Computer Modelling and Design for Civil Engineers 48389

Design Assignment
1

Assignment Details

Design of the roof for a warehouse structure located in Sydney is proposed such that the roof is supported by a
number of timber trusses. The trusses are spaced at 1800 mm c/c. Plan of the roof and form of the truss is given
in Figure 1.
You are required to analyse and design a typical truss to arrive at an optimum design solution to meet ULS
design requirements. Whilst the form of the truss is fixed, you have the flexibility to decide (i) arrangement of
members, (ii) grade of timber, and (iii) timber size. The output of the design should be communicated in the form
of (i) a detailed drawing showing the geometry, member arrangement and member sizes and (ii) a scaled model
showing member arrangement.
This is a group assignment. However, each student is required to contribute to every part of the assignment and
will be individually assessed. Each group must maintain a spread sheet/journal (available in the Quiz/eTest folder
on UTS_Online) to record time and work completed. A group survey will also be conducted at the time of final
submission. If evidence that one or more students have not contributed to the team effort is found, the students
who do not contribute will be penalised and receive a proportionally lower mark or in the worst case, will get 0
mark for the assignment.
Students can form their own group of not more than four (4). Once you have formed a group, one of the group
members should email the group members to rijun.shrestha-1@uts.edu.au by week 3 (19 August). A group list
will be posted on UTS_Online. Students who are not allocated to any group at the end of week 3 will be allocated
to a new or existing group on a random basis.
The assignment must be submitted by the due date. Late submissions will attract strong mark deductions as
indicated below. See details on submission requirements in Section 3.

Submitted before 5:00 pm

Maximum mark
End Wall (300mm wide)

14-Oct-16
35%

17- Oct -16

25%

18- Oct -16

20%

19- Oct -16

15%

Roof Truss

Q1
1.8 m

5m

G
1.8 m

Q2
15 m

5m

20 m

(i)
(ii)
Figure 1 (i) roof plan and (ii) proposed form of the timber roof truss

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2.1

What is required?
Load Calculation Refer to Figure 1 for notations

Permanent actions (G), primarily self-weights of the roofing cladding, can be assumed to be 1kPa. Density of the
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timber should be taken as 700kg/m . In addition to the nominal imposed action requirement on the roof (Q1) as
per AS1170.1(2002), the trusses should be designed to carry an equivalent imposed action of 2kPa (Q2) to
account for installation of an overhead crane.
For the design of the building, two of the load combinations given in section 4.2.2 (strength limit state) of
AS/NZS1170.0:2002, namely, (a) and (b) should be considered. Wind action does not need to be considered for
this assignment.

2.2

Computer Model

You will need to prepare a model for a typical roof truss only. The model should be analysed (assume that the
truss is simply supported on the walls and all joints are pin connected) for the two load combinations to account
for permanent and imposed actions as discussed in Section 2.1.
Outputs of the model should be interpreted to identify critical axial and bending action for three types of member (i) bottom chord (ii) top chord (iii) diagonal (or vertical) members. These actions should then be used to design the
truss members.

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2.3

Timber Design

You are required to design a top chord, a bottom chord and a diagonal (or vertical) member based on the first
principles of timber design and according to AS1720.1 (2010). Select the critical member when designing each
type of element of the truss. You should document all assumptions made in the design. You do not need to
design the connections for this assignment but arrangement of members at the joints should be taken into
consideration.

2.3.1

Available Timber Grades

The truss should be designed using seasoned hardwood. Available grades are F11, F14, F17, F22, F27 and F34.
Refer to AS1720.1 (2010) Table H2.1 for relevant properties.
Note Do not use different grades of material for different members.

2.3.2

Available Timber Size

Available timber sizes are as listed in Table 1.

Table 1 List of available timber sizes
Length
Thickness (mm)
Depth (mm)
Up to 6 m
35 or 45
45, 70 , 90, 120, 140, 170, 190, 220, 240,
270, 290, 315, 340, 365, 390
A design spread sheet is available on UTS_Online (see Quiz/eTest>Design Assignment>Design Tool.xlsm)
which should give you guidance on the design steps. This spread sheet should only be used as a design aid and
will not give you a full solution.

2.4

Optimisation

You have the freedom to choose the grade, sizes and arrangement of the timber members. However, you also
need to optimise your design in terms of the final cost. You can input the section sizes and length of the section
required for your solution in the design spread sheet to estimate the cost of a single roof truss.

2.5

CAD Drawings

The output of the final design should be presented in the form of an engineering drawing. The drawing should be
prepared using AutoCAD with proper dimensions and at a suitable scale. Sufficient details should be shown in the
drawing, including how the members are arranged at the joints, so that the drawing is self-explanatory.

2.6

Scaled Model

Based on the outputs of the final design, a scaled down model should be prepared using material of your choice
(e.g. cardboard, popsicle stick, balsa wood, bamboo). The cross-sectional dimensions do not need to be precisely
scaled down but the model should demonstrate the member arrangements. Suggested scales are 1:50 to 1:100.

Submission before the due date

Each group should nominate one of the group members to submit the following before the due date.

Microstran file (.msw file) showing a typical roof truss model (final solution) soft copy

Autocad file (.dwg file) soft copy

Completed design spread sheet soft copy

Work journal soft copy

Print out of the detailed drawing (either A3 or A4 paper) An Assignment drop box will be available
outside Door 4 on Level 11, Building 11 close to the due date.

Scaled down model submit in the assignment drop box

A summary (no more than 2 pages) describing any assumptions and limitations and how to interpret the
results in the context of the assumptions made. Details on how an optimised design was achieved
should be provided. Comment on any obvious errors you made or inconsistencies you detected in the
results soft copy
All soft copies should be submitted by uploading it on UTS_Online (use Quiz/eTest>Design Assignment folder)
before the due date.

Mark break-down

Computer model
Design spread sheet
Design assumptions
Drawing
Scaled down model
Cost Consideration

25%
20%
10%
25%
10%
10%

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