OVERVIEW

The course covers the design of steel and composite steel-concrete structures. It addresses issues related to structural schemes, the calculation of design loads under various operating assumptions, the sizing of structural elements and connections, safety checks, and seismic design with ductility. Advanced FEM modeling methodologies are introduced.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the fundamental tools for designing steel and composite steel-concrete structures. Through theoretical and practical activities, students will:

• Understand the main structural schemes of these types of structures and use them effectively in construction design.
• Know and apply specific structural modelling methods to define the response in terms of stresses and deformations.
• Know and apply sizing and verification methods for structural elements and connections.
• Represent the design using specific rules and representation tools.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Understand the main types of steel and composite steel-concrete structures and apply them effectively in civil and industrial construction design.
• Know the modeling and numerical analysis methods for steel and composite structures and apply them using FEM software.
• Know the design and verification methods and rules for traditional steel structures according to major national and international standards, and apply them to real-world designs.
• Know the design and verification methods for steel structures with semi-rigid joints and apply them to real-world designs.
• Understand the principles and methods of seismic design for high-ductility steel structures.
• Know the design and verification methods for Cold Formed Steel (CFS) structures.
• Know the design and verification methods and rules for composite steel-concrete structures according to major national and international standards, and apply them to real-world designs.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures.
Practical exercises on the topics covered.
Small laboratory experiments.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction to the course: National and European regulatory framework. Steel material behavior: mechanical properties, imperfections and tolerances, experimental analysis methods, commercial products.

Structural types and elements in steel construction: Rigid-joint frames; Vierendeel beams; truss structures; cable structures; tensile structures; planar grids; orthotropic plates; curved grids and shells. Common types in single-story, multi-story, and tower buildings. Classification of bracing systems.

Design of steel elements: Review of strength checks (tension, compression, bending moment, shear, and combined stresses) and stability (local and global instability, flexural-torsional buckling, crippling). Buckling analysis. Fatigue checks for steel structures. Behavior of thin-walled sections: production technology and connection of CFS elements; regulatory framework; verification methods for Class 4 steel sections: local and distortional instability; evaluation methods of effective geometric properties according to Eurocodes.

Design and verification of traditional steel connections: Review of strength checks for bolted and welded joints. Design of main connection types and base joints.

Design and verification of semi-rigid steel connections: Classification of steel connections based on stiffness and strength. Detailed and simplified modeling of semi-rigid beam-column joints. Component method for evaluating stiffness and strength of welded and bolted semi-rigid beam-column joints.

Seismic design of medium and high ductility steel structures: Review of material, section, and structural nonlinearity. Review of capacity design and regulatory framework. Rigid-joint frames. Frames with concentric bracing. Frames with eccentric bracing. Frames with buckling-restrained bracing. Shear walls with solid or perforated steel plates. Dissipation devices for plastic deformation and friction.

Design of composite steel-concrete structures: Historical evolution. Technological and construction aspects. Static schemes during erection and in service. Regulatory framework and analysis methods (reference standards, material properties, safety evaluation, structural analysis, construction phases, rheological effects of concrete). Composite beams. Composite slabs. Composite columns. Executive design criteria

Fire design of structures: Definition of structural robustness. Regulatory framework for fire safety in buildings. Prescriptive and performance-based approaches. Evaluation of thermal action and definition of fire scenarios. Effects of fire on structures. Variation of mechanical properties of materials. Instability and deformation issues. Behavior of beams and slabs. Behavior of columns. Constraint effects. Fire curves and load conditions.

Experimental Activities: Small experimental activities are planned at the Materials and Structures Laboratory of DICCA.

Exercise: Complete computer-assisted design of a steel building. Based on client specifications, students are required to design a civil or industrial structure respecting functional and technological constraints. Verification of the most significant elements and two connections is required. Complete drawings in AUTOCAD or optionally in BIM TEKLA are required.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Springhetti, L. I collegamenti nelle strutture in acciaio. Progetto e verifica secondo la norma UNI-EN 1993-1-8, Hoepli, Milano, 2013.

Nigro, E., Bilotta, A., Progettazione di strutture composte acciaio-calcestruzzo secondo gli Eurocodici e le Norme Tecniche delle Costruzioni, Flaccovio, Palermo, 2016.

Nigro, E., Cefarelli, G., Pustorino, S., Princi, P., Progettazione di strutture in acciaio e composte acciaio-calcestruzzo in caso di incendio, Hoepli, Milano, 2014.

Bruneau, M., Uang, C., Sabelli R., Ductile design of steel structures, McGraw Hill, 2011.

Gioncu, V., Mazzolani, F., Seismic design of steel structures, CRC Press, 2014. 

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/10799/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will consist of:

• A first phase where students present, in about 20 minutes, the group project developed during the year concerning the design of a civil or industrial steel structure; followed by a discussion with the instructors to verify full understanding of the activities carried out.
• A second phase where students individually take a short oral exam on the course topics.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The group project presentation and the oral exam questions aim to verify full knowledge and understanding of the course topics, the ability to critically address structural design problems, and the ability to discuss numerical modeling choices.