Design Tools in the Steel Industry

In order to quickly run through often repeated calculations, engineers in design offices across the country routinely create electronic tools. Spreadsheets offer an efficient and extremely flexible environment for the creation of tools ranging from simple column load tables to design calculation sheets for composite steel beams. These tools supplement the range of commercially available design software for structural engineers. While the current programs are highly advanced, there are often gaps in there calculations for atypical conditions. The engineer-created tools can fill in these gaps and also help in the feasibility and estimating stages of a project. This paper discusses several design tools currently available to the engineer for economic steel design. The tools, which are Visual Basic-enhanced Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, are an alternative to back-of-envelope calculations and are designed to help engineers save time, especially in the early design stages of a project. Some sample design situations discussed include: (1) Minimizing the cost of the steel floor framing based on fabrication cost data; (2) Eliminating the need for column stiffeners by using a heavier column; (3) Comparing the total frame costs of various framing schemes to identify the most economical option; and (4) Designing non-composite beams. It should be noted that each of the tools discussed in this paper can be obtained at no cost from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), www.aisc.org/steeltools.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0784407533
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  International Headquarters, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400

  Structural Engineering Institute

  American Society of Civil Engineers
  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Ericksen, Jason
• Conference:
  • Metropolis and Beyond
  • Location: New York NY, United States
  • Date: 2005-4-20 to 2005-4-24
• Publication Date: 2005

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Illustrations; References;
• Pagination: 6p
• Monograph Title: Metropolis and Beyond: Proceedings of the 2005 Structures Congress and the 2005 Forensic Engineering Symposium, April 20-24, 2005, New York, NY

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Beams; Columns; Composite structures; Computer programs; Costs; Engineers; Fabrication; Floors; Frames; Iron and steel industry; Loads; Software; Spreadsheets; Steel; Stiffener plates; Structural design
• Uncontrolled Terms: Design tools
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Finance; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01029264
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0784407533
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 21 2006 2:33PM