SpeedCore. SpeedFloor. SpeedConnection. Speedier bridges. The American Institute of Steel Construction has created its own race against time, which AISC unabashedly admits is ambitious. The group is using its double identity as a structural steel booster and a technical organization to fund the development of tools to help building teams halve the time it takes to deliver steel buildings and simple steel bridges. And they hope to accomplish the 50% time reduction by 2025.

It’s a “big audacious goal,” said Kevin Huber, AISC’s director of research, during the group’s Oct. 27-29 Flash Virtual Steel Conference, which had 1,000 registrants.

Only time will tell whether AISC’s Need for Speed campaign, kicked off in August 2019, will be successful. To date, the group has invested $890,000 in R&D—$650,000 for buildings and $240,000 for bridges. Additional funding from others, including the Charles Pankow Foundation, the Steel Institute of New York, the Steel Deck Institute and Atlas Tube, total about $275,000.

“我们将继续t基金的各种努力he greatest extent possible” through 2025, says Huber.

AISC的高层剪切壁系统的SpeedCore是由绑定的钢板模块组成的夹层模块，该模块由绑定的钢板组成，该模块装满了零型混凝土，这是最远的。结构工程师Magnusson Klemencic Associates在去年开业的850英尺高的Rainier Square Tower上开设了西雅图的系统。

MKA got approval to use the system in Seattle before AISC’s involvement, largely based on research at Purdue University funded by the Charles Pankow Foundation. The system of prefabricated modules, welded together in the field, cut the time it took to erect the building’s frame by more than 40%, compared to a concrete core with a perimeter steel frame.

Second Use of SpeedCore

MKA第二次使用现场焊接的SpeedCore在加利福尼亚州圣何塞的19层公园大道办公室大楼上，按10级建设进行了。预计该建筑将在今年年底之前登顶，而不是按计划的2月初。得益于更多主要由AISC和Pankow资助的研究，它通过消除墙板两侧的现场施加防火保护，将其提升到一个新的水平，除非在Beam/Girder-To-Wall的3英尺区域连接。

To eliminate the code-required fire protection, the 200 Park design team had to get approval from the city. “We met with the authorities and presented the research results from Amit Varma’s team at Purdue,” says Ron Klemencic, MKA’s chairman and CEO. In addition, SLS Consultants provided some supplementary analysis focused on the beam-wall connection performance, he adds.

The aim is to eliminate all fire protection on SpeedCore. “We are back at Purdue … to investigate design upgrades” which would also eliminate protection at the beam-wall connections, says Klemencic. That research is on course for completion in 2023.

While SpeedCore is not catching on quickly, MKA is finalizing the design of a third SpeedCore building, for Boston Properties. Called 171 Dartmouth, it is for a site in Boston. Turner Construction Boston is the general contractor and Thornton Tomasetti is the structural peer reviewer. MKA also is advancing the design of three other SpeedCore office towers in Oakland, Calif.

Bolted Field Splices

A hesitation on the part of some steel erectors is the field-welding involved. A version of SpeedCore is coming, thanks to research at the University at Buffalo and Purdue, that has bolted field splices in lieu of field-welding. “We intend to use bolted splices on the Boston project and this research will back up our design,” says Klemencic.

AISCexpects to publish a SpeedCore design guide next year and include the system in the 2022 edition of the AISC Specifications and Provisions.

SpeedCore inspired SpeedFloor research to eliminate the steel frame’s standard floor system of concrete topping on metal deck. In Seattle, the floor operation couldn’t keep pace with the core, said Huber.

For SpeedFloor, AISC and Pankow expect to finalize a research contract by year-end. MKA has developed two modular floor concepts—one for offices with 40-ft spans that uses steel plates on beams, and the other for residential buildings, with 20-25 ft spans, that involves two layers of metal decking topped by fiber cement board.

Intumescent Paints Applied Offsite

AISCalso is funding fire protection research for intumescent paints applied offsite. And there is research, expected to conclude in mid-2024, on optimizing rolled asymmetric shapes—where the top flange is larger than the bottom flange. “This will help reduce floor-to-floor heights,” Huber said.

SpeedConnection的目的是减少连接时间。Huber说：“我们正在研究常见的连接类型，并确定我们可以做些什么来加快整个过程，重点是更快地在现场建立的连接。”

Another Need for Speed project, for fabricators, involves augmented reality and smart glasses to assess connection details by overlaying models on physical pieces, with the goal of reducing requests for information.

AISCalso is publishing design tools for speedier steel bridges, with the goal of developing a national design standard for simple I-girder bridges. Coming early next year is the Guide to Executing an Effective Bridge Project. And research is underway for a reference manual for the design, detailing and maintenance of uncoated weathering steel.

在2023年中，AISC计划为直钢I-Girder桥出版标准设计。Huber称其为“宜家目录的桥梁目录，可以大大减少设计时间。”