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Unintentional Corrosion by Structural Design

“Put away your swords. They will get rusty in the dew.”

– Othello, Act 1, Scene 2, by William Shakespeare, circa 1603

Corrosion has been a problem since the beginning of the Iron Age, circa 1200 BC. Before the Industrial Revolution, corrosion was recognized and respected in hand-produced objects, such as weapons. After the advent of machinery that was used to fabricate metal alloys for structural framing members and components exposed to the elements, corrosion found new targets. The metal alloys include but are not limited to wrought iron, cast iron, hot-rolled steel, and stainless steel. …

Feb, 2015 By Julie Mark Cohen, Ph.D., P.E., SECB In Articles, Lessons Learned

Built-Up Cold-Formed Steel Compression Member Design

Built-up cold-formed steel compression members are commonly used as shear wall chord members, and at openings of doors and windows (stud packs) to resist the additional load transferred from an opening header. The provisions in North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members, AISI S100 Section D1.2 are limited to concentrically loaded compression members composed of two shapes joined together at discrete points along the axis of the member. Thus, the AISI S100 provisions are limited to either an I-shaped cross section or a box-shaped cross section. …

Feb, 2015 By Roger LaBoube, Ph.D, P.E. In Articles, Engineer's Notebook

Changes to the 2015 Wood Frame Construction Manual

The 2015 Edition of the Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (ANSI/AWC WFCM-2015) was approved on October 10, 2014 as an ANSI American National Standard (Figure 1). The 2015 WFCM was developed by the American Wood Council’s (AWC) Wood Design Standards Committee and is referenced in the 2015 International Residential Code (IRC) and 2015 International Building Code (IBC). …

Feb, 2015 By John “Buddy” Showalter, P.E., Peter J. Mazikins, P.Eng and Michelle Kam-Biron, P.E., S.E. In Articles, Code Updates

Why It’s Good to be a Lightweight

Compression and Form Finding

Traditional structures are linear, stiff, restricted, heavy, and inefficient; lightweight structures, on the other hand – whether in fabric, cable, timber, concrete or stone – are nonlinear, long-spanning, flexible, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly. This series shows how, when form follows force as well as function, the result is a structure that soars. …

Feb, 2015 By Peter Debney, BEng(Hons), CEng, MIStructE In Articles, Structural Design

The NISD Difference

Designers, fabricators and other industry partners tend to believe that the shop detail drawings are all created the same. What is often not understood is that the manner by which the steel detailers conduct their work, and how their information is presented on the shop detail and erection drawings, are what create the difference between shop detail drawings which are easy to use and encourage correct fabrication as opposed to those which do neither. …

Feb, 2015 By Kerri Olsen In Articles, Guest Column

100 Years of Structural Engineering Licensure

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Growing up with a father who was a structural engineer, I learned at an early age about the impressive buildings in Los Angeles that he was responsible for engineering, but never put much thought into his professional title, “S.E.” Following in his footsteps, I quickly learned the academic requirements, and soon after completed the examination and experience that it took to put “S.E.” after my own name. …

Feb, 2015 By Gregg E. Brandow, Ph.D., P.E., S.E. In Articles, Structural Licensure

Inside the Bridge Inspection Toolbox

Ground Penetrating Radar Yields Benefits

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), approximately 25 percent of the nation’s bridges remain structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The 2013 edition of ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure warns that more than two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s largest metropolitan regions. …

Feb, 2015 By Roger Roberts, Ph.D. In Articles, Structural Testing

Rainbows Only Come After Rain

The Importance of a Young Members Group

Forming a Young Members Group (YMG) has altered my professional vision and influenced the lives of many others. In 2010, shortly after attaining my master’s degree, I joined the Structural Engineers Association of Massachusetts (SEAMASS) and have been actively involved ever since. However, I soon noticed that there were hardly any young registered members or event attendees. …

Feb, 2015 By Ellen (Chuan-Hua) Kuo, P.E., LEED AP BD+C In Articles, Professional Issues

Divine Design: Renovating and Preserving Historic Houses of Worship

Part 3: Roof Structures

This series of articles discusses some of the commonly encountered structural issues during the renovation and restoration of historic buildings of this type, and provides guidance on ways to address them. Parts one and two of this series focused on foundation and wall systems, respectively. This part focuses on roof structures. …

Feb, 2015 By Nathaniel B. Smith, P.E. and Milan Vatovec, Ph.D., P.E. In Articles, Structural Rehabilitation

Bollman Truss at Harper’s Ferry

The Bollman Truss was the first widely adopted cast and wrought iron railroad bridge in the United States. It was designed and patented by Wendel Bollman (STRUCTURE, February 2006) on January 6, 1852 after he built several on the B&O Railroad. Richard Osborne built an earlier iron bridge in 1845 on the Reading Railroad at Manayunk, a portion of which is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. It consisted of three cast iron trusses with wrought iron verticals. …

Feb, 2015 By Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P.E., P.L.S. In Articles, Historic Structures

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