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Three-Dimensional Model Viewer for Illustrating Structural Steel Concepts

The Three-Dimensional Model Viewer for Illustrating Structural Steel Concepts is an interactive web tool that helps students explore structural steel connections and buckling behavior through 3D models. Developed by Peter Talley and me with support from two AISC Teaching Aid Development Program grants, the viewer is accessible on smartphones and in any modern web browser.

Inspired by the Rosetta Stone—where understanding emerged by comparing multiple representations of the same message—this tool presents structural concepts in several complementary formats: 3D visualizations, 2D drawings, photographs, analytical calculations, and more. By engaging with content from multiple perspectives, students are encouraged to make their own breakthroughs in understanding complex structural behavior.

Access the tool directly or through the AISC website.

SJI Roof Bay Analysis Tool

The SJI Roof Bay Analysis Tool is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that assists structural engineers with selecting optimal bay sizes and framing options for open web steel joist roofs. As part of a project funded by the Steel Joist Institute, I added ponding analysis capabilities to Version 3.0 of the tool. The nonlinear analysis capabilities written in a VBA macro, which directly compute the loads based on the deformed shape of the roof, provide the first widely accessible implementation of the direct analysis method for ponding.

Download the tool for free on the SJI website.

OpenSees

OpenSees is a powerful simulation framework that I use extensively in my research. As part of my doctoral research, I developed tools for the analysis of steel-concrete composite structures. These include a mixed beam element formulation, uniaxial steel and concrete materials, and functions to define fiber cross sections. View the source code for the elements and materials, cross section functions, and examples on GitHub.

I also developed portalFrame2d, winner of the OpenSees Challenge for best new OpenSees powered tool on NEEShub, 2013. This tool illustrates the differences between basic analysis types. By examining the global behavior of a relatively simple one-story one-bay moment frame, users can familiarize themselves with the differences between elastic and inelastic analyses and first-order and second-order analyses. Additional comparisons can be made to explore the effects of geometric and material properties, relative magnitude of lateral loading, and finite element discretization.