Archive for May 2012

Are you planning to attend the AIA Convention and Expo this week in Washington, D.C.? If so, you have the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in curved steel and how it can enhance the creativity and efficiency of your next design.

When you visit AISC’s booth (#1615) at the show and mention “curved steel,” you’ll gain first-hand knowledge on the subject from industry experts (who actually curve steel!) and receive a free copy of the Curved Steel Guide for Specifiers, along with the new Curved Steel Quick Reference Guide for architects.

As an added bonus, ask the AISC staff in the booth about this year’s SteelDay and receive a prize!

Unable to attend the AIA Expo? You can request the Curved Steel resources from AISC’s Steel Solutions Center at solutions@aisc.org.

Just look at the majesty of this exposed curved steel building! This photo is of the Ave Maria University Oratory in Ave Maria, Fla., a 2008 AISC IDEAS2 Award winner. Photo: Cannon Design

The winning steel sculpture in AISC’s first-ever SteelDay Sculpture Competition — “The Welder” — submitted by Cody Builders Supply, Austin, Texas. Photo: AISC

Last year, SteelDay introduced a creative element to its national program. The SteelDay Sculpture Competition challenged AISC Full and Associate Members to build an innovative steel sculpture to be displayed on SteelDay as well as this year’s NASCC in Dallas, where the winner was voted on by conference attendees.

Eight sculptures were entered into the competition. The winning sculpture was “The Welder,” submitted by Cody Builders Supply, an AISC member fabricator in Austin, Texas. Weighing in at 140 lbs and made mostly of 1/4-in.-thick plate, the sculpture pushed the size limit for the competition and is exactly 2 ft tall (and just look at that detailing work!).

You can view all eight entrants at SteelDay’s Facebook page. The Welder will also be featured in the June issue of MSC, available June 1.

This year’s SteelDay is set for September 28, and will once again offer the opportunity to display your works of steel! Information on this year’s events can be found at www.aisc.org/steelday, where continuous updates will be provided as plans are rolled out. Interested in hosting an event this year? Contact AISC’s Maria Blood at blood@aisc.org.

The Second Quarter 2012 issue of Engineering Journal is now available online in digital edition format. View the current issue online by clicking here.

Papers in Engineering Journal Q2 include:

• “Effect of Washer Placement on Performance of Direct Tension Indicators with Curved Protrusions,” by Douglas B. Cleary, William T. Riddell and Christopher J. Lacke

• “A Simplified Approach for Evaluating Second-Order Effects in Low-Rise Steel-Framed Buildings,” by Souhail Elhouar and Yasser Khodair

• “The Effect of Piece Marking on Fatigue Performance of Bridge Steel,” by Karl H. Frank, Vasilis Samaras and Todd A. Helwig

• “Current Steel Structures Research No. 30,” by Reidar Bjorhovde

Each quarterly current issue of EJ is available in digital format and free to the public until the next issue is published.

The complete collection of Engineering Journal articles is searchable at www.aisc.org/ej. Current and past articles can be downloaded as PDFs and are free to AISC members and ePubs subscribers; just make sure you are logged into the AISC website (www.aisc.org) before searching. Non-members will be directed to the AISC Bookstore at www.aisc.org/store to purchase articles.

Last month’s opening of the new lanes on the Huey P. Long Bridge has been long-awaited by New Orleans locals. Traffic was switched from the bridge’s old lanes to two new lanes in each direction, bringing the $1.2-billion widening project one step closer to completion.

The traffic switch allowed the old lanes to be removed and the new travel lanes to be widened. Instead of completely replacing the bridge, bridge engineering firm Modjeski and Masters designed a steel support system to widen the existing truss. When completed, the bridge will also feature an additional travel lane and inside and outside shoulders to each side of the bridge, and the total driving surface width will be more than doubled, providing a safer, more reliable Mississippi River crossing.

The first phase of the expansion project began in April 2006, and the bridge is now in its final phase of construction. The entire project is slated to be completed in early 2013.

To learn more about the Huey P. Long Bridge Widening Project, visit www.timedla.com/bridge/long/overview. You can also take a look back at our previous news post, commemorating the bridge’s topping out last year, at http://bit.ly/nsXlQi.

Welding equipment manufacturer Miller Electric, Appleton, Wis., and filler metal manufacturer Hobart Brothers Company, Troy, Ohio, have been named the official welding equipment providers of the expansion of Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.

The two manufacturers have also partnered with Neenah, Wis.-based general contractor Miron Construction Co., Inc. to provide the project team with the latest in welding and heat treatment technologies, as well as welding safety gear. The companies have worked together to convert traditional processes to new methods of improving weld quality, productivity and safety, such as using Flux-Cored welding techniques and induction heating systems in structural steel applications.

“Welding isn’t often the first thing people think of when they think of the construction industry,” commented Mike Weller, president of Miller. “But it is one of the most critical elements of a heavy structural job like this and provides us with the perfect opportunity to showcase these technologies.”

The Lambeau Field expansion will be completed in 2013 and involves substantial new construction to both end  zones, including 6,600 new seats in the south end zone and new high-definition video boards in both end zones; about 5,000 tons of steel is being used for the expansion. Both video boards and a new viewing terrace in the north end zone will be operational in time for the 2012 football season.

You can view a live webcam of the construction at www.packers.com/lambeau-field/constructi
on-cam.html.

Forty-seven university teams, comprised of a total of nearly 600 students, will converge at Clemson University to compete in the 2012 ASCE/AISC National Student Steel Bridge Competition (NSSBC), May 25-26. Regional competitions concluded last week, and qualifying teams have been chosen for the finals.

Congratulations to this year’s qualifying teams! They are:

1. Brigham Young University
2. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
3. California State University, Northridge
4. Catholic University of America
5. Clemson University
6. Colorado School of Mines
7. Drexel University
8. Ecole de technologie superieure
9. Georgia Tech
10. Kansas State University
11. Lakehead University
12. Louisiana State University
13. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
14. Michigan Technological University
15. Milwaukee School of Engineering
16. New Jersey Institute of Technology
17. Northwestern University
18. NYC College of Technology
19. Portland State University
20. SUNY College Of Technology at Canton
21. Temple University
22. Texas A&M University
23. Tongji University
24. Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico
25. Universite Laval
26. University of Akron
27. University of Alaska - Fairbanks
28. University of California, Berkeley
29. University of California, Davis
30. University of Florida
31. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
32. University of Louisiana at Lafayette
33. University of Louisville
34. University of Michigan
35. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
36. University of Missouri-Columbia
37. University of Missouri-Kansas City
38. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
39. University of New Hampshire
40. University of South Florida
41. University of Texas - El Paso
42. University of Virginia
43. University of Wisconsin at Madison
44. Utah State University
45. Vanderbilt University
46. Washington State University
47. Youngstown State University

About 200 student engineering teams across North America participated in a total of 18 regional competitions since January. The competition challenges teams with building their own designed and fabricated steel bridges under the pressure of the clock. Bridge rankings are based on a variety of factors, including: construction cost, construction time, total bridge weight and bridge stiffness.

“The students that participate in this competition demonstrate great design and management skills, and impressive ingenuity,” commented Nancy Gavlin, AISC director of education. “Their dedication and enthusiasm for their work is a joy to observe.”

If you’ll be in the Clemson, S.C. area, witness this exciting and fast-paced competition for yourself (admission is free), and see if your school gets crowned the national champion! Visit www.aisc.org/steelbridge or www.clemson.edu/steelbridge to learn more.

The Robert B. Aikens Commons at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor — a National Award winner in AISC’s 2012 IDEAS2 awards program — combines modernity and tradition, creating a stunning community space. Photo: SDI Structures

Every year, AISC’s IDEAS2 Awards recognize the most innovative new steel structures in the U.S.

This year’s 10 IDEAS2 winners were announced at the 2012 NASCC: The Steel Conference last month in Dallas. Covering an array of project types, they demonstrate the flexible and effective solutions provided by structural steel on a wide variety of building projects.

A panel of design and construction industry professionals identified National and Merit winners in three categories, based on constructed value: less than $15 million, $15 million to $75 million and greater than $75 million. In addition, the panel awarded a Presidential Award of Excellence to one project for structural engineering and architectural accomplishment.

All of this year’s winners are featured in the May issue of MSC (available now!), with detailed project descriptions and photographs of each; you can read the article here.

To learn more about the IDEAS2 awards program and view a slideshow of this year’s winners, visit www.aisc.org/ideas2.

Spring has sprung! As you make your plans this season, here are some upcoming AISC educational opportunities you’ll want to mark on your calendar:

• On May 10, you won’t have to leave the office to earn continuing education credits for AISC’s live webinar, “Proper Application of the Uniform Force Method,” presented by Larry S. Muir, P.E., a consultant specializing in connection design, structural steel fabrication and construction in Atlanta. In this hour-and-a-half presentation, Muir will discuss the Uniform Force Method procedure as detailed in the 14th Edition Steel Construction Manual and its practical use for the design of braced connections. Click here for registration and pricing information. Learn more about AISC’s live webinars at www.aisc.org/webinars.

• Your kids aren’t the only ones who can go to camp! AISC’s Steel Camp is heading to Long Beach, Calif., May 17-18, offering two days of valuable continuing education and the opportunity to earn 15 PDHs. Top design professionals in the structural engineering field will present on various topics, including Seismic Moment Frame Design, Effective Steel Design: Step-by-Step Design for Commercial Buildings, Steel Plate Shear Walls and more. Click here for a full agenda, session descriptions and registration details.

• There are still plenty of seminar opportunities to attend as part of AISC’s 2012 Spring Seminar Series. This season, leverage your knowledge with the 14th Edition Steel Construction Manual or delve into design concepts and connections for seismic braced frames; seminars on these topics are being offered in numerous cities around the U.S. until August. You can search seminars by state at www.aisc.org/seminarmap to find an event near you. For more information on these seminars, speakers, registration details and pricing, visit www.aisc.org/seminars.

Eighteen steel bridges have earned recognition in NSBA’s Prize Bridge Awards Competition, which honors outstanding and innovative steel bridges constructed in the U.S. This year’s winning bridges were recognized on April 18 during the combined 2012 World Steel Bridge Symposium and NASCC: The Steel Conference in Dallas.

Winning bridge projects were selected based on innovation, aesthetics and design and engineering solutions. The awards were presented in the following categories:

Prize Bridge Awards winners:

•     Major Span: Main Street Bridge, Columbus, Ohio

•     Long Span: Nooksack River Bridge, Whatcom County, Wash.

•     Short Span: South Layton Interchange SPUI at I-15 and Layton Parkway, Layton, Utah

•     Movable Span: BSNF Railway Burlington Bridge, Burlington, Iowa

•     Reconstructed: I-93 FAST 14 – Salem Street Interchange, Medford, Mass.

•     Special Purpose: Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge, Tempe, Ariz.

Merit Award winners:

•     Major Span: kdICON Project – Christopher S. Bond Bridge, Kansas City, Mo.

•     Major Span: John James Audubon Bridge, St. Francisville, La.

•     Long Span: Estero Parkway, Estero, Fla.

•     Medium Span: S.R. 0113, Section 08B, Gay Street Bridge Replacement Project, Phoenixville, Pa.

•     Short Span: Lynch Village Bridge, Lynch Village, Penn.

•     Reconstructed: Bridge of Lions Historic Rehabilitation, St. Augustine, Fla.

•     Special Purpose: Hillhouse Pedestrian Bridges, New Haven, Conn.

•     Special Purpose: Pedestrian Bridge at the Yards Waterfront Park, Washington, D.C.

Accelerated Bridge Construction Commendations:

•     San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge – East Tie-In Structure, San Francisco

•     Sam White Bridge, American Fork, Utah

•     I-93 FAST 14 – Salem Street Interchange, Medford, Mass.

Sustainability Commendation:

•     Silverdale Bridge, Stillwater, Minn.

The competition attracted nearly 70 entries and included a variety of bridge structure types and construction methods. All submitted projects were required to have opened to traffic between May 1, 2009 and September 30, 2011.

For more information about this year’s Prize Bridge Awards, view NSBA’s press release at http://bit.ly/KP1KWH. The winning projects will also be featured in the June 2012 edition of MSC, available June 1.

Yesterday marked a major milestone for One World Trade Center, as installation of the steel columns on the 100th floor made the skyscraper the tallest building in New York City. Now 1,271 ft tall, it has surpassed the Empire State Building, previously the city’s tallest structure.

Scheduled to be completed in late 2013, the tower is slated to reach 104 stories. An antenna reaching hundreds of feet higher will bring the total height to a symbolic 1,776 ft, which will make it not only the tallest building in New York, but also the entire U.S.

You can watch a video of a steel beam being placed atop the tower at www.cnn.com (direct link: http://bit.ly/IH2ffZ). For more information about the project’s construction progress, visit www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/one-wtc.html.