STRUCTURAL WORK

In structural steelwork, the connections of the members are made by one of the following
methods:
 Use of hot-forged (black) bolts.
 Use of high-strength friction-grip (HSFG) bolts.
 Riveting.
 Welding.

Examples of typical structural steel sections include: Angle section, Tee section, Rolled Steel
Channel (RSC), Universal Beam (UB), Rolled Steel Joist (RSJ) and Universal Column (UC).
These structural shapes are produced by passing the white hot steel ingot through special
designed rolls in a rolling mill.

Beams, columns, joists and channels are described by their depth, breath, mass per metre and
length required, in that order.
The expression 457 x 152 x 60 UB x 7440 would describe a universal beam with a depth of
457mm, width of 152 mm, weighing 60kg/metre and 7440 mm long.

Typical structural steels

There are two types of Universal Beams

a. with taper flanges
b. with parallel flanges

Definition of terms as used in structural work:

Beam – a horizontal member of structural steel work which is connected to the stanchion. It is
made from universal beam, universal column, angle iron or hollow section.
What is the purpose of beams in a structure?

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A beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally to the beam’s axis.
Its mode of deflection is primarily by bending.

Difference between a beam and a joist

Beam – a horizontal member of structural steel work which is connected to the stanchion.
Joist – is a horizontal member that generally runs across a building and is supported by a beam.

Stanchion – also known as column is a vertical support member of structural steel work. It is
made from universal beam, universal column, angle iron or hollow section. A stanchion is
welded to the base plate or stanchion base.
Stanchion base – also known as the base plate, is usually a rectangular plate welded or bolted
through angle cleats to the lower end of the stanchion so that it connects the stanchion and the
building foundation by hold down bolts.
The stanchion base or base plate serves the following purposes:
 Stanchion bases transmit the downward thrust (vertical load) on the stanchion to the
foundation upon which the stanchion and its load are supported.
 The stanchion base also spreads the load so that the stanchion does not cut into and/or
crush the foundation, which is usually concrete.
 The stanchion base keeps the stanchion in required position that is it stops lateral
displacent.
NB: Only the top face of the base slab has to be machined to ensure close contact with the
end of the stanchion.

There are two types of stanchion bases:

a. Bases for stanchions transmitting only a direct load to the foundations.
b. Bases where the stanchion has to transmit a considerable bending moment to the
foundations in addition to the direct, vertical load.

A stanchion with a welded stanchion base

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Why the foot of a stanchion is machined square?
The foot of the stanchion must be machined square to the axis of the stanchion to ensure it
stands vertically. This ensures that the load is carried directly onto the base plate or slab and
into the foundations.
If the foot of the stanchion or column is not square to the base plate, then the total load on
the stanchion would be carried through the bolt or rivet shanks where these are used to secure
the assembly.

Splice plate – is a plate which is used to join angle irons or beams together along the length
producing a spliced connection. The splice plate is usually bolted or riveted.
Spliced connection – is a joint made within the length of the stanchion, a beam or any other
structural member using a splice plate.
It is aimed at transferring the internal forces from one structural part to the adjacent one
without being a weak point of the structure in relation to strength, stiffness and ductility.
Splices should never be made on a connection, otherwise the bolts or rivets making the joint
would be subjected to double loading.

Column splices are needed to join together columns that maybe of:
i. The same section size
ii. The same serial size but of different section size
iii. Different serial sizes

Reasons for splicing the stanchion

 To extend columns to desired length
 To join columns of either different sections or serial sizes.

Fish plate – also known as joint bar is a metal plate or slab that is bolted to each of the two
columns or beams that have been butted together to provide the function of maintaining
alignment.

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 Typical stanchion splices

CASTELLATED BEAMS
Castellated beams are made from standard hot-rolled I sections.
The web of the beam is split lengthwise in a rack-shaped pattern (hexagonal shape) by flame
cut, reassembled and then re-joined by welding to form single expanded beam section with a
deeper web by taking advantage of the cutting pattern.

This method is known as castellation system of construction which is a simple method of

increasing the strength/weight ratio of a beam with very little waste (thus increasing its load
capacity for large spans).

The depth of a castellated beam is approximately one and half times that of original section.

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Explaining the construction of castellated beams
Stage 1
Original beam is flame cut to calculated and pre-determined profile and the scrap is removed.

Stage 2
The cut beam is separated into two components for fitting A to A

Stage 3
The two components are then reassembled and then re-joined by welding to form single
expanded beam section with a deeper web by taking advantage of the cutting pattern to
form a castellated beam. The depth of a castellated beam is approximately one and half
times that of original section.

Complete castellated beam

Advantages of castellated beams
 Lighter in weight
 Have increased strength to weight ratio
 The hexagonal holes permit ease passing of electric cables
 Easy to construct

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TRUSSES

Roof truss
Truss refers to that type of structural work with plane frames consisting of sloping rafters
which meet at the apex.
A main horizontal tie (king post) connects the lower ends (feet) of the rafters, and the
internal bracing members.
Trusses are used to support the roof in conjunction with purlins which are either bolted or
welded on purlin cleats made from angle section.

These purlins are secondary members laid longitudinally across the rafters on which the roof
covering is laid.

Angle cleat – it is bolted to the shoe gusset of the truss and is used to connect the truss and
the column by bolting together the angle cleat holes and that of the stanchion’s cap plate.

Angle irons are used as purlins for the following reasons:

 they are lighter in weight and
 they permit hook bolts to sit proper.

LATTICE GIRDERS
Lattice girders are also sometimes called trusses which are plane frames of open web
construction.
They usually have parallel booms which are connected with internal bracing members.

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Lattice girders may be used in flat roof construction and can be fabricated from standard
rolled sections and connection members are usually welded into position.
The framing of a lattice girder should be triangulated, taking into account the span and the
spacing of the applied loads.
The booms are divided into panels of equal length and, as far as possible, the panel points are
arranged to coincide with the applied loads.8.4 Web

There are two basic types of lattice girder, the ‘N’ type and the ‘Warren’ type
N-type lattice girder
Compression boom

strut
Internal bracing
Tension boom
The diagonal bracing members are arranged so that they act as ties.
If reversed they will become struts and the shorter vertical members will be ties.

Warren type lattice girder

Thick lines in the diagram represent struts
Compression boom

Strut

Tensional boom

What is the difference between a frame and a truss?

A truss is a structure comprised of rod members or angle irons arranged to form one or more
triangles.
A frame is a structure that consists of arbitrarily oriented beam members which are connected
rigidly or by bolts at the joints.

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PORTAL FRAME

Portal frame and its parts

What is called as portal frame?

Portal frame is generally low-rise structure, comprising of columns and horizontal or pitched
rafters, connected by moment-resisting connections (bolts and haunches).
Portal frames consist of two uprights (columns), rigidly connected at the top by a third
member (rafter), which maybe horizontal, slopping or curved.

What are portal frames used for?

 Generally portal frames are used for single-story buildings.
 They can be used for low rise buildings with several floors where they can be
economic if the floors do not span right across the building (in these circumstances a
skeleton frame, with internal columns, would be a more economic choice).

With reference to portal frames, what is a haunch?

It is a structural member used to brace the stanchion and rafter of a portal frame.

Two types of haunches in a portal frame are eaves haunch and apex haunch.
Eaves haunch - is used to enhance the bending resistance. The length of the eaves haunch is
10% of the rafter length and the depth of the haunch is usually equal to the depth of the rafter.
Apex haunch - is used to facilitate a bolted connection.

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 Haunch in portal frame

Illustrating one way of economically cutting out haunches from a universal beam

Haunch 2 Haunch 4
waste waste
Haunch 1 Haunch 3 Haunch 5

What are valley beams?

Valley beam – it is a beam that serves the purpose of connecting adjacent portal frames in
such a way that it creates space for movement of mobile lifting solutions in the warehouse.
Main reason for using valley beams
To lesson number of stanchions thereby creating room and space for loading vehicles and
mobile cranes.

GUSSET PLATES
Gusset plate – is a steel plate that is used to connect beams and girders to columns or to
connect truss members either by bolts, rivets or welding.
The gusset plate is designed to withstand the forces applied by the members which it
connects together.
The gusset plate is used to transfer stresses between connected members and help strengthen
the joint between them.
The larger the force on the connecting members, the larger the size of the gusset plate.

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 Typical gusset plate

Three reasons why feather and sharp edges must be cut off from the gusset plate
 To provide clearance for fillet welds and bend radii. (This allows for ease of assembly
and permits welding through the gap with the web, or gusset, in position).
 To avoid costly fitting operations at corners.
 To reduce unnecessary weight of the assembly rather than increasing it.

Gusset design and related calculations formulae

Edge distance = 1.5 (Bolt diameter)
Minimum pitch = 2.5 (Bolt diameter)
Maximum pitch = 3 (Bolt diameter)
𝐥𝐞𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡+𝟔
Back mark = (this formula is used for sections with leg length of 75mm and
𝟐
below).
𝐥𝐞𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡+𝟏𝟐
Or Back mark = (this formula is used for sections with leg length of 76mm
𝟐
and above).
NB: The measurement is taken from the heel of the steel section

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Expansion distance when designing the gusset
 Expansion distance =10mm

Holes spacing on UB and angle iron sections

Question
You are required to drill holes of diameter 24mm on angle iron measuring 80 x 80 x 8 mm
from one of its ends. Calculate the following:
a) The back mark
b) The pitch
c) The edge distance

Solution:
leg length+12 80+12
a) The back mark = = = 46mm
2 2

b) The Maximum pitch = 3 × bolt diameter = 3 × 24 = 72mm

c) Edge distance = 1.5 × bolt diameter = 1.5×24 = 36mm

What is meant by HDBs in structural work?

HDBs – Hold Down Bolts

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CLEATS
Cleats are made from angle sections and are named according to their position and purpose
they serve in structural work.
 Purlin cleat - placed on top of the roof truss for the purpose of holding the purlin and
roofing material.
 Web cleat or End cleat - placed on the web at the end of the beam to connect beam
web to stanchion or to another beam.
 Seating cleat - placed underneath the beam to hold it in place.
 Stability cleat - placed on top of the beam to inhibit (hinder/restrain) rotation.
 Angle cleat – placed on the shoe gusset of a truss and is used to connect the truss to
the column by bolting together the angle cleat and the column’s cap plate.

Secondary beams with riveted web or end cleats bolted to the main beam

Beam to stanchion connection using seating and stability cleats

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Differentiating between end plate and cap plate
End plate is a plate welded at the end of the beam used to connect the beam to the column or
to another beam. (Sometimes the end plate is replaced by the end cleats depending on the
design).
Cap plate is a plate welded at the top of the stanchion used to connect the stanchion to roof
truss.

Beam to beam connection with an end plate

Stanchion with cap plate connecting the roof truss

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WEB STIFFENERS
Web stiffeners refer to plates fitted and welded on the web of the beam or plated structure to
prevent it from twisting.

Web stiffeners are required when a beam or plated structure is subjected to a twisting force
(torsion) or a sideways thrust.
The need for web stiffeners increases as the depth of the beam web increases as shown in
figure below.
Web stiffeners are usually of the same thickness with the web of the beam.

When fabricating stiffeners that are to be welded into position, it is important that the
stiffener is an exact fit in the beam hence the slope of the tapered flanges should be copied
exactly.

A beam fitted with web stiffeners

Two (2) disadvantages of using UB sections with greater depth

 The larger sizes of universal beam sections are unable to resist twisting force within
its web as effectively as smaller sections. This is because much greater depth present
a very much longer arm.
 The thickness of the web of universal beam sections does not increase proportionally
with the depth of the beam.

A beam with greater depth

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Advantage of using a universal beam with little depth is that:
The smaller sizes of UB sections will resist twisting force within its web which has relatively
little depth, presenting a shorter lever arm.

Two methods of stiffening the web of a UB

Plate stiffeners are also applicable on flanges.

One reason for stiffening a flange is when a single fillet weld has to be used, the other side
being inaccessible for welding, and if otherwise this welding is subjected to bending.

CAMBERS
Camber refers to a pre-set curve put on the beam to compensate for loading.
Camber is used in long spans with the purpose of counteracting deflection due to load.

What is the difference between camber and sweep in structural steel?

Camber is a curve in vertical plane whereas a sweep is curve in horizontal pane.

Reasons why cambers are important in structural work

 Safeguard the structures from sagging as a result of load applied to the structures
 To improve aesthetics of the project (Beauty and decorative purposes)
 Used to give clearance

Applications of cambers in engineering

 Bridges construction
 Roof trusses
 Building arcs
 Dam walls

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  Window frames
 churches

Three ways of constructing cambers

i. Quadrant method
ii. Rectangular method
iii. Double camber height method

The diagram below shows a simple connection of two beams to a corner stanchion connection

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