The Engineers Toolbox

THE ENGINEERS TOOLBOX
Materials
Densities
Strength and
stress limits
Stiffness
1 t/m3 = 10 kN/m3
Water
1 t/m3
Concrete
2.4 t/m3 normal weight

1.9 t/m3 light weight
Steel
7.8 t/m3
Timber
0.8 t/m3
Carbon fibre
1.5 t/m3
Aluminium
2.7 t/m3
Snow
0.1 to 0.3 t/m3
Sand/gravel
About 1.8 t/m3 moist
Rock
About 2.8 t/m3
Concrete (ult)
Work at about 30% fcu

Slabs/beams use fccu = 40 N/mm2
Columns use fcu = 40 to 60 N/mm2
Shear stress:
v = say 2.0 N/mm2 for beams
v = say 0.7 N/mm2 for slabs and walls
Structural steel Grade 50

(working)
Compressive stress: about

150 N/mm2 unless slenderness governs
Shear: about 100 N/mm2
Tension: about 225 N/mm2
Steel cables (working)
Use 500 N/mm2 for concept design
Aluminium (working)
Use 80 N/mm2
Timber (working)
8 to 10 N/mm2 compression or
tension (along the grain)
Glulam timber (working)
About 12 N/mm2
Carbon fibre (working)
Use about 200 N/mm2 (but brittle!!)
Masonry (working)
215 brick wall: about 200 kN/m run
Bolts for steelwork (working)
Grade 8.8 16 mm bolt will carry

about 4 tonnes (working) in single
shear
Welds for steelwork (working)
6 mm fillet weld will carry

0.48 kN per mm
Bolts for timber (working)
12 mm diameter in 50 mm timber
about 1 kN (100kg)
Concrete
28 kN/mm2 (short term)

14 kN/mm2 (long term)
Steel
205 kN/mm2
Timber
6 kN/mm2
Aluminium
70 kN/mm2
Carbon fibre
120 kN/mm2
Sands and gravels
25 mm settlement at normal bearing

capacity
Double the depth
At least quadruple the stiffness

Loads
Loads
(characteristic)
Average building
1 t/m2 of floor area (10kN/m2)
Imposed loads
Residential: 1.5 to 2.5 kN/m2

Offices: 2.5 to 4.0 kN/m2
Partitions: 1.0 (light) to
2.5 (heavy) kN/m2
Plant rooms: 7.5 kN/m2
Car parking: 2.5 kN/m2
Factories/warehouses:
10.0 to 30.0 kN/m2
Stadia: 4.0 kN/m2
Museums: 4.0 to 10.0 kN/m2
Wind (UK)
1.0 kN/m2, 100 kg/m2

(smooth building, low drag)
1.8 kN/m2, 180 kg/m2 (rough)
Ultimate Load
factors
Fire resistance
Wind (typhoon)
4.0 kN/m2, 400 kg/m2 (medium)
Earthquake
Up to 25% g horizontally
Rough first shot for everything
1.5 x working loads
Dead load
1.4
Live (imposed) load
1.6
Wind
0.9 or 1.4
Residential 2 storey
30 minutes
Roofs
None
Office more than 30m
2 hours sprinklered
Basements
2 or 4 hours
Rough sizing
Simply supported beams
Steel and concrete
limiting proportions
Timber
About 18:1
Continuous beams
About 22:1
Cantilevers
About 7:1
Trusses
About 30% deeper than beams
Arches
About 6:1
Cables
About 9:1
Heavily loaded columns
About 12:1
Lightly loaded columns
About 40:1
Joists
About 15:1
Trusses
About 8:1

Typical spans
Typical grids
Standard
reinforcement sizes
Typical storey
heights
Timber floorboards
400 mm
Concrete composite beam deck
3 m between secondary steel beams
Timber joists
Up to 5 m
Rolled steel beams
Up to 18 m
Steel trusses
Up to 90 m
Steel arches
Up to 300 m
Cable stayed roofs
Up to 300 m
Concrete flat slabs
Up to 12 m
Concrete beams
Up to 18 m
Offices
6 m by 6 m up to 18 m by 12 m
Shops
5.5 m to 11 m (to suit units)
Carparks
Stalls: 4.8 m by 2.4 m

Aisles 6.0 m wide
Factories/warehouse roofs
24 m by 24 m
Airports/station roofs
36 m to 150 m by 24 m to 36 m
Stadium roofs
48 m cantilevers
6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25, 32, 40 mm
diameter
Residential
3m
Offices
4 m (2.7 m clear)
Carparks
3 m (2.4 m clear)
Factories/warehouse roofs
8 m to 16 m clear
Airports/station roofs
About 18 m high
Stadium roofs
Mustnt obstruct sightlines
Newton
F = ma
Simply supported beam at

midspan
wl2/8 (udl)
Pl/4
Cantilever at root
wl2/2 (udl)
Concrete beams
Design so that Mu applied is about

40% of its ultimate capacity
Mr = 0.15.fcu.b.d2
Stiffness
2nd moment of area for a

rectangle b wide and d deep
I = b.d3/12
Stresses
Compression or tension
Stress = P/A (also pressure)
Bending
Stress = M.y/I = M/z
Shear
Stress = V/b.d
(b = web thickness,
d = effective depth)
For short columns with minimum

dimension = clear height/15:
Area (mm2) = Load in newtons/18
For slender columns:
Area (mm2) = Load in newtons/12
= bd2/6 (rectangular)
Useful Analysis
Force
Bending moments
Concrete
column sizing
Elastic modulus

Dynamics
Earthquake
Normally in the range

0.5 to 2 seconds
Floor vibration
Typically, Frequency f = 18/deflection

If less than 5 Hz, watch out!
Buildings
0.1 second per storey height
Beams and trusses

Deflection limits
under working loads
1/360th of span under live load,

1/250th under dead load
Cantilevers
1/180th under live load
Stability systems under wind

load
1/500th of height (whole building)

1/400th (worst storey)
Between foundations
About 1/300th total
Rock
2000 + kN/m2
Dense sand/gravel
200 to 500 kN/m2

(10 x SPT N blows)
Loose sand/gravel
50 to 100 kN/m2
Clays
25 (soft) to 400 kN/m2 (very stiff)
Minimum spacing
3 diameters
Piles in London Clay
(0.45 cu av x shaft perimeter)/3

+
(9 cu base x base area)/3
Long term angle of repose
Phi , for sands and gravels

use 25 to 30
Short term safe(ish) stability

Sands and gravels
Clays
Rock
1 vertical to 3 horizontal
1:1
Vertical but watch out for bedding
planes
Hydrostatic pressure
= wgh
Active pressure coefficient
ka = 1 - sin
1+ sin
Passive pressure coefficient
Kp = 1 + sin
1 - sin
At rest pressure coefficient
About 1.0
Soil pressure
(active, passive, at rest)
= k. sgh
Prevailing wind in UK
From South West
Winter storms
From North East
Sun path
Over head at midday in summer,

low 20
Rises in the east, sets in the west
Thermal mass
As night time store
Need about 75 mm of concrete
Foundations and
retaining walls
Bearing capacity
Piles
Slope stability
Pressures on
retaining walls
Environmental and
Environmental
Climatic
Factors
and
Climatic
Wind direction

Water
engineering
- Continuity
Six most useful
equations in
practical hydraulics
according to Ed
Watery rules of
thumb
Q = vA
- Archimedes
Immersed body experiences an up

thrust equal to the water displaced
- Bernoulli
E = v2/2g + y + (p/g)
- Mannings
v = 1/n (Rh) s
- weir flow
q = CdH1.5
- critical depth
yc = (q2/g)
Flow velocities in UK rivers
are typically between 0.5 and 3 m/s
Nine out of 10 errors in flood

estimation
are a result of not measuring the

catchment area correctly
Flows in pressurised pipe

systems
normally have velocities

between 0.5 and 1.5 m/s
Pressures in normal distribution

systems
are typically between 1 and 6 bar

(10-60 m).
Gravity drainage systems
typically have velocities

between 0.7 and 1.5 m/s
Typical slopes in gravity drains
are 1:100 1:300
Typical slopes on lowland UK

rivers
are between 1:1000 and 1:300.
Pressure
Power generation
1t / m2 / m height
Qgh (watts)
Costs
Approx costs
Residential buildings
1500/m2 50 storey
1000/m2 3 storey
Offices
1800/m2 50 storey
1100/m2 3 storey
Factories
400/m2 single storey
Structural steel
1000 per tonne (simple frames)
Reinforced concrete
150/m3 (simple)
250/m3 (complex)
Timber
1000/m3
Structural earth fill
15 to 20/m3
12/m3 to dig and re-use clean fill
from site
40/m3 to dig and dump clean fill
from site
50 to 100/m3 to remove
contaminated material from site
Facades
150/m2 (brick) to 1000/m2 curtain

wall triple glazed

Bored piles
600 mm diameter, 20 per metre

plus 5000 mobilisation
Sheet piles
80/m2 for 150kg/m2 piles plus

5000 mobilisation
Diaphragm walls
250/m2 for 900 thick

plus 30,000 mobilisation
Reinforcement
estimates
Pile caps
150 kg/m3
(amount of reinforcement
per cubic metre of concrete)
Rafts
80 kg/m3
Beams
250 kg/m3
Slabs
200 kg/m3
Columns
300 kg/m3
Walls
100 kg/m3
Other things
to ponder
When you are looking at options spend 90% of your effort on your
favourite scheme and 10% on the rest
If it looks right, it probably is. If it looks wrong lose it!
Form follows function
God is in the details
The Devil is in the detail
Nine out of 10 errors in flood estimation are a result of not measuring
the catchment area correctly
The best design is 10% inspiration 90% perspiration
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts (the worst third year
projects are produced by groups acting as individuals)
Work expands to fill the time available
The law of diminishing returns (dont gild the Lily)
KISS keep it simple stupid
If someone doesnt do what you asked them to, ask yourself whether
you explained yourself clearly.

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What are some typical material properties listed in the document?

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What are some typical structural element spans provided?

What are some typical structural element spans provided?

THE ENGINEERS TOOLBOX

2.4 t/m3 normal weight

0.1 to 0.3 t/m3

About 1.8 t/m3 moist

About 2.8 t/m3

Work at about 30% fcu

Structural steel Grade 50

Compressive stress: about

Steel cables (working)

Use 500 N/mm2 for concept design

Glulam timber (working)

Carbon fibre (working)

Use about 200 N/mm2 (but brittle!!)

215 brick wall: about 200 kN/m run

Bolts for steelwork (working)

Grade 8.8 16 mm bolt will carry

Welds for steelwork (working)

6 mm fillet weld will carry

Bolts for timber (working)

28 kN/mm2 (short term)

Sands and gravels

25 mm settlement at normal bearing

Double the depth

At least quadruple the stiffness