What is a live load and a dead load?

Category: business and finance civil engineering industry
4/5 (128 Views . 22 Votes)
Dead loads are static forces that are relatively constant for an extended time. They can be in tension or compression. The term can refer to a laboratory test method or to the normal usage of a material or structure. Live loads are usually variable or moving loads.



Also to know is, what is considered a live load?

Refers to loads that do, or can, change over time, such as people walking around a building (occupancy) or movable objects such as furniture. Live loads are variable as they depend on usage and capacity. However, design codes can provide equivalent loads for various structures.

Likewise, is snow a live load or dead load? Live loads are those loads produced by the use and occupancy of a building or structure and do not include construction loads, environmental loads (such as wind loads, snow loads, rain loads, earthquake loads and flood loads) or dead loads (see the definition of “Live Load” in IBC 202).

Secondly, how do you calculate live load and dead load?

SO, total Dead Load = 2.5 + 0.5 = 3 KN/m2. For Live Load you have to see permissible Live load values in IS-875. Generally for residential purpose we take it 3 KN/m2. The value of LIVE LOAD is different for different structures & for that you have to see IS-875.

What is typical roof dead load?

Dead Loads The dead load on a roof is the weight of the roof structure itself, along with any permanently attached materials or structures on the roof, so it must be designed, first of all, to support itself. The dead load of a typical asphalt-shingled, wood-framed roof is about 15 pounds per square foot.

36 Related Question Answers Found

What are examples of live loads?

Typical live loads may include; people, the action of wind on an elevation, furniture, vehicles, the weight of the books in a library and so on. A live load can be expressed either as a uniformly distributed load (UDL) or as one acting on a concentrated area (point load).

What is a live load in trucking?

In the moving and transportation industry, a "live load" means that you are forced to load or unload your items in short period of time, often while the driver of the truck or trailer waits. Learn more about scheduling moving help when you have a time constraint.

Is furniture a dead or live load?

In any building the furniture is considered as the Live Load. This is because the loading could be there, or it may not, or it may vary. It may also be slightly more than anticipated, which is why Live Loads have a larger factor of safety applied to them in Structural Design.

What are types of loads?

The types of loads acting on structures for buildings and other structures can be broadly classified as vertical loads, horizontal loads and longitudinal loads. The vertical loads consist of dead load, live load and impact load. The horizontal loads comprises of wind load and earthquake load.

What is a point load?


A point load is an equivalent load applied to a single point, which you can determine by calculating the total load over the object's surface or length and attributing the entire load to its center.

How do you do a dead load?

Dead load = volume of member x unit weight of materials
By calculating the volume of each member and multiplying by the unit weight of the materials from which it is composed, an accurate dead load can be determined for each component.

What does superimposed dead load mean?

superimposed dead load is the dead load on the structure after slab and beams have been casted .. dead load is the load from slabs and columns and beams .

Is 456 a live load?

Live load:
The live load considered in each floor was 2.5 KN/sq m as per IS Code 456 and for the terrace level it was considered to be 0.75 KN/sq m.

How do I determine my load weight?


Calculating the Weight of a Load
  1. Step 1: Determine the Volume of the Load. Rectangle/Square: Volume = Length x Width x Height.
  2. Step 2: Determine the Material You'll be Lifting. The table below can be used for approximate weight values of common loads and materials:
  3. Step 3: Determine the Weight of Object.

How do you determine the size of a column?

How do I decide the column size in the building? The size of the columns depends on the total load on the columns. There are axial loads and lateral loads. Large beam spans induce bending moment not only in the beams, but also in columns which are pulled by the stresses in the beams.

What is static load?

Static loading is a load that doesn't change over time. In engineering, static loads tend to be better defined and require less of a safety factor on them then dynamic loading. For instance, a static load on an overhead crane would be the weight of the structure, block, etc., because those never change.

How do you calculate snow load?

To figure out the load on your roof, take the depth of snow in feet and multiply it by the weight of a cubic foot of snow. If the snow weighs 10 pounds per cubic foot and there are 1.5 feet on the roof, each square foot of the roof is getting 15 pounds of pressure.

What is service load?

The service load is the best estimate of the actual load that a concrete member may be called on to support. The current way, Ultimate Strength. The design load is the service load increased by specified load factors in order to provide a factor of safety. Traditional Examples: Service Load = Dead Load + Live Load.

What is the difference between dead load and imposed load?


Usually the major part of the dead load is the self weight of the structure. The major difference between live loads and dead loads is: Dead loads can be calculated accurately as they are constant but the live loads can not be calculated exactly.

What is a header beam?

A header is a beam that spans the opening for a doorway, window, skylight, or stairway. Now, the word header refers to a beam-like support in wood-frame construction.

What are wind loads?

Wind load is the “load” placed by the wind speed and its air density onto a building. With high velocity winds, low pressure areas are created on the building which creates suction pressure. Some are so strong that they can pull of the corner of a home's roof.