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Question:
What's special about this edition of the North American Specification?
Answer:
This is the first edition of the North American Specification for the
Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members, which is an ANSI-approved
American National Standard, approved in Canada by Canadian Standards Association
(CSA) and approved in Mexico by CANACERO. The Specification is intended
for use throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Question:
What are the benefits of having this North American Specification?
Answer:
There are several benefits, which include the following:
- It will
raise cold-formed steel design technology to the same level in all NAFTA
countries. Since this Specification is the foundation for the design
of major cold-formed product lines including steel decking, standing-seam
roofing, steel building systems, storage racks and cold-formed framing,
the unified Specification will enhance the cold-formed steel industry
in the region. Standardization of engineering will also allow faster
introduction of new technologies.
- Manufacturers
of steel construction products should see increased productivity because
they will no longer need to re-engineer their products or systems to
different standards.
- Designers
who practice across borders will no longer need to learn multiple design
standards.
- Wider
dissemination of software and design aids will allow those previously
unfamiliar with the design of cold-formed steel to more easily learn
to design with steel technology. The
Specification will also provide AISI, CSA and CANACERO with the opportunity
to develop and distribute a wide variety of derivative products.
Question:
How was the Specification written?
Answer:
This first edition of the North American Specification was developed based
on the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI) Specification for the
Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members and the Canadian Standards
Association's (CSA) Standard S136-94, Cold Formed Steel Structural Members.
This first edition was the result of a cooperative effort by the North
American Specification Committee (from the U.S., Canada and Mexico), the
AISI Committee on Specifications for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural
Members, and the CSA Committee on Cold Formed Steel Structural Members.
Question:
How will the new Specification affect previous ones?
Answer:
The North American Specification will supersede the previous editions
of the Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members,
published by American Iron and Steel Institute; and the previous editions
of CSA Standard S136, Cold Formed Steel Structural Members, published
by the Canadian Standards Association.
Question:
Is the North American Specification approved by ANSI?
Answer:
Yes. The North American Specification is approved by American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) as the American National Standard. The designation
number is AISI/COS/NASPEC 2001, and the approval date is June 5, 2002.
Question:
Are there any documents or articles that explain the differences between
the 1996 Specification edition and this new edition?
Answer:
Comparisons and reviews are provided in the following articles:
1. Technical
Bulletin published by Wei-Wen Yu Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures,
Summary of Major Changes and Improvements in the 2001 North American Specification
for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members.
2. Paper
by Roger Brockenbrough and Helen Chen, North American Specification for
Design of Cold-Formed Steel
Question:
How is the North American Specification structured?
Answer:
The North American Specification includes a main document, Chapters A
through G, that is intended for use in all three countries (the United
States, Canada, and Mexico), and three country-specific appendices (A
to C).
Appendix
A is for use in the United States,
Appendix
B is for use in Canada, and Appendix C is for use in Mexico. This Specification
provides an integrated treatment of Allowable Strength Design (ASD), Load
and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), and Limit States Design (LSD).
This is accomplished
by including the appropriate resistance factors (f) for use with LRFD
and LSD, and the appropriate factors of safety (W) for use with ASD. It
should be noted that LSD is limited to Canada and LRFD and ASD are limited
to the United States and Mexico.
A
table of contents for the Specification is provided.
Question:
How do I order the Specification and the Commentary and what is the cost?
Answer:
The publications can be ordered through the AISI website e-Store by following
the links below. You can also call 1-800-277-3850 to place the order.
The publication
number and the price are as follows:
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Publications/Publication
Number
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Price
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$99.00
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