Structural actions

BS EN 1990 Eurocode 'Basis of structural design', categorises loads, imposed deformations and accelerations as ‘actions’. It defines three types of action, distinguished by their tendency to change over time:

• Permanent actions (sometimes referred to as dead loads) are those actions that do not change over time, for example, self weight.
• Variable actions (sometimes referred to as live loads) are those actions that can change over time, for example, occupant loads, furniture loads, snow and wind loads.
• Accidental actions are the result of exceptional conditions, for example, fire or explosion.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Dead load.
• Force.
• Lateral loads.
• Live load.
• Loadbearing capacity.
• Moment.
• Shear.
• Structural loads.
• Uniformly distributed load.