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Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version
2

Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
Looking for recommended textbooks for learning Steel Design. Need it to comply with AISC version 14. Would prefer that a digital version is available.

Thanks for your help.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I'm guessing the Salmon book "Steel Structures" is digital. It's fantastic.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
Thanks. Any confirmation that the fifth edition refers to AISC 13 Steel Design Manual. Hoping also to get it for the 14th, but having a difficult time finding it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I think it only refers to the 13th manual at this point. Not a ton changes with steel but I understand your want of the most current book. Unfortunately, I don't know of another good one. I'm sure there are some though. Try amazon and search for steel structures and read reviews. I've always found amazon to be extremely helpful.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I really like the simplicity of Segui for learning steel design. It is easy to read and especially easy to follow examples (I used the 4th edition for school). Salmon is by far the best for in-depth learning.

Segui Steel Design

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Segui is pretty straight forward. Excellent for an undergrad course. My main complaint is that it is kind of basic. A practicing engineer would need other references for more advanced topics.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

This might be your best bet, in my opinion. It's not a textbook but it's digital, free, complies with version 14, contains almost nothing but practice examples and it's put out by AISC, who, as I understand it, know a thing or two about steel. big smile

http://www.aisc.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=3...

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

If you're studying for licensing exam, Sequi.

If want to become a black belt ninja of the underlying theory, Salmon.

Want to know the practical stuff that separates new grads from seasoned vets? Try these:

AISC Design Guide Series: Link (#23 especially).
Designing with Steel Joists and Joist Girders: Link.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Good point KootK! I always forget about Joists and Joist Girders. But, those references cover really important stuff that's not particularly complicate but which you can't find elsewhere.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
Thanks, fellows. Well past the license stage. Just very little experience with steel. Spend most of my time on wood framed residence...but steel shows up all the time. I wiggle my way through, but never feel comfortable with my knowledgbase or reading the steel design manual.

Thanks for the design example link and the other helpful considerations. I've heard that Salmon was good, but didn't think they had a current version for the version 14.

I'll have to call prentice hall and see if there are any plans to update.

Thanks, all. Keep it coming if you have any other thoughts!

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I realize that one wants what they want and you've clearly stated that you want something up to date with the 14th ed AISC. I should probably just respect that but I just can't resist going off reservaton. I think that you're making too much of the 14 ed business. In my opinion, the two best books on structural steel are linked below. They're both wildly out of date and you could have the pair for $50. All you need to stay up to date with the 14E manual is the 14E manual. And, when it comes to getting into the meat of actual design, there's no substitute for reading the manual.

Beedle: Link
Blodgett: Link

The Blodgett book is so insanely useful, and simultaneously dirt cheap, that I frankly question the professional commitment of any structural engineer not in possession of a copy.


I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
KootK...I think your point is valid. I like being able to lean on the text to get familiar with the code. I'm sure once I get familiar enought with the steel design, I wouldn't care about leaning so much. Jumping into steel design manual wihtout much experience is daunting, and I don't know that exceptions or changes to consider from on version to another.

Another little piece here is that I'm attempting to keep digital, so I can refer to the manuals wherever I do my work, which is multiple locations.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Yeah, convenience has me gradually migrating to digital references as well. Kindle's been a boon to me that way. I don't actually have one but I have the app on my iPad and all of my 'puters which is nice.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

"The Blodgett book is so insanely useful, and simultaneously dirt cheap, that I frankly question the professional commitment of any structural engineer not in possession of a copy."

Ha! Glad I'm not the only one. Whenever I'm touring structural engineering offices, I keep an eye out to see if there's a copy in the company library.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Buy the Blodgett reference straight from the J Lincoln foundation. It's quite a bit cheaper.

http://www.jflfoundation.com/default.asp

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (KootK)

The Blodgett book is so insanely useful, and simultaneously dirt cheap, that I frankly question the professional commitment of any structural engineer not in possession of a copy.

I like that! In fact, the blue book (Design of Welded Structures) and the brown book (Design of Weldments) are absolute necessities for any structural engineer's library....along with a bunch of others!

My older copy of the brown book was getting pretty worn, so I found a pristine, new copy and bought it. I did the same for my trusty "Metals and How to Weld Them" from the Lincoln collection.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Now I'm way off target. For anyone that already has Blodgett's other two books I'd heavily suggest his Solutions to Design Of Weldments. It's basically a little paperback book full of worked examples by Blodgett. It's neat, especially for young engineers. It shows a thought process for straightforward hand solutions to problems that would now typically be done black box style in FEM software.

Just demonstrating how to reasonably do design of non-standard configurations and weldments using some assumptions and basic structural mechanics is nice. It's a treat to be able to look at an excellent engineer's work product, written in his own hand.

Plus, it has extended tables for a couple of things including treating welds as lines. A nice reference.

Koot, what's Beedle's book like? I've never seen it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (THLS)

Koot, what's Beedle's book like? I've never seen it.

It's like being mentored by the kind of old school, hand calc engineer that doesn't really exist anymore except, perhaps, in venues like this forum. It's written in contributing author format with the contributing authors mostly being the group formerly known as the Lehigh steel mafia. The list of authors pretty much says it all. Of particular interest to me are the chapters on approximate methods for multi story frame design using hand calcs. I came up in the SAP era and nobody really taught me this stuff properly.

@smokiibear: I hope that you don't mind a little digression here.







I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I second Blodgett's books....practical, cheap and more importantly demonstrate how to apply engineering principles and engineering judgement and not have to rely on the cookbook-type trend found in engineering literature today..and as mentioned "Solutions to the Design of Weldments" a softcover crammed with valuable examples and engineering design...

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

@kootk can you organize/order these references in a simple chart or procedure ? this is my first time at this forum and you seems to be a godfather here !

Actually i asked these questions earlier today,if any of you wanna offer a little help it would be great.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (Wayne89)

@kootk can you organize/order these references in a simple chart or procedure ? this is my first time at this forum and you seems to be a godfather here !

What I am is addicted. I'm not clear on what you're asking of me Wayne. Can you clarify?

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Wayne89:
Nice compliment for KootK. He’s a smart guy, but he can’t do the reading and perusing for you, if you want to learn anything. If you have a question..., and this goes for any/all of you, do a little digging and reference search work on your own, before you come here looking for the quick, cheap, someone else does the thinking for you, answer. You will become a much smarter, better engineer if you have to work a little on your own for that title and knowledge.

What do you mean?... “can you organize/order these references”? He already owns and uses the text and reference books so he doesn’t have to “order” them. The books have already been “organized,” and particularly well, by their authors, that’s part of what makes them so important to us older guys, and such valuable references. All the important info. in the engineering world is not on the internet; and much of what is, has not been well vetted by other experts in the particular field, nor by years of successful usage.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Dhengr;

You are 100% right, no one should do the reading for anyone else ! But i think you got me wrong ! What i meant is that i want to buy these references and start the hard working hetr, i would start with a decent review of the structural analysis, ASCE ... , then i'll move to steel structures (salmon), AISC design guides, design of welded structures.

That is what i would do and i thought that you guys would give your thoughts about it.

I am seriously interested in every single openion on this regard not only the kootk's, and as i am a new one here seeing "congrats kootk" on the homepage, i was curious to read some of his previous comments and i think he is doing a good job. That what was the compliment for !

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Nobody has mentioned a book by Louis Geschwinder Unified Design of Steel Structures. The second edition refers to 14th Edition. I really think it is the best book.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Sorry. In my eagerness to reply I did not mention clearly that the second edition of the book Unified Design of Steel Structures refers to the Steel Construction Manual 14th Edition.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
@njlutzwe
Did you only guess that Salmons book is digital. I see some garbage sites that reference a PDF out there for it, but the closest I come to finding it is coursesmart.com, which only provides rental and not ownership. Are you aware of anywhere else to obtain digital?

Thanks,

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

smokiibear, you caught me! My apologies. I assumed it had a digital version, but I guess it doesn't after I looked more closely. I hope they come out with a 6th edition, and it's about time that they do, but no release date is listed anywhere that I can find. I would hazard a guess future editions will have a digital version because it seems all things are headed that way, but that's another assumption by me...sorry about that.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
Thanks, njlutzwe. Disappointing confirmation, but that's what I was perceiving. Suprised the 6th edition has arrived yet.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

If I was the author of the world's best steel textbook, I wouldn't dream of letting it go digital. We're all grownups here, conversing anonymously. I'm sure we all know what becomes of royalties once reference materials go digital.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
I understand that dishonesty is possible, but I've spent several thousand on digital material in the last few years, and I woudn't hesitate to buy a good book. I really don't know the music industry, but has you tube destroyed the royalties of musicians?

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (smokiibear)

has you tube destroyed the royalties of musicians?

For the most part, musicians never got the royalties. They make their money on concert tickets and merchandising. It's the record labels whose royalty income has been decimated. And it has. While not many people lose sleep over record label profits, attendance at concerts would certainly suffer in the absence of record label promotional support.

I'm not accusing you of anything here smokiibear. I'm just offering an explanation for why Mr. Salmon may be taking his time going digital. I've also spent a small fortune on digital reference material. I like digital for a number of practical reasons including portability and search-ability. But I'd be a hypocritical liar if I were to claim that I'm legally entitled to each and every one the 3000+ structural engineering PDF files that I have in my digital library. It's human nature to give in to temptation in the absence of immediate consequences. That's why I still eat tiger tail ice cream despite a gene pool bubbling over with type two diabetics.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

(OP)
Thanks for sharing, KootK. I took/take none of your comments offensive. I really appreciate your comments and the group here. I do understand the sentiment about digital. At various times over the years I've had to clean house and/or buy things I obtained that I wanted to keep.

Keep the conversation coming....it's enjoyable.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (smokiibear)

I took/take none of your comments offensive.

Truly, I am glad to hear that.

Quote (smokiibear)

Keep the conversation coming....it's enjoyable.

A discussion of steel texts without mentioning Galambos would be inappropriate: Link. Steel isn't mentioned in the title, oddly, but it's about nothing else.

What most engineers lack, when it comes to steel design, is a good handle on overall stability theory. Galambos, again, is good for a short lesson on the basics: Link. And, if you read this one cover to cover, you'll pretty much be able to derive the AISC manual from first principles: Link.

Circling back to the practical, the hands down, best practitioner book that I know of is a steel text assembled by Andrew Metten: Link. The only way to get a copy is to email him directly. It's also Canadian-centric but I would argue that it wouldn't matter much. The book doesn't dwell on designing steel members. Rather it deals with designing steel buildings. Diaphragms, anchorage, fire resistance, bracing, computer modelling, economics, durability...

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Andy Metten's book is the only one I won't indiscriminately lend out. I'm worried I won't be able to replace it.

There are a few details and assumptions he makes that I don't agree with, but I agree that it's the best book about how to design a building I've ever seen, especially in a Canadian context. He straight up talks about how practicing engineers make assumptions to simply code requirements, neglect things that are non-governing or neglect code requirements that aren't practical. It's not about how to use the code or calculate capacities, although it touches on those. It's about how to actually do design work. Instead of designing a beam in six pages of calculations, it designs a building by identifying the major load paths and governing loads in a couple of calcs, picking your governing members by inspection or rough numbers, practically sizing the small handful of critical members using tables and then making sure you can build it. I've seen books that try to do this before, but they've always end up seeming like summaries that are skipping the real design work. His book is conceptual while also being detailed.

He attempts to explain the thought process rather than merely demonstrating design.

On occasion he teaches a steal class in Vancouver for SEABC.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

I don't have Galambos, but in a similar vein I'd recommend Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures. It's basically a source book for the codes. It's both theoretical and practical. It has complicated theoretical formulas you're likely never going to use as well as practical approaches with helpful tables and diagrams. It uses international codes and academic sources to discuss all sorts of standard and non-standard arrangements as they relate to stability and buckling.

The book is basically a survey of the current practical understanding of stability theory as it relates to metal construction.

If you want to understand how the code requirements for web buckling in girders were derived, you'll find it in here. If you have a curved, tapered, non-symmetrical shape in bending and want to figure out how to calculate a lateral torsional buckling capacity, you'll likely find it in here too.

If you can't find it, it's got extensive lists of references and source documents to track down what you want.

It's also an incredibly readable book. It's something you can sit down with and read a few chapters of if you want to learn something new.

You definitely don't need it for standard design, but I think it's a great if you want a deeper understanding.

RE: Best Steel Textbook for Learning Steel Design - hopefully digital version

Quote (TLHS)

Andy Metten's book is the only one I won't indiscriminately lend out. I'm worried I won't be able to replace it.

Yes, and the binding is rather tenuous I'm afraid. At the first sign of loose pages, I'll be heading to the scanner.

I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.

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