Chapter 3

Actions and loads for structural design of

constructions
1. Agents, actions and loads
2. Characteristic and design values of
loads. Load combinations
3. Loads associated to permanent
actions(permanent loads)
4. Loads associated to actions due to
construction serviceability (live loads)
5. Loads associated to snow action
6. Loads associated to wind actions

1. Agents, actions and loads

In traditional sense, for the construction
domain, the definition of an action is:
Any cause able to generate mechanical
solicitations within one or more physical
divisions of a structure is called ACTION
The European Directive DE 89/106-93
expresses the action in relation to the
users exigencies as follows:
An ACTION is any cause able to affect
the conformity of a construction or one of
its physical divisions with respect to one or
more users essential demands.
Actions express the influence exerted on a
construction or on some of its component
elements by different external or internal
factors. These factors are called AGENTS.

According to their nature, agents may be:

- mechanical agents: dead and live
loads, snow loads, wind loads,
mechanical shocks, water pressure,
soil pressure, earthquakes, etc..
- electromagnetic
agents
:solar
radiations, serviceability processes
radiations, lightning, magnetic fields,
etc
- thermal agents: indoor-outdoor temp.
variations, thermal shocks, soil and
water freezing, etc
- chemical
agents:
air
humidity,
environmental conditions, underground
water, etc
- biological agents:
insects, mould

bacteria,

roots,

In case of structural design, the agents of

prior importance are those producing
actions with mechanical effects, meaning
the mechanical agents.
Most actions are the result of the direct
action of agents upon structural elements,
but there can by also agents acting
indirectly
like:
soil
settlements
earthquakes and restrained dilatation and
contraction.
The
most
representative
actual
classification of actions is the one
considering the time duration of significant
intensities and apparition frequency:
- PERMANENT ACTIONS G
- VARIABLE ACTIONS Q
- ACCIDENTAL ACTIONS A

PERMANENT ACTIONS G
Are those actions having the probability to
act the entire lifetime of a construction
having a negligible variation in time.
These are actions exerted during the
entire lifetime of a construction without
considerable modifications in intensity.
Ex: self weights,
settlement,
loads
constructions, etc

differentiate
fixed
on

soil
the

- VARIABLE ACTIONS Q
Are those actions having a reduced
probability to act during the entire lifetime
of the construction and whose mean value
variation in time cannot be neglected.
These are actions that are not exerted
continuously ( totally missing within some

time intervals) and whose intensity may

significantly vary in time.
In case of such loads of main interest are
the maximum probable values, in time, of
their intensities.
These values may act on sorter or longer
period of time. The short-time acting
values are important if they act frequently,
and are called frequent values .
The long-time acting values are called
quasipermanent values. Some variable
actions may have both frequent and
quasipermanent values.
Most representative variable actions are
those given by:
- people weight on constructions floors
- partition walls weight on constructions
floor or beams

- equipments weight, furniture or stored

materials weight
-soil pressure
- climatic agents
ACCIDENTAL ACTIONS A
Are short-time duration actions of
considerable intensity, whose probability
of occurrence during the life-time of a
construction is quite small.
These are exceptional loads, generally
acting with catastrophic effects, for
Romania the main concern is related to
earthquakes, but also indoor or outdoor
explosions are introduced within this
category.

Classification of actions function of:

- Spatial
variation:
fixed
actions
(structural position and distribution
unchangeable in time) and free actions
(snow, wind)
- Nature of structural response: static
actions ( no oscillating effects on
structure), dynamic actions
In order to perform structural design, the
real actions produced by agents are
modeled
through
force
systems,
displacements or imposed deformations.
ACTIONS become LOADS
Each load is associated to a particular
graphical representation which defines it
operationally.
The effect of a load acting upon an
structural element is mainly expressed by

sectional efforts or unitary efforts in the

section points. It can be also expressed
by displacements or rotations.
2. Characteristic and design values of
loads. Load combinations
Factors producing actions differ in a great
number of causes and conditions of more
or less randomly variations.
All actions are random variables in time
and space, which makes them very
difficult to model.
Taking into consideration only the time
variation, actions may be modeled as
random processes, otherwise they are
modeled as random variables. Anyway, a
great number of statistical data and
mathematical procedures are necessary in
order to reach the final result.

The result of all these mathematical

procedures is a reference value of a
certain action called CARACTERISTIC
VALUE .
This value is characterized by the fact that
it exists a very small probability to be
exceeded
in
a
structural
safety
defavourable sense.
Fk is the characteristic value of the load
F.
The characteristic value of a load may
be determined on:
- Probabilistic basis, by a superior
fractile of the repartition function (F0,98),
using the general relationship
Fk=mF(1+k0,98VF)
- Deterministic basis, when its statistical
variability is very small

The actual structural design methods

(the Limit State Methods) introduces the
DESIGN VALUE of loads (actions)
denominated Fd.
The relationship is
Fd=fFrep,
where f= partial safety coefficient
and
Frep= representative value of the action
and
Frep= f Fk
taking into account the unfavorable
misevaluation of the load real value with
respect to its characteristic value.
The term limit state defines that
situation in which a structure looses,
totally or partially, its capacity to satisfy
the exigencies imposed by its normal

utilization or it reaches that situation in

which peoples life is endangered.
- Serviceability limit states: are
referring to the behavior of structural
elements in normal conditions of
structural serviceability. With respect to
this limit states, no damages that need
repairements must produce.
Deformations,
displacements
and
vibrations must have small values so that
no serviceability malfunction will appear.

- Ultimate limit states are referring to

peoples, goods and over all structural
safety .
With respect with the ULS, the collapse
of the structure is not accepted. There
can be some irreversible damages, but
no collapse.

As any structure is permanently acted by a

series of agents, it will be simultaneously
subjected to different type of loads, some
permanent some variable.
These loads are combining randomly,
difficult to predict, therefore, in structural

design , some scenarios of loading

simultaneity are considered, in terms of
some logical load combinations that may
occur with reasonable probability.
These combinations are called LOAD
COMBINATIONS (actions combinations)
The resultant effect of the action of each
load within a load combination is
considered at the structural element
section level.
For the ultimate limit state, the condition
that must be fulfilled is
EdRd where
Ed= the design value of the resultant
effect of load combinations in a given
cross section and limit state
Rd= the design value of the sectional
strength having the same nature with the
effect of the load combinations in a given
cross section and limit state

For the serviceability limit state, the

condition that must be fulfilled is
defdall
The CR0/2005 Romanian Code presents
the different types of load combinations for
different limit states.
For the ULS:
- Fundamental load combination
- Special load combination
For the fundamental load combination ,
only permanent and variable loads are
included, for the special load combination
the exceptional load, earthquake, is
included.
The formal expressions of such type of
load combinations are:

Fundamental LC:
1.35 (Gk)j + 1.50(Qk)1+1.50 0,i(Qk)i
Special LC
(Gk)j + I AE,k+ 2,i(Qk)i
Where:
(Gk)j=the effect of the characteristic value
of the permanent load J on the structural
element
(Qk)1=the effect of the characteristic value
of the main variable load on the structural
element
(Qk)i=the effect of the characteristic value
of the i variable load on the structural
element
0,i=simultaneity factor of the effects of
variable loads i
2,i= coefficient of the quasipermanent
value of the i variable load

AE,K= the effect of the characteristic value

of the seismic load on the structural
element
I=importance
construction

coefficient

of

the

For the SLS, code CR0/2005 gives a large

number of combinations functions of the
design demand
3. Loads associated to permanent
actions. Permanent loads
The main actions generating permanent
loads are the self weights of construction
elements, excluding partition walls.
Being mainly about volumes weights, the
self weights can be determined only if the
dimensions and specific values are
known.

These parameters may vary randomly, but

studies had revealed the fact that the
statistical variation coefficients are very
small, under 0.05. In this situation, the
evaluation of the self weight is made in
deterministic manner, by means of the
design dimensions of the elements and
their specific weight:
Ex:
4. Loads associated to actions due to
construction serviceability (live loads)
These actions have a variable character
and are expressed as vertical loads acting
on structural elements or they maybe
horizontal loads acting on walls,
balustrades, parapets etc..
Live loads acting on floor slabs come
from:

- people weight
- functional furniture weight
- light-weight partition walls
- stored materials or products weight
- light-weight equipments
These loads are highly variable in time, so
it is impossible to be described following a
rigorous model so, in practical design,
they are expressed by a system of vertical
forces acting on the entire surface of the
structural element (or only on a part of it,
when the case).
Live loads expressing pressure of people
or materials on walls or parapets are
modeled as horizontal force systems,
distributed linearly or on surface.
The main types of live loads are given in
Romanian codes (SR EN 1991-1-1), with
their characteristic values, as follows:

a)vertical live loads, uniformly distributed

on square meter of horizontal surface,
modeling people, furniture, stored material
loads.
If there are no other technical
specifications, some examples for the
values specified by codes are:
- buildings, hospitals, kindergartens or
similar , live load is for main spaces
1.50-2.00 KN/sqm and for common
spaces and stair cases 3.00-4.00
KN/sqm
- office buildings, schools, restaurants,
small shops 2-4 KN/sqm and
3-5KN/sqm respectively
Etc
b) Horizontal live loads, linearly uniform
distributed, modeling the pressure that
may act at parapet levels or on
nonstructural walls.

The characteristic values of these loads

are differentiated function of the
construction type and function of the type
of actions acting on balustrades or
partition walls.
c)Vertical
concentrated
live
loads
modeling the weight of a person equipped
with tools.
This is a specific type of live load specific
to a series of linear structural elements
that must be able to carry out such a live
load: roof elements or independent steps
of stair. In both cases the structural
elements are working as simple supported
beams and the live concentrated loads are
located in the most defavourable position.
d) Uniform distributed live loads on sqm of
horizontal slab, modeling the lightweight of
some partition walls, with complex shape
in plan and eventually having their position
changeable in time.

The quickest situation in case of these

loads is to evaluate an uniform distributed
load expressed on sqm of entire
slab.Codes give an equivalent KN/sqm
load function of the wall weight in KN/m.
Ex: if the wall weight is less than 1.50
KN/m, than the uniform distributed value
may be 0.50 KN/sqm