JAE
Structural
- Jun 27, 2000
- 15,460
I have an international exchange student working with us this summer who is a graduate engineer from Venezuela.We were discussing the applications of the English vs. Metric units in the U.S. and she indicated that all calculations and references for force units in Venezuela were based on kg (kg/m^2, kg/m, etc.) and they never use Newtons or Pascals.
All of the current GSA, DOT, and Corps of Engineers data we have indicate that Newtons and Pascals (for stress) are the proper usage.Is there some rationale for using kg in calcs? Note that AISC metric shapes are indicated in kg/m units.
The only concept we came up with is that you should stay in either kg or N consistently based on whether or not your specification or code provides limits on stresses in k/m^2 or in Pascals.
All of the current GSA, DOT, and Corps of Engineers data we have indicate that Newtons and Pascals (for stress) are the proper usage.Is there some rationale for using kg in calcs? Note that AISC metric shapes are indicated in kg/m units.
The only concept we came up with is that you should stay in either kg or N consistently based on whether or not your specification or code provides limits on stresses in k/m^2 or in Pascals.