Structural failure occurs when a structure breaks in such a way that it can no longer carry as much load as it could before the failure. The moment beyond which a structure cannot bear any load is referred to as ultimate structural failure, or simply ultimate failure. Ultimate failure is one of the limit states that must be accounted for in civil engineering. Load Factors or Stress Factors are used to limit the permissible load on the structure or the allowable stress in the material of the structure resisting the applied loads respectively.
