5th edition of the ASI "Design of Portal Frame Buildings" ... is Rubbish

[FEA-MAN-2000]

So I managed to get my hands on the 5th edition of the ASI "Design of Portal Frame Buildings " by S.T Woolcock, S Kitipornchai and M.A Bradford.

Unfortunatley, I have to say...it's complete RUBBISH and don't waste your money.

1) The 2021 wind code has completely been misinterpreted.

2) The 2-tiered purlin/girt local pressure design, whilst appearing simpler to do, is in fact laughable and unrealistic for a design office. There are better, more well-known methods available and it is odd that the authors don't acknowledge any of them.

The grammatical arithmetic mistakes are embarassing and the mind boggles as to how this even got published. Even the print quality is poor.

As positive feedback...I believe they spelt their names properly.

The three authors should be ashamed of that publication!

 

[human909]

Wow that is some strong and damning feedback. I've been wanting to get a copy of this and was waiting for the 5th edition release. I'm curious if you could elaborate on those reason 1) and 2).


Also what do you think about the Australian Steel Institute design guide in general? Particularly the connection design guides. Overall I find them suitable, but I can't say I've compared them extensively to international guides. Generally for cookie cutter connections I use software based ASI design checks for connections. For more complicated connections I've dug deep into the ASI guide or alternative analysis approaches.

 

[civeng80]

Yes this seems like a very harsh comment indeed.

I have editions 2 and 3 and have used them extensively throughout the years and have found them to be quite good.
Would be very interested to hear more about the 5 edition and why you think it is so bad.

 

[JedClampett]

Whoa baby! It looks like we have an old-fashioned engineering rumble!

 

[XR250]

As positive feedback...I believe they spelt their names properly.

How ironic!

 

[human909]

Given this user has only a single post it does call into question the veracity of this assessment.

I haven't read the previous version but I've seen snippets and it seems suitable enough for those designing to AS4100 and potentially others.

I am a ASI member and owner the steel connection design guides. They are pretty comprehensive and suitable for those regularly designing structural steel to AS4100.

 

[FEA-MAN-2000]

I hear you...but the quality of the book is "going south", I'm afraid. I sense they're losing touch with reality.[pre][/pre]

 

[hetgen]

Would you mind sharing a typical example?

 

[JAE]

Yes - please do provide examples of the errors you see. Otherwise your statement is just...a statement.

 

[Smoulder]

End result? Was this a fit of pique because of a missed comma?

 

[human909]

Well so many people bought it the book is already out of stock!

 

[Syphon90]

All you cranky old snooty buggers better apologise to the OP. Ive been trying to get a copy of the book and on ASI website:

"We have identified some omissions due to last minute changes in the wind Standard that did not make it into the book. These affect calculation of internal pressure in some examples.
We will get the book updated ASAP and republish. We will contact those who have already purchased the book separately."

https://www.steel.org.au/resources/book-shop/design-of-portal-frames-5th-edition-hardcopy-or-ebook/

 

[human909]

I won't be apologising for a lack of proper explanation. I didn't question the authenticity of the post just sought further information.

I do find it interesting when they say 'last minute changes'. 1170.2 was updated in 2021. This was released in 2023. I get it that Covid was a bit of a blur for some but there was more than a few minutes ago there....

(For what it is worth I'm still an interested buyer as I think there would be enough useful and relevant content to make it worthwhile for me. Though I'll wait until they get their shit sorted.)

 

[FEA-MAN-2000]

I hate to say I told you so "human909", but syphon90 is correct. The book is loaded with wind calculation errors. It did not sell out! It was pulled from sale due to so many mistakes.

 

[civeng80]

This can happen at times with new editions of texts. It doesn't necessarily mean the text is "rubbish".

My question to you FEA-MAN-2000 is why are you telling this to us after more than a month of posting your comment ?

 

[JAE]

This all reminds me a an old thread from 2011: thread172-287345