A number of design codes require that a notional load be considered. Typically this is defined as a percentage of the gravity loads. What has been added to STAAD.Pro is an enhancement on the REPEAT LOADS command so that Primary and /or Reference load cases can be selected and a percentage of them can be applied in the appropriate global direction.

The addition of the Notional Loads command in the GUI is as an additional option on the Repeat Load option of the New Load Items, thus:

Both Principal and Reference load cases can be selected and moved into the Notional Load Definition where the required factor and direction can be specified.

The notional loads are calculated and applied as joint loads. Note that the actual values of the applied loading are not displayed in the GUI until after the analysis has been performed.