Aluminum Structural Handbook: The Practical Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide to Design Calculations, Connections, Beams, Columns, Welding, Extrusions & Code Compliance (The Masterclass Manuals) - Softcover

Anderson PE, William

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798172341854

Publisher: Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

For engineers moving from steel and reinforced concrete into aluminum work, the material changes—but disciplined engineering still provides the foundation…

Is the engineer losing valuable billable time decoding dense references or rebuilding calculations from scattered sources?

Does a familiar steel calculation leave uncertainty about aluminum deflection, local buckling, connections, or welded regions?

Does the final calculation need to withstand review by another engineer, client, fabricator, or authority having jurisdiction?

Aluminum Structural Handbook by William Anderson PE addresses these challenges with a practical, calculation-first methodology: define the requirement, establish the load path, select and verify material and section properties, perform strength and stability checks, evaluate serviceability and connections, then independently verify and document the result. The handbook deliberately connects theory to working engineering decisions through step-by-step calculations, diagrams, decision trees, comparison tables, checklists, sanity checks, and code-oriented guidance.

Readers will learn how to:

1. Transition from steel to aluminum without treating structural fundamentals as new.
2. Select alloys and tempers based on actual project requirements.
3. Define loads and trace complete load paths.
4. Interpret aluminum section properties correctly.
5. Design tension members and compression members.
6. Calculate aluminum beams for bending and shear.
7. Control deflection when stiffness governs before strength.
8. Evaluate local and global buckling.
9. Understand flexural-torsional stability.
10. Design practical bolted connections for force transfer, bearing, tear-out, and net-section effects.
11. Evaluate welded connections and HAZ effects.
12. Verify custom aluminum extrusions and their section properties.
13. Apply ADM-oriented and code-conscious workflows.
14. Address corrosion, durability, fabrication, and inspection.
15. Produce traceable calculations that can be independently reviewed and defended.

A professional engineer may already have an Aluminum Design Manual, company references, spreadsheets, or online resources. This handbook is not positioned as a replacement for governing standards. Instead, it is designed as a practical working companion that helps organize the engineering process, clarify when a check is required, and turn technical provisions into a logical calculation sequence. The emphasis on worked examples, quick-reference material, assumptions, verification steps, and common mistakes makes the information useful at the workstation as well as during design review.

It also avoids assuming that aluminum design is simply “steel design with a different material.” The outline specifically addresses lower stiffness, deflection, instability, extrusion geometry, connection behavior, welding effects, durability, fabrication, and professional documentation.

If you want calculations that are easier to verify, explain, and defend, then apply the handbook’s calculation-first workflow.

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798172341854
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 358