Dead load

In structural engineering, dead loads are those loads which are considered to act permanently; they are "dead," stationary, and unable to be removed. The self-weight of the structural members normally provides the largest portion of the dead load of a building. This will clearly vary with the actual materials chosen. Permanent non-structural elements such as roofing, concrete, flooring, pipes, ducts, interior partition walls, Environmental Control Systems machinery, elevator machinery and all other construction systems within a building must also be included in the calculation of the total dead load. These loads are represented by the red arrow in the illustration.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The magnitude of the dead loads of a building can usually be determined with only a 5% margin of error. Properties of building materials are often tabulated and published by authors of textbooks and by the manufacturers. It is always very important to be sure to keep up-to-date on the changes in building materials. Properties of construction materials often vary due to the rapidly changing marketplace. The load due to these materials is often expressed as kN/m^3 or lbs/ft^3. These are normally converted to load/area or load/length for further consideration.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~