Engineering with the Spreadsheet: Structural Engineering Templates Using Excel [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Craig T. Christy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0784408270 | ISBN-13: 978-0784408278

Today, the spreadsheet is an essential tool for engineers. More than 20 years ago, Craig Christy started using a spreadsheet as a way of keeping notes. His practice has evolved into Engineering with the Spreadsheet, a valuable manual for engineers working with Excel. Christy first introduces basic spreadsheet techniques and more advanced applications that may be unfamiliar to even experienced spreadsheet users. He then applies Excel spreadsheets in preparing engineering calculations for an exhaust stack and an elevated storage tank. The book and CD-ROM present more than 50 actual templates in Microsoft Excel that demonstrate the techniques and specific applications for concrete, wind and seismic issues, foundation soil loading, the vortex shedding of tall stacks, and other engineering issues. Beneficial to professional engineers and college students alike, Engineering with the Spreadsheet is a comprehensive manual that structural engineers will use on their next! projects.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (April 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0784408270
• ISBN-13: 978-0784408278
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,205,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excel really works, May 7, 2007

By 

Luis M. Pinto Carvalho (Mexico City, Mex) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Engineering with the Spreadsheet: Structural Engineering Templates Using Excel (Paperback)

The book (the spreadsheets) illustrates nicely that Excel works for a structural engineer, but that's about it.
It starts explaining Excel from scratch focusing on features that might be important for the engineer and applying examples common to an engineer, which makes it a good reference book for beginners. Afterwards, most of the book presents examples of calculations applying the functions learned in the earlier chapters of the book. There are examples from biaxial concrete column design to storage tank design.
The entire book was written using Excel and the accompanying CD includes all spreadsheets, giving the user the opportunity to revise formulas and offering a couple of handy spreadsheets.
However, the emphasis of the book lies on presenting a lot of examples elaborated by the author for some projects (mainly storage tanks). It leaves the impression that the book serves mostly to present those specific sheets and the author's work.
The layout of the sheets is awkward and the book itself proves that creating a book in Excel itself is not the best idea since the formatting of pages is a little bit difficult.
The examples are elaborated based on various codes, where the author expresses repetitively his nonconformism with LRFD. This aversion to LRFD leads to my personal favorite statement, which seems to be a little bit misplaced in a book about spreadsheets for civil engineers:
"And is Europe laughing at us because we still use old fashioned methods? Let them laugh. The way we do things has created a nation powerful enough to provide a defense umbrella and relative stability to Europe that has lasted 60+ years. Many Europeans can take a five week vacation because of our resourcefulness."
Personally, I would prefer to use an Excel manual and a good book on structural engineering.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Gloriously and utterly useless..., December 13, 2007

By 

J. Klein (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Engineering with the Spreadsheet: Structural Engineering Templates Using Excel (Paperback)

I was heartbroken when I saw this book for sale. Why? Because I wanted to write this book. Twenty minutes after I received and opened the book I realized that the opportunity is still out there. If an LED flashlight is considered an advanced and high-tech tool for light, think of this book as a flaming, wooden torch. In fact, the book itself would be most useful in starting a fire.

Seriously, this book would only be useful for engineers over the age of ~40. If you're still new to spreadsheets it may be helpful. If you've been in college in the last ten years this book is a worthless waste of paper and ink.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ok for beginners, October 4, 2007

By 

J. Losier "Young Engineer" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Engineering with the Spreadsheet: Structural Engineering Templates Using Excel (Paperback)

This book is ok for engineers who are not yet familiar with excel, but one would be better of with a excel manual and a structures text book. This book pretty much gives you the basics of how to set up a spreadsheet but, with a little time spent playing around with excel someone could figure them out on there own. The provided spreadsheet, although well thought out and planed, are nothing special and don't provide the proper detail to be used in a design office. The author does not go into any of the uses or advantages of macros and other automated features of excel which allow for greater variability in the use of spread sheets. I would recommend this book for engineers have no experience with excel and want a quick crash course in the basic features of the program, reminding them not to expect too much from it.