Load factor

Load Factor (Aerodynamical): The load factor is a measure of how much the loading ('G' Force) of an aircraft is increased during manoeuvres. It is the ratio of the lift force being generated by the wings at any given moment compared to the weight of the aircraft. Therefore, Load Factor = Lift divided by Weight.

Load Factor (Structural): The load factor is the real number by which a specified load is multiplied to determine the required design load. For example, the dead load factor as found in the National Building Code of Canada is 1.25 which would mean for a typical 200mm concrete slab (4.4 kPa actual/specified load), the design load to which the structure must perform would be 1.25x4.4kPa=5.5 kPa. Load factors are typically accompanied by resistance factors in the overall design process and vary from code to code. See also dead load, live load, resistance factor and structural design.

Load Factor (Electrical): The load factor is the average power divided by the peak power over some period of time. For example, the annual load factor of a wind turbine is the annual energy generated (in kilowatthours) divided by the product of the maximum power rating of the generator(in kilowatts)and the number of hours in a year. Load factor is normally used in describing the demand for power in an electrical system. See also demand factor.

Load Factor (Commercial aviation): Airlines use load factor to denote the ratio of paid passenger seats to the total seating capacity of a particular flight.

Load Factor (Computer science | hash tables): The load factor is the ratio of the number of records to the number of addresses/indexes within the data structure.