How does we calculate load factor?
How does we calculate load factor?
(OP)
When we use plastic design approach to design a structure we multiplies the working loads by (load factor) to get the failure condition of loads then we choose the members which can resist this failure under this loads,my question is: How do we know that this load factor-which is unified- will cause the failure for any member I will choose?






RE: How does we calculate load factor?
Based on your mention of plastic design and your choice of wording -- looking to guarantee failure rather than prevent it -- I speculate that you may be asking a more involved question. Capacity design principles for seismic design for example. Can you elaborate on the context of your question?
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RE: How does we calculate load factor?
The question in the text is "How do we know that this load factor-which is unified- will cause the failure for any member I will choose?". Not sure what is meant by "unified", but in general, a member will not fail at the factored load because there are additional "resistance" factors accounting for variability of material strength. In the Canadian code, these are called Φ factors. The value of Φ depends on the material and the type of failure. So if you select a member which is rated to resist a factored load, the failure load will be higher than the factored load unless the material strength is below the minimum strength expected.
BA