Revised ‘Blue Book’ for hollow sections launched by Tata Steel

Hollow sections were used for the intricate design of the Kelpies.

Tata Steel has partnered with the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) to produce a brand new revised version of their ‘Blue Book’ software tool for use in the design of structures using hollow sections.

This on-line guide for the design of steelwork includes Tata Steel’s entire structural hollow sections range and incorporates comprehensive section property data for key products Celsius^® and Hybox^®.

Furthermore, the new design tool enables the rapid selection of steel members in compression and bending and data tables are also provided for combined bending and compression, web resistance and shear resistance.

“The Blue Book has been available for nearly 20 years and this updated version is much more user-friendly than previous versions,” said Steve Whitfield, Structural Engineer and Tata Steel’s Structural Customer Technical Services Manager.

“In this digital era, we wanted to create a valuable and flexible design tool that works across various interfaces and platforms. I feel we have achieved this with this latest version; the design tables have been fully updated and are now much more accessible.

“Its new format allows designers to navigate on selected pages between various sizes, helping them find the correct member from our updated range of readily available products.”

Michael Sansom of the SCI added: “The updated Blue Book has better tables which are more flexible and consequently easier to use. Once a user selects a member size all the relevant information is immediately highlighted on the page, allowing designers to see the information quickly and easily.”

The software tool presents design data derived in accordance with the following Parts of Eurocode 3 and their National Annexes:

• EN1993-1-1:2005: Design of steel structures. Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings
• EN1993-1-5:2006: Design of steel structures. Part 1-5: Plated structural elements

The resistances have been calculated using the partial factors for resistance given in the National Annexes to the Eurocodes.

Additional data is included calculated according to BS5950-1:2000: Structural use of steelwork in buildings.

Further information is provided on bolts, welds and relevant tolerances as well as a comprehensive General Notes section which details the background for the calculations.

Completely free and easy-to-use the Blue Book from Tata Steel is available now via: http://tatasteelbluebook.com/

This fully revised software supersedes all previous versions and also fits seamlessly into Tata Steel’s new construction website www.tatasteelconstruction.com providing users with a comprehensive, yet single reference point for the entire Tata Steel portfolio within the diverse Construction & Infrastructure Sector.