1 Submitted by,

AKHIL KUMAR P
MTECH,S3
 LIVE LOAD
 Live loads include all the forces that are variable within the
object's normal operation cycle not including construction or
environmental loads.

 Roof and floor live loads are produced during maintenance

by workers, equipment and materials, and during the life of
the structure by movable objects, such as planters and people.

 Bridge live loads are produced by vehicles traveling over the

deck of the bridge.

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 Live load are temporary, of short duration, or a moving load.
These dynamic loads may involve considerations such
as impact, momentum, vibration and material fatigue

 Live loads are specified as the weight per unit area

corresponding to the use of the floor. In terms of their
concentration, they are estimated differently, depending on the
kind of structural member.

 Live loads prescribed by codes are empirical and conservative

based on experience and accepted practice. The equivalent
minimum loads for office and residential buildings as per IS3
875: Part 2, are as specified in Table shown below.
 Live Load Magnitude
Occupancy classification Uniformly distributed Concentrated
load (kN/m2) load (kN)

Office buildings

• Offices and Staff rooms 2.5 2.7

• Class rooms 3.0 2.7

• Corridors, Store rooms 4.0 4.5

and Reading rooms

Residential buildings

• Apartments 2.0 1.8

• Restaurants 4.0 2.7 4
• Corridors 3.0 4.5
 The live loads are assumed to be acting uniformly over the
whole floor area and the total live load is proportionally
distributed on the wall foundations for the purpose of
design.
 The live load is assumed to act on all the floors of a
building.
 In the case of multistoryed buildings, some reduction is
allowed in different floors as it is assumed that all the
floors of a buildings are not simultaneously loaded.
 A percentage reduction is applied in the design of piers,
columns, walls and foundation of a multistoryed
buildings. 5
No of floors carried by a % reduction of total live
member under load on
consideration all floors above the
member
under consideration
1 0

2 10

3 20

4 30

5-10 40

Above 10 50 6
LIVE LOAD REDUCTION TECHNIQUE

 The Building Codes allow reduction in live loads subject

to limitations for certain occupancies and magnitude of
live loads.

 As the structural members are considered, whole live

load of every floor is not taken at a time.

 Live loads are reduced as the bottom floors are

considered
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 METHODS OF LIVE LOAD REDUCTION
 Simple percentages may be specified for the reductions and for the
limiting amount.

 Example : supporting members may be designed for 100% of

the LL on the roof, 85% of that on the top floor, and further
reductions of 5% for each successive floor down to a
minimum of 50% of the LL

 A tributary area formula may be given, allowing a more refined

definition of the reduction, with the limit built into the formula

 Example : supporting members may be designed for a LL =

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Basic LL (0.3 + 10 )
A
 More sophisticated formula - type method may define the
maximum reduction in terms of dead to live load ratio

 Example : maximum percentage reduction < [100 x (D + L)]

4.33L
where, D and L are the intensities of dead and live loading

 This particular limit is intended to ensure that if the full live

load should occur over the full tributary area, the element
would not be stressed to the yield point

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