The Aluminum Association has just released the 10th edition of Aluminum Design Manual, an essential reference for all professionals working with aluminum in structural applications. The manual, which was last updated in 2010, is available to purchase through the Aluminum Association online bookstore at www.aluminum.org.
“The Aluminum Design Manual is absolutely indispensable for engineers designing buildings and other load bearing structures using aluminum,” said John Weritz, Vice President for Standards and Technology at the Aluminum Association. “Referenced in the 2015 International Building Code, compliance to that important standard makes the Aluminum Design Manual an essential document that allows engineers to create safe and innovative structures using modern, light-weight, corrosion resistant aluminum alloys.
The Design Manual is split into several key sections, including:
Specification for Aluminum Structures — Provides rules for determining the strength of aluminum structural components, connections and structures using either the allowable strength or load and resistance factor design method. Safety factors for buildings and bridges and resistance factors for buildings are also provided.
Commentary to the Specification for Aluminum Structures — Provides background for the provisions in the Specification for Aluminum Structures and references to the research on which the Specification is based.
Design Guide — Addresses structural design issues not included in the Specification for Aluminum Structures, including diagrams, adhesive bonded joints, aluminum composite material, extrusion design, corrosion prevention, fire protection, sustainability and design references for aluminum structural components in bridges, rail cars, ships, pressure vessels, pipe and storage tanks.
Material Properties – Includes alloy and temper designation systems for wrought and cast aluminum alloys; comparative characteristics of wrought alloys; typical mechanical and physical properties, including thermal expansion, electrical conductivity and density (all in US and SI units) and typical tensile strengths at various temperatures.
Section Properties — Lists dimensions and section properties for aluminum channels, I-beams, angles, tees, zees, square and rectangular tube, round tube, pipe, and roofing and siding; sheet metal and wire gauges and section property formulas for various geometric shapes.
Design Aids — Provides buckling constants for welded and unwelded alloys, 24 allowable stress tables for various alloy-tempers welded and unwelded, allowable load tables for flexure for channels and I-beams, tread plate, roofing and siding; fastener strengths, minimum bend radii for aluminum sheet and plate, wire, and rod, allowable stresses for fillet welds and complete and partial groove welds, and formulas for moment, shear, and deflections for 50 beam cases.
