Professional Documents
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645
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STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
FABRICATION AND ERECTION
1. INTRODUCTION
It is important that the erection of the steelwork is considered from the very first stages of a
project. Both design engineer and fabricator must consider the following:
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Preassembly: the fabricator should limit the number of site splices to that
consistent with minimum project cost. The size and weight of structural steel
assemblies will be limited by site and shop capabilities, the permissible weight and
clearance dimensions of available transportation and the site conditions.
Dimensions: all measurements necessary for site assembly should be shown on the
drawings.
Planning: the sequence of erection should be considered as an integral part of the
project process and should be established and documented at an early stage.
Marking: the marking of all parts should be clear and consistent throughout the
project.
Resources: depending on how the site assembly is carried out, it is essential to
ensure that appropriate resources will be available.
the workforce are aware of and implement the relevant standards and regulations.
changes in procedures, which become necessary during the erection stages are
agreed by the Engineer, and that the technical documents are corrected in order to
be consistent.
hoisting equipment of suitable capacity is available for any preassemblies which
must be lifted.
means of access, such as scaffolding stairs and platforms, are installed to enable
bolting and welding to be carried out satisfactorily.
2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
The Technical Specification for Erection should be developed as early as possible and
should outline the conditions required on site and the technical standards in force. The
documentation should deal with the following matters:
3. SITE ORGANISATION
3.1 Principal Jobs on Site
The site organisation required depends largely on the size of contract; in the case of a
major project it could, for example, be subdivided into the following sections:
Technical Office.
Scheduling and Planning.
Implementation and Production.
Administration.
Safety.
Quality Control.
Social Management.
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The heaviest or highest element to be erected, or the part which requires the greatest lifting
capacity (radius-weight) determines the minimum crane capacity to be used.
Figure 2 shows the various lifting capacities of a tower crane.
4. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
5. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Arch, H., Erection, Chapters 33 - Steel Designers' Manual, Oxford, Blackwell
Scientific Publications, 1992.
2. Thornton, W. A., "Design for Cost Effective Fabrication and Construction",
Chapter 7.1 Constructional Steel Design, London, Elsevier Applied Science, 1992.
3. Miller, E. W., "Erection of Steel Structures", Chapter 7.2 Construction Steel
Design, London, Elsevier Applied Science, 1992.
4. Potter, P. D., "Fast Steel Erection": Steel Fabrication Journal, No. 46, February
1983, Australian Institute of Steel Construction.
5. The Steel Construction Industry Code of Practice for Sage Erection of Building
Steelwork: Part 2 - Multi-storey Buildings and Structures, Australia, Australian
Institute of Steel Construction, 1989.
6. Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures" ENV 1993-1-1: Part 1.1: General Rules
and Rules for Buildings, CEN, 1992.
STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
FABRICATION AND ERECTION
1. INTRODUCTION
Lecture 3.2.1 outlined an ideal approach to erecting steelwork emphasising the need for a
Technical Specification for Erection and good site organisation in order to pre-empt
possible erection problems when the steelwork arrives on site.
2. ERECTION PROCEDURES
2.1. Reception, Unloading and Handling of Construction Material.
Logistics is a very important part of the erection process and must be constantly kept in
mind.
Fabricators have a strong tendency to deliver the construction elements in the same
sequence as they are fabricated; this is satisfactory provided the fabrication sequence is
similar to the erection sequence. For this purpose detailed planning of the fabrication and
erection processes is required.
It is necessary, therefore, to prepare a delivery schedule, coordinated with the capacity of
the site erection team. Generally the site will have a storage area to allow for times when
the deliveries cannot be exactly coordinated. If possible a "just-in-time" delivery should be
organised for the heavier construction elements in order to avoid the costly manoeuvres of
unloading and intermediate handling.
Any damaged material, which should be repaired or returned, must be separated
immediately after arrival. The project manager must be informed, in order to allow him to
assess what effect this might have on the construction programme.
When handling individual members the following should be noted:
parts with different reference marks must not be mixed or packed together.
on larger or heavy parts the lifting points must be indicated, including where
possible the location of the centre of mass of the component.
all parts that can be easily damaged must be adequately protected during transport
and handling.
components in the storage area must be kept off the ground, protected from damp
and dirt by means of sleepers or battens.
When using steel wire cables as lifting slings the following should be noted:
care must be taken to ensure that the sharp corners of beams are packed with wood
in order to protect the sling, the surface treatment and any prepared edges.
slings must be regularly inspected, and the maximum safe load must be shown on a
steel tag.
when using double-leg slings it must be appreciated that the lifting capacity
diminishes as the angle between the legs increases; the load in the legs can be
calculated from:
the maximum safe load should not exceed 1/6 of the breaking load of the steel wire
cable from which the sling is made.
the hoisting slings should be regularly inspected and taken out of service as soon as
the number of broken wires in a metre's length reaches or exceeds 20% of the total.
the slings should not be bent over diameters less than six times the diameter of the
cable. If necessary rounded cushions must be put in place to support the sling.
For the transport and delivery to site of bolts, nuts and washers the following should be
noted:
Regarding the storage and use of welding consumables, the following should be noted:
the electrodes must be packed in closed and sealed packages or tins; storage must
be in a closed and dry place at a temperature high enough to prevent condensation
and special care must be taken to avoid damaging the coating.
when basic-type electrodes are used, they must be dried or baked in accordance
with the welding procedure.
once the sealed packets have been opened, the electrodes must be placed in a
portable drying oven.
mobile drying ovens must be provided close to the welding area; the welder
himself must be provided with an insulated quiver in which he keeps the
electrodes, taken from the nearest drying oven.
in very special cases and in very damp conditions the welders should be provided
with individual portable drying ovens, from which they remove the electrodes one
by one, as they need them.
For general purposes a complete list of erection elements must be available on site
indicating their code-number, weight, size, etc., and specifying the locations where they
are to be used.
the bolts, nuts and washers to be used must be exactly as indicated on the
drawings.
bolts, nuts and washers must be clean and undamaged.
the parts to be connected must be clean and without defects.
The use of flame cutting to enlarge holes should not be permitted since it will result in an
unacceptable connection and will damage the paintwork.
In connections with tapered flanges, tapered washers must be placed under the nut, the
bolt, or both.
In the case of a hole with a vertical axis, the bolts should be inserted from above, with the
nut at the bottom.
Where specified, the nuts should be secured against loosening by an extra nut or by
applying a special nut or washer.
For this method of tightening a calibrated torque wrench is required which may be hand
operated or, for larger bolt diameters or large numbers of bolts, power operated. It is
essential to check the tightening equipment in combination with the bolts and nuts to be
tightened very regularly, using special prestress-measuring devices.
A certain deviation in the shank tension must be expected: estimates of the result of
tightening, with the objective of achieving a minimum shank tension of 80% of the
specified tensile strength, have shown that approximately 90% of the bolts would be
tightened satisfactorily.
This method uses the ductility of the bolt material by rotating the bolt sufficiently to take
the bolt well into the plastic state in which the shank tension is comparatively insensitive
to further nut rotation. The maximum shank tension that can be obtained is equal to the
maximum torqued-tension strength of the bolt under the friction conditions occurring at
the time of tightening. Care must be taken with short bolts and with parallel shank bolts
which have only a small amount of thread in the grip.
The part-turn method is not allowed with Higher Grade (parallel shank) bolts. It is not
recommended also for use with M12 bolts.
2.4.2.3 Load-indicating devices
A variety of special load-indicating bolts are available, some simple and some
complicated. A simple device is the load indicating washer, which has a number of
protruding nibs on one surface. As the nut is tightened the protrusions are crushed; when
the gap between the load indicator and the bolt has reached a prescribed value (measured
by a feeler gauge), the required shank tension will have been achieved.
2.4.2.4 Installation
HSFG bolts are installed in drilled holes with 2 mm clearance for bolts under 24 mm
diameter and 3 mm clearance for those over 24 mm. The holes must be sufficiently
aligned so that the bolts can be inserted freely. A hardened steel washer is used under the
nut or head, whichever is to be rotated.
Where there are a number of bolts in a joint they should be tightened incrementally in a
staggered pattern.
Successful achievement of the specified shank tension depends on the threads being in
good condition. Bolts and nuts must therefore be stored and handled in a way which
ensures that the threads are not damaged or contaminated. For a fastener to be in a usable
condition the nut must run freely on the bolt thread.
Bolts which have been tightened using the part-turn method must not be used again; this
restriction also applies to bolts tightened using torque-control methods if plastic
deformation has occurred.
Heating of the bolt itself or heating of the surrounding surfaces, possibly resulting in
heating of the bolted connection, can result in the destruction of the integrity of the
connection and to the failure of the construction, and must be prevented at all times. Any
welding operations, therefore, must take place before the bolt is tightened.
3. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
The good practice guidelines, listed in Section 2.4.1, should be followed when
handling and storing materials on site.
Anchor bolts are used to attach the steel columns to their foundation. Errors in
foundation level can be corrected by using steel packers under the baseplate.
Stability must be maintained at all times during erection and the erection sequence
should be arranged to ensure this.
Sub-assemblies can be used with advantage to reduce work at height.
Bolted connections use either ordinary or HSFG bolts. The latter can be
pretensioned either using the torque-control, part-turn, or load-indicating washer
methods.
4. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Arch, H., Erection, Chapters 33 - Steel Designers' Manual, Oxford, Blackwell
Scientific Publications, 1992.
2. Thornton, W. A., "Design for Cost Effective Fabrication and Construction",
Chapter 7.1 Constructional Steel Design, London, Elsevier Applied Science, 1992.
3. Miller, E. W., "Erection of Steel Structures", Chapter 7.2 Construction Steel
Design, London, Elsevier Applied Science, 1992.
4. Potter, P. D., "Fast Steel Erection": Steel Fabrication Journal, No. 46, February
1983, Australian Institute of Steel Construction.
5. The Steel Construction Industry Code of Practice for Sage Erection of Building
Steelwork: Part 2 - Multi-storey Buildings and Structures, Australia, Australian
Institute of Steel Construction, 1989.
6. Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures": ENV 1993-1-1: Part 1.1: General Rules
and Rules for Buildings, CEN, 1992.