13 Computer-Aided Design

13.1 GENERAL REMARKS

During the past 35 years, computers have been widely used in research, struc-
tural analysis, and design. There is no exception for cold-formed steel struc-
tures.
Because the research work on cold-formed steel structures usually involves
studies of the structural behavior and instability of plate components, indi-
vidual members, and/or the entire assembly, hand calculations are excessively
lengthy and extremely difficult. Computers have been used to great advantage
in obtaining solutions for complicated problems involving these structures
under various boundary and loading conditions.
As discussed in the preceding chapters, the formulas used for the design
of cold-formed steel structural members are quite complicated, particularly
for those members having unusual cross sections. It may be found that even
the determination of sectional properties requires burdensome calculations,
which may involve the use of successive approximations. For this reason,
various institutions and companies have used computers to develop the data
necessary for the preparation of design tables and charts.
In addition, computers have also been used for the development and design
of industrialized buildings, minimum-weight design of structural members,
minimum-cost design of structural systems, and special structures.
Article 13.2 contains a brief review of some computer programs used for
the analysis and design of cold-formed steel members and structures in the
past.

13.2 COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR THE DESIGN OF

COLD-FORMED STEEL STRUCTURES

13.2.1 Sectional Properties

Computer programs have been used extensively for the preparation of the
design tables included in Ref. 1.159 and in many of manufacturers’
publications. The equations needed for the calculation of sectional properties
of angles, channels, hat sections, I-sections, T-sections, and Z-sections are
summarized in Part I of Ref. 1.159.

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616 COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN

In some cases the calculation of the sectional properties of various types

of structural members has been included as a subroutine in complete computer
programs for the analysis and design of cold-formed steel structures.13.1

13.2.2 Optimum Design

The minimum-weight design of cold-formed steel members has been studied
by Seaburg and Salmon1.247 on the basis of the AISI Specification.1.4 It has
been found that the gradient search method requires less time than the direct
search method. This optimization technique has been illustrated for the se-
lection of the most favorable cross section of the hat-shaped roof deck.
In 1971 a computer program, DOLGAS, was developed by Klippstein for
the design of steel trusses fabricated from cold-formed steel members.13.1 It
provides for the selection of minimum-weight members (channels, Z-sections,
hat sections, sigma sections, or tubular sections) to meet the requirements of
the AISI Specification.1.4 This program uses STRESS to compute member
forces and then check the design of members on the basis of the AISI design
criteria. The output includes structural design information and the necessary
data for fabrication.
In some cases, emphasis has changed to the minimum-cost design to con-
sider the costs of material, fabrication, and erection. For example, the mini-
mum-cost design of composite floor systems using cold-formed steel decking
has been conducted by Nicholls and Merovich.13.2 In the design, the grid
search procedure has been used. This study includes the costs of cold-formed
steel decking, concrete slab, rolled beams, shoring of decking as necessary,
temperature mesh in slab, and the necessary fireproofing. In addition, the
optimization of cold-formed steel shapes is presented by Douty in Ref. 13.3.

13.2.3 Special Structures

In Chap. 9 it was mentioned that the accurate analysis and design of special
structures subjected to unsymmetrical loading and nonuniform support con-
ditions can be achieved by using computers. For example, the analysis and
the design of the world’s largest cold-formed steel primary structure1.82 have
been completed by using the finite-element method.13.4 The hypar module as
shown in Fig. 9.24 has been analyzed under four different loading conditions.
Reference 13.4 indicates that the computer program specially developed by
Tezcan, Agrawal, and Kostro can be used to determine the deflections and
stresses of any general multiwing hyperbolic paraboloid shell with any type
of support and beam arrangement under any arbitrary load condition.

13.2.4 Industrialized Buildings

The conventional optimum design of industrialized buildings is usually ac-
complished by repeated analysis, modification, and reanalysis of redefined
structural systems. The use of computers increases the design flexibility of
 13.2 COMPUTER PROGRAMS 617

the building system and results in a minimum-weight or a minimum-cost

design.13.5 Computers may also be used for other operations concerning man-
ufacturing, distribution, and administration work.

13.2.5 Decision Table and Flow Charts

A decision table is a concise tabular display of the logical conditions and the
appropriate actions to be taken as the result of these conditions. It is useful
in preparing computer programs which utilize the specification provisions and
in identifying all combinations of factors not specifically covered by the spec-
ification.
The decision table formulation of the AISI Specification for the design of
cold-formed steel structural members has been originally developed by Sea-
burg and modified to conform to the 1986 edition of the specification by
Midgley–Clauer Associates (Ref. 13.7). The table can be converted directly
into programming language.
The 1986 edition of the AISI Cold-Formed Steel Design Manual contained
a series of flow charts. These charts proved to be excellent means of helping
the user to understand the design provisions and to provide a clear picture of
the items that need to be considered in design. They were very useful guide-
lines for computer programmers.

13.2.6 Computer Programs

As computer technology advances, the use of computers for the design of
cold-formed steel structures is unlimited, as demonstrated by Zuehlke (Ref.
13.8) and others.
In 1991, the American Iron and Steel Institute published a document, Cold-
Formed Steel Design Computer Programs, which contained descriptions of
12 computer programs using the AISI Specification. This document was up-
dated by the Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures in 1993 and 1996 to
include 30 programs from the United States, Canada, Australia, and South
Africa.13.9 Most of the computer programs are now (1999) available on the
Center’s website.13.10
Recently, Helen Chen developed a set of computer programs on the basis
of the 1996 edition of the AISI Specification. The example problems are
dealing with (a) beam lateral buckling strength, (b) shear strength of the
stiffened web, (c) web crippling strength, (d) compression members, (e) cy-
lindrical tubes, (f) brace force for C- and Z-sections, (g) welded connections,
(h) bolted connections, and (i) screw connections.13.11 These programs can be
found on the AISI website at www.steel.org.

13.2.7 Numerical Solutions for Cold-Formed Steel Design

In Chap. 3, the effective width design approach of individual elements was
discussed on the basis of the current AISI Specification. It can be seen from
618 COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN

Eq. (3.39) that the reduction factor ␳ used for calculating the effective width
of a given element is a function of the critical local buckling stress ƒcr, and
the maximum compressive stress. Instead of using the AISI equation to de-
termine the ƒcr value for an individual element, Schafer and Pekoz indicate
that the critical elastic buckling stress of an element or a member can be
determined by numerical solutions using (a) finite element method such as
ABAQUS, ANSYS, and STAGS or (b) finite strip method such as THIN-
WALL13.9 and CUFSM.13.12–13.14 The program CUFSM was developed by
Schafer and can be obtained from http://www.cee.cornell.edu/schafer.13.15
The numerical solution can provide a proper handling of element interaction
for general cross sections. It can be used to investigate various possible buck-
ling modes for a given structural member and to determine the lowest buck-
ling stress for design purpose. The advantages of such an approach are
increased accuracy and flexibility. References 13.13 and 13.14 discuss the
application of the proposed Direct Strength Method for the design of cold-
formed steel structural members.