Structural Steel Detailing - Its Standards and Its Software Tools

Structural steel detailing is the design and drafting of the connections between the steel beams and columns in the massive steel frameworks that form the skeleton of most multi-story buildings in the western hemisphere.

The design of these connections is naturally very critical, since the decoupling of any beams from columns could result in collapse of the steel framework as well as the building, and the consequent deaths of thousands of people.

For that reason there are very exacting standards which are followed for structural steel detailing. These standards are different for every country, and are compiled by recognized industry associations of the concerned country.

Examples of such associations are:

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
Canadian Institute of " " (CISC)
SBI Swedish Institute of " "
EUROFER, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries
African Iron & Steel Association
Arab Iron & Steel Union [AISU]
World Steel Association (formerly IISI)
Brazilian Steel Institute (IBS)
British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA)
Iron & Steel Institute of Japan
Korean Iron & Steel Association
Malaysian Structural Steel Association (MSSA)
Norwegian Steel Association
Steel Construction Institute (SCI- UK)
Taiwan Steel and Iron Industry Association (TSIIA)
Japanese Society of Steel Construction
The Steel Construction Institute
The Southern African Institute of Steel Construction
China Steel Construction Society

Structural steel detailing starts after the design of the structural framework has been completed. Using the properties of the steel material in question, the steel detailer calculates the forces acting on the connection he is designing. He then consults design tables to arrive at the specific design details of the connection.

These design details would include the material and dimension of the brackets, nuts and bolts. He expresses these in the form of an erection drawing, which is a drawing that people working on the site follow to assemble the actual connections.

Structural steel detailing typically involves the use of one or more very specialized software programs, such as STAAD, RISA, SAP2000, RAM, PCA, SAFE, SDS/2, Tekla and ETABS. Some of these programs are so sophisticated that one has only to input the steel structure design along with some specific parameters such as material, edge distance and cope criteria, and the program designs the connection automatically with a few clicks.

The erection drawings are usually created with wide-used CAD platforms such as AutoCAD or MicroStation.

Structural steel detailing is clearly an evolved discipline with stringent standards and sophisticated tools at its disposal.

Lucky Balaraman is a Director of TMG, a reputed India-based company that specializes in structural steel detailing. Learn more about this particular engineering discipline at http://themagnumgroup.net/structural-steel-detailing.htm

Structural Steel Detailing - What it Is

Simply put, structural steel detailing involves the creation of detailed drawings for steel fabricators and erectors, including estimates, plans, drawings, reports and other essential documents for the manufacture and erection of steel members. It includes a variety of steel members like steel beams, trusses, columns, braces, joists, metal decking, handrails and even stairs. The list goes on.

As it is, structural steel detailing is very important in a wide range of manufacturing and construction businesses like naval and marine, shipbuilding, plants, building construction and other similar structures. Anything that is big enough to require structural steel will also require detailing work. Further, it combines the inputs of different professionals like engineers, contractors, and fabricators. Because detailers are not the ones responsible for the integrity or design of steel members, structural engineers as well as architects would have to review any detailing work before it is release.

Structural steel detailing usually belongs under two types of drawings: shop drawings and erection drawings. Erection drawings help show its users the correct way and site of placing fabricated steel members. These often include detailed information and specifications on all processes involved like bolting, welding or putting in wedge anchors.

Shop drawings, on the other hand, are utilized to pinpoint the requirements for fabricating each steel member and are primarily used by steel fabricators to make these members. Detailing work shows specifications, required materials, dimensions, sizes and other relevant information.

Structural steel detailing needs to be accurate and correct. It has to comply with protocols and standards made by various institutions like the American Institute of Steel Construction. More often than not, it is created with computers, using computer aided design or drafting applications like AutoCAD. Nowadays, you can also use 3D modeling on these drawings.

Structural steel detailing is one very complex but very important process. A detailer should have all the skills necessary to create the drawings, from logic, to drafting, to geometry, to reasoning, to visualization, as well as great communication skills to pull it off on time and with great accuracy. You would also need general engineering knowledge as well as working knowledge on steel fabrication. In the United States, most detailers are self taught, or have only a general certification program that touches on CAD operation. There are also only a handful of colleges that offer degree programs in the discipline of structural steel detailing. Because of these, it is very difficult to maintain a productive and inexpensive staff that can handle detailing work around the clock. There are, however, a lot of companies that offer expert structural steel detailing work that are both inexpensive and reliable.

Eli Loper is the CEO of TrafficSupport Inc. Traffic Support is a business process outsourcing provider with offices located in both the United States and the Philippines. For more information about TrafficSupport, please visit http://trafficsupport.net.

This article may be used on other relevant websites as long as a reference to the author and a link to Traffic Support is included.

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Steel Structure Drawings, Structural CAD Drawings of Buildings

Imagine your building being built using latest steel structure drawings in the business today... Visualize your residential house as per modern structural CAD drawings!! Ultimately you will find your building structure that matches International quality building structures with maximum effectiveness.

One of the straight forward reasons behind this is - "Use of steel structure drawings and structural CAD drawings in developing your residential or commercial building structure". People still use old traditional methods and terminologies to construct their house - buildings. But this will prevent you from the advantages of modern technologies that use steel structure drawings for building construction.

Before starting, concept of these steel structure drawings and other structural CAD drawings should be very clear. They can be defined as pictorial representation or diagrams of any type of building structure and they are prepared by civil/structural engineers as per guidelines of Building Engineering Mechanics. These drawings convey important information regarding building designs and working of building structure accordingly. It is a decisive factor in the process and thus it is preferred to get it completed by expert structural engineers.

Steel structural CAD drawings are prepared by using modern technologies and software. CAD - Computer Aided Design is mostly used in the process due to its flexibility. These structural CAD drawings are well used in following sectors of building construction:

• Residential house or Industrial / Commercial / Institutional Building's foundation plan drawings
• Structural drawings of Shallow, Raft and Pile foundations
• Structural shape drawings with RCC joint and Slab details
• RCC and Steel plan and Machine foundation details
• Chimney Foundations Drawings With Base Plate, Shoe Plate, And Foundation Bolt Details
• Water Retaining Structure Drawings With Necessary Reinforcement Detailing That Satisfy Code Requirements

So now choosing the right alternative for your residential house or industrial building is as easy as anything - just use steel structure drawings, structural CAD drawings and find the difference!!

For more information about steel structural drawings, please visit http://www.structuralcaddservices.com/structural-drawings.php

Mike Thomas
URL: http://www.structuralcaddservices.com
Email: info@structuralcaddservices.com

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