Assignment Question: Beam Design for a Steel Structural Platform (AS/NZS

Standards) – 4%

Brief:

You are tasked with designing the primary and secondary steel floor beams for a
maintenance platform located inside an industrial facility in Suva, Fiji. The platform will
support machinery, foot traffic, and occasional service vehicle loads (e.g., small forklifts or
trolleys), and must be designed for durability and safety in a humid, coastal environment.

Design Requirements:

0. Groups- Assignment t be conducted in Groups of maximum 2 Student.

1. Platform Layout:

 Platform area: 12 m × 6 m
 Joists are supported by the primary beams
 Platform deck: 6 mm steel plate (assume fully load-distributing)

2. Loading (AS/NZS 1170):

 Dead load:
o Self-weight of steel members (calculate)
o Steel plate flooring: 0.47 kN/m²
 Live load:
o Equipment & service load: 5.0 kN/m²
 Point load: A 7.5 kN wheel load (footprint = 100 mm × 100 mm) may occur
anywhere on the platform – consider worst-case loading on a joist and a beam
 Impact factor: 10% on live loads due to dynamic loading (equipment movement)
 Environmental exposure: C3 (moderate marine, per AS/NZS 2312.2)

3. Material & Section Selection:

 Use cold-formed or hot-rolled steel sections available in Australia/New Zealand

(refer to AS/NZS 3679.1 or AS/NZS 4600)
 Steel Grade: AS/NZS 3678 Grade 300 or similar
 Use structural steel coated or treated for corrosion (assume sufficient protection—no
reduction in strength)
Design Tasks:

1. Joist Design (Secondary Beams):

 Select an appropriate steel section for the 3 m span joists

 Design for:
o Ultimate bending capacity (AS/NZS 4600 or 4100)
o Shear capacity
o Deflection under service loads (limit: L/300)

2. Primary Beam Design:

 Select a section for the 6 m span beams supporting the joists and concentrated load
 Consider:
o Combined loading from distributed loads and worst-case point load
o Check bending, shear, and deflection (limit: L/250)
o Lateral-torsional buckling resistance (if unbraced)

3. Sketch & Connection Notes:

 Provide a sketch of the platform layout with beam and joist locations
 Provide brief notes on possible connection types for joist-to-beam and beam-to-
column support

4. Submission Requirements:

 Complete hand calculations or spreadsheet output

 Justification of section choice from Australian/New Zealand steel catalogues
 Clear indication of relevant AS/NZS standards used
 Include diagrams, load combinations, and design summary
 Students should provide justification for their design and will be partially marked on
the efficiency and reasoning behind their solution.

5. Bonus Challenge (Optional):

Design the beam assuming exposure to cyclonic wind pressures acting upwards on the
platform floor if located in a partially open structure. Use AS/NZS 1170.2 wind load
calculations.
Beam Design Assignment – Marking Rubric (Total: 100 marks)
Criteria Excellent (HD) (85–100%) Good (D–C) (65–84%) Satisfactory (P) (50–64%) Needs Improvement Marks
(F) (<50%)
1. Understanding of Clear, correct layout of beams and Mostly correct layout and Basic layout provided; Incomplete or /10
Structural Layout & Load joists; accurate load path explanation load path; minor issues some confusion in load incorrect load path or
Transfer distribution layout
2. Load Calculations (Dead, All load types considered correctly, Minor errors or Basic loads calculated; may Major errors in load /15
Live, Point Loads, including point loads and impact; omissions in load types omit combinations or calculation or missing
Combinations) accurate combinations per AS/NZS or combinations special loads key loads
1170
3. Joist Design (Secondary Correct section selected and fully Mostly correct section Acceptable section but with Incorrect section or /15
Beams) verified for bending, shear, and with minor calculation or limited justification or inadequate design
deflection code reference errors missing checks checks
4. Primary Beam Design Accurate design with full checks for Design mostly accurate; Acceptable, but lacks Incorrect or poorly /20
ULS and serviceability; includes may miss 1–2 minor clarity or skips key checks supported design
point load checks (e.g., deflection or LTB) choice
5. Use of AS/NZS Standards Clearly cites and applies relevant Uses correct codes but Attempts code use but with Rarely or incorrectly /10
AS/NZS codes throughout (1170, some referencing or inconsistencies or unclear uses codes
4100/4600, 2312.2) interpretation errors links
6. Corrosion/Environmental Accurately identifies exposure class Notes exposure and Mentions exposure without Ignores exposure or /5
Considerations and appropriate protection offers basic protection applying it to design misinterprets it
strategy
7. Drawings & Presentation Neat, labeled sketch of platform Minor issues in sketches Sketch present but unclear No sketch or poorly /10
layout; clear section callouts and or clarity or lacking details done
load illustrations
8. Connection Notes Well-thought-out notes on Good connection Basic or generic connection No attempt to discuss /5
(Conceptual) connection type, loading, and suggestions, some ideas connections
constructability technical gaps
9. Communication & Highly organised, professional Generally clear and Somewhat disorganised; Poorly presented; hard /5
Organisation report; proper units, figures, tables, readable; minor issues lacks clarity in sections or to follow or interpret
and formatting with formatting formatting
10. Bonus Challenge (Wind Bonus for correct wind load analysis Partial or attempt made – – +5
Uplift – Optional) and impact on beam sizing