MasterSeries Blog

As Structural Engineers, we ensure our structures are fit for purpose and ready to meet all challenges, including seasonal.

This Christmas, let’s pause to reflect on a vital yet often overlooked design scenario: ensuring the safe access of Santa Claus, his sleigh, and his team of reindeer to rooftops worldwide. After all, without structurally sound roofs, Santa’s mission to deliver joy would quite literally collapse!

Structural Engineer's Code of Conduct Clause 12.25: The "Santa" Clause

Structural Engineers operate under a duty of care, as outlined in the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) Code of Conduct, to ensure the safety of structures and their occupants. This responsibility extends even to festive scenarios, ensuring the safety of Santa, his reindeer, and the building's occupants.

Clause 12.25 aka The "Santa Clause", underscores our commitment to robust and secure design solutions. The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) publication titled 'Seasonal Loads' provides valuable guidance on this festive challenge, covering load scenarios, combinations, and factors to safely account for Santa and his entourage in roof designs. The loading scenario breaks down as follows:

• Santa Claus: Approximate concentrated load of 1.5kN, considering his love for Guinness and mince pies.
• Sleigh: A uniformly distributed load (UDL) of 200000 kN/m over 2 no. 4m lengths to allow for the self-weight of the sleigh and for the presents for all the little kiddies the world over.
• Reindeer Team: Typically modelled as line loads due to their linear formation when stationary, with a load of approximately 1.2 kN/m2.

Technical Guidance: Seasonal Roof Loads and Combinations

The Seasonal Loads guidance also provides reduced load factors when these loads combine with snow loading. Reduced factors are used in such combinations to account for the reduced probability of simultaneous peak loads occurring. For example:

• Load combinations with snow typically have a reduced factor of 0.7 applied to Santa’s entourage.
• Wind uplift may also be a concern if Rudolf’s take-off is particularly exuberant.

Implementing Seasonal Loads in MasterSeries

MasterSeries offers a comprehensive suite of tools to tackle even the quirkiest design challenges. MasterSeries excels at handling even whimsical challenges like Santa’s rooftop landings. Here’s how our software can help you account for seasonal loads this Christmas:

1. Gravity Area Loading in MasterFrame:
   • Use Point loads for concentrated loads such as Santa and his big belly 
   • Rather than multiple point loads you can model the Reindeer Team as a Patch Load directly within the gravity area loading interface. 
   • Use Line Loads for the Sleigh Tracks 
2. Load Group Customisation:
   • Amend load groups to include "Seasonal Loads" for easy organisation and combination.
3. Load Combinations:
   • Create load combinations, factoring in guidance from Seasonal Loads, with adjusted load factors for snow and wind.
4. Material-Specific Design:
   • Use the Steel Design Module to ensure roof beams can handle Santa’s entourage.
   • Check connection adequacy with the Steel Connections Design Module.
   • Use the Timber Design Module for timber-framed roofs.
   • Evaluate local capacity checks for masonry wall panels supporting roof beams using the Masonry Design Module.

Coming Next: Dynamic Analysis of Santa's Helpers

In a future blog post, we’ll explore how to use the Dynamic Analysis Module in MasterSeries to assess the impact of reindeer hoofs on a roof. This will include a step-by-step guide aligned with the IStructE Technical Guidance Note - Hoofprints in the Snow: Dynamic Analysis Assessment for Reindeer Rooftop Landings, ensuring that your roof designs are ready for Santa’s team to land safely and gracefully. Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas from MasterSeries

From all of us at MasterSeries, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a structurally sound holiday season!