Light steel frames support the floors directly using Z-section bracings over the wall. These allow walls to resist vertical land horizontal loads. Load-bearing modules can be designed to resist horizontal loads for buildings up to 6 storeys high. Th modules are tight together at their corners to transfer loads between each other. When the building is located over a car park or a commercial space, podium structures, with different column grids above and below, can be added to support the structure above. Imposed loads are included when considering deformation at serviceability of the construction, usually, 30%, while the actual imposed load will be considerably less, and should not exceed 10% of the nominal imposed load. Imposed load include movable furniture within the building, people, wind forces, and snow weight. These loads act at different parts of the building, therefore, all the surfaces (roof, walls, floors) need to be designed with care and …show more content…
Bracing provides stability and resists lateral loads. The beams and columns are generally arranged in an orthogonal pattern for elevations and plans, to provide resistance from vertical and horizontal forces. In the external frame, attention is paid to the details, such as high-strength bolts, nuts or screws, that provide resistance to the winds, by holding the structure together.
Other vibration-type loads are earthquakes. A flexible and low weight material, such as steel, is a common material in seismic zones. Being a light material, it has less seismic forces, which are mainly not critical, making a steel structure sufficient in resisting earthquakes.
Sections of columns and beams and loaded rate play a high role in fire resistivity. It is necessary to design the building in such a way that the load-bearing structure will remain safe until the occupants have left the structure. The numbers are different for different types of buildings and need to be acknowledged.
‘Every building must be designed and constructed in such a way that in the event of an outbreak of fire within the building, the load-bearing capacity of the building will continue to function until all occupants have escaped, or been assisted to escape, from the building and any fire containment measures have been initiated.’ – The Building (Scotland)