Spreadsheets in Structural Design

The text contains a number of examples of spreadsheet layouts which have been developed for solving specific design problems using a variety of techniques. Examples are drawn from different areas of design using a range of materials and a number of Codes of Practice. Most design routines can be simplified by use of a spreadsheet and the aim of this text has been to illustrate the techniques that are available so that the methods can then be applied to other problems. Structural Engineering design consists of a mixture of solving equations, ensuring that limiting conditions are obeyed, selecting values from tables or graphs and a study of the effects of the use of trial values. All these processes can be handled by the use of a suitable spreadsheet function or formula. The book shows that many of the standard charts used by Engineers can be replaced by a spreadsheet. For example all the charts used for the design of reinforced concrete columns, short or slender and subjected to either uniaxial or biaxial bending, can be replaced by a single spreadsheet. Charts for beam and slab design are treated similarly and also replaced by spreadsheets.
Many of the examples in the text use the equations and restrictions quoted in the relevant British Codes. The time taken to develop a spreadsheet layout suitable for a particular problem will obviously depend on the complexity of the problem but most of the layouts provided throughout the text were developed in a few hours.