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LAB:
Connections
AISC WET CD
Labs Lab Files Lab 9 [Go to Tools and Tips main page for instructions on how to download AISC WET CD files directly from AISC.]
This lab provides students with a complete variety of connections required for the building case study. These connections include: girder to column flange, beam to girder, bracing connection, gusset plate design and beam to gusset and column to gusset connections.
LAB:
Steel Sculpture-Shop Drawings
WET Files and Images
SteelSculpture_Liu.PDFStudents match sets of detail drawings of various components (coped beams, girders, bolted angles, etc.) to connections on the steel sculpture. Through this exercise, students mentally ‘construct’ the connections from the components and are able to better visualize “how things go together.”
If your school has a Steel Sculpture, first ask the students pick their favorite beam-to-girder or girder-to-column connection on the Steel Sculpture and write a short summary. For this summary, they should draw at least one elevation view, name their connection, state if they think it is a shear or moment connection, and then list one possible advantage and one possible disadvantage for use of that connection. Scan their drawings and compile in a handout for class discussion.
LAB:
Base Plate Design
AISC WET CD
Labs Lab Files Lab 10 [Go to Tools and Tips main page for instructions on how to download AISC WET CD files directly from AISC.]
Students design a base plate for a column. This lab follows the examples that are in the LRFD manual (3rd edition) for axially-loaded base plates..
SLIDE SHOW:
Base Plates
AISC WET CD
Visual Aids Slide Shows Baseplates[Go to Tools and Tips main page for instructions on how to download AISC WET CD files directly from AISC.]
This slide show illustrates the use of base plates and how they are connected to both the column and the foundation.
TEACHING GUIDE:
Steel Connections Teaching Toolkit
http://www.aisc.org/teachingaids/
The Toolkit addresses three broad issues that arise when teaching students steel connection design: visualization, load paths and limit states. Everything you need to teach, or learn, about the basics of connection design is here. The interactive toolkit includes a 3-D AutoCad drawing of the steel connections sculpture, and MathCad routines and libraries.
WEBSITE:
Steel Sculpture Website
http://www.eng.uwyo.edu/connections/
The department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at University of Wyoming has a webpage that features the Steel Sculpture, with links to pictures and information on specific connections.
VRML MODEL:
VRML model of the Steel Sculpture
http://cic.nist.gov/vrml/cis2.html
"AISC Steel Sculpture" link on the right Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is an Internet standard for the rendering of 3-D graphics. Use this model to display, fly around, and zoom in on connections on the Steel Sculpture.
WEBSITE:
Interactive Sculpture
http://cset.mnsu.edu/steelsculpture
The interactive sculpture shows the close up view of each connection with descriptions, potential failure modes, and hyperlinks to sample calculations and field examples.