ABSTRACT
Similar to steel and wood, aluminum has its own set of unique properties and recommended design practices used to make appropriate structural design choices. The chapter begins with a comparison of aluminum vs. steel, a brief discussion of welding considerations, and an overview of aluminum alloys and shapes. Following that is a discussion of the design basics for aluminum, including variables, mechanical properties, buckling constants, slenderness ratios, safety factors, limit states, and the allowable stresses tables.
