Introduction to Civil

&Environmental
Engineering

Week 4 Notes
Topics Week 4
Australian Standards (SLO 4)

• Basic Structural Behaviour

• Standards & Guidelines
• AS 1170
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.1 Reasons for Using Standards

• For Buildings, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) is

the reference document.
• No Legal Requirement to use Australian Standards,
however their use is prudent for avoiding litigation and
their use is recommended because they:
• Are tried and tested and have usually undergone
extensive revisions to reflect past experiences and
the latest research knowledge.
• Are prepared by Peers who have extensive
practical and design expertise and are recognised
experts in their field.
• Help ensure minimum safety requirements for both
strength and serviceability
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.1 Reasons for Using Standards

• Help to satisfy due-diligence requirements,

• Result in safer designs,
• Provide consistency,
• Provide confidence to stakeholders and the general
public,
• Provide a basis for comparison, And,
• Help to achieve economic solutions, i.e. help to
reduce unnecessary conservatism and costly over-
designs.
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.2 Guidelines

• In some specialist areas of civil engineering there are

no specific Australian Standard. In dam engineering for
example engineers rely on experience and guidelines to
carry out their work.
• Industry guidelines are prepared by various
organisations and associations with a vested interest in
promoting and progressing their specific field to the
wider profession.
• Guidelines have a lower status compared to standards,
however, as with standards their use is recommended
as they also help to:
• Satisfy due-diligence requirements,
• Provide confidence to stakeholders and the general
public,
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.2 Guidelines

• Provide a basis for comparison,

• Are prepared by Peers who have extensive practical and
design experience and are recognised experts in their
field.
• Provided a consistent approach to managing risks.
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.3 Publications from some Industry Organisations

• Its important for the graduate engineer to know what

publications are available in his/her field of practice.
Since its much easier and it also helps to minimise
professional risk by utilising the available industry
publications than to work from 1st Principles.
• Some important organisations that provide useful
publications for industry include:
• Engineers Australia (EA),
• Australian Institute of Steel Construction (AIS),
• OneSteel,
• Cement and Concrete & Aggregates Association of
Australia (CCAA),
• Concrete Institute of Australia (CI),
1 Standards & Guidelines
1.3 Publications from some Industry Organisations

• National Precast Concrete Association of Australia

(NPCAA),
• Australian National Committee on Large Dams
(ANCOLD), and their international equivalent
(ICOLD)
• NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS). For road
works Technical specifications and guidelines,
• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR),
• United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.1 AS 1170

• AS 1170 is the standard on Structural Design Actions. It

consists of 5 parts as follows:
• Part 0 (AS 1170.0): General Principles,
• Part 1 (AS 1170.1): Permanent, Imposed and Other
Actions,
• Part 2 (AS 1170.2): Wind Actions,
• Part 3 (AS 1170.3): Snow and Ice Actions,
• Part 4 (AS 1170.4): Earthquake Loads.
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.2 Introduction to Part 0: General Principles

• AS 1170.0 provides general guidance for assessing the

imposed loads on a structure. It covers both strength
and serviceability limit states.
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.3 Notation
• Some of the most common notation symbols used in
Australian Standards is given in Table 1 below.
Table 1 Notation for Commonly used Items
Symbol Description Symbol Description
Ed Design Action Effect W Wind Action
E Earthquake Action N Design Working Life
Fe Earth Pressure Action kp Probability Factor
Q Imposed Action due to l Combination Factor for
use (“Live Load”) Long-Term Actions
G Permanent Action c Combination Factor for
(“Dead Load”) Imposed Actions
P Annual Probability of s Combination Factor for
Exceedance (AEP) Short-Term Actions
Fgw Ground Water Action  Capacity Reduction Factor
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.4 Example 1 Application of AS 1170.0
• Determine the basic parameters from AS 1170.0 for the
intersection upgrade to a major arterial road south of
Sydney.
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.4 Example 1 Solution
• Some of the most common notation symbols used in
Australian Standards is given in Table 1 below.
• AS 1170.0 clause 3.3, Design working life = 100 years
(subject to Client’s requirements)
• AS 1170.0 clause 3.4, Importance level = 3 (possibly 4)
• From Table 3.2 AEP in AS 1170.0 (Importance level = 3
used)
Load P
AEP
wind 1/2000
Earthquake 1/2000

• Clause 4 Load Combinations for Stability

• Stabilising effect:
Load Case 1 (LC1) = 0.9G
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.4 Example 1 Solution
• Clause 4 Load Combinations for Stability cont.
• Destabilising:
LC2 = 1.35G
LC3 = 1.2G + 1.5Q
LC4 = 1.2G + W + cQ
LC5 = G + E + cQ
LC6 = 1.2G + S + cQ (where S is the ultimate value of
various actions)
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.4 Example 1 Solution
• Clause 4 Load Combinations for Strength
• LC7 = 1.2G + 1.5Q
• LC8 = 1.2G + 1.5lQ
• LC9 = 1.2G + W + 1.5cQ
• LC10 = 0.9G + W
• LC11 = G + E + cQ
• LC12 = 1.2G + S + cQ (where S is the ultimate value of
various actions)
•  Values from Table 4.1 clause 4.2.2
2 Australian Standard 1170 (AS 1170)
2.4 Example 1 Solution
• Clause 4 Load Combinations for Serviceability
• LC13 = G
• LC14 = sQ
• LC15 = lQ
• LC16 = W
• LC17 = E
2 Australian Standard 1170.1 (AS 1170)
2.5 Introduction to Part 1: Permanent Actions “Dead Loads”

• AS 1170.1 provides minimum values for adoption in design

from permanent actions due to:
• Self weight
• Earth pressure
• Water Pressure
2 Australian Standard 1170.1 (AS 1170)
2.6 Example 2 Application for Imposed Actions “Live Loads”

• A new office Tower 32 storeys high is proposed for

development in Parramatta (Western Sydney). Determine
the minimum uniformly distributed and concentrated
actions to be applied in design calculations for the
following structural elements:
• Floor Slabs
• Compactus Rooms (Storage areas)
• Fire Stairs
• Balconies & accessible Roof Areas.
2 Australian Standard 1170.1 (AS 1170)
2.6 Example 2 Application for Imposed Actions “Live Loads”
• From AS 1170.1 clause 3.4.1 and Table 3.1 , the
recommended Uniformly Distributed Loads (UDL) for Live
Actions, Q and the concentrated load, q are as follows:
Note: 4.5 kN is 4500 N
Area UDL Concentrat which is the approximate
Q ed Force weight, W of a mass, m of
kN/m2 q 450 kg.
kN W = mg.
Floor Slabs 3.0 2.7 The UDL units kN/m2
are units of pressure.
Compactus Room 5.0 4.5
For “Dead Load”
Fire Stairs 5.0 4.5 calculations Weights
Balconies & accessible (densities) for commonly
4.0 1.8 used construction
Roof Areas
materials are provided in
Appendix A,
Table A1 of AS 1170.1
2 Australian Standard 1170 Part 2 (AS 1170.2)
2.7 Introduction to Part 2: Wind Actions

• AS 1170.2 provides guidance for determining the actions

arising from wind effects. Table 2 provides additional
notation for symbols used in AS 1170.2

Table 2 Notation used in AS 1170.2

Symbol Description Symbol
VR Regional Wind Speed VR
Md Wind direction multiplier Md
Ms Wind shielding multiplier Ms
2 Australian Standard 1170 Part 2 (AS 1170.2)
2.8 Example 3 Application for “Wind Loads”
• The office Tower of example 2 is 109 m tall. Determine the
following:
• Regional Wind Speed
• Wind direction multiplier
• Wind terrain/height multiplier
• Wind shielding multiplier
• Topographic multiplier
• Design Wind Speed
Table 2 Notation used in AS 1170.2
Symbol Description Symbol
VR Regional Wind Speed VR
Md Wind direction multiplier Md
Ms Wind shielding multiplier Ms
2 Australian Standard 1170 Part 2 (AS 1170.2)
2.9 Example 3 - Solution
• Regional Wind Speed, VR
From AS1170.4 Clause 3.2, for an AEP of 1/2000,
VR = 48 m/s

• Wind direction multiplier, Md

From AS 1170.4, Clause 3.4 Sydney region is A2
And from Table 3.2 Md = 1.0, FD =1.1, FC = 1.05

• Wind shielding multiplier, Ms

AS 1170.4 Clause 4.2 the terrain is a category 4 and from
Table 4.1 (A) for h = 110m, MZ,Cat = 1.05
Ms is taken as 1.0 (wind shielding ignored)
2 Australian Standard 1170 Part 3 (AS 1170.3)
2.10 Part 3: Ice and Snow Actions
• AS 1170.3 provides guidance for determining the actions in
alpine environments.
2 Australian Standard 1170 Part 4 (AS 1170.4)
2.11 Introduction to Part 4: Earthquake Loads
• AS 1170.4 provides guidance for determining the minimum
actions in due to seismic events.
• Table 3 provides additional notation for symbols used in
AS 1170.4
Table 3 Notation used in AS 1170.4
Symbol Description
S Site Factor
a Seismic Coefficient
(acceleration)
I Importance Factor
ac, ax Amplification Factors
P Annual Probability of Exceedance (AEP)