Aside from reinforced concrete, another preferred construction material by structural engineers is steel. Various factors such as consistency and capability to be handled in detail are one among the factors. No wonder why engineering science recognizes structural steel design as one of the disciplines they can share to others.
Governing Codes, Manuals, and Specifications
The governing body where steel design highly relies on is the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Using the specifications manual they provide, the inventory of all readily-available structural steel design sections are tabulated together with all engineering properties needed to effectively come up with the calculations. As a result, whether the British Standards, International Building Code, or Uniform Building Code is used, the assurance that it complies is already guaranteed.
AISC also provides a concentrated section that takes into account the variations of approach in the use of either bolt or weld connections. By theory, the bolt strength is slightly affected by the holes made in the structural steel while weld strength typically relies on the type of electrode and the quality of its placement. Compared to concrete crack failure, the manifestations of inadequacy from this are harder to solve or mitigate because it could be a sudden occurrence at some cases.
Typical Guidelines to Verify Steel Design Effectiveness
You may want to hire a structural engineer to work on these matters for you. But not because you are not taught with the technicalities of the procedure, this is not an excuse to just let them do it all without you seeing its effectiveness. As a hint, you must check whether the following are at least used or complied:
The latest codes and specifications recommend the use of Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method in calculating the loads and lightest adequate steel section. They are now integrated in any commercial design software.
Details that recommend welds to be done at the whole perimeter of a joint means that the detailed steel design procedure is not conducted at all. Though this commonly passes the standards, they would never be in an economical advantage.
Drawings that are very sensitive in symbols are marks of an accurate design methodology. They also likely indicate that certified steel detailers worked together with the structural engineer in coming up with all the small yet reliable information.
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