how to understand steel table

huangyhg

how to understand steel table
hi,
i am an architect and wanted to know if there is any site on the net or books i could buy to understand steel table calculations for architectural steel usages.
any help is appreciated
regards,
karma
check out our whitepaper library.
james ambrose writes a series of simplified design books that are probably well suited to architects.  he has written books for steel design, concrete, wood, wind, earthquake, etc.  try searching a bookseller web site.
if you really want the newest edition of aisc's manual of steel construction, wait until this autumn when the load and resistance factor design (lrfd) 3rd edition will be published.  otherwise, you'll be buying a book that will be obsolete in a few months.
in my opinion, the aisc manual is not the easiest resource for a non-engineer to use to understand steel design calculations however.  and if you want just the basics, lrfd might not be the way to go anyway.  for simple applications, allowable stress design (asd) is sufficient and much easier for the inexperienced to grasp.
an introductory text like ambrose's might be more what you're looking for.  or if you want a relatively simple introduction to lrfd, william segui's "lrfd steel design" is a good one.