simple tools

learning to design structures with the help of a few simple tools

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learning tools

	decription	authors / origin
personal free favourites
	CHEOPS analyses structural steel members and checks the capacity against factored loads according to the Canadian design code (works in XP)	D.S.K. Lo, M. Gedig, S.F. Stiemer, Y. Zhou
	lets you play with a two storey building subjected to earthquake loading. See dynamic loading and animation.	Y. Zhou (won with this program the Canadian engineering student contest in software design)
	Mohr's Circle: always a students' favourite. Computes strains and stresses, backwards and forwards.	Y. Zhou
	This is an absolute must on every engineers' desktop. It converts the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions!	J.F. Madison , see www.joshmadison.com
	MDSolids (free) contains: Classic Stress and Strain Problems Beam and Strut Axial Structures Statically Indeterminate Axial Structures Truss Analysis and Stresses Torsion Members Beams Section Properties General Analysis for Axial, Torsion, and Beam Members Mohr's Circle Analysis Columns	Timothy Philpot
	PocketStatics (free - for your PDA)
recommended software
	Dr.Beam (inexpensive)	Dr. Software, LLC support@drsoftware-home.com
	Dr.Frame (inexpensive)	Dr. Software, LLC support@drsoftware-home.com
	Dr.Frame3D (inexpensive)	Dr. Software, LLC support@drsoftware-home.com
enjoyable software
	General References for the Steel Designer (free)	Gedig, Stiemer
	West Point Bridge Design Programme (down 2007 version free)	The West Point Bridge Designer is provided and intended solely for educational use. You may install it on as many computers as you like, and you may distribute it to others without asking our permission. Please share it with a friend!
useful Canadian texts
in format	CISC crane runway design CISC Code of standard practice CISC Moment connections for seismic applications
useful American texts
in format	Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specification AISC Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges Revisions, Manual of Steel Construction 3rd Edition LRFD Supplement No. 1 to the Specification for Structural Steel Buildings quick design cards
links
just links	Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute FORINTEK Canada Open Math Reference
simple rules
	9 x 10 Simple Rules to do ...	it reads simple - but is it really?


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Not much is required to start becoming a critical engineer. The right software and common sense can be of great help. Many websites on the internet advertise annoyingly "free software". However, in many cases that is not true and you are asked either after some time to pay, or buy the full version, etc. On this page everything is the full version and is free to use as long as you want. For more exotic and sometimes useful free software I recommend to search the net. Many sites even offer reviews of the software, to be read before downloading and installing.