Looking for a good reference for truss / frame design

[McCue]

I'm beginning a design of a large (20' x 10' x 5') frame composed of welded box tubing. I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good reference for design practices for this type of project. I'm looking for information on structural analysis of the frame members and more specifically the welded joints.

 

[pesacadman]

AISC 13th has this information, and you can find more at their website in the HSS section of their publications. You can also go directly to the main source at the CIDECT website.

 

[kslee1000]

Frame member - AISC "Hollow Structural Sections", and specification mentioned above.

Welding - same as above, and AWS D1.1 (?)

Structural Analysis - DIY, or a structural consultant.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I like RISA for calcs

 

[Larryhd2]

For modeling and analysis purposes I would recommend RISA 3D software.

http://www.risatech.com

You can download demo versions to play with.

This is a very robust program that should really only be used by a structural engineer, but it could give you a sense of the integrity of your design.

You will need to make assumptions about joint fixity that will play heavily in the design. It is most common to assume that the webs connecting to the chords are pinned joints as it is difficult to design, and expensive to construct, a joint for full fixity using HSS members.

 

[dvd]

https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/foundation/item.asp?prodnum=DW&PID=16

https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/foundation/item.asp?prodnum=DWS&PID=16

https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/foundation/item.asp?prodnum=TS&PID=16