Structural Impact Loading Pg 1 of 11

Date: September 23rd, 2009

By William Greco, Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net
Executive Summary
The following essay will show a simple method of conducting dynamic loading
calculations.
Main
The term impact refers to a dynamic effect of a load which is applied suddenly.
The applied load can be considered to be of an instantaneous nature. Most texts on
the subject refer to harmonic effects and resilience of the structure. The capacity
of the structure to store energy and vibrate during sudden shock is usually taken
into considerable detail. Springs are generally introduced into the explanation and
positive and negative oscillatory motion of the disturbed structural member is described
and reality takes a back seat to complex theory.

In the real world, loads don’t fall on springs.

The conditions to be considered are moment and shear condition that accompanies a
dynamic force and the difference between a static load and a dynamic instantaneous
load. Considering springs and oscillatory motion is not necessarily required when
calculating a structural member failure under impact.

Example-1 Lets start out with a simple case….a static point load in the center of a beam.
For simplicity the beams own uniform weight will not be considered.

Figure 1 above indicates a beam with a concentrated 2,000 pound load located at it’s center.
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 2 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Figure -2 indicates the equations required to calculate a static load on a beam with
a concentrated mass at it’s center. For the remainder of this report, a static load will
be referred to with the subscript S. Dynamic loads will be indicated with a
D subscript.

Example-1’s (figure-1) calculation would proceed in the following manner.

Moment 
PL 2,000 24  48,000
MS     12,000 ft / lbs 12   144,000 in / lbs
4 4 4
Shear 
2, 000
R1 and R2   1, 000 lbs
2
assuming that we are dealing with a W8x 24 beam is made of A36 steel the shear resistance is
14,500 pounds per square inch and a W10 x 33 wide flange beam has an area of
8.23 square inches. The shear rating on this beam is 14,500 8.23  119,335 pounds
119,335
or in our example  a shear factor of safety of 119 : 1.
1, 000
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 3 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Example-1 (continued)
The moment was computed to be 144,000 in / lbs.
A W8 x 24 wide flange is a compact section and bending resistance is taken
144,000
at 24,000 in / lbs,  a section modulus requirement of at least 6.
24, 000
A W8 x 24 hac a section modulus in the x direction of 20.8
20.8
The bending safety factor is  3.4 and is satisfactory for a static load.
6

Assume that a point load of 1,950 pounds falls directly in the center of the beam
from a height of 16 feet. while it’s supporting the existing 2,000 pound static load.
1,950 pounds x 16 feet = 31,200 foot pounds produced by the falling load.

The static load PS was known and the moment was calculated
PL
from M S  however the moment of a falling load is known therefore
4
it becomes necessary to rearrange the equation to solve for P,
P will now become PD as it is now a dynamic load.
PL
MS 
4
multiply both sides by 4
PL
M S 4  
4 
4
PL  4M
Divide both sides by L
P L 4M

L L
4M
PD 
L
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 4 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Example-1 (continued)

31, 200 4 
PD   5, 200 pounds
24
The existing static load (2,000 pounds) is now added to the
Dynamic load of 5,200 pounds and an additional 1,950 pounds of
static load which is the weight of the falling load.
Th e instantaneous total load on the beam is now-
PS (original load)  PD (dynamic load)  PSf (Falling Static Load)
2, 000 + 5, 200 + 1, 950   9,150 pounds
The total load of 9,150 pounds is now substituted back into the original equation.
P L 9,150 24 
MT  T  =54,900 foot pounds x 12 = 658,800 inch pounds
4 4
where :
M T  the total moment
PT  total load
658,800
required section modulus   27.45  20.8
24, 000
A36 structural steel has an elastic limit of 36,000 pounds
the beams ultimate strength is 64,000 psi.
and it's yield point is 42,000 psi.
the instantaneous load exceeds the elastic limit by:
36,000 psi
20.8 (section modulus of beam)
 47, 509 psi
27.45 (required section modulus at instant of load drop)
since the beam has been subjected to a load higher than it's yield point
but below it's ultimate strength 
The beam will take on a permanent deformation but will not fail.
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 5 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Example-1 (continued)
The W8 x 24 beam in example-1 will take on the following permanent deformation:

3 3
PT L 12  9,150 24 12 
   1.91 inches
48 E I 48 29, 000, 000 82.15
where:
PT  the total instantaneous load
L  the length of the beam in feet
E  the modulus of elasticity (for steel = 29x106
I  the moment of inertia of the beam
  the deflection in inches

Example-2
In example -1 the unlikely case of a static point load in the center of a beam with a
corresponding falling load at the center of the beam was calculated. Most situations
would require the calculation of a uniformly loaded beam with a uniform load falling
at a location other than it’s center. The condition is shown in figure-3.
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 6 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Example-2 (continued)
Figure-4 indicates the diagrams and equations of an off center uniformly distributed
load.

Note: Figure-4 is used for Static loading.

Assuming the 2,650 pound load to be falling from 14 feet above the beam.
Also require the following dimensions, the distance from the left side R1 to
the edge of the falling load A = 6 feet, the falling load C = 7 feet and
B = 11 feet. If we use a W10 x 21 beam with a uniform load of 40 pounds
per linear foot.
Step-1 - The total uniform static load is (40 x 24)+(21 x 24) = 1,464 pounds.
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 7 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net
Example-2 (continued)

Step-2 involves calculating the total static uniform moment and

reactions R1 and R2:
WL 1, 464 24 
Static M    4,392 foot pounds x 12  52,704 inch pounds
8 8
Total weight 1, 464
Static R1  R2    732 pounds
2 2
Step-3
The rearrangement of equations 1 and 2 to calculate the equivalent weight knowing
the dynamic moment (2,650 lbs x 16 feet) (see figure-4 for equations 1 and 2):
Rearrangement of equation-1 A  B
R1 2A W + R1 C 
M
2W
Eliminate the denominators by multiplying both the left and the right side
by the least common denominator LCD is equal to : 2 W
R1 2A W + R1 C 
2WM 2W
2W
Expand the terms
2 W M  R1  2 A W + R1 R1 C

Combine and multiply

2 W M  2 R1 A W + R12 C

group all the variable terms on one side, and all the constant terms on the other side of the
equation.
2 R1 A W –term will be moved to the left side and change sign when it moves
from one side of the equation to the other.
2WM  2 R1 A W   2 R1 A W + R12 C 2 R1 A W 
organize this expression into groups of like terms
The following are like terms : 2 R1 A W and -2 R1 A W
2 W M  2 R1 A W  2 R1 A W  2 R1 A W + R12 C

2 W M  2 R1 A W  2 R1 A W  2 R1 A W + R12 C  2 W M  2 R1 A W  R12 C
Isolate the variable on the left side. The first step in this procedure consists of
factoring the left side of the equation.
 2 W M 2 R1 W M  2
W    R1 C
 W W 
Continued on next page (page-8)
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 8 of 11
rd
Date: September 23 , 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net
Continued from page 7

 2 W M 2 R1 W M  2  2 1 M 2 R1 1 M  2
W    R1 C  W     R1 C
 W W   1 1 
Fractions which have denominators equal to 1 are equal to their numerator.
W 2 M  2 R1 A   R12 C
Divide both sides by 2 M – 2 R1 A

W
2 M  2 R1 A   R12 C
W
R12 C
2 M  2 R1 A  2 M  2 R1 A  2 M  2 R1 A 

R12 C
W (equation-3) when A  B
2 M  2 R1 A 

Rearrangement of equation-2 dimensions A=B

W C
B    M
2 4
Add fractions- the following rule is applied :
LCD LCD
A+ C
A C B D
 
B D LCD
This involves two terms. One non-fractional term is treated
as a fraction with denominator equal to 1.The LCD (least common denominator) is
equal to :22

W C 
B 2 M
 
 2
W  2 B+1C 

M
2  2  2  22 
 
Eliminate expression parentheses.
W  22 B+C 
 M
2  22 
Evaluate a power by multiplying the base by itself as many times as the
exponent indicates.
W  4 B+C 
M
2  22 
Continued on next page (page-9)
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 9 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net
Continued from page 8

Perform a multiplication. The following rule is applied :

a c ac
x 
b d bd
the factors in the new numerator are : W 4B+C
the factors in the new denominator are : 2 x 22
W  4 B+C  W 4 B+C W 4 B+C 
 M   M  M
2  22  2 22 2  22
Combine like factors in this term by adding up all the exponents and copying the
base. No exponent implies the value of 1.
W 4 B+C  W 4 B+C 
 M  M
2  22 2 1 2
Numerical terms in this expression have been added.
W 4 B+C  W 4 B+C 
 M evaluate power  M
2 3 8
W 4 B+C 
multiply both sides by 8  8  8M
8

W 4 B+C  8M 8M
Divide both sides by 4 B+C    W
4 B+C  4 B+C 4 B+C

8M 8M
W (equation-4a) W (equation-4b)
4 B+C 4 A+C

Step-4
Next, calculate the equivalent weight of the falling load knowing the moment:
Falling Moment = (2,650 lbs x 16 feet) = 42,400 foot pounds
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 10 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net

Example-2 (continued)

Step-5
Insert the values into equation-4a and equation-4b, subtract the smaller value (subtrahend)
from the larger value (minuend), divide the difference by 2, then subtract the resulting
quotient from the larger resultant of either equation-4a or equation-4b
.
8M 8 42, 400  8M 8 42, 400 
WW  = 6,650 W  = 10,941
4 B+C 4 11+ 7 4 A+C 4 6 + 7
10,941-6,650
10, 941   8,795 equivalent dynamic pounds WD 
2
Note: that equation-3 can only be used if the actual reactions are known ahead of time.

Step-6
Calculate the dynamic reactions:
1  1  1  1 
A   C   6   7   9.5 feet B   C   11   7   14.5 feet
2  2  2  2 
9.5
 .655 or 65.5% of the total load R1 = .655 8, 795   5, 760 pounds dynamic reaction
14.5
R2  8,795-5,760  3, 035 pounds dynamic reaction

Step-7
Calculate the total moment on the beam by using equation-1.
R1 2A W + R1 C  5,760 2 6  8,795 + 5,760 7 
MD    47, 763 foot pounds
2W 2 8, 795 

Step-8
Add the static and dynamic moment: See page-7 for the static moment.
47,763 ft/lbs dynamic + 4,392 ft/lbs static = 52,155 foot pounds x 12 =625,860 in/ lbs
625,860
required section modulus   26.1
24, 000
A W10 x 21 has a section modulus of 21.5.
 Structural Impact Loading Pg 11 of 11
Date: September 23rd, 2009
By William Greco- Warrington, Pa.
w2gre@verizon.net
625,860
required section modulus   26.1  21.05
24, 000
A36 structural steel has an elastic limit of 36,000 pounds
the beams ultimate strength is 64,000 psi. and it's yield point is 42,000 psi.
the instantaneous load exceeds the elastic limit by:
36,000 psi
21.5 (section modulus of beam)
 43, 702 psi
26.1 (required section modulus at instant of load drop)
since the beam has been subjected to a load higher than it's yield point
but below it's ultimate strength 
The beam will take on a permanent deformation but will not fail.

Conclusion:
Accidental dynamic impact loading is a subject which is not well attended to in
structural texts. Most structural engineers are well versed in static loading as well as
seismic engineering, but most dynamic situations are covered by simple coefficients
and factors which are spelled out in code books. The educational systems of Colleges
and Universities can do some empirically based practical work that deals with this
subject. Substituting higher order mathematics for experiments, and wandering off
through abstract equations, eventually builds a structure which has
no relation to reality. As I indicated at the beginning of this essay, loads do not
fall on nor are they held up by springs.

William Greco
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976

References:

United States Steel Pocket Companion 24th Edition –Copyright 1936

Page- 162 structural case-8

Manual Of Steel Construction-8th Edition

American Institute of Steel Construction- Copyright 1980