Sol E. Cooper offers a basic text on the design of steel structures emphasizing problems and decisions from the viewpoint of the professional engineer and designer. The author presents the material in three parts:
1. Background material on structural systems, design process, technology of steel, codes and specifications;
2. Methods of member selection and design, relating theory to procedures widely used professionally;
3. Detailed case studies of four designs, each of a different type of steel structure.
Andrew C. Chen contributes clear, professional illustrations and design insight.
Here are a few of the special features highlighting this book:
โข Each case study includes a complete set of engineering calculations, parallel presentation of the design problem, the process and flow of thinking in the design, sheet by sheet discussion of how the design evolves from the various considerations at each stage. Each case study addresses a different type of structure with different technical and professional goals. The student and teacher sit with the designer. Suggested exercises offer a chance to extend, vary, enlarge, refine the designs presented. Case studies are derived from the author's experience.
โข Examples in Part II are worked out in detail in engineering design format, with ample references to sources of equations and constraints in the text, AISC Specification, or other literature.
โข The role and structure of the AISC Manual and Specification and the Uniform Building Code are explained in Part I. They are used and extensively referenced as they apply in Parts
II & III. Use of design aids in the Manual is encouraged where they help focus the designer's attention on the implications of alternative choices.