A showcase of innovation for steel joist design and construction

What do a steel processing facility, a convention center, and a roller coaster have in common? Each project is the winner of the Steel Joist Institute 2009 Design Awards. Ranging in size from 22,000 to 1.4 million square feet with joist costs. including fabrication erection ranging from $360,000 to $24 million, each of these three winning projects uses steel joists in innovative and creative ways.

The winners were selected in the following categories:

• Industrial (such as distribution centers, warehouses, and light manufacturing);
• Non-industrial (such as office buildings, schools, and churches); or
• Unique applications (projects with a unique application of steel joists).

State-of-the-art processing facility wins for ThyssenKrupp Stainless
First-place winner: Industrial Submitted by Giffels, LLC/IBI Group, Southfield, Mich.

ThyssenKrupp committed to building a $4 billion world-class, state-of-the-art steel and stainless steel processing facility in Southern Alabama. The facility was a cooperative effort between two ThyssenKrupp segments, steel and stainless, and is an important part of ThyssenKrupp’s NAFTA growth strategy. The plant is expected to begin operation in 2010 and, when fully operational, will create 2,700 jobs. The facility will manufacture and process carbon steel and stainless steel for high-value applications by manufacturers in the United States and throughout North America. The plant will serve automotive, packaging, construction, electrical, and utility industries, as well as manufacturers of appliances, precision machinery, and engineered products.

What makes this project interesting - The size of this project is what makes it interesting. Steel tonnage totals are as follows: 1,227 tons of roof joists; 2,668 tons of joist girders; 1,045 tons of wall joists; and 540 tons of joist bridging. In addition, 142,000 bolts were used for the joists and joist girders alone, and 86,000 gallons of paint and 385,000 bolts were used in total. Overall, 22,000 tons of structural steel were used on the project with the largest piece of steel weighing more than 44 tons. The project utilized 12-meter-long joists, 40-meter-long joist girders, up to 40 MT rated capacity top-running bridge cranes and joist girders used in combination with building columns for moment frames to resist lateral crane loads and wind/seismic forces. Panelized erection methods were used for both roof and wall framing. Additionally, horizontal joists used as girts to support the metal siding enclosure eliminated the need for intermediate wind columns. Because of the sophisticated paint system requirements, bolted connections were used to minimize touch-up.

Generally, on past heavy industrial projects conventional framing would have been used. However, on this project the structural design team proved that joist and joist girder construction could be utilized in a very effective and efficient manner to resist all imposed loads and load combinations and to meet all project requirements.

Advantages of the chosen structural system -The joist and joist girder framing enabled fast-track design, fabrication, and erection. The joist and joist girder elements were cost effective compared with conventional fabricated steel purlins and trusses used on previous industrial projects. Joists were used for the wall framing, which resulted in the elimination of wind columns and associated foundations. Furthermore, the erection process was streamlined by using panelized construction methods for both the roof and wall framing system.

Project team
Structural engineer: Giffels-IBI Group, and Gulf States Engineering
Owner: ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA
Architect: Giffels-IBI Group, and Gulf States Engineering
Construction manager: Hargrove
Steel joist manufacturer: Vulcraft
Steel detailer: Computer Detailing Inc., Southern Detailing, Protheos, Apel Structural, and C.H. Potter & Company
Steel fabricator: Cives Steel
Steel erector: Steel City Erecting

Project details
Project construction cost: $280 million
Joist cost, including fabrication and erection: $24 million Size (square feet): 1.27 million
Roof area using joists (square feet): 1.24 million
Joist area (square feet): 1.24 million
Joist engineering to delivery: Approx. 90 days
Joist erection: Approx. 270 days