Good structural engineering textbooks 1

[FVandal]

Hi everyone !

I think it could be beneficial to do a good list of the bests books availables out there for structural engineers.


This is a list of the " classical" books that I own :

"Theory of Structures" by Timoshenko
"Theory of Elasticity" by Timoshenko
"Hydraulic Structures" by Smith
"Statics and Strength of Materials" by Bassin and Brodsky
"Elements of Materials Science and Engineering" by Van Vlack
"Foundation Engineering" by Peck
"Structural Analysis" by Harold I. Laursen
"Structural Analysis: A Classical and Matrix Approach" by Jack McCormac
"Practical Design of Reinforced Concrete" by Fling
"Foundation Design and Construction" by Tomlinson
"Design of Concrete Structures" by Nilson
"Design of Prestressed Concrete" by Nilson


This is a list of the others books that I own :

"Handbook of Steel Construction"
"Concrete Design Handbook"
"Introduction to Soil Mechanics" by Holtz and Kovacs
"Dynamics of Structures" by Chopra
"Mechanics of Materials" by Craig
"Principles of Foundation Engineering" by Das
"Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering" by Kramer
"Seismic Design and Retrofit of Bridge" by Priestley
"Elements of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics" by Filiatreault
"Prestressed Concrete Analysis and Design" by Naaman
"Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis" by Cook

So any suggestions ?

 

[mike20793]

Post-Tensioned Concrete - Principles and Practice by Bondy and Allred is a very good reference for PT.
Design of Wood Structures by Breyer et al
Analysis of Irregular Shaped Structures by Malone and Rice

 

[canwesteng]

Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures
Roarks Stress and Strain

 

[hawkaz]

I fall back on my "Reinforced Concrete Design" book by Wang and Salmon quite a bit.
Also- "Reinforced Masonry Engineering Handbook" by Amrhein

 

[Signious]

My go-to books:

CODE BOOKS:
'Wood Design Manual' by Canada Wood Council
'Handbook of Steel Design' by Canadian Council of Steel Construction
'Concrete Design Handbook' by Cement Association of Canada
'CRSI Design Handbook' by CRSI
'Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual' by Canadian Geotechnical Society

CORE BOOKS
'Standard Handbook of Engineering Calculations' by Hicks
'Mechanics of Materials' by Beer and Johnston
'Theory of Structures' by Timoshenko

TOPIC SPECIFIC BOOKS
'Principles of Foundation Engineering' by Das
'Soil Mechanics & Foundations' by Budhu
'Standard Handbook of Structural Details for Building Construction' by Newman
'Designing Floor Slabs on Grade' by Ringo
'Reinforced Concrete Design: A Practical Approach' by Brzev and Pao

 

[theonlynamenottaken]

Pilkey's, "Formulas for Stress, Strain, and Structural Matrices" -- Roark's Stress and Strain has been gathering dust ever since I got this book.

Blodgett's, "Design of Welded Structures", "Design of Weldments", and "Solutions to Design Of Weldments"

 

[theonlynamenottaken]

Essential Reading for Structural Engineers

Building a structural library

Classic and/or Good Textbooks?

 

[FVandal]

Thanks ! Already some pretty good answers, the older topics contains good ideas.

Also, I want to add "Mechanics of Materials" by Popov.

 

[GregLocock]

The most essential book is "Structures, or why things fall down" by JE Gordon.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[medeek]

I noticed Newman's structural details books are 1990's or older on Amazon. I am looking for a good reference with standard structural details that is up to date, suggestions?

A confused student is a good student.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, PE

http://www.medeek.com

 

[cliff234]

This is not a book, but it is paper that I think should be required reading by all structural engineers every once in a while.

"Chronology and Context of the Hyatt Regency Collapse", Gregory P. Luth, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, May 2000. (Google it. You can find it online.)

As engineers we all seem to be hard-wired to focus on the numbers, equations and technical minutia of structural design - as well we should. But we seldom talk about something equally important to insuring the design of safe structures - communication. If you look at the root causes of most modern-day structural failures, you will find that flaws in communication during design and construction are usually a contributing factor.

 

[Signious]

@Medeek:

Im not to sure - honestly it is a book I picked up off of an old prof when he retired and cleaned out his office. Pretty much gave it to me for a beer at the campus bar - it is pretty solid though if you are scratching your head on a connection detail when you just don't know where to start.

If you can find a copy for cheep I would get it just to build on your own auto cad drawing database. I have 2nd Edition (1992).

 

[MacGruber22]

A bit out in left field for some, but "Architectural Graphic Standards".

"It is imperative Cunth doesn't get his hands on those codes."

 

[Rooster67]

What about the "classic" structural analysis by R.C.Coates, M.G.Coutie and F.K.Kong.

 

[medeek]

@Signious

For $23.00 and 750 pages I don't think I can go wrong with this one, ordered a copy on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Handbook-Structural-Building-Construction/dp/0070463522/

A confused student is a good student.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, PE

http://www.medeek.com

 

[BigH]

There are so many books - structural and geotechnical. I would gather a problem with a lot of structural books is that the codes keep changing. To your list for structures, I might suggest Wm McGuire's "Steel Structures" - if not for current but because this used to be the bible of steel structures.

For geotechnical I would add Terzaghi Peck and Mesri's "Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice" and Poulos and Davis' "Elastic Solutions for Soil and Rock Mechanics". There are, of course, so many others.

I would also suggest Neville's "Properties of Concrete".

 

[ukbridge]

I find a lot of the Designer's Guides to the Eurocodes to be very informative, and give a good-enough background to theory that consultants need in every day practice.

 

[FVandal]

I would like to know what you guys think of the book « Stability Design of Semi-Rigid Frames » by W.F. Chen, is it an useful reference ?

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Mine is called "Stability Design of Steel Frames". And, it has 3 chapters (almost half the book) dedicated to semi-rigid frames. I assume this is the same book, or that these chapters were expanded out into their own book at a later time.

I honestly didn't find it all that useful. It wasn't a bad reference, just a little too geared towards academia than I would have liked. Didn't seem like there was much in there of practical use. Well organized and a good treatment of the topic. But, I'm not sure there is much for practical use by engineers.

Now, flipping through it again with an eye towards "semi-rigid" construction and there does appear to be methods for determining a non-linear moment rotation relationship for these semi-rigid connections. That could be pretty useful if you are using a lot of these connections and you need to justify your assumptions. I've never tried using these methods though, so I don't know how easy to use they are in practice.

 

[Once20036]

Blodgett's "Design of Welded Structures" was mentioned above, but I want to bring it up again.
It's cheap enough to have in every library, and full of great information.