The Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda

School of Engineering Technology

Department of Civil Engineering Technology
First Semester Examination (2021/22)
COURSE: Design of Structural Steel and Timber (CEC 409) CLASS: HNDII CET
TIME: 2hrs 30 minutes LECTURER: Sholadoye, I. O
INSTRUCTION: i. Answer any four (4) questions
ii. Use the Table attached
Question one
a. The simply supported beam in Fig. E1, supports uniformly distributed characteristic dead and imposed loads of 5 kN/m each,
as well as a characteristic imposed point load of 30 kN at mid-span.
i. Check the suitability of 406 × 178 × 60 UB section in S275 steel to satisfy. Given, LE=1.0LLT
1. bending
2. shear and
3. deflection consideration
Assuming the beam is fully laterally restrained and there is nominal torsional restrain at supports,
ii. Assuming the beam in Fig E1 is not laterally restrained, determine whether the selected section is suitable, and if not,
select one which is. Assume the compression flange is laterally restrained and the beam fully restrained against torsion at
supports, but both flanges are free to rotate on plan. The loading is normal. Use both simple methods (17.5
marks)
take for: (βw)0.5 LE/ry = 252 , D/T=32 py =275N/mm2 Pb=60N/mm2

Question Two
a) List any two (2) design consideration checks in strut design (1 marks)
b) A proposed 5 metre long internal column in a ‘rigid’ jointed steel structure is to be loaded concentrically with 1000 kN dead
and 1000 kN imposed load (Fig E2). Assuming that fixity at the top and bottom of the column gives effective rotational
restraints, design column sections assuming the structure will be
(i) braced and
(ii) unbraced (10 marks)

c) Check the ability of a 203 x 203 x 52UC in S275 steel to withstand an axial compressive load of 1250 kN over an
unsupported height of 3.6 m assuming that both ends are held in position but are provided with no restraint in direction shown
in Fig. E3. Design to BS 5950: Part 1. (6.5 marks)

Question Three
a. Select a 305 × 305 × 118 UC column section in grade S275 steel to support a factored axial concentric load of 2000 kN and
factored bending moments of 100 kN m about the major axis, and 20 kN m about the minor axis (Fig. E4), applied at both
ends of the column. The column is 10 m long and is fully fixed against rotation at top and bottom, and the floors it supports
are braced against sway. (17.5 marks)
β=1, mLT =1(Table 18 BS 5950), β=1, mx=my=1(Table 26 BS 5950),

Question Four
a. Define Steel Structure (I mark)
b. State two (2) effect of steel columns cased in concrete (1 mark)
c. Calculate the compression resistance of a 305 × 305 × 118 kg/m UC column in question two b if it is encased in concrete of
compressive strength 20 N/mm2 in the manner shown below. Assume that the effective length of the column about both axes
is 3.5 m. (15.5 marks)

Question Five
a. Two simply supported, solid steel beams 250 mm wide and 600 mm deep are required to span 8 m Fig E8. Both beams are
manufactured using two smaller beams, each 250 mm wide and 300 mm deep, positioned one above the other. In beam A the two
smaller beams are not connected but act independently whereas in beam B they are fully joined and act together as a combined
section.
i. Assuming the permissible strength of steel is 165 N/mm2, determine the maximum uniformly distributed load that
Beam A and Beam B can support.
ii. Calculate the mid-span deflections of both beams assuming that they are subjected to a uniformly distributed load of 140
kN/m. E=205x103 (9.5 marks)
b. Design a baseplate for the axially loaded column shown in Fig E7 assuming it is supported on concrete of compression
characteristic strength 30 N/mm2. (8 marks)
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Question Six
a) List five (5) failures in timber beam
b) A timber beam with a clear span of 2.85 m supports a uniformly distributed load of 10 kN including self-weight of beam
Fig E9. Determine a suitable section for the beam using timber of strength class C16 under service class 1. Assume that
the bearing length is 150 mm and that the ends of the beam are held in position and compression edge held in line.
section 75 × 250 provides : Zxx = 781 × 103 mm3 Ixx = 97.7 × 106 mm4 A = 18.8 × 103 mm2
Modification factors
K2, moisture content factor does not apply since the beam is subject to service class 1, K3, duration of loading factor = 1.0
K8, load sharing factor, does not apply since there is only a single beam
c. Check the suitability of 203 × 203 × 52 UC column section in S275 for a steel column in ‘simple’ construction to support the
ultimate loads from beams A and B as shown in Fig E5,. Assume the column is 7 m long and is effectively held in position at
both ends but only restrained in direction at the bottom. (7.5 marks)

Fig. E1: loading

Fig E2 Fig E3

Fig. E4

Fig E5

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 Fig E9
Fig E8
Fig. E7: Area of Baseplate

Table E3: Strut table selection (based on Table 23, BS 5950)

Table E1: Limiting width to thickness ratios Based on Table 11, BS 5950
Type of element (all rolled sections) Class of section
(1) (2)
Plastic Compact
Outstand element of compression flange b/T≤ 9 10
Web with neutral axis at mid-depth d/t ≤ 80 100
Web where the whole cross-section is n/a n/a
subject to axial compression only
Table E4: Nominal effective length, LE, for a compression member (Table
22, BS 5950)

Table E2: Effective length, LE, for beams (Table 13, BS 5950)

Table E5: Bending strength pb (N/mm2) for rolled sections

with equal flanges (Table 20, BS 5950) 1)
Grade S275 steel ≤16 mm ( py =275 N/mm2)

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Table E6 Compressive strength, pc (N/mm2) for strut curve c (Table 24(c),
BS 5950) Steel grade and design strength py (N/mm2)

Table E7 Compressive strength, pc (N/mm2) with λ<110

for strut curve b (Table 24(b), BS 5950) Table E8: Bending strength pb (N/mm2) for rolled sections (Table 16,
Steel grade and design strength py (N/mm2) BS 5950)Steel grade and design strength, py (N/mm2)

Table E9: Grade stress and modulus of elasticity for C16 Values in N/mm2

Table B1 Dimensions and properties of steel universal beams (structural sections to BS 4: Part 1)

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