm structures, houses or 0.19 0.05 4
trees
Suburban or industrial areas and
3 0.22 0.3 8
permanent forests
Urban areas in which  15% of the surface
4 is covered with buildings and their average 0.24 1 16
height exceeds 15m

The roughness coeffivient Cr(z) accounts for the variability of mean wind velocity at the site of the structure due
to:
(a) the height above ground level
(b) the roughness f the terrain depending on the wind direction.
The roughness coefficient at height z is defined by the logarithmic profile:
Cr(z) =KT ln(z/zo) for zmin≤ z ≤ 200m
Cr(z) = Cr(zmin) for z< zmin
Where KT is the terrain factor
Zo is the roughness length
Zmin is the minimum height

The topography coefficient, Ct, accounts for the increase in mean wind speed over isolated hills and
escarpments. Details for its calculation in such cases are given in EBCS1 (Figure 3.6 and 3.7). For all other
situations, Ct may be taken as unity.
for < 0.05
for 0.05< <0.3
for >0.3

Where s is the factor to be obtained by interpolation from the value of s = 1 at the crest of a hill, ridge or
escarpment and the value s = 0 at boundary of the topography affected zone. Interpolation shall be linear with
horizontal distance from crest and with height above the local ground level.
Φ is the upwind slope H/Lu in the wind direction
Le is the effective length of the upwind slope, defined in table 3.4
Lu is the actual length of the upwind slope in the wind direction
Ld is the actual length of downwind slope in the wind direction
H is the effective height of the feature
x is the horizontal distance of the site from the top of the crest
z is the vertical distance from the ground level of the site

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External pressure coefficient:

The external pressure coefficient, Cpe, accounts for the variation in dynamic pressure on different zones of the
structure due to its geometry, area and proximity to other structures. The external pressure coefficient
for buildings and individual parts of buildings depend on the size of the loaded area A. They are given for loaded
areas A of 1m2 and 10m2 in the relevant tables of the appropriate building configurations as and
respectively.

A>10m2

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2.4.1 Earthquake loads

Earthquake or seismic load on a building depends upon its geographical location, lateral stiffness and mass, and
is reversible. Its effect should be considered along both axes of a building taken one at a time. A force is defined
as the product of mass and acceleration. During an earthquake, the mass is imparted by the building whereas
the acceleration is imparted by the ground disturbance. In order to have a minimum force, the mass of the
building should be as low as possible. There can be no control on the ground acceleration being an act of the
Nature! The point of application of this internal force is the center of gravity of the mass on each floor of the
building. Once there is a force, there has to be an equal and opposite reaction to balance this force. The
internal force is resisted by the building and the resisting force acts at the center of rigidity at each floor of the
building or shear center of the building at each story.

The return period of earthquake in a given region depends up on its seismicity. Depending upon the probability
of occurrence of an earthquake in a given region, it is desirable to design the building for a specified force (as
specified in the design codes). As per EBCS 8, there are two methods of analysis to determine earthquake forces
acting over buildings:
(a) Static analysis (or Seismic coefficient method): This type of analysis can be applied to buildings whose
response is not significantly affected by contributions from higher modes of vibration. These
requirements are deemed to be satisfied by buildings which meet the criteria for regularity in plan

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and/or elevation as given in EBCS 8, and have fundamental period of vibration T1 in the two main
directions less than 2 sec.
(b) Dynamic analysis (or Response spectrum method): This method of analysis can be conducted for all
types of buildings.
(The static method is generally applicable to buildings up to 40 m in height)

Classification of subsoil conditions (Page 8, Art. 1.3.2 – EBCS 8)

The influence of local ground conditions on the seismic action shall be accounted for by considering the three
subsoil classes.
Subsoil class A: Rock or other geological formation characterized by a shear wave velocity vs of at least 800m/s,
including at most 5 m of weaker material at the surface.
Stiff deposits of sand, gravel or over consolidated clay, at least several tens of meters thick, characterized by a
gradual increase of the mechanical properties with depth and by vs values of at least 400 m/s at a depth of 10m.
Subsoil class B: Deep deposits of medium dense sand, gravel or medium stiff clays with thickness from several
tens to many hundreds of meter, characterized by vs values of at least 200 m/s at a depth of 10m; increasing to
at least 350 m/s at a depth of 50 m.
Subsoil class C: Loose cohesion less soil deposits with or without some soft cohesive layers, characterized by vs
values below 200 m/s in the upper most 20 m.
Deposits with predominant soft-to-medium stiff cohesive soils, characterized by vs values below 200 m/s in the
upper most 20m.

Seismic Action
For structural design, the intensity of earthquake is usually described in terms of the ground acceleration as a
fraction of the acceleration due to gravity, i.e. 0.1g, 0.2g, 0.3g etc. The static analysis procedure provides for
the calculation of the total lateral force, defined as the design base shear which is then distributed over height
of the building.

Basic representation of seismic action (Page 9, Art. 1.4.2 – EBCS 8)

The earthquake motion at a given point of the surface is generally represented by an elastic ground acceleration
spectrum, called “elastic response spectrum”. Normalized elastic response spectra are shown in annex A –
Figure A.1 of EBCS 8.

Design spectrum (Page 10, Art.1.4.2.2 (4) to (7) – EBCS 8)

For linear analysis, the design spectrum Sd(T), normalized by the acceleration of gravity g, is defined by,
Sd(T) = αβγ
Where α = the ratio of design bedrock acceleration to the acceleration
of gravity g and is given by α = α0I
Where α0 = the bedrock acceleration ratio for the site and depends on
the seismic zone.
Bedrock acceleration ratio α0
Zone 4 3 2 1
α0 0.10 0.07 0.05 0.03
I = Importance factor
Importance categories and importance factors for buildings (Table 2.4 Chapter 2 – EBCS 8)
Importance Importance
Buildings
category factor I
I Buildings whose integrity during 1.4
earthquakes is of vital importance for
civil protection, e.g. hospitals, fire

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stations, power plants etc.
Buildings whose seismic resistance is of
importance in view of the
II consequences associated with a 1.2
collapse, e.g. schools, assembly halls,
cultural, institutions, etc.
Ordinary buildings, not belonging to
III 1.0
the other categories
Buildings of minor importance for
IV public safety, e.g. agricultural buildings, 0.8
etc

β = design response factor for the site = 1.2 S/T2/3 ≤ 2.5

Where S is the site coefficient for soil characteristics

Site coefficient S
Subsoil class A B C
S 1.0 1.2 1.5
T = Fundamental vibration period
γ = Behavior factor to account for energy dissipation capacity
γ = γ0 kD kR kW ≤ 0.70
γ0 = Basic value of the behavior factor
= 0.2 for frame system and dual system
= 0.3 for core system
= 0.5 for inverted pendulum system
kD = Factor reflecting the ductility class
= 1.00 for DC “H”
= 1.50 for DC “M”
= 2.00 for DC “L”
kR = Factor reflecting the regularity in elevation
= 1.00 for regular structures
= 1.25 for non-regular structures
kW = Factor reflecting the prevailing failure mode in structural systems
= 1.00 for frame and frame equivalent dual systems
= (2.5 – 0.5 α0) for wall and wall equivalent systems
≥ 1 for core systems
Here, α0 = aspect ratio of the walls = (Height of wall / Length of wall)

Base shear force (Page 21, Art.2.3.3.2.2 – EBCS 8)

Seismic base shear force Fb = Sd(T1)W
Where Sd(T1) = the design spectrum
T1 = Fundamental period of vibration in sec = C1 H3/4
H = Height of the building above the base in meter
C1 = 0.085 for steel moment resisting frames
= 0.075 for reinforced concrete moment resisting
frames and eccentrically braced steel frames
= 0.050 for all other buildings
W = Seismic dead load
= Total permanent load plus 25% of the floor variable (live) load for

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storage and warehouse occupancies.
= Total permanent load only for other occupancies.

Vertical distribution of base shear along the height of the structure:

(Storey shear) (Page 22, Art.2.3.3.2.3 – EBCS 8)

Portion of the base shear distributed over the height of the structure

Fi = (Fb – Ft) Wi hi
Σ W j hj
Ft = 0.07 T1 Fb
Combination of Actions
For each critical load case, the design values of the effects of actions should be determined by combining the
values of actions which occur simultaneously, as follows:
Combination for the dead, live and earthquake load
COMB1: 1.3 G.K + 1.6 QK
COMB2: 0.75(1.3 G.K + 1.6 Q.K)+ AEDx
COMB3: 0.75(1.3 G.K + 1.6 Q.K)- AEDx
COMB4: 0.75(1.3 G.K + 1.6 Q.K)+ AEDy
COMB5: 0.75(1.3 G.K + 1.6 Q.K)- AEDy
Where GK is characteristic dead load
QK is characteristic live load
AED is earthquake load
Combination for the dead, live and wind load
I. Distributed live load + dead load
1.3DL+1.6LL
II. Concentrated live load +dead load
1.3DL+1.6LL
III. Wind load + dead load
0.9DL +1.6 WL
IV. Wind load +concentrated live load +dead load
1.3DL +1.35(LL+WL)
V. Wind load +distributed live load +dead load
1.3DL +1.35(LL+WL)
In the above combinations wind load will be checked for both max suction & positive pressure

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