STR4801 PROJECT 2024

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

PROJECT
Year Course

STR4801

ADVANCED STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGN

Examiner: Mr O. Zimbili
Marks: 100 Internal Moderator: Prof. B. Ikotun
Weight of Assessment: 30% External Moderator: Dr J. Aliu

This Project consists of 4 pages, including this cover page.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL STUDENTS:

1. Answer all questions and submit within the stipulated timeframe. Late submission
will not be accepted.
2. Read the questions carefully, write clearly using black ink, space your work out
adequately and pay careful attention to allocated marks.
3. Show clearly logically all formulas and steps of your calculations
4. Information not given should be reasonably assumed
5. This assignment will only allow you to submit your script as a single PDF
attachment, i.e. multiple-attachment script will not be accepted.

Applicable Graduate Attribute: GA-3

Honour Pledge: I have neither given nor received aid on the assignment.
Plagiarism is the act of taking words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting it as your
own. It is a form of theft which involves a number of dishonest academic activities.

This web-based assignment remains the property of the University of South Africa and may
not be distributed from the Unisa platform.
 STR4801 PROJECT 2024

Project Scenario
Zimdika Engineering Consultants is tasked with designing a robust and economically viable
steel water tank tower to accommodate a 100,000-liter water tank. The project requires
meticulous consideration of load-bearing capacity, wind and seismic forces (if any), material
suitability, construction feasibility, and environmental sustainability. Your mission is to deliver
a detailed project report outlining the design journey, inclusive of calculations, structural
analysis, and proposed solutions that adhere to pertinent industry standards and regulations.
Let your ingenuity and expertise shine through as you tackle this pivotal project for Zimdika
Engineering Consultants.
The proposed project is to be located in a village called TAUNG, North west, RSA.
Tank Type – 100 000 Liter Square GRP water Tank
Tank dimensions - 9000 L x 6000 W x 2700 H
Tank weight – 2350 kg
Proposed water tank tower height from the ground – 15 m
Available material – Hot rolled; Angles, I/H Beams and flat bars ONLY (No cold rolled
sections to be used)

Figure 1: Typical Water Tank Tower

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 STR4801 PROJECT 2024

Tasks
Figure 1 shows a typical water tank tower. Propose a suitable material selection for the
proposed tower. You are required to introduce at least 2 types of bracing on the tower. This
means from the proposed tower, each of the opposite sides of the rectangular tower should have
similar bracing, different from the adjacent sides. Steel sections of the tower are to satisfy the
criterion of the steel building design in accordance with SANS10162. For the steel connections
(welded or bolted, your choice), consult the green book, and make references to it. You thus
need to indicate which connection will be the worst, and at which level, with justification).
There is no requirement for foundation design, however, you are to design the base, assuming
the soil condition is such that it has sufficient bearing capacity.
Wind load is to be considered. You are required to use the SANS10160-3 for wind loading (not
the old standard).
Subsequently, you are required to produce a comprehensive technical report that includes
preliminary design, load takedown (with design assumptions clearly stated), analysis, structural
member analysis and design, connection design and technical drawings. Assume ground
conditions (such as soil bearing capacity) are good and do not need any checking.

Note: Your entire submission should not exceed 30 pages (including annexures). The
assessment of this project is NOT influenced by how bulky your report looks, but the quality
of the content inside. Failure to adhere to this, will lead to failure and call for resubmission.

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 STR4801 PROJECT 2024

At the end of your project, you must submit the following:

Instructions Marks
Design report Must have a title page with all design parameters
indicated (given and assumed – all information 10
deemed missing can be assumed). Do not replace
given information with assumptions. Assumptions
to be clearly stated. The flow of information and
format of the report need to be professional. You
can search online for typical design reports, to learn
about the design report formats. Max 5 pages for
the design report. Maximum of 30 pages for the
whole submission, including Annexures.
Preliminary design & Preliminary Drawing/sketch of your
Loading conceptualization. Load takedown & Loading of 15
structural elements. Take note to provide an
elaborate load take-out, preferably by hand, as
this is the basis of your design (member
selection). Wind loading to be determined using
SANS10160 – 3.
Analysis of all Could be hand calculations(typed-turnitin will be
structural members used) or software usage, or a mixture of both. For 20
software calculations, no endless printing of
software output, rather meaningful summary of
output, clearly highlighting members selected,
loads involved, and design calculation outcomes
(eg Bending moment clearly indicated to be OK).
Design of all Design water tank elements (Hot rolled: Angles, 25
structural I/H beams and flat bars. Choose what you need
members among these. No need to use all). Cold formed
sections ARE NOT TO BE USED.
Design of all Use standard connections, eToolKit/ Prokon.
connections Present neat sketching. No handwritten calculations. 15
No need for repetition of similar connections, but a
clear description of types of connections
available/recommended.
Technical drawings. Must include general layout, all types of
connections to be clearly indicated. 15
Total 100 100

Please Note: Graduate Attribute 3 (GA 3) will be assessed. GA assessment scoring is based on
the scale of 1 – 5 of the report elements done, and not necessarily on the percentage mark. See
rubric for better understanding of the marking system.

TOTAL = 100 MARKS

©
UNISA 2024

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