FRSC1030 Foundations of Forensic Science Chapter 21

Dead load

A subcategory of static loads of a building, a load that rarely change, such as the weight of the floors, walls, supports, and roof. 

Dynamic load

A load on a building that changes during a relatively brief period, which are repeatedly applied and released. They add to the static loads that a building must be able to handle, and examples include forces due to strong winds, machinery inside or nearby that shakes the floors and walls, and ground motion such as earthquakes, heavy traffic, and nearby construction work.

First law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or converted from one form to another.

Irreversible work

A change from one form of energy to another that is a one-way conversion, such as when the chemical energy in a bullet is converted to friction, heat, and kinetic energy, and cannot be converted back into chemical energy.

Kinetic energy

The energy of motion, which depends on the mass and the speed of the object, and is measured in joules (J).

Live load

A subcategory of static loads, a load that can vary due to weather, occupancy, or building use, including the temporary weight of snow and ice on the roof, the weight of people, and the weight of furniture.

Second law of thermodynamics

Heat spontaneously flows from hotter to colder objects and that the total entropy of a closed system never decreases, meaning that every spontaneous process leads to an increase in entropy in the universe.

Skidding

A loss of traction where a vehicle’s tires slide on the road surface, and an example of irreversible work.

Static load

A load applied to a structure that is constant over time, including the weight of the building and its contents, with two subcategories: dead loads and live loads.