VOLUME III NUMBER 3 THIRD QUARTER 1963

• MIIIIER6
1:1I661R61:11116
1 Architectural Awards of
Excellence . .............. 3-5
2 Highlights of the New
A/SC Manual . .... _..... 8-10
3 Space Structure8 in
Steel .... .............. 12-14

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Published by
CONTENTS
American Institute
Awards of Excellence 3-5
of Steel Construction
101 Park Avenue, New York 17, N. Y.
Innovations Result in Low-Cost Apartment House 6-7
Highlights of the New AISC Manual 8-10
OFFICERS:
Steel Design Allows Extra Floors 11
Harold G. Lewis, President
Space Structures in Steel 12-14
R. C, Palmer, First Vice President
J. Philip Murphy, Second Vice President New Welding Specification Sets Radiographic
W. R. Jackson, Treasurer Standards for Bridges 15
John K. Edmonds,
Executive Vice President
On Wings of Song 16
M. Harvey Smedley,
Counsel and Secretary

INTRODUCING THE NEW MANUAL

EDITORIAL STA FF On August 1, the Ame"ican Institute of Steel Gon-

William C. Brooks, Editor
struction announced publication of the sixth edition of the •
Olinda Grossi, FAIA, Architectural MANUAL OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION, standard reference and
Editor working tool for steel design and construction, This edition
E. E. Hanks, Technical Editor of the Manual has been completely ,.e-written and expanded
to enable users to design and build steelf ramed structures
under the provisions of the April 1968 adoption of the new
AISG Specification. All tables, text and design examples
REGIONA L O FFICES
contained in the Manual are based on this Specification.
Many of the changes are the result of suggestions and
Atlanta, Georgia
Birmingham, Alabama
recommendations received from over 1200 professionals in
Boston, Massachusetts
construction - enginee,'s, a"chitects, educators and steel
Chicago, Illinois fabricato,·s. Thei,' comments, solicited before work started
Columbus, Ohio on the Manual ove,· a year ago, covered eve"ything from
Dallas, Texas content and presentation to opinions conce"ning the best
Detroit, Michigan practices. Many of these suggestions have been incorpo-
Greensboro, North Carolina rated in the book.
Houston, Texas The Mamlal is probably the //loM compl'ehenHit'e alld
Los Angeles, California fl'eqllently used handbook ever produced by a single indus-
Minneapolis, Minnesota try. The Si.rth Edition is prescntl'd l!'ith ]Jl'idc by the AISG
New York, New York
I('itl! the knowledge that its II..,. will enable engineers and
Omaha, Nebraska
architects to translate the ecollomies of the II(/C stronger
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
steels into efficient, aesthetic and l'ndllring structures.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
St. Louis, Missouri
San Francisco, California
Seattle, Washington
Washington, District of Columbia
•
• AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE -1963
by Harlan E. McClure, FAIA

By the first quarter of the nineteenth

century steel production had become so
sophisticated that high tensile steel
cable could be fabricated. In a struc-
tural sense Thomas Telford's Conway
Castle Suspension Bridge, built in Wales
in 1826, was an indicator of things to
come. Unfortunately it does not always
follow that architectural form goes hand
Gibbon Cag.,
in hand with structural logic. It often OakloJld Zoo,
takes a period of groping and experimen- California
tation before new materials and systems A TC'hittci:
Norri. M. Gaddi.;
can be fully understood. The towers in Allociate Arckit('ct:
Telford's great bridge were regrettably John C. Lovejo1l
encased in massive medieval stonework
to match the ancient castle. And in this
country a hundred years later our ex-
panding vertical cities, made possible

• by steel and mechanical developments,

found appropriate form only in rare in-
stances. Happily in recent years there
has been a growing concern for expres-
sive use of materials. AISC is dedicated
to increasing this awareness.
Solar
TelucoptJ,
Kitt Peak,
Steel is a very versatile material Arizona
Architect:
which has greatly broadened the archi- Skidmore,
tect's palette, and the Architectural Owing, &:
Awards of Excellence Program has been Merrill
offered annually for the past four years
to encourage good architectural design
The usual task of an architectural jury playful and arborial primates, and the
and good steel usage. The submissions
is to decide first upon a reasonable and focal element of this design is a great
for 1962 have been judged by a jury
consistent basis for criticism and as- steel tree. The animal sleeping cages
consisting of Daniel A. Hopper, AlA of
sessment. It was quickly agreed that no are clustered under an umbrella of steel
Irvington, N. J.; John B. Skilling, partner
building would be considered for an and fiberglas, from the perimeter of
of Worthington, Skilling, Helle and Jack-
Award unless it was truly exceptional - which is draped an enclosing screen of
son, consulting engineers of Seattle.
generally as well as specifically. Which diagonal steel tension cables. This
Wash.; Richard Snibbe, AlA, architect
is to say, the building was first judged as screen combines custodial security with
of New York City; Harold Spitznagel,
a total performance, in terms of func- maximum visitor viewing. A spiral steel
FAIA, architect of Sioux Falls, S. D.; and
tional solution and beauty, and then for ramp around the cage permits the visitor
the author.
imagination and appropriate use of steel. to observe the animals from all sides
and at several heights. Only greater
11r. .1/cClllrp U dean 0/ the School 0/ Interestingly, there were several ex- delicacy in detailing could have im-
Architectllrr. Clemson College, Clem- cellent buildings which solved unusual proved this distinctive structure.
son, ", C. 1/(' '' curre"t ly chairman. 0/ functional problems with considerable Immediately compelling was another

•
Ihe Dull.. Curoli,w Boord 0/ Architec- success. The jury was intrigued with the unusual building designed by Skidmore,
rural Exnmin(!rJ cmd (I director oj till' gibbon cage for the Oakland California Owings and Merrill to house a solar tele-
Vot;ollal Council 0/ fr'" in Educlltwn. Zoo, designed by Norris M. Gaddis, ar- scope at Kilt Peak, Arizona. The client
H. U allthor 0/ Arcbileclural Design_ chitect of Oakland. The gibbons are was the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy. One of the ju· concentration on a 500·mile portion of logical and unaHected use of materials. •
rors remarked how distinct ive and dra- the sun - 93,000,000 miles away. At its The exceptional elegance and fine reo
matic this bu ilding was on its lonely upward term inus the inclined shaft in· lationship of building to site brought
site. The solar telescope is a very differ· tersects, and is supported by, a vertical Vincent G. Kling's Headquarters for the
ent instrument from a stellar telescope heliostat tower, a tubular concrete ele· American Cyanamid Company, Wayne
and requires a very special bu ild ing, in· ment with a steel superstructure. The Township, N. J., immediate jury acclaim.
cluding an inclined shaft 500 ft in jury was impressed not only with the ex· The terrain restrictions of a handsome
length and parallel to the earth's polar acting functional solution and sculp· but narrow wooded ridge caused the
axis. The instrument is capable of steady tural qualities of the design, but with the main building to assume an US" form.
This shape also keeps the very long
U eadquar ters Office building from becoming monotonous -
Building, A'm eriean internally as well as externally. The
Cyanam.id Company , structure is framed in steel and detailed
Way ne Townshi p.
New Jersey throughout with great skill and care.
Archi tect : Vincent G. Tinted transparent windows above pan·
K ling , FAIA
els of ceramic enameled glass are
framed with extruded aluminum, and
spandrels have been developed with a
fine sculptural feeling.
"It is difficult to do a good steel resi-
dence," said John Skilling of the jury,
an opinion quickly echoed by Harold
Spitznagel. The jury agreed that the Ben·
jamin E. Weeks residence designed by
Nelson, Sabin and Varey, architects of
Seattle, was a very good house. The cli·
ents wished family unity and individual
privacy at the same time, and the central
court plan with surrounding rooms ac· •
Betljamin E . W eeks
Resid ence, complished just that. Notable in the de·
Seat tle , Wask in g ton sign was the logical use of steel struc·
Architect.' Neilon , ture in combination with wood. The
Sobin alld Varey
building was arranged to take unusual
advantage of its site and is in visual har-
mony with its setting.
The client represented by one of the
entries had a building problem that
could not tactfully have been solved
other than with steel. The Philadelphia
OHice and Meeting Hall of the Interna-
tional Association of Bridge, Structural
and Ornamental Ironworker's Local No.
401 was considered by the jury to be a
visual embodiment of the work of its
members. Architects Hassinger and
Schwam of Philadelphia developed a
two·story steel frame building between
existing party walls. The jury felt the
bright orange steel portal frame, which
forms the facade, and the use of a stair
hung with bridge cable in the entry
lobby were happy choices.
Some building types have long suf·
fered architectural neglect. Such a cate-

•
gory is heating plants and power houses.
H eating Pla,tt. Sta te Office Building The jury was especially pleased to give
Complex, Madison, W i BC01t.in an Award of Excellence to the heating
Architect : Stanlcll E ngineering Com-
pany ; Marv in E . W erner, AlA plant for the Hill Farm State Office

4
•
Building Complex in Madison, Wiscon·
sin. Architect Marvin E. Werner, AlA of
the Stanley Engineering Co. of Musca·
tine, Iowa, has gracefully combined a
250·ft brick chimney with two other
masses, contrasting brick with blue·
green enamel metal siding in this solu·
tion. The structural frame, as well as
other components, are of steel. Daniel
Hopper of the Jury of Awards expressed
the pious hope that this building would
influence future plant design.
Haarstick Lundgren and Associates Aldrich. Recreation Arena, Ram.ey COW'lty. Minllesota
of St. Paul, Minnesota, were the archi· Architect .. Haars tick Lundgren and A8sociates, hie.
tect·engineers for the Aldrich Recrea·
tion Arena in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
This multi·purpose, low·budget build·
ing was designed with simplicity and c
~
strength. The jury appreciated these
~~--u g
qualities and the pains taken to keep the _ -';iIII ~
building mass low, which reduced con· •o
struction costs and kept the building ~
from becoming too assertive. The steel •
truss roof structure is expressed by us· ~
ing the roof depth as a bold cantilever
above a narrow continuous strip of rib·
bon windows. Sun control is thus pro-
i
Consolidated Marine, Inc.,

•
vided and the roof appears to hover. The San Pedro, California
unobstructed view of the arena for box· Joint Venture: Kistner,
Wright & Wright, Edward H.
ing, hockey, basketball, exhibits and Ficket, AlA, S. B. Barnes
conventions was thought most com· and A8Iociatcs
mendable by the jury.
Too often port and dock buildings are
an unplanned hodgepodge of corru·
gated iron. The jury was greatly pleased
to find in Consolidated Marine, Inc., port
facilities for San Pedro, California, un·
usual qualities of architectural excel·
lence. The building complex was a joint
Prc" Box,
venture of Kistner, Wright & Wright, Pa8adena ROBe Bowl
architects and engineers, Edward H. Architect:
Breo Freeman, Al A
Fickett, AlA, and S. 8. Barnes and As·
sociates, structural engineers. All of the
firms are from Los Angeles. Distinctly
nautical in flavor, the building access to which the famous football game plays a matic 100 It in height, connecting to
the upper level is via forked flying ramp major role, the existing wooden press the box which projects above existing
bridges. The pleasant and convenient box has long been inadequate and was Rose Bowl seats with three levels of
accommodation of all functions and the removed to make way for a new facility. bridges. The view from no existing seats
dramatic horizontal sweep of the build· Breo Freeman, AlA of Pasadena, was was impeded by this new structure.
ing group was particularly impressive to given an Award of Excellence for his ad· The jury felt the American Institute
jury member Richard Snibbe, AlA. After dition of a new press box to the existing of Steel Construction was to be com·
a carefu I consideration of prestressed stadium. The jury thought his problem a mended for its annual program of
concrete, steel was selected for the difficult one, and that he solved it logi· Awards for Archi tectural Excellence.
building not only for the basic structure cally and si mply with the use of steel. This year's submissions brought home

•
but also the architectural detailing. The new press box is approximately 285 forcefully the broad range of building
The Pasadena Rose Bowl is well known ft in length and is located on the west problems that can be best solved func·
to most Americans. In view of the na· rim of the Rose Bowl. Access is provided tionally, economically and aesthetically
tional interest in the annual festival in by a free·standing elevator tower, a dra· with steel.

5
 10 S RESULT I LOW-COST APART E T HOUSE
by Harold C. Smith
Regional Engineer, AISC
Can a steel frame compete with wood
construction in the field of one- to four-
story apartment buildings? Consulting
any degree of architectural freedom de-
sired. Both the architect and the engi-
neer felt strongly enough about the
units, a planted inner court, a large sec-
ond-story sundeck and social hall for
the residents, as well as carpets and
•
Engineer Cecil H. Wells, Jr., San Mateo, importance of the latter requirement to draperies throughout the building.
Calif., together with Architect R. R. launch their detailed investigation. One of the biggest factors in the low
Zahm, AlA, Burlingame, Calif., thought so Mr. Wells felt the usual preliminary cost of th is steel frame is the use of rod
as they started preliminary designs and estimate would not be adequate in this and turnbuckle bracing for lateral forces.
estimates for a new senior citizens' case and set out to make the most eco- Widely used in industrial construction
apartment project to be known as Pil- nomical design and accurate estimate to obtain simplified connections and
grim Plaza in San Mateo. Careful atten- possible. Having experienced success maximum utilization of material, this
tion to detail and an open mind to new with several new ideas in his own two- system has seldom been seen in resi-
ideas and applications of tested meth- story, partial·steel·frame office bu il ding, dential buildings. It is frequently ruled
ods and materials proved it could: the Mr. Wells saw no rea son they should not out by stud wall construction which
low bid was $11.30 per sq It for the be equally applicable to apartment con- leaves no space between the faces of the
steel-framed structure. struction. These ideas were incorporated wall. However, with the employment of
To prove their thinking valid, Messrs. into various steel and wood designs all hollow-wall construction, a braced
Wells and Zahm began with a careful which were then priced out by the gen- frame became possible. Exterior walls
comparison, not only of two structural eral contractor, H. Christensen & Sons, are of steel stud construction and all
materials, but of two different struc- San Mateo. Mr. Wells was pleasantly sur- interior wall surfaces utilize Pabcowall
tures. Each was laid out to meet the prised to find that his efforts had pro- Quiet Zone wallboard. This material is
basic project requirements and to utilize duced a negligible difference between capable of spanning as much as 12 It
best the framing material under consid- the steel structure and a similar wood vertically. Two thicknesses, one on each
eration. The two criteria established by structure. He felt this was a major break- face of the wall, give a 47 to 50 decibel
the architect were low cost and neat, through in the type of building thought sound transmission loss rating accord-
clean-cut architectural lines differing heretofore to be almost exclusively re- ing to manufacturer's tests. The wall-
somewhat from the conventional ap- served for wood construction. board provides space for lateral bracing •
pearance prevalent in low-rise apart- As the design reached its final stages, as well as flexibility and ease of place-
ment construction. These are not always it was found that further savings could ment for utility lines.
easi Iy reconci led. be accomplished, leaving enough money Use of A36 steel also contributed to
Timber framing generally satisfies the in the budget to provide several luxury the low-cost steel frame and the result-
first of these requirements, and the architectural items. Included among ing over-all weight of 3.38 pounds of
flexibility of steel framing can produce structural steel per square faa!. Open-
these are private patios for all first-level
.,

The planted interior court 0/ Pilgrim Plaza permits direct access to the
garage (le/t) and to the various sections of the npartment hou8e.

6
Rod bracing jor latcral forccs COli cealed in 1vall parti.
ti01lS U'nB Olle key to the economy 0/ the sh'uctUTC.
•
•
Careful design 0/ tke
Pilgrim Plaza 8tnior
citizens' apartment"
prollidcd lltxuru
/eatuTCIJ on an
economy budget.

web floor and roof joists and a small mum compressive strength of 1700 psi, and joists, metal decking and concrete
amount of Z joists in the exterior corri- provides a 50 to 55 decibel floor. Metal floor fi II was $69,700, for a square foot
dors amounted to another 2.50 pounds deck was 26 gauge high tensile material price of $1.64. This represents less than
per square foot, for a total steel weight with a minimum yield point of 90,000 15 per cent of the total contract price
of 5.88 pounds per square foot. psi. In areas of less than 500 pounds per of $484,000 for the 42,600-square-foot
Conventional concrete fill on metal foot of horizontal shear, the deck was (over-all) structure. The finished proj-
deck was used on the floor over the used as a diaphragm as well as furnish- ect, containing 56 studio and one-bed-
parking area. Other floors utilized light- ing a form for the concrete fill. Struc- room apartments, will be ent"ely of in-
weight, sound - absorptive concrete tural steel was fabricated by San Jose combustible construction. It consists of
known as IIAerofill" on metal deck. This Steel Company, Inc., San Jose. four inter-connected buildings one hav-
material, with a maximum density of Total contract cost of the basic struc- ing one story, two of two stories and one
100 pounds per cubic foot and a mini- tural frame, including structural steel with four floors.

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Steel Construction is a completely new
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1121 1114 151. contains more precalculated design in-
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previous (fifth) edition to permit quick
and accurate solutions of steel struc-
tures as well as many changes and ad-
l ditions.
- First and foremost is the switch from
ASTM A7 to A36 steel as the basic con-
struction material. The entire book has
been reoriented toward the use of A36
and higher strength steels. By using ac-
companying conversion factors, the
tables on A36 beams can be applied to

.., high strength steels with yield points up

to 50,000 psi (A242, A440 and A441) .
Separate tables have been added for

•
column loads for high strength steels,
and use of a conversion factor is not
necessary.
Many innovations are included such
as design examples for quick familiarity
with the new material as well as refer-
ences to the specific sections of the
Specifications. Even the tables on di-
FRAMED BfAM CONNECTIONS mensions, weights and properties of
;.
Bolted or riveted rolled shapes have been thoroughly re-
TASU I AlloInbl. IoIds 1ft kJps
10 ROWS vised, for, even though the geometry of
the shapes has not changed, the applica-
bil ity of the information has - depend-
ing on the particular grade of steel being
J considered for a design.

- Another major improvement is a com·

pletely revised chart on "Allowable Mo-
mentson Laterally Unsupported Beams."
The chart has been simplified so that an
9 ROWS 1 engineer can now design directly from
w: 36, 33 the Manual. The chart gives bending
moments for compact shapes with maxi-

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mum bending stress, and for non-com-
pact shapes with reduced stress. It also
'" allows for necessary reductions of mo-
,l .'
ment in spans where bracing is spaced
at intervals such that stress reduction
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•
becomes necessary.
8 ROWS 1
Use of explanatory notes and symbols
w: 36, 33, 30 for high strength steels throughout the
volume will virtually remove the chance

8
 E NEW AISC ANU
, . COhlPOsnl OlSIGH
for design errors. They will also permit D'am Selecllon lable
."......
CompoS!Ie DC
the designer a much more accurate
selection of steel grade and section.
The discussion and tables on column
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loads have been revised to include fac-

tors for interaction formulas, and cover
both axially loaded columns and col-
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umns with combination axial and bend-
ing stresses. With these factors, the
new column load tables cover a wide
range of conditions that may be encoun-
tered, yet they provide a simplified ap-
proach to column design. The factors
permit the designer to come up with a
direct solution to the column design
problem for either axial loads or com-
bined axial and bending stresses. With
the smaller columns allowed there is
the saving in space as well as saving up
to 15 per cent of costs and materials.

•
Another completely new section of
the Manual is devoted to connections.
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Ten principal tables cover bolted, 1·
welded and riveted - framed, seated .:••
and special connections and combina- ' J
tions of these. The Manual provides sim-
ple tables of coefficients for strength of
bolt, rivet and weld groups, and combi-
nation groupings as they might appear
in actual connections. All of these con-
venient design aids are expected to be
important time-savers in designing effi-
cient and economical connections.
In addition to the tables and sug-
gested details, the section on connec-
tions outlines steps for designing for
continuous welded construction. It also
gives detailing practice information on
spacing, clearances, weights and dimen·
sions of bolts and rivets. This section
permits a wide choice of connections to
suit specific loads, design conditions
and construction methods.
Two all-new sections cover design of
plate girders and composite design for
building construction. Economy tables,
useful In plastic design, have also been

•
added.
The plate-girder design section con-
tains an all-new presentation based on
the "tension field action" design con -

,9
 One of the tables is similar to the sec- •
tion modulus economy tables for rolled
steel sections. There are three versions
of the table - one for each of three dif-
ferent slab th icknesses. Another table,
also in three versions, covers section
properties of the combined steel and
concrete beams.
The theory and applications of plastic
design, first announced in 1957, are
treated separately in the AISC book,
Plastic Design in Steel. Provisions cov-
ering use of plastic design are incorpo-
rated in the new AISC Specification, and
a plastic section modulus table covering
all rolled shapes that may be used is in·
cluded in the new Manual. The revised
Manual makes the plastic design con-
cept simpler and easier to use.
Structural materials and other steel
industry information not included in pre-
vious editions of the Manual are covered
by new tables in the Sixth Edition. For
example, it contains all-new tables giv-
ing properties and column loads for
square and rectangular structural tubes
and pipe columns in sizes three inches
and up and in several wall thicknesses.
The new book also gives dimensions •
and properties of new lightweight
shapes. Properties of tees cut from
rolled shapes, adjusted to meet width-
thickness requirements of the Specifi-
cation, now are given in convenient
tables. The Manual also contains speci-
fications and load tables for LA, LH, J
and H series open-web steel joists. This
new material offers the designer a
broader selection of structural compo·
nents that best suit the design condi-
tions.
cepl. This design consideration, based such data is not available. Physically the contents of the red-
on results of research findings, makes Composite design for building con- covered book have been expanded by
obsolete the text on this subject in the struction is covered in a new 30-page about one-third, or to 768 pages, al-
fifth edition of the Manual. This new section and is included in the Manual though the Manual is not much thicker
concept, keyed to the new Specification for the first time. It contains a general than the familiar blue fifth edition be·
released last year, permits fewer inter- discussion of the application of compo- cause of the use of thinner, very opaque
mediate transverse stiffeners and may site design and includes tables and de- paper. There are six major sections, with
permit thinner web plates. sign aids that assist in design. thumb-indexing and a table of contents
A new table serves as a design aid for Because of the infinite number of preceding each section, Dimensions and
welded plate girders. The table contains possible combinations of beam dimen- Properties; Beam and Girder Design;
section properties just like the tables for sions, beam spacing, concrete strengths Column Design; Connections; Specifica-
rolled shapes. From the table, a designer and slab thicknesses, all conditions can- tions and Codes; and Miscellaneous
can pick a section that suits his condi- not be included in the tables. But they Data and Mathematical Tables.

•
tions, then check it against his problem. are expected to cover about 80 per cent The Manual may be obtained through
This procedure will substantially reduce of ordinary design conditions, based on the New York office of the AISC at $7.00
calculations needed in designing by 3000 psi concrete and a choice of three per copy, postage prepaid. A check
"trial and error" methods, required where slab thicknesses, 4, 41', and 5 inches. should accompany the order.

10
•

Stul framiftl1 for tM /irat oiz floor. of Seattle', ItA ct Tit .. finid.ed ,trudl'Tf'! hal 170,OOO'q It oll/rol. area oftd
!AMra Buiuli'nQ U'" ertcted ill Ie,. than a monlA. Note 135.000 .q It of rCfltuble (In a. Til.. /amou. Sparf' .'·udle
V'f'b Aolt. located at mid.pan. ''''Iere .hear~ art! low. lor la.t year's World·, f.'air u tn tA(' lelt backgroftJad.

• Preliminary planning for tenant ac-

commodation of the 6th and Lenora
Building in Seattle, Washington, indi-
cated a six·story structure. But what
began as six suddenly shot up to nine,
and with a closing flourish jumped two
maximum, the building was sufficiently
rigid with a nominal amount of tempo-
rary braCing during erection.
Included in the structural steel's to-
tal weight of 560 tons were 200 tons of
To strengthen the shear capacity of the
concrete and to assist in tying the whole
concrete section to the steel, stirrups
were provided extending up from the vi·
cinity of the stud shear connectors.
Field erection of the structural com·
columns, 120 tons of floor beams, 170
more floors-without adding to the foun- ponents progressed smoothly and rap-
tons of joists and 70 tons of struts and
dation or reinforcing the lower floors. idly. A rising gang of five men set as
miscellaneous steel. A440 was used for
Stopping and starting construction many as 80 pieces in an eight·hour day.
the lower columns, A36 for the upper
while the two subsequent and separate All connections were "free" - with no
columns, A441 for the floor beams, and
design additions were detailed necessa- A36 for the balance. threading of beams down columns and
rily added to the cost of the building, but no common connections of beams.
because of the simplicity of the framing The new AISC value for friction·type Erection of the structural steel and the
there were no special problems for the high tensile bolts was especially valu· decking for the first two phases was
fabricator. able for the floor beam connections. completed In slightly less than one
The result was a low-cost steel- These were 16LB 26 with cover plates month each. The last three floors, begun
framed office building utilizing steel for at the bottom flange and studs at the nearly two and one half months later,
vertical support and exterior walls for top for special composite construction. were erected in two weeks. Time and ex·
lateral support and with a host of built· The maximum end shear was 60 kips. penses were also saved by setting in the
in economies. They included duplica- Under the new Specification a value of steel decking as the building was
tion of structural parts, a composite 18 kips each is allowed for seven-eighth· erected. This eliminated the need to use
floor system, rectangular connections inch high tensile bolts. Previously only temporary wood planking. Total can·
with no diagonal bracing, the exterior 8.75 kips were allowed for a quarter·inch struction time for the entire structure
wall system, no painted steel, and the web. was about nine and one half months.
use of high tensi Ie bolts for shop and The holes through the webs of the Arch itect Chester Li ndsey and struc·
field connections; all combined to keep floor beams were located at midspan, tural engineer Richard Hadley collabo-

•
construction and steel fabrication at a where shears were low. The upper (can· rated on the design. Pacific Car and
minimum. In addition, the new AISC crete) parts of these composite memo Foundry Company's Structural Division
Specification aided considerably. And, bers have more than ample shear fabricated the structural steel. All are
by spreading the end connections to the capacity to handle the loads imposed. Seattle firms.

11
.~

•tfl

• Contemporary architecture differs

basically from the traditional in its fun-
damental concept and its sincerity of
expression. New structural shapes are
being introduced and new techniques
developed. A hyperbolic paraboloid - a
simultaneous equations and makes the
computation extremely tedious and time-
consuming. For this reason approximate
methods had to be employed. The dan-
ger of over-estimating the stresses could
be avoided only at the risk of under-
A typical example is the three-way
spherical grid dome covering a recently
built church in Chartres, France. The
structure was designed by French arch i-
tect-engineer S. Ou Chateau_ He used
the SOC system based on a special node
structural form virtually unknown 25 estimating them. Most space structures connector, into which six steel tubular
years ago - has now become one of the built in the past were designed with an members may be introduced. The con-
best known and accepted architectural unnecessarily high factor of safety and nection allows almost any adjustment in
shapes. Suspended cable roof structures so lost the economic advantage which is height and inclination of the members
are another convincing example of the one of the main features of good design. prior to final welding. For shallow sphe-
great changes now taking place in the The advent of the electronic com- rical domes the members forming the
basic design concepts of structural puter is changing the whole outlook. It grid are not of the same length, though
engineers. the difference is quite small. This, of
is now possible to tackle and solve very
Many eminent architects state that complex structural analyses in a rea- course, would be a disadvantage if a
we are now at the beginning of a great sonable time. Some commercial firms, conventional method of joining the
architectural revolution marking a specializing in prefabricated space members were used.
transition from the two-dimensional framework, have programmed standard In the SOC system all the tubular ele-
structures of the past to the three-di- layouts for the computer. By varying ments are cut originally to the same
mensiona I space systems of the present. certain factors, and keeping others con- length; they do not require any edge
The space structure fits into the picture stant, it is now possible to produce a preparation and their length can be ad-
of general scientific and technological family of curves suitable for interpola- justed by sliding into the cast connec-
progress very well indeed for it is a very tion and rapid design. With such tables tor. Though many engineers are still
modern form of construction. Its popu- the designer can compare several alter- afraid of site-welding, emphasizing its
larity is increasing rapidly because of native arrangements and select the most high cost, the space structures built so
economical. far by this system have most convinc-
ingly proved their economy.
In the past, the pressure of time in
The structure is monolithic with the
the design office often prevented a thor-
members rigidly connected at the nodes.
ough study of several different layouts
This allows the compression members to
and made it difficult to determine
have their buck ling lengths reduced to
whether the adopted solution was really
efficient or not. The use of an electronic O.7L, leading to SUbstantial savings of
computer cha nges this approach. It now material in dome structures, which re-
pefabrication, new techniques of mass sist most of the applied loading by com-
production of the component parts and makes the production of three-dimen-
pression.
improved methods. It is also greatly in- sional structures both feasible and eco-
Without a computer the precise analy-
fluenced by the recent development of nomicaL Some people call this a revolu-
sis of this grid dome would have been
electronic digital computers. tion - perhaps it would be more logical
virtually impossible. With its help sev-
The advantages of space structures, to call it simply just another step in
eral different loading cases were consid-
their inherent lightness combined with technological progress.
ered; also the effect of changes in the
great rigidity because of three-dimen- There are various types of space boundary conditions were readily ascer-
sional arrangement of members, were structures already well established in tained. Because of the very small height-
well known to engineers many years ago, civil engineering pra ctice. Prefabricated to-span ratio of the dome and the rigid -
but the chief barriers to a greater use of grids, braced domes and barrel vaults ity of the welded nodes the members of
three-dimensional structures in the past are probably the most popular ones. the structure in addition to axial forces
were the complexity of design calcula- Most of these structures have been built were also subject to bending moments.
tions and the difficulty of joining the in steel because of its strength, relia- Diagrams 1 and 2 illustrate the bending
several members at different angles in bility, adaptability and economy. By the moment under uniformly distributed
space. imaginative use of steel, very interesting loading covering the whole area and
Welding has greatly influenced the space structures can be achieved. snow lying over half of the roof respec-
present development of space struc- Recent trends in prefabricated steel tively. It shows the advantage of the grid
tures ; modern techniques of prefabrica· space structures put special emphasis construction in which the shorter beams,
tion have speeded it up, and standardi- on three-way grid systems. Structural en- owing to their greater relative stiffness,
zation of component parts has led to gineers are interested in this particular provide intermediate supports for the

•
lower costs and simplified erection. arrangement because of the exception- longer beams, which then become con-
Space structures, as a rule, are highly ally uniform stress distribution in grids tinuous beams, resting on yielding sup-
indeterminate, and their analysis byex- of this type. Architects like it because it ports and having overhangs at each end.
act methods leads to a large number of allows great flexibility in design. This considerably reduces the stresses

IJ
 •
-
units jointed together at the nodes by
bolting. All the units are completely in-
terchangeable. The field tests, under a •
load several times the design load with
no sign of structural failure, proved the
great stiffness of the grid and its suit-
ability for large spans. After the tests
the structure was dismantled and all the
units used again as the roof for a school
assembly hall in Wales.
Various other designs have been car-
ried out in this system; some have been
completed, others will be built in the
near future. The test strain readings cor-
responded very closely with the results
of the mathematical analysis carried out
by the author using the computer and
enabled the flexibility co-efficients of
the node connection to be precisely de-
termined.
A more spectaular case of a recent
application of such a double-layer three-
way grid construction is the roof cover-
ing the swimming pool at Bilancourt in
Paris (Figure 4) from the design of M.
Du Chateau. The SOC system was again
used . The structure covers an area 160
ft square. Steel tubes with a constant
external diameter of 90 mm. and a wall
thickness varying from 3' 25 mm. to 8' 00
mm. were used for the upper and lower
layers of the structure. One of the direc- •
tions of the three-way grid is parallel to a
side of the area.
Because of the versatility of the pre-
fabricated node it was very easy to intro-
duce camber in the structure still using
the prefabricated latticed unit of the
same overall dimensions. Diagram 3
shows the bending moments for this grid
obtained by the author on a computer.
This structure is perhaps the best ex-
ample of the structural changes now
taking place from the few massive, solid
in the central zone of the structure and girders of the past towards systems of
produces the reversal of stress towards gossamer delicacy composed of numer-
the corners. ous light-weight members assembled in
Experiments have been carried out regular geometrical patterns which are
on small and large-scale models of as intriguing to the eye as they are
three·way grid structures. In 1961 a full- stable in behavior.
size prototype of a double-layer grid One thing only does not change - the
structure was tested under the guidance material. It is still steel.
of the author (Figures 2 and 3). This sys· This article appeared in. Building
tem, known as the Met-Ram space frame, \Vilh Steel and ;l reprinted by permis-
is another version of the three-way grid SiOI1 of the British Constructional
and consists of prefabricated latticed

l<~IGURE 4. The three-way double-layer grid

coverinu a 8wimming pool in Paris.
St.eelwork Associatiotl, /jO"dOfi .

•
 NEW WELDING SPECIFICATION SETS RADIOGRAPHIC STANDARDS FOR BRIDGES
• by Samuel H. Clark
Chief Engineer, AISC

Many structural steel fabricators and

highway bridge engineers welcome the
namic impact loading found in bridges
seldom occurs in a building where static
loads only are involved. The level of
workmanship in welding should be re-
lated to the type of service loads and
in full penetration butt-welds. The al-
lowance for fusion defects within the
joint is given in the chart below (Figure
409 in the AWS Bridge Spec.):
What does all this mean to the inspec-
new Bridge Specification (D2.0-63) of does vary for different types of work. tor and the engineer? Since the typical
the American Welding Society released The principal requirement which va· groove-welded joint in the highway
this spring. It is a real accomplishment ries from one industry to another is the bridge is a splice in a girder flange, spe-
in keeping pace with modern welding allowance for porosity and fusion de- cial limits are prescribed which prohibit
practices. In the seven years since the fects. The definition of fusion defects these fusion defects at the edge of a
1956 Specification was published, a incl udes three principal types: "Fusion joint and at the junction of flange and
number of new developments have come defect signifies (1) slag inclusions, (2) web. As an example, the sketch below
into common use and are now covered incomplete fusion, (3) inadequate pene- shows a typical girder flange cross sec-
in the Specification. One of the most tration and similar generally elongated tion, as an aid in interpreting the above
significant is the standard of accept- defects in weld fusion." chart pictorially. This is approximately
ability for radiographic inspection. All AWS Standards, whether for boil- what the radiograph or the X-ray picture
This standard of acceptability is con- ers, tanks, pipelines or ship hulls, pro~ would show as typical of defects al-
sistent with standards in other types of hibit cracks and require thorough fusion lowed in a good weld.
welding, and it is similar in its require-
ments to the "Boiler Code" - or the
ASME Code for Unfired Pressure Ves- WEB
sels. Now for the first time, structural MAxi'LONG
steel welding has its own "yardstick" \ FUSION DEFECT
for measuring weld quality.
The need for a radiographic specifi- 11-·
cation applicable to bridges has been ~~~~~~~__~~~__~__~~______~L 2
evident in recent years, but this stand- 3~'
ard is not necessarily a proper one for
buildings where such inspection is not
considered necessary. The type of dy- ACCEPTABLE DEFECTS
llil.IL. FUSION DEFECTS PERMITTED IN HATCHED AReAS ONLY

II~------r-------r-------r-------r-------r-------~------r-------'-----~
\
I TO DETERM INE THE MAXIMUM SIZE OF DEFECT PERMITTED
IN ANY JOINT OR WELD THROAT THIC KNESS
PROJECT CA) HORIZONTALLY TO (8)
I.!. n
• TO DETERMINE THE MINIMUM CLEARANCE ALLOWED
BETWEEN EDGES OF DEFECTS OF ANY SIZE:
PROJECT (8) VERTICALLY (C)

A
•

..
I

..
I

0,L-----~----~------4_----~------~-----L----~------~----_+_,
o i 1'2 2 2'2 3 32 4- 42

•
C - MINIMUM CLEARANCE ALLOWED BETWEEN EDGES
OF POROSITY OR FUSION DEFECTS -INCHES
(LA~GER OF ADJACENT DEFECTS GOVERNS)

IS
 ~~- f)N WIN

The free-Blanding roof 0/ the Serto11la Band Shell is like a square that has
been folded on a diagonal, with one peak tipped UP. and it. "u.>ings" clipped.

"Every time I see our Sertoma Band

Shell," says one citizen of Lancaster,
Pa., "I think of the line, 'On Wings of
Song'." However poetic the public re-
sponse to the structure may be, what got
it off the ground was a successful stint
tive. Its structural system is simpler than
a first glance reveals. Actually, the
principal roof framework is statically de-
terminate, consisting of a wood deck
supported by steel purlins which, in
turn, frame into rafters that span from
The split or castellated beam was then
tried. Not only did this satisfy the de-
flection requirements, but actually re-
duced the size of the members. The new
radius of gyration about the main axis
was substantially higher than before,
•
of trigonometry. the ridge line down to the foundation. which, in turn, increased the allowabl~
The double tilt of the roof called for Both purl ins and rafters are simply sup- unit axial stress in each member. For
determining the complicated relation- ported. example, the heaviest member in the
ship of each roof member to others. The Two space frames support the roof. first design was an 1BWF77. The mem-
appearance of the structure is decep- Each is composed of seven pipe sec- ber used in the final design was an
tions. Stresses in these members were 1BWF60 expanded to a 24-in. depth.
calculated by the simultaneous solution The band shell was original ly de-
of the joint equations. Here again, a stat- signed in 1959 using laminated cypress
ically determinate analysis was possible beams to support the free-standing roof.
by equating certain reactions to zero. As with many public subscribed en-
Design of roof rafters considered the deavors, fund raising ran into difficul-
varying axial load due to the difference ties, and by the time funds were avail-
in the elevation of the supports. Inci- able, construction costs had increased
dentally, critical design loads for the so significantly that the structure had to
structure were determined by investiga- be redesigned in steel to maintain the
tion of five combinations of dead, snow, original estimate.
and wind loads. Deflection calculations A. W. Lookup, structural engineer of
indicated that certain rafters were not Philadelphia, in conjunction with Cole·
deep enough. To go to a larger wide- man & Coleman. architects of Landes-
flange section in only a few places would ville, designed the Band Shell. John W.

•
have been architecturally objectionable, Wickersham of Lancaster, Pa., was
and from the structural point of view the general contractor. The steel was
Th e six-sided Btage has space more steel would have been provided fabricated by A. B. Rote and Company,
for a ~OO-membcr choral
group or a lOO-piece OTcheBtra. than was necessary. also of Lancaster.

16