The Load Combination Generator

Our First Web Application That Saves You Time

Jun 07, 2023

Hi friends, 👋👋

Today I want to present the load combination generator - our very first web application.

Load combinations are something all structural engineers have to do for every project. 😓😓

And to be honest, I don’t like it. Even though you already know in many cases which load combination will be governing the design. You still have to document it. ✍️✍️

That’s how I came up with the idea of writing a web application to automate the calculation but also the documentation of load combinations.

Especially for roof structures, where wind, snow, dead and live load are applied, this tool can save 10+ minutes. ⌛⌛

Alright, let’s look at an example of how it works.

Example - Flat Roof

To design the primary beam, secondary beam, column and rod, the following loads need to be considered in load combinations

These loads need to be calculated according to Eurocode EN 1991.

But let’s say we did that, and we got the following results.

Live load = 1.0 kN/m2
Dead load = 1.08 kN/m2
Snow load = 0.8 kN/m2
Wind load = -0.08 kN/m2

Go to the 👉 load combination generator 👈

Select all 4 loads
Select the partial factors of your country. These can be found in the National Annex of Eurocode 0 of your country. The values that are predefined are according to Eurocode.
Type in the psi factors. These can also be found in the National Annex of Eurocode 0 of your country.
Select the unit of the loads. In our case, it’s area loads (kN/m2).
Type in the load values. That’s the values we defined earlier.
Click on calculate the total value?
Click on create table. Et voila, the load combination table is generated. 👇👇 You can copy and paste this table into Word or Excel.