2: Structural Loads and Loading System
- Page ID
- 23973
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Civil engineering structures are designed to sustain various types of loads and possible combinations of loads that could act on them during their lifetime. Accurate estimation of the magnitudes of these loads is a very important aspect of the structural analysis process. There are local and international codes, as well as research reports and documents, that aid designers in this regard. Structural loads can be broadly classified into four groups: dead loads, live loads, impact loads, and environmental loads. These loads are briefly described in the following sections.