STEEL DESIGN AID

Objective:

A steel design aid was developed according to AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-22) to support practicing structural engineers in the analysis and design of structural steel shapes with varied section properties.

Download Links:

Below are download links for the AISC 360-22 beam-column design aid. There are two versions: (1) The Excel design aid is the original and most comprehensive tool. (2) The Mathcad Prime design aid is similar to the Excel version but with less functionality. The Mathcad Prime version was used to verify the accuracy of the Excel version.

The project report completed for the civil engineering M.S. requirements is also available for download from the third link. The report provides an introduction, literature review, overview of the design aid development and accuracy verification, a case study of an industrial floor repair project, conclusions, and appendices.

Summary:

Developed in Excel, this comprehensive steel design aid allows structural engineers to quickly and efficiently analyze and design multiple beam-columns with original, reduced (corroded), and reinforced (built-up) section properties according to the American Institute of Steel Construction Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-22). Both the LRFD and ASD methods of design can be selected. Available member strength results are calculated for major and minor axis shear, major and minor axis bending, compressive, and tensile strength.

The design aid is limited to I-shaped and C-shaped sections. It can evaluate modern and historic (discontinued) steel shapes using AISC Shapes Databases v16.0 & v16.0H (retrieved from aisc.org). It considers members with compact, noncompact, and slender elements. Other features include the consideration of partial-length reinforcement, pre-load, reinforcement attachment design, the automatic calculation of section properties for certain reinforcement types, and more. 

The design aid has no affiliation with AISC or any other organization. The tool was developed by a professional engineer over the span of two years as part of a civil engineering M.S. graduate project. Its accuracy and reliability were verified by developing a similar design aid in Mathcad to check for errors, and by using RisaSection and Risa-3D to compare analytical results for twelve unique cross-sections, each with three different unbraced length values. While significant attempts were made to ensure accuracy, no claims are made of the tool being completely error-free. The design aid is provided as-is and free of cost. By downloading the design aid, the user accepts all risk and responsibility associated with its use. The design aid was last updated on 11/27/2024.

Images:

cONTACT:

If you find an error or have a question related to the design aid, please email:

steel.design.aid@gmail.com