Continue to Site

Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

Register Log in
  • Congratulations IDS on being selected by the Eng-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Units of measurement in USA 4

Status
Not open for further replies.
Peter Ivanov

Peter Ivanov

Structural
Nov 16, 2021
3
Hi,

What are the most common units or measurements, for structural desgin in USA?
e.g. for CS dimensions, lengths, forces, bending moments, torsion, pressure, displacements, etc.
 
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

Sort by date Sort by votes
feet and inches, lbs or kips, ft-lbs or k-ft(same for torsion), psi or ksi, inches. etc. It's the full imperial system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
OK, I see. Thank you very much for your kind help.

I am currently developing a open source software for engineering calculations and I just wanted to get the answer in some default units.
Of course, you can change them if you want, but it would be more convenient if they are commonly used.

Units_izgziw.png


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Be aware that some are "customary" as in a 2 X 4 isn't 2 inches by 4 inches. It's how we keep everyone on their toes.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Stresses in structural members will be psi or ksi, applied live/dead/wind loads are typically psf.
Mass typically is lbm. And some equations may require a gc factor in there, as F=ma/gc.
Displacements typically inches.
Angles are normally degrees in dimensioned drawings, quite often radians in calculations/ angular displacements/deflections.
Roof slopes are often inches/foot.
Densities most commonly are pcf.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Dear Peter Ivanov ,

You have used the terms Metric and Non-metric at the snip you have posted..


The term SI-Units used for Metric units ( mm, m, N, kPa, Mpa, sec...)

The term USC - Units (United States Customary Units ) used for the units ( ft, in, lb, kip, sec..)

The term Imperial Units used for the units ( ft, in, lb, kip, sec..) in England.. However, there are some differences ..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
HTURKAK said:
The term Imperial Units used for the units ( ft, in, lb, kip, sec..) in England.. However, there are some differences ..
Click to expand...

I started at university in England in 1969, and started my first engineering job in 1972. All new design in England (and the rest of the UK) has used metric units since then.

I agree with using the term SI rather than metric because many European countries used to use combinations of metric units that are not part of the SI System, but now with the use of Eurocodes all specified units are SI.

Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services
 
Upvote 0 Downvote

You have provided a clue to estimate how old you are..

The OP used the term Non-metric for ( Foot, pound, second ) that system of units called USC - Units (United States Customary Units ) for the US and outside of the USA ,as far as i remember , called IMPERIAL units ( correct me if i am wrong..)

I remember Fps; widely used in the United States but almost nowhere else since about 1970.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
HTURKAK,

Thank you, I know that.
This notes are just comments I put for myaself trying to check what this programming language does by default. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
HTURKAK said:
The OP used the term Non-metric for ( Foot, pound, second ) that system of units called USC - Units (United States Customary Units ) for the US and outside of the USA ,as far as i remember , called IMPERIAL units ( correct me if i am wrong..)
Click to expand...

I'm in the US and I call them imperial units - rarely (if ever) do I see them referred to United States Customary Units
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
While Imperial and US Customary are often interchangeable for dimensional units, they have differences in other measurements that might be used, particularly related to volume of fluids and dry goods. Of particular note is that the US Survey foot is not equal to the International foot.

Link

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
US Customary Units sounds vaguely familiar, but I suspect it's a lot like the question "What do they call Chinese food in China? Food!" I just call them units...

But in terms of structural software, the option is typically binary with "Metric" and "Imperial" as the two choices...I always choose Imperial and I recognize everything it throws at me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Fortunately, by the end of this year, the US Survey Foot will become a deprecated unit
Click to expand...

If it does, that'll be uniquely different than every other deadline the US has missed regarding conversion to metric

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hope it may help you..refer to the below snaps for imperial units. Please let me know if anything is wrong.
1_jfrgde.jpg
3_iand8g.jpg
2_mafmfm.jpg


Thanks in advance!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

canadiancastor
  • Locked
  • Question
Anyone using external FRP reinforcement for concrete retrofit in the USA or Canada?
Replies
2
Views
131
lexpatrie
lexpatrie
jacktbg
  • Question
ACI 360R-10 - Calculating Beta and Fy Units Error/Confusion
Replies
3
Views
171
lexpatrie
lexpatrie
Dan_summit
  • Locked
  • Question
Maintenance platforms gaps between mechanical units
Replies
0
Views
80
Dan_summit
Dan_summit
Dito05
  • Locked
  • Question
Structure Health Monitoring System (SHM) - USA
Replies
2
Views
91
LittleWheels
LittleWheels
VVang
  • Locked
  • Question
Load Calclulations - Units 2
Replies
12
Views
184
human909
human909

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top Bottom