Structural Steel Design 1

Lui, E.M.
Structural Steel Design

Structural Engineering Handbook
Ed. Chen Wai-Fah
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 1999
Structural Steel Desi gn
1
E. M. Lui
Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering,
SyracuseUniversity,
Syracuse, NY
3.1 Materials
Stress-StrainBehavior of Structural Steel
Typesof Steel
Fire-
proong of Steel

Corrosion Protection of Steel

Structural
Steel Shapes
Structural Fasteners
Weldability of Steel
3.2 Design Philosophy and Design Formats
Design Philosophy
Design Formats
3.3 Tension Members
AllowableStressDesign

Load and ResistanceFactor Design
Pin-Connected Members
Threaded Rods
3.4 Compression Members

Built-Up Compression Members

3.5 Flexural Members

ContinuousBeams
Lateral Bracingof Beams

3.6 Combined Flexureand Axial Force

3.7 Biaxial Bending

3.8 Combined Bending, Torsion, and Axial Force
3.9 Frames
3.10 PlateGirders

3.11 Connections
Bolted Connections
Welded Connections
Shop Welded-
Field Bolted Connections
Beamand Column Splices

3.12 Column BasePlatesand BeamBearingPlates(LRFD
Approach)
Column BasePlates
Anchor Bolts
BeamBearingPlates
3.13 CompositeMembers(LRFD Approach)
CompositeColumns
CompositeBeams
CompositeBeam-
Columns
CompositeFloor Slabs
3.14 PlasticDesign
Plastic Design of Columns and Beams

Plastic Design of
Beam-Columns
3.15 DeningTerms
References.
Further Reading
1
Thematerial in thischapter waspreviously published by CRCPressin TheCivil EngineeringHandbook, W.F. Chen, Ed.,
1995.
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
3.1 Materials
3.1.1 Stress-StrainBehavior of Structural Steel
Structural steel isanimportant constructionmaterial. It possessesattributessuchasstrength,stiffness,
toughness, and ductilitythat arevery desirablein modern constructions. Strength istheability of a
material to resist stresses. It ismeasured in termsof thematerialsyield strength, F
y
, and ultimate
or tensilestrength, F
u
. For steel, therangesof F
y
and F
u
ordinarily used in constructionsare36to
50 ksi (248 to 345 MPa) and 58 to 70 ksi (400 to 483 MPa), respectively, although higher strength
steelsarebecoming morecommon. Stiffnessistheability of amaterial to resist deformation. It is
measured as the slope of the materials stress-strain curve. With reference to Figure3.1 in which
uniaxial engineeringstress-strain curvesobtained from coupon testsfor variousgradesof steelsare
shown, it isseen that themodulusof elasticity, E, doesnot vary appreciably for thedifferent steel
grades. Therefore, avalueof 29,000ksi (200GPa) isoften usedfor design. Toughnessistheabilityof
FIGURE3.1: Uniaxial stress-strain behavior of steel.
amaterial toabsorbenergybeforefailure. It ismeasuredastheareaunder thematerialsstress-strain
curve. Asshown in Figure3.1, most (especially thelower grade) steelspossesshigh toughnesswhich
issuitablefor both static and seismic applications. Ductility istheability of amaterial to undergo
largeinelastic, or plastic, deformation beforefailure. It ismeasured in termsof percent elongation
or percent reduction in areaof thespecimen tested in uniaxial tension. For steel, percent elongation
rangesfrom around 10to 40for a2-in. (5-cm) gagelength specimen. Ductility generally decreases
withincreasingsteel strength. Ductilityisaveryimportant attributeof steel. Theabilityof structural
steel to deformconsiderably beforefailureby fractureallowsan indeterminatestructureto undergo
stressredistribution. Ductility also enhancestheenergy absorption characteristic of thestructure,
which isextremely important in seismicdesign.
3.1.2 Typesof Steel
Structural steelsused for construction purposearegenerally grouped into several major American
Society of Testingand Materials(ASTM) classications:
CarbonSteels(ASTM A36, ASTM A529, ASTM 709)
Inadditiontoiron, themainingredientsof thiscategoryof steelsarecarbon(maximumcontent
= 1.7%) and manganese(maximum content = 1.65%), with asmall amount (< 0.6%) of silicon
and copper. Depending on theamount of carbon content, different types of carbon steels can be
identied:
Lowcarbon steelcarbon content < 0.15%
Mild carbon steelcarbon content variesfrom0.15to 0.29%
Mediumcarbon steelcarbon content 0.30to 0.59%
High carbon steelcarbon content 0.60to 1.70%
Themost commonly used structural carbon steel hasamild carbon content. It isextremely ductile
and issuitablefor both boltingand welding. ASTM A36 isused mainly for buildings. ASTM A529
isoccasionally used for bolted and welded buildingframesand trusses. ASTM 709isused primarily
for bridges.
HighStrengthLowAlloySteels(ASTM A441, ASTM A572)
Thesesteelspossessenhancedstrengthasaresult of thepresenceof oneor morealloyingagents
such aschromium, copper, nickel, silicon, vanadium, and othersin addition to thebasic elements
of iron, carbon, and manganese. Normally, thetotal quantity of all thealloying elementsisbelow
5% of thetotal composition. Thesesteelsgenerally havehigher corrosion-resistant capability than
carbon steels. A441steel wasdiscontinued in 1989; it issuperseded by A572steel.
Corrosion-Resistant HighStrengthLowAlloySteels(ASTM A242, ASTM A588)
Thesesteelshaveenhanced corrosion-resistant capability becauseof theaddition of copper as
an alloyingelement. Corrosion isseverelyretarded when alayer of patina(an oxidized metalliclm)
isformed on thesteel surfaces. Theprocessof oxidation normally takesplacewithin 1to3yearsand
issignied by adistinct appearanceof adeep reddish-brown to black coloration of thesteel. For the
processto takeplace, thesteel must besubjected to aseriesof wetting-drying cycles. Thesesteels,
especially ASTM 588, areused primarily for bridgesand transmission towers(in lieu of galvanized
steel) wheremembersaredifcult to accessfor periodicpainting.
QuenchedandTemperedAlloySteels(ASTMA852,ASTMA514,ASTMA709,ASTM
A852)
Thequantitiesof alloying elementsused in thesesteelsarein excessof thoseused in carbon
and lowalloy steels. In addition, they areheat treated by quenchingand temperingto enhancetheir
strengths. Thesesteelsdonot exhibit well-denedyieldpoints. Their yieldstressesaredeterminedby
the0.2%offset strain method. Thesesteels, despitetheir enhanced strength, havereduced ductility
(Figure3.1) and caremust beexercised in their usageasthedesign limit statefor thestructureor
structural elements may be governed by serviceability considerations (e.g., deection, vibration)
and/or local buckling(under compression).
FIGURE3.2: Frequency distribution of load effect and resistance.
In recent years, anew high strength steel produced using thethermal-mechanical control process
(TMCP) hasbeen developed. Comparedwithother highstrengthsteels, TMCPsteel hasbeen shown
to possess higher strength (for a given carbon equivalent value), enhanced toughness, improved
weldability, and lower yield-to-tensilestrength ratio, F
y
/F
u
. AlowF
y
/F
u
valueisdesirablebecause
thereisan inverserelationshipbetween F
y
/F
u
of thematerial androtational capacityof themember.
Research on TMCP steel is continuing and, as of this writing, TMCP steel has not been given an
ASTM designation.
Asummary of thespecied minimumyield stresses, F
y
, thespecied minimumtensilestrengths,
F
u
, and general usagesfor thesevariouscategoriesof steelsaregiven in Table3.1.
3.1.3 Fireproongof Steel
Although steel is an incombustible material, its strength (F
y
, F
u
) and stiffness (E) reduce quite
noticeablyat temperaturesnormallyreachedinreswhenother materialsinabuildingburn. Exposed
steel membersthat will besubjected to high temperaturewhen areoccursshould bereproofed
to conform to the re ratings set forth in city codes. Fire ratings are expressed in units of time
(usually hours) beyond which thestructural membersunder astandard ASTM Specication (E119)
retest will fail under aspecicset of criteria. Variousapproachesareavailablefor reproongsteel
members. Steel members can be reproofed by encasement in concrete if a minimum cover of 2
in. (51 mm) of concreteisprovided. If theuseof concreteisundesirable(becauseit addsweight
to the structure), a lath and plaster (gypsum) ceiling placed underneath the structural members
supportingtheoor deck of an upper story can beused. In lieu of such aceiling, spray-on materials
such as mineral bers, perlite, vermiculite, gypsum, etc. can also beused for reproong. Other
meansof reproongincludeplacingsteel membersaway fromthesourceof heat, circulatingliquid
coolant insidebox or tubular membersand theuseof insulativepaints. Thesespecial paintsfoam
TABLE3.1 Typesof Steels
Plate
thickness
ASTM designation F
y
(ksi)
a
F
u
(ksi)
a
(in.)
b
General usages
A36 36 58-80 To 8 Riveted, bolted, and welded buildings and
bridges.
A529 42 60-85 To 0.5 Similar to A36. Thehigher yield
50 70-100 To 1.5 stress for A529 steel allows for savings in
weight. A529supersedesA441.
A572Grade42 42 60 To 6 Similar to A441. Grades60and 65
Grade50 50 65 To 4 not suitablefor welded bridges.
Grade60 60 75 To 1.25
Grade65 65 80 To 1.25
A242 42 63 1.5to 5 Riveted, bolted, and
46 67 0.75to 1.5 welded buildingsand bridges.
50 70 0.5to 0.75 Usedwhen weight savingsandenhancedat-
mospheric corrosion resistancearedesired.
Specic instructions must be provided for
welding.
A588 42 63 5to 8 Similar to A242. Atmospheric
46 67 4to 5 corrosion resistanceisabout
50 70 To 4 four timesthat of A36steel.
A709Grade36 36 58-80 To 4 Primarily for usein bridges.
Grade50 50 65 To 4
Grade50W 50 70 To 4
Grade70W 70 90-110 To 4
Grade100& 100W 90 100-130 2.5to 4
Grade100& 100W 100 110-130 To 2.5
A852 70 90-110 To 4 Plates for welded and bolted construction
where atmospheric corrosion resistance is
desired.
A514 90-100 100-130 2.5to 6 Primarily for welded bridges. Avoid
110-130 usageif ductility isimportant.
a
1 ksi = 6.895MPa
b
1 in. = 25.4mm
andexpandwhen heated, thusformingashieldfor themembers[ 26] . For amoredetaileddiscussion
of structural steel design for reprotection, refer to thelatest edition of AISI publication No. FS3,
Fire-SafeStructural Steel-ADesignGuide. Additional information on re-resistant standardsandre
protectioncanbefoundintheAISI bookletsonFireResistantSteel FrameConstruction, DesigningFire
Protectionfor Steel Columns, and DesigningFireProtectionfor Steel Trussesaswell asin theUniform
BuildingCode.
3.1.4 CorrosionProtectionof Steel
Atmosphericcorrosionoccurswhensteel isexposedtoacontinuoussupplyof water andoxygen. The
rateof corrosion can bereduced if abarrier isused to keep water and oxygen from contact with the
surfaceof baresteel. Paintingisapractical andcost effectivewaytoprotect steel fromcorrosion. The
Steel StructuresPaintingCouncil issuesspecicationsfor thesurfacepreparation andthepaintingof
steel structuresfor corrosionprotectionof steel. Inlieuof painting, theuseof other coatingmaterials
such asepoxiesor other mineral and polymericcompoundscan beconsidered. Theuseof corrosion
resistancesteel such asASTM A242and A588steel or galvanized steel isanother alternative.
3.1.5 Structural Steel Shapes
Steel sectionsused for construction areavailablein avariety of shapesand sizes. In general, there
arethreeproceduresby which steel shapescan beformed: hot-rolled, cold-formed, and welded. All
steel shapesmust bemanufactured to meet ASTM standards. Commonly used steel shapesinclude
thewideange(W) sections, theAmerican Standard beam (S) sections, bearingpile(HP) sections,
American Standard channel (C) sections, angle(L) sections, and tee(WT) sectionsaswell asbars,
plates, pipes, and tubular sections. H sectionswhich, by dimensions, cannot beclassied asW or S
shapesaredesignated asmiscellaneous(M) sections, and Csectionswhich, by dimensions, cannot
beclassied asAmerican Standard channelsaredesignated asmiscellaneouschannel (MC) sections.
Hot-rolledshapesareclassiedinaccordancewiththeir tensilepropertyintovesizegroupsbythe
AmericanSocietyof Steel Construction(AISC). ThegroupingsaregivenintheAISCManuals[ 21, 22]
Groups4 and 5 shapesand group 3 shapeswith angethicknessexceeding 1-1/2 in. aregenerally
used for application as compression members. When weldingsareused, caremust beexercised to
minimizethepossibility of crackingin regionsat thevicinity of theweldsby carefully reviewingthe
material specication and fabrication proceduresof thepiecesto bejoined.
3.1.6 Structural Fasteners
Steel sections can be fastened together by rivets, bolts, and welds. While rivets were used quite
extensively in the past, their use in modern steel construction has become almost obsolete. Bolts
haveessentially replaced rivetsastheprimary meansto connect nonwelded structural components.
Bolts
Four basic typesof boltsarecommonly in use. They aredesignated by ASTM asA307, A325,
A490, and A449. A307 bolts are called unnished or ordinary bolts. They are made from low
carbon steel. Two grades(A and B) areavailable. They areavailablein diametersfrom 1/4 in. to
4 in. in 1/8 in. increments. They areused primarily for low-stressconnectionsand for secondary
members. A325 and A490 bolts arecalled high-strength bolts. A325 boltsaremadefrom a heat-
treatedmediumcarbonsteel. Theyareavailableinthreetypes: Type1boltsmadeof mediumcarbon
steel; Type2boltsmadeof low carbon martensitesteel; and Type3boltshaving atmospheric-
corrosion resistanceand weatheringcharacteristicscomparableto A242and A588steel. A490bolts
aremadefrom quenched and tempered alloy steel and thushaveahigher strength than A325 bolts.
LikeA325 bolts, threetypes(Types1 to 3) areavailable. Both A325 and A490 boltsareavailablein
diametersfrom 1/2 in. to 1-1/2 in. in 1/8 in. increments. They areused for general construction
purposes. A449 boltsaremadefrom quenched and tempered steel. They areavailablein diameters
from 1/4 in. to 3 in. A449 boltsareused when diametersover 1-1/2 in. areneeded. They arealso
used for anchor boltsand threaded rod.
High-strength bolts can betightened to two conditions of tightness: snug-tight and fully tight.
Snug-tight conditions can be attained by a few impacts of an impact wrench, or the full effort of
a worker using an ordinary spud wrench. Snug-tight conditionsmust beclearly identied on the
design drawingand arepermitted only if theboltsarenot subjected to tension loads, and loosening
or fatigue due to vibration or load uctuations are not design considerations. Bolts used in slip-
critical conditions(i.e., conditionsfor which theintegrityof theconnected partsisdependent on the
frictional forcedeveloped between theinterfacesof thejoint) and in conditionswheretheboltsare
subjected to direct tension arerequired to befully tightened to develop apretension forceequal to
about 70%of theminimumtensilestressF
u
of thematerial fromwhich theboltsaremade. Thiscan
beaccomplished by usingtheturn-of-the-nut method, thecalibrated wrench method, or by theuse
of alternatedesign fastenersor direct tension indicator [ 28] .
Welds
Weldingisavery effectivemeansto connect two or morepiecesof material together. Thefour
most commonly used welding processes are Shielded Metal ArcWelding(SMAW), Submerged Arc
Welding(SAW), GasMetal ArcWelding(GMAW), and FluxCoreArcWelding(FCAW) [ 7] . Welding
can bedonewith or without ller materialsalthough most weldingsused for construction utilized
ller materials. Theller materialsused in modern day weldingprocessesareelectrodes. Table3.2
summarizestheelectrodedesignationsusedfor theaforementionedfour most commonlyusedweld-
ingprocesses.
TABLE3.2 ElectrodeDesignations
Welding Electrode
processes designations Remarks
Shielded metal E60XX TheE denoteselectrode. Therst two digits
arcwelding E70XX indicatetensilestrength in ksi.
a
Thetwo Xs
(SMAW) E80XX represent numbersindicatingtheusageof the
E100XX electrode.
E110XX
Submerged arc F6X-EXXX TheF designatesagranular ux material. The
welding F7X-EXXX digit(s) followingtheF indicatethetensile
(SAW) F8X-EXXX strength in ksi (6means60ksi, 10means100ksi,
etc.).
F10X-EXXX Thedigit beforethehyphen givestheCharpy
F11X-EXXX V-notched impact strength. TheE and theXsthat
followrepresent numbersrelatingto theuseof the
electrode.
Gasmetal arc ER70S-X ThedigitsfollowingthelettersER represent the
welding ER80S tensilestrength of theelectrodein ksi.
(GMAW) ER100S
ER110S
Flux cored arc E6XT-X Thedigit(s) followingtheletter E represent the
welding E7XT-X tensilestrength of theelectrodein ksi (6means60
(FCAW) E8XT ksi, 10means100ksi, etc.).
E10XT
E11XT
a
1ksi = 6.895MPa
Finished weldsshould beinspected to ensuretheir quality. Inspection should beperformed by
qualied welding inspectors. A number of inspection methods areavailablefor weld inspections.
They include visual, the use of liquid penetrants, magnetic particles, ultrasonic equipment, and
radiographic methods. Discussion of theseand other welding inspection techniquescan befound
in theWeldingHandbook[ 6] .
3.1.7 Weldabilityof Steel
Most ASTM specication construction steelsareweldable. In general, thestrength of theelectrode
used should equal or exceed thestrength of thesteel beingwelded [ 7] . Thetablebelowgivesranges
of chemical elementsin steel within which good weldability isassured [ 8] .
Element Rangefor good weldability Percent requiring special care
Carbon 0.06-0.25 0.35
Manganese 0.35-0.80 1.40
Silicon 0.10max. 0.30
Sulfur 0.035max. 0.050
Phosphorus 0.030max. 0.040
Weldability of steel isclosely related to theamount of carbon in steel. Weldability isalso affected
bythepresenceof other elements. Aquantityknownascarbonequivalentvalue, givingtheamount of
carbon andother elementsin percent composition, isoften usedtodenethechemical requirements
in steel. Onedenition of thecarbon equivalent valueC
eq
is
C
eq
= Carbon +
(Manganese + Silicon)
6
+
(Copper + Nickel)
15
+
(Chromium + Molybdenum + Vanadium + Columbium)
5
(3.1)
Asteel isconsideredweldableif C
eq
0.50%for steel in whichthecarbon content doesnot exceed
0.12%, and if C
eq
0.45%for steel in which thecarbon content exceeds0.12%.
3.2 DesignPhilosophyandDesignFormats
3.2.1 DesignPhilosophy
Structural design should beperformed to satisfy threecriteria: (1) strength, (2) serviceability, and
(3) economy. Strengthpertains to the general integrity and safety of the structure under extreme
load conditions. Thestructureisexpected to withstand occasional overloadswithout severedistress
and damage during its lifetime. Serviceabilityrefers to the proper functioning of the structure as
related to itsappearance, maintainability, and durability under normal, or serviceload, conditions.
Deection, vibration, permanent deformation, cracking, and corrosion aresomedesign considera-
tionsassociated with serviceability. Economyconcernstheoverall material and labor costsrequired
for thedesign, fabrication, erection, and maintenanceprocessesof thestructure.
3.2.2 DesignFormats
At present, steel design can beperformed in accordancewith oneof thefollowingthreeformats:
1. AllowableStressDesign(ASD)ASDhasbeeninusefor decadesfor steel designof build-
ingsand bridges. It continuesto enjoy popularity among structural engineersengaged
in steel buildingdesign. In allowablestress(or workingstress) design, member stresses
computed under theaction of service(or working) loadsarecompared to somepredes-
ignated stressescalled allowablestresses. Theallowablestressesareusually expressed as
afunction of theyield stress(F
y
) or tensilestress(F
u
) of thematerial. To account for
overload, understrength, andapproximationsusedinstructural analysis, afactor of safety
isapplied to reducethenominal resistanceof thestructural member to afraction of its
tangiblecapacity. Thegeneral format for an allowablestressdesign hastheform
R
n
F.S.
i=1
Q
ni
(3.2)
whereR
n
is thenominal resistanceof thestructural component expressed in a unit of
stress; Q
ni
istheservice, or working stressescomputed from theapplied working load
of typei; F.S. isthefactor of safety; i istheload type(dead, live, wind, etc.), and m is
thenumber of load typeconsidered in thedesign. Theleft-hand sideof theequation,
R
n
/F.S., representstheallowablestressof thestructural component.
2. PlasticDesign(PD) PD makesuseof thefact that steel sectionshavereserved strength
beyond therst yield condition. When asection isunder exure, yieldingof thecross-
section occursin aprogressivemanner, commencingwith thebersfarthest away from
theneutral axisand ending with thebersnearest theneutral axis. Thisphenomenon
of progressiveyielding, referred toasplastication, meansthat thecross-section doesnot
fail at rst yield. Theadditional moment that across-section can carry in excessof the
moment that correspondstorst yieldvariesdependingontheshapeof thecross-section.
To quantify such reserved capacity, aquantity called shapefactor, dened astheratio of
theplasticmoment (moment that causestheentirecross-section to yield, resultingin the
formation of a plastichinge) to the yieldmoment (moment that causes yielding of the
extremebersonly) isused. Theshapefactor for hot-rolledI-shapedsectionsbent about
thestrongaxeshasavalueof about 1.15. Thevalueisabout 1.50when thesesectionsare
bent about their weak axes.
For anindeterminatestructure, failureof thestructurewill not occur after theformation
of a plastic hinge. After completeyielding of a cross-section, force(or, moreprecisely,
moment) redistributionwill occur inwhichtheunfailedportionof thestructurecontinues
tocarryanyadditional loadings. Failurewill occur onlywhenenoughcross-sectionshave
yielded rendering thestructureunstable, resulting in theformation of aplasticcollapse
mechanism.
In plastic design, the factor of safety is applied to the applied loads to obtain
factored loads. A design is said to have satised the strength criterion if the load ef-
fects (i.e., forces, shears, and moments) computed using these factored loads do not
exceed thenominal plastic strength of thestructural component. Plastic design hasthe
form
R
n

m
i=1
Q
ni
(3.3)
whereR
n
isthenominal plastic strength of themember; Q
ni
isthenominal load effect
from loadsof typei; istheload factor; i istheload type; and m isthenumber of load
types.
In steel buildingdesign, theload factor isgiven by theAISCSpecication as1.7 if Q
n
consists of dead and live gravity loads only, and as 1.3 if Q
n
consists of dead and live
gravity loadsactingin conjunction with wind or earthquakeloads.
3. LoadandResistanceFactorDesign(LRFD)LRFDisaprobability-basedlimit statedesign
procedure. In itsdevelopment, both load effectsand resistanceweretreated asrandom
variables. Their variabilitiesanduncertaintieswererepresentedbyfrequencydistribution
curves. A design is considered satisfactory according to the strength criterion if the
resistance exceeds the load effects by a comfortable margin. The concept of safety is
representedschematicallyinFigure3.2. Theoretically, thestructurewill not fail unlessRis
lessthanQasshownbytheshadedportioninthegurewheretheRandQcurvesoverlap.
Thesmaller thisshaded area, thelesslikely that thestructurewill fail. In actual design,
a resistance factor is applied to the nominal resistance of the structural component
to account for any uncertaintiesassociated with thedetermination of itsstrength and a
load factor isapplied to each load typeto account for theuncertaintiesand difculties
associated with determining itsactual load magnitude. Different load factorsareused
for different load types to reect thevarying degreeof uncertainty associated with the
determination of load magnitudes. In general, a lower load factor is used for a load
that ismorepredicableand ahigher load factor isused for aload that islesspredicable.
Mathematically, theLRFD format takestheform
R
n

m
i=1
i
Q
ni
(3.4)
whereR
n
representsthedesign(or usable) strength, and Q
ni
representstherequired
strength or load effect for a given load combination. Table3.3 shows theload combi-
nations to be used on the right hand side of Equation 3.4. For a safe design, all load
combinationsshould beinvestigated and thedesign isbased on theworst casescenario.
LRFD isbased on thelimit statedesign concept. A limit stateisdened asacondition
in which astructureor structural component becomesunsafe(that is, aviolation of the
strength limit state) or unsuitable for its intended function (that is, a violation of the
serviceability limit state). In alimit statedesign, thestructureor structural component
is designed in accordance to its limits of usefulness, which may be strength related or
serviceability related.
TABLE3.3 Load Factorsand Load
Combinations
1.4D
1.2D +1.6L +0.5(L
r
or S or R)
1.2D +1.6(L
r
or S or R) +(0.5L or 0.8W)
1.2D +1.3W +0.5L +0.5(L
r
or S or R)
1.2D 1.0E +0.5L +0.2S
0.9D (1.3W or 1.0E)
where
D = dead load
L = liveload
L
r
= roof liveload
W = wind load
S = snowload
E = earthquakeload
R = nominal load dueto initial rainwater
or iceexclusiveof thepondingcontri-
bution
Theload factor onLinthethird, fourth, andfth
load combinations shown above shall equal
1.0 for garages, areas occupied as places of
public assembly, and all areas where the live
load isgreater than 100psf (47.9N/m
2
).
3.3 TensionMembers
Tension members are to be designed to preclude the following possible modes of failures under
normal load conditions: Yieldingin grosssection, fracturein effectivenet section, block shear, shear
rupturealongplanethrough thefasteners, bearingon fastener holes, prying(for lap or hanger-type
joints). In addition, thefastenersstrength must beadequateto prevent failurein thefasteners. Also,
except for rodsin tension, theslendernessof thetension member obtained by dividingthelength of
themember by itsleast radiusof gyration should preferably not exceed 300.
3.3.1 AllowableStressDesign
Thecomputedtensilestress, f
t
, in atension member shall not exceedtheallowablestressfor tension,
F
t
, given by0.60F
y
for yieldingon thegrossarea, andby0.50F
u
for fractureon theeffectivenet area.
Whilethegrossareaisjust thenominal cross-sectional areaof themember, theeffectivenetareaisthe
smallest cross-sectional areaaccountingfor thepresenceof fastener holesand theeffect of shear lag.
It iscalculated usingtheequation
A
e
= UA
n
= U
_
_
A
g

m
i=1
d
ni
t
i
+
k
j=1
_
s
2
4g
_
j
t
j
_
_
(3.5)
where
U isareduction coefcient given by [ 25]
U = 1
x
l
0.90 (3.6)
in which l isthelength of theconnection and x isthedistancemeasured asshown in Figure3.3. For
agiven cross-section thelargest x isused in Equation 3.6 to calculateU. Thisreduction coefcient
isintroduced to account for theshear lag effect that ariseswhen somecomponent elementsof the
cross-section in ajoint arenot connected, renderingtheconnection lesseffectivein transmittingthe
applied load. The terms in brackets in Equation 3.5 constitute the so-called net section A
n
. The
FIGURE3.3: Denition of x for selected cross-sections.
varioustermsaredened asfollows:
A
g
= grosscross-sectional area
d
n
= nominal diameter of thehole(bolt cutout), taken asthenominal bolt diameter plus1/8 of
an inch (3.2mm)
t = thicknessof thecomponent element
s = longitudinal center-to-center spacing(pitch) of any two consecutivefastenersin achain of
staggered holes
g = transverse center-to-center spacing (gage) between two adjacent fasteners gage lines in a
chain of staggered holes
The second term inside the brackets of Equation 3.5 accounts for loss of material due to bolt
cutouts, thesummationiscarriedfor all bolt cutoutslyingonthefailureline. Thelast terminsidethe
bracketsof Equation 3.5indirectly accountsfor theeffect of theexistenceof acombined stressstate
(tensileand shear) alongan inclined failurepath associated with staggered holes. Thesummation is
carried for all staggered pathsalongthefailureline. Thistermvanishesif theholesarenot staggered.
Normally, it is necessary to investigate different failure paths that may occur in a connection, the
critical failurepath istheonegivingthesmallest valuefor A
e
.
To prevent block shear failureand shear rupture, theallowablestressesfor block shear and shear
rupturearespecied asfollows.
Blockshear:
R
BS
= 0.30A
v
F
u
+0.50A
t
F
u
(3.7)
Shear rupture:
F
v
= 0.30F
u
(3.8)
where
A
v
= net areain shear
A
t
= net areain tension
F
u
= specied minimumtensilestrength
Thetensionmember shouldalsobedesignedtopossessadequatethicknessandthefastenersshould
beplaced within aspecicrangeof spacingsand edgedistancestoprevent failureduetobearingand
failureby pryingaction (seesection on Connections).
3.3.2 LoadandResistanceFactor Design
Accordingto theLRFD Specication [ 18] , tension membersdesigned to resist afactored axial force
of P
u
calculated usingtheload combinationsshown in Table3.3must satisfy thecondition of
t
P
n
P
u
(3.9)
Thedesign strength
t
P
n
isevaluated asfollows.
Yieldingongrosssection:
t
P
n
= 0.90[F
y
A
g
] (3.10)
where
0.90 = theresistancefactor for tension
F
y
= thespecied minimumyield stressof thematerial
A
g
= thegrosscross-sectional areaof themember
Fractureineffectivenet section:
t
P
n
= 0.75[F
u
A
e
] (3.11)
where
0.75 = theresistancefactor for fracturein tension
F
u
= thespecied minimumtensilestrength
A
e
= theeffectivenet areagiven in Equation 3.5
Blockshear: If F
u
A
nt
0.6F
u
A
nv
(i.e., shear yield-tension fracture)
t
P
n
= 0.75[0.60F
y
A
gv
+F
u
A
nt
] (3.12a)
If F
u
A
nt
< 0.6F
u
A
nv
(i.e., shear fracture-tension yield)
t
P
n
= 0.75[0.60F
u
A
nv
+F
y
A
gt
] (3.12b)
where
0.75 = theresistancefactor for block shear
F
y
, F
u
= thespecied minimumyield stressand tensilestrength, respectively
A
gv
= thegrossareaof thetorn-out segment subject to shear
A
nt
= thenet areaof thetorn-out segment subject to tension
A
nv
= thenet areaof thetorn-out segment subject to shear
A
gt
= thegrossareaof thetorn-out segment subject to tension
EXAMPLE3.1:
UsingLRFD, select adoublechannel tension member shown in Figure3.4atocarryadead load D
of 40kipsand aliveload Lof 100kips. Themember is15feet long. Six 1-in. diameter A325boltsin
standard sizeholesareused to connect themember to a3/8-in. gusset plate. UseA36steel (F
y
=36
ksi, F
u
=58ksi) for all theconnected parts.
LoadCombinations:
FromTable3.3, theapplicableload combinationsare:
1.4D = 1.4(40) = 56 kips
1.2D +1.6L = 1.2(40) +1.6(100) = 208 kips
Thedesign of thetension member isto bebased on thelarger of thetwo, i.e., 208 kipsand so each
channel isexpected to carry 104kips.
Yieldingingrosssection:
UsingEquations3.9and 3.10, thegrossarearequired to prevent cross-section yieldingis
0.90[F
y
A
g
] P
u
0.90[(36)(A
g
)] 104
(A
g
)
req
d
3.21 in
2
Fromthesection propertiestablecontained in theAISC-LRFD Manual, onecan select thefollowing
trial sections: C8x11.5(A
g
=3.38in
2
), C9x13.4(A
g
=3.94in
2
), C8x13.75(A
g
=4.04in
2
).
Checkfor thelimit stateof fractureoneffectivenet section:
Theabovesectionsarechecked for thelimitingstateof fracturein thefollowingtable.
FIGURE3.4: Design of adouble-channel tension member (1in. =25.4mm).
A
g
t
w
x A
b
e

t
P
n
Section (in.
2
) (in.) (in.) U
a
(in.
2
) (kips)
C8x11.5 3.38 0.220 0.571 0.90 2.6 113.1
C9x13.4 3.94 0.233 0.601 0.90 3.07 133.5
C8x13.75 4.04 0.303 0.553 0.90 3.02 131.4
a
Equation 3.6
b
Equation 3.5, Figure3.4b
Fromthelast column of theabovetable, it can beseen that fractureisnot aproblemfor any of the
trial section.
Checkfor thelimit stateof blockshear:
Figure3.4c showsapossibleblock shear failuremode. To avoid block shear failuretherequired
strengthof P
u
=104kipsshouldnot exceedthedesign strength,
t
P
n
, calculatedusingEquation3.12a
or Equation 3.12b, whichever isapplicable.
For theC8x11.5section:
A
gv
= 2(9)(0.220) = 3.96 in.
2
A
nv
= A
gv
5(1 +1/8)(0.220) = 2.72 in.
2
A
gt
= (3)(0.220) = 0.66 in.
2
A
nt
= A
gt
1(1 +1/8)(0.220) = 0.41 in.
2
Substituting theaboveinto Equations3.12b since[ 0.6F
u
A
nv
=94.7 kips] islarger than [ F
u
A
nt
=
23.8 kips] , we obtain
t
P
n
=88.8 kips, which is less than P
u
=104 kips. The C8x11.5 section is
thereforenot adequate. Signicant increasein block shear strength isnot expected fromtheC9x13.4
section becauseitsweb thicknesst
w
isjust slightly over that of theC8x11.5 section. Asaresult, we
shall check theadequacy of theC8x13.75section instead.
For theC8x13.75section:
A
gv
= 2(9)(0.303) = 5.45 in.
2
A
nv
= A
gv
5(1 +1/8)(0.303) = 3.75 in.
2
A
gt
= (3)(0.303) = 0.91 in.
2
A
nt
= A
gt
1(1 +1/8)(0.303) = 0.57 in.
2
SubstitutingtheaboveintoEquations3.12bsince[ 0.6F
u
A
nv
=130.5kips] islarger than[ F
u
A
nt
=
33.1kips] weobtain
t
P
n
=122kips, which exceedstherequired strength P
u
of 104kips. Therefore,
block shear will not beaproblemfor theC8x13.75section.
Checkfor thelimitingslendernessratio:
Using theparallel axistheorem, theleast radiusof gyration of thedoublechannel cross-section
iscalculated to be0.96 in. Therefore, L/r = (15)(12)/0.96 = 187.5 which islessthan therecom-
mended maximumvalueof 300.
Checkfor theadequacyof theconnection:
Thecalculationsareshown in an examplein thesection on Connections.
Longitudinal spacingof connectors:
According to Section J3.5 of the LRFD Specication, the maximum spacing of connectors in
built-up tension membersshall not exceed:
24 timesthethicknessof thethinner plateor 12 in. for painted membersor unpainted
membersnot subject to corrosion.
14timesthethicknessof thethinner plateor 7in. for unpainted membersof weathering
steel subject to atmosphericcorrosion.
Assumingtherst condition applies, aspacingof 6in. isto beused.
Use2C8x13.75ConnectedIntermittentlyat 6-in. Interval
3.3.3 Pin-ConnectedMembers
Pin-connected members shall bedesigned to precludethefollowing modes of failure: (1) tension
yieldingon thegrossarea; (2) tension fractureon theeffectivenet area; (3) longitudinal shear on the
effectivearea; and (4) bearingon theprojected pin area(Figure3.5).
Theallowablestressesfor tension yield, tension fracture, andshear ruptureare0.60F
y
, 0.45F
y
,
and 0.30F
u
, respectively. Theallowablestressesfor bearingaregiven in thesection on Connections.
LoadandResistanceFactor Design
Thedesign tensilestrength
t
P
n
for apin-connected member isgiven asfollows:
Tensionongrossarea: SeeEquation 3.10
Tensiononeffectivenet area:
t
P
n
= 0.75[2t b
eff
F
u
] (3.13)
Shear oneffectivearea:
sf
P
n
= 0.75[0.6A
sf
F
u
] (3.14)
Bearingonprojectedpinarea: Seesection on Connections
Thetermsin theaboveequationsaredened asfollows:
a = shortest distance from edge of the pin hole to the edge of the member measured in the
direction of theforce
A
pb
= projected bearingarea= dt
A
sf
= 2t (a +d/2)
b
eff
= 2t + 0.63, but not morethan theactual distancefrom theedgeof theholeto theedgeof
thepart measured in thedirection normal to theapplied force
d = pin diameter
t = platethickness
3.3.4 ThreadedRods
Threaded rodsunder tension aretreated asboltssubject to tension in allowablestressdesign.
Theseallowablestressesaregiven in thesection on Connections.
Threaded rodsdesigned astension membersshall haveagrossareaA
b
given by
A
b

P
u
0.75F
u
(3.15)
FIGURE3.5: Failuremodesof pin-connected members.
where
A
b
= thegrossareaof therod computed usingadiameter measured totheouter extremityof the
thread
P
u
= thefactored tensileload
= theresistancefactor given as0.75
F
u
= thespecied minimumtensilestrength
3.4 CompressionMembers
Compression memberscan fail by yielding, inelastic buckling, or elastic bucklingdependingon the
slendernessratioof themembers. Memberswith lowslendernessratiostend tofail byyieldingwhile
memberswith high slendernessratiostend to fail by elastic buckling. Most compression members
used in construction haveintermediateslendernessratiosand so thepredominant modeof failure
isinelastic buckling. Overall member bucklingcan occur in oneof threedifferent modes: exural,
torsional, and exural-torsional. Flexural buckling occurs in members with doubly symmetric or
doubly antisymmetric cross-sections(e.g., I or Z sections) and in memberswith singly symmetric
sections(e.g., channel, tee, equal-leggedangle, doubleanglesections) whensuchsectionsarebuckled
about an axisthat isperpendicular to theaxisof symmetry. Torsional buckling occursin members
with doubly symmetricsectionssuch ascruciformor built-up shapeswith very thin walls. Flexural-
torsional bucklingoccursin memberswithsinglysymmetriccross-sections(e.g., channel, tee, equal-
legged angle, doubleanglesections) when such sectionsarebuckled about theaxisof symmetry and
in memberswith unsymmetriccross-sections(e.g., unequal-legged L). Normally, torsional buckling
of symmetricshapesisnot particularlyimportant in thedesign of hot-rolled compression members.
It either doesnot govern or itsbucklingstrength doesnot differ signicantlyfromthecorresponding
weak axisexural bucklingstrengths. However, torsional bucklingmay becomeimportant for open
sectionswithrelativelythincomponent plates. It shouldbenotedthat for agivencross-sectional area,
aclosed section ismuch stiffer torsionally than an open section. Therefore, if torsional deformation
isof concern, a closed section should beused. Regardlessof themodeof buckling, thegoverning
effectiveslendernessratio (Kl/r) of thecompression member preferably should not exceed 200.
In addition to theslendernessratio and cross-sectional shape, thebehavior of compression mem-
bersisaffected by therelativethicknessof thecomponent elementsthat constitutethecross-section.
Therelativethickness of a component element is quantied by thewidth-thickness ratio (b/t ) of
theelement. Thewidth-thickness ratios of someselected steel shapes areshown in Figure 3.6. If
the width-thickness ratio falls within a limiting value (denoted by the LRFD specication [ 18] as
r
) as shown in Table 3.4, the section will not experience local buckling prior to overall buckling
of themember. However, if thewidth-thicknessratio exceedsthislimiting width-thicknessvalue,
consideration of local bucklingin thedesign of thecompression member isrequired.
To facilitatethedesign of compression members, column tablesfor W, tee, double-angle, square/
rectangular tubular, and circular pipesectionsareavailablein theAISCManualsfor both allowable
stressdesign [ 21] and load and resistancefactor design [ 22] .
Thecomputed compressivestress, f
a
, in acompression member shall not exceed itsallowablevalue
given by
F
a
=
_
_
_
1
(Kl/r)
2
2C
2
c
_
f
y
5
3
+
3(Kl/r)
8Cc

(Kl/r)
3
8C
3
c
, if Kl/r C
c
12
2
E
23(Kl/r)
2
, if Kl/r > C
c
(3.16)
FIGURE3.6: Denition of width-thicknessratio of selected cross-sections.
TABLE3.4 LimitingWidth-ThicknessRatiosfor Compression ElementsUnder Pure
Compression
Width-thickness
Component element ratio Limitingvalue,
r
Flangesof I-shaped sections; platesprojectingfrom
compression elements; outstandinglegsof pairsof anglesin
continuouscontact; angesof channels.
b/t 95/
_
f
y
Flangesof squareand rectangular box and hollowstructural
sectionsof uniformthickness; angecover platesand
diaphragmplatesbetween linesof fastenersor welds.
b/t 238/
_
f
y
Unsupported width of cover platesperforated with a succession
of accessholes.
b/t 317/
_
f
y
Legsof singleanglestruts; legsof doubleanglestrutswith
separators; unstiffened elements(i.e., elementssupported along
oneedge).
b/t 76/
_
f
y
Flangesprojectingfrombuilt-up members. b/t 109/
_
(F
y
/k
a
c
)
Stemsof tees. d/t 127/
_
F
y
All other uniformly compressed elements b/t 253/
_
F
y
(i.e., elementssupported alongtwo edges). h/t
w
Circular hollowsections. D/t 3,300/F
y
D = outside
diameter
t = wall thickness
a
k
c
= 4/
(h/t
w
), and 0.35 k
c
0.763 for I-shaped sections, k
c
= 0.763 for other sections.
F
y
= specied minimumyield stress, in ksi.
where Kl/r is the slenderness ratio, K is the effective length factor of the compression member
(seeSection 3.4.3), l istheunbraced member length, r istheradiusof gyration of thecross-section,
E is the modulus of elasticity, and C
c
=
_
(2
2
E/F
y
) is the slenderness ratio that demarcates
between inelastic member buckling from elastic member buckling. Kl/r should beevaluated for
both bucklingaxesand thelarger valueused in Equation 3.16to computeF
a
.
Therst of Equation 3.16 istheallowablestressfor inelastic buckling, and thesecond of Equa-
tion 3.16istheallowablestressfor elasticbuckling. In ASD, no distinction ismadebetween exural,
torsional, and exural-torsional buckling.
Compression membersareto bedesigned so that thedesign compressivestrength
c
P
n
will exceed
therequired compressivestrength P
u
.
c
P
n
isto becalculated asfollowsfor thedifferent typesof
overall bucklingmodes.
Flexural Buckling(with width-thicknessratio <
r
):
c
P
n
=
_
_
0.85
_
A
g
(0.658
2
c
)F
y
_
, if
c
1.5
0.85
_
A
g
_
0.877
2
c
_
F
y
_
, if
c
> 1.5
(3.17)
where
c
= (KL/r)
_
(F
y
/E) istheslendernessparameter
A
g
= grosscross-sectional area
F
y
= specied minimumyield stress
E = modulusof elasticity
K = effectivelength factor
l = unbraced member length
r = radiusof gyration of thecross-section
The rst of Equation 3.17 is the design strength for inelastic buckling and the second of Equa-
tion 3.17isthedesign strength for elasticbuckling. Theslendernessparameter
c
= 1.5 istherefore
thevaluethat demarcatesbetween inelasticand elasticbehavior.
Torsional Buckling(with width-thicknessratio <
r
):
c
P
n
isto becalculated fromEquation 3.17, but with
c
replaced by
e
given by
e
=
_
(F
y
/F
e
) (3.18)
where
F
e
=
_
2
EC
w
(K
z
L)
2
+GJ
_
1
I
x
+I
y
(3.19)
in which
C
w
= warpingconstant
G = shear modulus=11,200ksi (77,200MPa)
I
x
, I
y
= moment of inertiaabout themajor and minor principal axes, respectively
J = torsional constant
K
z
= effectivelength factor for torsional buckling
Thewarping constant C
w
and thetorsional constant J aretabulated for varioussteel shapesin
theAISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] . Equationsfor calculatingapproximatevaluesfor theseconstantsfor
somecommonly used steel shapesareshown in Table3.5.
TABLE3.5 ApproximateEquationsfor C
w
and J
Structural shape Warpingconstant, C
w
Torsional constant, J
I h
2
I
c
I
t
/(I
c
+I
t
)
C
i
(b
i
t
3
i
/3)
where
b
i
= width of component element i
C (b
3E
o
)h
2
b
2
t
f
/6 +E
2
o
I
x
t
i
= thicknessof component element i
where C
i
= correction factor for component
element i (seevaluesbelow)
E
o
= b
2
t
f
/(2b
t
f
+h
t
w
/3)
T (b
3
f
t
3
f
/4 +h
3
t
3
w
)/36 b
i
/t
i
C
i
( 0 for small t ) 1.00 0.423
1.20 0.500
1.50 0.588
1.75 0.642
L (l
3
1
t
3
1
+l
3
2
t
3
2
)/36 2.00 0.687
( 0 for small t ) 2.50 0.747
3.00 0.789
4.00 0.843
5.00 0.873
6.00 0.894
8.00 0.921
10.00 0.936
1.000
b
= distancemeasured fromtoeof angeto center lineof web

h
= distancebetween centerlinelinesof anges

h
= distancefromcenterlineof angeto tip of stem

l
1
, l
2
= length of thelegsof theangle
t
1
, t
2
= thicknessof thelegsof theangle
b
f
= angewidth
t
f
= averagethicknessof ange
t
w
= thicknessof web
I
c
= moment of inertiaof compression angetaken about theaxisof theweb
I
t
= moment of inertiaof tension angetaken about theaxisof theweb
I
x
= moment of inertiaof thecross-section taken about themajor principal axis
Flexural-Torsional Buckling (with width-thicknessratio
r
):
Sameasfor torsional bucklingexcept F
e
isnowgiven by
For singlysymmetricsections:
F
e
=
F
es
+F
ez
2H
_
1
_
1
4F
es
F
ez
H
(F
es
+F
ez
)
2
_
(3.20)
where
F
es
= F
ex
if thex-axisistheaxisof symmetry of thecross-section, or F
ey
if they-axisistheaxis
of symmetry of thecross-section
F
ex
=
2
E/(Kl/r)
2
x
F
ey
=
2
E/(Kl/r)
2
x
H = 1 (x
2
o
+y
2
o
)/r
2
o
in which
K
x
, K
y
= effectivelength factorsfor bucklingabout thex and y axes, respectively
l = unbraced member length
r
x
, r
y
= radii of gyration about thex and y axes, respectively
x
o
, y
o
= theshear center coordinateswith respect to thecentroid Figure3.7
r
2
o
= x
2
o
+y
2
o
+r
2
x
+r
2
y
Numerical valuesfor r
o
andH aregivenfor hot-rolledW, channel, tee, andsingle- anddouble-angle
sectionsin theAISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] .
For unsymmetricsections:
F
e
isto besolved fromthecubicequation
(F
e
F
ex
)(F
e
F
ey
)(F
e
F
ez
) F
2
e
(F
e
F
ey
)
_
x
o
r
o
_
2
F
2
e
(F
e
F
ex
)
_
y
o
r
o
_
2
= 0 (3.21)
Thetermsin theaboveequationsaredened thesameasin Equation 3.20.
Local Buckling(with width-thicknessratio
r
):
Local buckling in acomponent element of thecross-section isaccounted for in design by intro-
ducingareduction factor Q in Equation 3.17asfollows:
c
P
n
=
_
_
0.85
_
A
g
Q
_
0.658
Q
2
_
F
y
_
, if
Q 1.5
0.85
_
A
g
_
0.877
2
_
F
y
_
, if
Q > 1.5
(3.22)
where =
c
for exural buckling, and =
e
for exural-torsional buckling.
TheQ factor isgiven by
Q = Q
s
Q
a
(3.23)
where
Q
s
isthereductionfactor for unstiffenedcompressionelementsof thecross-section(seeTable3.6);
andQ
a
isthereduction factor for stiffenedcompression elementsof thecross-section (seeTable3.7)
3.4.3 Built-UpCompressionMembers
Built-up members are members made by bolting and/or welding together two or more standard
structural shapes. For abuilt-up member tobefullyeffective(i.e., if all component structural shapes
areto act asoneunit rather than asindividual units), thefollowingconditionsmust besatised:
FIGURE3.7: Location of shear center for selected cross-sections.
1. Theendsof thebuilt-up member must beprevented fromslippageduringbuckling.
2. Adequatefastenersmust beprovided alongthelength of themember.
3. The fasteners must be able to provide sufcient gripping force on all the component
shapesbeingconnected.
Condition 1issatisedif all component shapesin contact at theendsof themember areconnected
by a weld having a length not less than the maximum width of the member or by fully tightened
boltsspaced longitudinally not morethan four diametersapart for adistanceequal to 1-1/2 times
themaximumwidth of themember.
Condition 2 issatised if continuousweldsareused throughout thelength of thebuilt-up com-
pression member.
Condition 3issatised if either weldsor fully tightened boltsareused asthefasteners.
Whilecondition 1ismandatory, conditions2and 3can beviolated in design. If condition 2or 3
isviolated, thebuilt-up member isnot fully effectiveand slight slippageamongcomponent shapes
TABLE3.6 Formulasfor Q
s
Structural element Rangeof b/t Q
s
Singleangles 76.0/
_
F
y
< b/t < 155/
_
F
y
1.340 0.00447(b/t )
_
f
y
b/t 155/
_
f
y
15, 500/[F
y
(b/t )
2
]
Flanges, angles, and
platesprojectingfrom
columnsor other
compression members
95.0/
_
F
y
< b/t < 176/
_
f
y
1.415 0.00437(b/t )
_
f
y
b/t 176/
_
F
y
20, 000/[F
y
(b/t )
2
]
Flanges, angles, and
platesprojectingfrom
built-up columnsor
other compression
members
109/
_
(F
y
/k
a
c
) < b/t < 200/
_
(F
y
/k
c
) 1.415 0.00381(b/t )
_
(F
y
/k
c
)
b/t 200/
_
(F
y
/k
c
) 26, 200kc/[F
y
(b/t )
2
]
Stemsof tees 127/
_
F
y
< b/t < 176/
_
F
y
1.908 0.00715(b/t )
_
F
y
b/t 176/
_
f
y
20, 000/[F
y
(b/t )
2
]
a
seefootnotea in Table3.4
F
y
= specied minimumyield stress, in ksi
b = width of thecomponent element
t = thicknessof thecomponent element
TABLE3.7 Formulafor Q
a
Q
s
=
effectivearea
actual area
Theeffectiveareaisequal to thesummation of theeffectiveareasof thestiffened elementsof thecross-
section. Theeffectiveareaof astiffened element isequal totheproduct of itsthicknesst and itseffective
width b
e
given by:
For angesof squareandrectangular sectionsof uniformthickness: when b/t
238
a
f
b
e
=
326t
f
_
1
64.9
(b/t )
f
_
b
For other uniformlycompressedelements: when b/t
253
a
f
b
e
=
326t
f
_
1
57.2
(b/t )
f
_
b
where
b = actual width of thestiffened element
f = computed elasticcompressivestressin thestiffened elements, in ksi
a
b
e
= b otherwise.
may occur. To account for thedecreasein capacity dueto slippage, amodied slendernessratio is
used for thecomputation of thedesign compressivestrength when bucklingof thebuilt-up member
isabout an axiscoincideor parallel to at least oneplaneof contact for thecomponent shapes. The
modied slendernessratio (KL/r)
m
isgiven asfollows:
If condition2isviolated:
_
KL
r
_
m
=
_
_
KL
r
_
2
o
+
0.82
2
(1 +
2
)
_
a
r
ib
_
2
(3.24)
If conditions2and3areviolated:
_
KL
r
_
m
=
_
_
KL
r
_
2
o
+
_
a
r
i
_
2
(3.25)
Intheaboveequations, (KL/r)
o
= (KL/r)
x
if thebucklingaxisisthex-axisandat least oneplane
of contact between component shapesisparallel to that axis; (KL/r)
o
= (KL/r)
y
if thebuckling
axisisthey axisand at least oneplaneof contact isparallel to that axis. a isthelongitudinal spacing
of the fasteners, r
i
is the minimum radius of gyration of any component element of the built-up
cross-section, r
ib
istheradiusof gyration of an individual component relativeto itscentroidal axis
parallel to the axis of buckling of the member, h is the distance between centroids of component
elementsmeasured perpendicularly to thebucklingaxisof thebuilt-up member.
No modication to (KL/r) is necessary if the buckling axis is perpendicular to the planes of
contact of thecomponent shapes. Modicationsto both (KL/r)
x
and (KL/r)
y
arerequired if the
built-up member isso constructed that planesof contact exist in both thex and y directionsof the
cross-section.
Oncethemodied slendernessratio iscomputed, it isto beused in theappropriateequation to
calculateF
a
in allowablestressdesign, or
c
P
n
in load and resistancefactor design.
An additional requirement for the design of built-up members is that the effective slenderness
ratio, Ka/r
i
, of each component shape, where K is the effective length factor of the component
shapebetween adjacent fasteners, doesnot exceed 3/4of thegoverningslendernessratioof thebuilt-
up member. This provision is provided to prevent component shape buckling between adjacent
fastenersfromoccurringprior to overall bucklingof thebuilt-up member.
EXAMPLE3.2:
UsingLRFD, determinethesizeof apair of cover platesto bebolted, usingsnug-tight bolts, to the
angesof aW24x229sectionasshowninFigure3.8sothat itsdesignstrength,
c
P
n
, will beincreased
by15%. Also, determinethespacingof theboltsinthelongitudinal directionof thebuilt-upcolumn.
FIGURE3.8: Design of cover platesfor acompression member.
Theeffectivelengthsof thesection about themajor (KL)
x
and minor (KL)
y
axesareboth equal to
20ft. A36steel isto beused.
Determinedesignstrengthfor theW24x229section:
Since (KL)
x
= (KL)
y
and r
x
> r
y
, (KL/r)
y
will be greater than (KL/r)
x
and the design
strength will becontrolled by exural bucklingabout theminor axis. Usingsection properties, r
y
=
3.11in. and A = 67.2in.
2
, obtained from theAISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] , theslendernessparameter
c
about theminor axiscan becalculated asfollows:
(
c
)
y
=
1
_
KL
r
_
y
_
F
y
E
=
1
3.142
_
20 12
3.11
_
_
36
29, 000
= 0.865
Substituting
c
=0.865into Equation 3.17, thedesign strength of thesection is
c
P
n
= 0.85
_
67.2
_
0.658
0.865
2
_
36
_
= 1503 kips
Alternatively, theabovevalueof
c
P
n
can beobtained directly from thecolumn tablescontained
in theAISC-LRFD Manual.
Determinedesignstrengthfor thebuilt-upsection:
Thebuilt-up section isexpected to possessadesign strength which is15%in excessof thedesign
strength of theW24x229section, so
(
c
P
n
)
req
d
= (1.15)(1503) = 1728 kips
Determinesizeof thecover plates:
After cover platesareadded, theresultingsection isstill doubly symmetric. Therefore, theoverall
failuremodeisstill exural buckling. For exural bucklingabout theminor axis(y-y), no modica-
tion to (KL/r) isrequired becausethebucklingaxisisperpendicular to theplaneof contact of the
component shapesand no relativemovement between theadjoiningpartsisexpected. However, for
exural bucklingabout themajor (x-x) axis, modicationto(KL/r) isrequiredbecausethebuckling
axis is parallel to theplaneof contact of theadjoining structural shapes and slippagebetween the
component pieceswill occur. Weshall design thecover platesassumingexural bucklingabout the
minor axiswill control and check for exural bucklingabout themajor axislater.
AW24x229section hasaangewidth of 13.11in.; so, asatrial, usecover plateswith widthsof 13
in. asshown in Figure3.8a. Denotingt asthethicknessof theplates, wehave
(r
y
)
built-up
=
_
(I
y
)
W-shape
+(I
y
)
plates
A
W-shape
+A
plates
=
_
651 +183.1t
67.2 +26t
and
(
c
)
y,built-up
=
1
_
KL
r
_
y,built-up
_
F
y
E
= 2.69
_
67.2 +26t
651 +183.1t
Assuming()
y,builtup
islessthan1.5, onecansubstitutetheaboveexpressionfor
c
inEquation3.17.
With
c
P
n
equals1728, wecan solvefor t . Theresult ist = 1/2 in. Backsubstituting t = 1/2 into
theaboveexpression, weobtain ()
c,builtup
= 0.884 which isindeed <1.5. So, try 13 x1/2 cover
plates.
Checkfor local buckling:
For theI-section:
Flange:
_
b
f
2t
f
= 3.8
_
<
_
95
_
F
y
= 15.8
_
Web:
_
h
c
t
w
= 22.5
_
<
_
253
_
F
y
= 42.2
_
For thecover plates, if 3/4-in. diameter boltsareused and assuming an edgedistanceof 1-1/4 in.,
thewidth of theplatebetween fastenerswill be13-2.5=10.5in. Therefore, wehave
_
b
t
=
10.5
1/2
= 21
_
<
_
238
_
F
y
=
238
36
= 39.7
_
Sincethewidth-thicknessratiosof all component shapesdo not exceed thelimitingwidth-thickness
ratio for local buckling, local bucklingisnot aconcern.
Checkfor exural bucklingabout themajor (x-x) axis:
Since the built-up section is doubly symmetric, the governing buckling mode will be exural
buckling regardless of the axes. Flexural buckling will occur about the major axis if the modied
slendernessratio (KL/r)
m
about themajor axisexceeds(KL/r)
y
. Therefore, aslongas(KL/r)
m
islessthan (KL/r)
y
, bucklingwill occur about theminor axisandexural bucklingabout themajor
axiswill not becontrolled. Inorder toarriveat anoptimal design, weshall determinethelongitudinal
fastener spacing, a, such that themodied slendernessratio (KL/r)
m
about themajor axiswill be
equal to (KL/r)
y
. That is, weshall solvefor a fromtheequation
_
_
_
KL
r
_
m
=
_
_
KL
r
_
2
x
+
_
a
r
i
_
2
_
_
=
_
_
KL
r
_
y
= 78.9
_
In theaboveequation, (KL/r)
x
istheslendernessratioabout themajor axisof thebuilt-up section,
r
i
is the least radius of gyration of the component shapes, which in this case is the cover plate.
Substituting (KL/r)
x
= 21.56, r
i
= r
cover plate
=
_
(I/A)
cover plate
=
_
[(1/2)
2
/112] = 0.144 into
theaboveequation, weobtain a = 10.9 in. Since(KL) = 20 ft, weshall use a = 10 in. for the
longitudinal spacingof thefasteners.
Checkfor component shapebucklingbetweenadjacent fasteners:
_
Ka
r
i
=
1 10
0.144
= 69.44
_
>
_
3
4
_
KL
r
_
y
=
3
4
(78.9) = 59.2
_
Sincethecomponent shapebucklingcriterionisviolated, weneedtodecreasethelongitudinal spacing
from10in. to 8in.
Use13 x1/2 cover platesbolted to theangesof theW24x229 section by 3/4-in. diameter fully
tightened boltsspaced 8in. longitudinally.
3.5 Flexural Members
Dependingon thewidth-thicknessratiosof thecomponent elements, steel sectionsused for exural
membersareclassied ascompact, noncompact, and slender element sections. Compact sections
aresectionsthat can develop thecross-section plastic moment (M
p
) under exureand sustain that
moment through a large hinge rotation without fracture. Noncompact sections are sections that
either cannot develop thecross-section full plastic strength or cannot sustain alargehingerotation
at M
p
, probably dueto local buckling of theangesor web. Slender element sectionsaresections
that fail by local bucklingof component elementslongbeforeM
p
isreached. Asection isconsidered
compact if all itscomponent elementshavewidth-thicknessratioslessthan alimitingvalue(denoted
as
p
in LRFD). Asection isconsidered noncompact if oneor moreof itscomponent elementshave
width-thicknessratiosthat fall in between
p
and
r
. Asection isconsidered tobeaslender element
if oneor moreof itscomponent elementshavewidth-thicknessratiosthat exceed
r
. Expressions
for
p
and
r
aregiven in theTable3.8
In addition to the compactness of the steel section, another important consideration for beam
design is the lateral unsupported (unbraced) length of the member. For beams bent about their
strongaxes, thefailuremodes, or limit states, vary dependingon thenumber and spacingof lateral
supportsprovided to bracethecompression angeof thebeam. Thecompression angeof abeam
behavessomewhat likeacompressionmember. It bucklesif adequatelateral supportsarenot provided
in a phenomenon called lateral torsional buckling. Lateral torsional bucklingmay or may not be
accompanied by yielding, depending on thelateral unsupported length of thebeam. Thus, lateral
torsional buckling can be inelastic or elastic. If the lateral unsupported length is large, the limit
stateiselastic lateral torsional buckling. If thelateral unsupported length issmaller, thelimit state
isinelasticlateral torsional buckling. For compact section beamswith adequatelateral supports, the
limit stateisfull yieldingof thecross-section (i.e., plastichingeformation). For noncompact section
beamswith adequatelateral supports, thelimit stateisangeor web local buckling.
For beamsbent about their weak axes, lateral torsional bucklingwill not occur and so thelateral
unsupported length hasno bearingon thedesign. Thelimit statesfor such beamswill beformation
of aplastic hingeif thesection iscompact. Thelimit statewill beangeor web local bucklingif the
section isnoncompact.
Beamssubjected to high shear must bechecked for possibleweb shear failure. Dependingon the
width-thicknessratio of theweb, failureby shear yieldingor web shear bucklingmay occur. Short,
deepbeamswiththinwebsareparticularlysusceptibletowebshear failure. If webshear isof concern,
theuseof thicker websor web reinforcementssuch asstiffenersisrequired.
Beamssubjectedtoconcentratedloadsappliedintheplaneof thewebmust becheckedfor avariety
of possibleangeand web failures. Failuremodesassociated with concentrated loadsincludelocal
ange bending (for tensile concentrated load), local web yielding (for compressive concentrated
load), web crippling (for compressive load), sidesway web buckling (for compressive load), and
compression bucklingof theweb (for acompressiveload pair). If oneor moreof theseconditionsis
critical, transversestiffenersextendingat least one-half thebeamdepth(usefull depthfor compressive
bucklingof theweb) must beprovided adjacent to theconcentrated loads.
Longbeamscan havedeectionsthat may betoo excessive, leadingto problemsin serviceability.
If deection isexcessive, theuseof intermediatesupportsor beamswith higher exural rigidity is
required.
Thedesignof exural membersshouldsatisfythefollowingcriteria: (1) exural strengthcriterion,
(2) shear strength criterion, (3) criteria for concentrated loads, and (4) deection criterion. To
facilitatebeam design, anumber of beam tablesand chartsaregiven in theAISCManuals[ 21, 22]
for both allowablestressand load and resistancefactor design.
TABLE3.8
p
and
r
for MembersUnder Flexural Compression
Width-
thickness
Component element ratio
a
p

r
Flangesof I-shaped rolled
beamsand channels
b/t 65/
_
F
y
141/
_
(F
y
10)
b
Flangesof I-shaped b/t 65/
_
F
yf
(non-seismic) 162/
_
(F
yf
16.5)/k
c
c
hybrid or welded 52/
_
F
yf
(seismic)
beams F
yf
= yield stressof ange F
yw
= yield stressof web
Flangesof squareand
rectangular box and
hollowstructural
sectionsof uniform
thickness; angecover
platesand diaphragm
platesbetween linesof
fastenersor welds
b/t 190/
_
F
y
238/
_
F
y
Unsupported width of
cover platesperforated
with asuccession of
accessholes
b/t NA 317/
_
F
y
Legsof singleanglestruts;
legsof doubleangle
strutswith separators;
unstiffened elements
b/t NA 76/
_
F
y
Stemsof tees d/t NA 127/
_
F
y
Websin exural
compression
h
c
/t
w
640/
_
F
y
(non-seismic) 970/
_
F
d
y
520/
_
F
y
(seismic)
Websin combined h
c
/t
w
For P
u
/
b
P
y
0.125 : 970/
_
F
d
y
exural and axial 640(1 2.75P
u
/
b
P
y
)/
_
F
y
compression (non-seismic)
520(1 1.54P
u
/
b
P
y
)/
_
F
y
(seismic)
For P
u
/
b
P
y
> 0.125 :
191(2.33 P
u
/
b
P
y
)/
_
F
y
253/
_
F
y
b
= 0.90
P
u
= factored axial force;
P
y
= A
g
F
y
.
Circular hollow D/t 2, 070/F
y
8, 970/F
y
sections D = outside 1, 300/F
y
for
diameter; plasticdesign
t =
wall thickness
a
SeeFigure3.6 for denition of b, h
c
, and t
b
For ASD, thislimit is95/
_
F
y
c
_
(F
yf
/k
c
), wherek
c
= 4.05/(h/t )
0.46
if h/t > 70, otherwisek
c
= 1.0
d
_
F
b
Note: All stresseshaveunitsof ksi.
Flexural StrengthCriterion
The computed exural stress, f
b
, shall not exceed the allowable exural stress, F
b
, given as
follows(in all equations, theminimumspecied yield stress, F
y
, cannot exceed 65ksi):
Compact-SectionMembersBent About Their Major Axes
For L
b
L
c
,
F
b
= 0.66F
y
(3.26)
where
L
c
= smaller of {76b
f
/
_
F
y
, 20000/(d/A
f
)F
y
}, for I and channel shapes
= [1950 +1200(M
1
/M
2
)](b/F
y
) 1200(b/F
y
), for box sections, rectangular and circular
tubes
in which
b
f
= angewidth, in.
d = overall depth of section, ksi
A
f
= areaof compression ange, in.
2
b = width of cross-section, in.
M
1
/M
2
= ratio of thesmaller to larger moment at theendsof theunbraced length of thebeam.
M
1
/M
2
is positive for reverse curvature bending and negative for single curvature
bending.
For theabovesectionsto beconsidered compact, in addition to havingthewidth-thicknessratios
of their component elementsfallingwithin thelimitingvalueof
p
shown in Table3.8, theanges
of thesectionsmust becontinuously connected to thewebs. For box-shaped sections, thefollowing
requirementsmust also besatised: thedepth-to-width ratio should not exceed six, and theange-
to-web thicknessratio should exceed two.
For L
b
> L
c
, theallowableexural stressin tension isgiven by
F
b
= 0.60F
y
(3.27)
and theallowableexural stressin compression isgiven by thelarger valuecalculated from Equa-
tion 3.28and Equation 3.29. Equation 3.28normally controlsfor deep, thin-anged sectionswhere
warping restraint torsional resistancedominates, and Equation 3.29 normally controlsfor shallow,
thick-anged sectionswhereSt. Venant torsional resistancedominates.
F
b
=
_
_
_
_
2
3

F
y
(l/r
T
)
2
153010
3
C
b
_
F
y
0.60F
y
, if
_
102,000C
b
F
y
l
r
T
<
_
510,000C
b
F
y
170,000C
b
(l/r
T
)
2
0.60F
y
, if
l
r
T
_
510,000C
b
F
y
(3.28)
F
b
=
12, 000C
b
ld/A
f
0.60F
y
(3.29)
where
l = distance between cross-sections braced against twist or lateral displacement of the com-
pression ange, in.
r
T
= radiusof gyration of asection comprisingthecompression angeplus1/3of thecompres-
sion web area, taken about an axisin theplaneof theweb, in.
A
f
= compression angearea, in.
2
C
b
= 12.5M
max
/(2.5M
max
+3M
A
+4M
B
+3M
C
)
M
max
, M
A
, M
B
, M
C
= maximum moment, quarter-point moment, midpoint moment, and
three-quarter point moment alongtheunbraced length of themember,
respectively.
For simplicity in design, C
b
can conservatively betaken asunity.
It shouldbecautionedthat Equations3.28and3.29areapplicableonlytoI andchannel shapeswith
an axisof symmetry in, and loaded in theplaneof theweb. In addition, Equation 3.29isapplicable
onlyif thecompression angeissolid and approximatelyrectangular in shape, and itsareaisnot less
than thetension ange.
Compact SectionMembersBent About Their Minor Axes
Sincelateral torsional bucklingwill not occur for bendingabout theminor axes, regardlessof the
valueof L
b
, theallowableexural stressis
F
b
= 0.75F
y
(3.30)
Noncompact SectionMembersBent About Their Major Axes
For L
b
L
c
,
F
b
= 0.60F
y
(3.31)
whereL
c
isdened asfor Equation 3.26.
For L
b
> L
c
, F
b
isgiven in Equation 3.27, 3.28, or 3.29.
Noncompact SectionMembersBent About Their Minor Axes
Regardlessof thevalueof L
b
,
F
b
= 0.60F
y
(3.32)
Slender Element Sections
Refer to thesection on PlateGirders.
Shear StrengthCriterion
For practicallyall structural shapescommonlyusedin constructions, theshear resistancefrom
theangesissmall compared to thewebs. Asaresult, theshear resistancefor exural membersis
normallydeterminedon thebasisof thewebsonly. Theamount of webshear resistanceisdependent
on thewidth-thicknessratio h/t
w
of thewebs. If h/t
w
issmall, thefailuremodeisweb yielding. If
h/t
w
islarge, thefailuremodeiswebbuckling. Toavoidwebshear failure, thecomputedshear stress,
f
v
, shall not exceed theallowableshear stress, F
v
, given by
F
v
=
_
_
_
0.40F
y
, if
h
t
w
380
F
y
C
v
2.89
F
y
0.40F
y
, if
h
t
w
>
380
F
y
(3.33)
where
C
v
= 45,000k
v
/F
y
(h/t
w
)
2
, if C
v
0.8
= 190
_
(k
v
/F
y
)/(h/t
w
), if C
v
> 0.8
k
v
= 4.00 +5.34/(a/h)
2
, if a/h 1.0
= 5.34 +4.00/(a/h)
2
, if a/h > 1.0
t
w
= web thickness, in.
a = clear distancebetween transversestiffeners, in.
h = clear distancebetween angesat section under investigation, in.
Criteriafor ConcentratedLoads
Local FlangeBending
If theconcentrated forcethat actson thebeam angeistensile, thebeam angemay experience
excessivebending, leadingto failureby fracture. To precludethistypeof failure, transversestiffeners
areto beprovided oppositethetension angeunlessthelength of theload when measured across
thebeamangeislessthan 0.15timestheangewidth, or if theangethickness, t
f
, exceeds
0.4
_
P
bf
F
y
(3.34)
where
P
bf
= computed tensileforcemultiplied by 5/3if theforceisdueto liveand dead loadsonly, or
by 4/3 if theforceisdueto liveand dead loadsin conjunction with wind or earthquake
loads, kips.
F
y
= specied minimumyield stress, ksi.
Local WebYielding
To prevent local web yielding, theconcentrated compressiveforce, R, should not exceed 0.66R
n
,
whereR
n
istheweb yieldingresistancegiven in Equation 3.52or Equation 3.53, whichever applies.
WebCrippling
Toprevent webcrippling, theconcentratedcompressiveforce, R, shouldnot exceed0.50R
n
, where
R
n
isthewebcripplingresistancegiven in Equation3.54, Equation 3.55, or Equation 3.56, whichever
applies.
SideswayWebBuckling
To prevent sidesway web buckling, theconcentrated compressiveforce, R, should not exceed R
n
,
whereR
n
isthesideswaywebbucklingresistancegiven in Equation 3.57or Equation 3.58, whichever
applies, except thetermC
r
t
3
w
t
f
/h
2
isreplaced by 6,800t
3
w
/h.
CompressionBucklingof theWeb
When theweb issubjected to apair of concentrated forcesactingon both anges, bucklingof the
web may occur if theweb depth clear of llet, d
c
, isgreater than
4100t
3
w
_
F
y
P
bf
(3.35)
where t
w
is the web thickness, F
y
is the minimum specied yield stress, and P
bf
is as dened in
Equation 3.34.
DeectionCriterion
Deection is a serviceability consideration. Since most beams are fabricated with a camber
which somewhat offsetsthedead load deection, consideration isoften given to deection dueto
live load only. For beams supporting plastered ceilings, the service live load deection preferably
should not exceed L/360 where L is the beam span. A larger deection limit can be used if due
considerationsaregiven to ensuretheproper functioningof thestructure.
EXAMPLE3.3:
UsingASD, determinetheamount of increasein exural capacity of aW24x55section bent about
its major axis if two 7 x1/2 (178mmx13mm) cover plates are bolted to its anges as shown in
FIGURE3.9: Cover-plated beamsection.
Figure3.9. Thebeamislaterallysupported at every5-ft (1.52-m) interval. UseA36steel. Specifythe
type, diameter, and longitudinal spacingof theboltsused if themaximumshear toberesisted by the
cross-section is100kips(445kN).
Sectionproperties:
A W24x55section hasthefollowingsection properties:
b
f
=7.005in. t
f
=0.505in. d =23.57in. t
w
=0.395in. I
x
=1350in.
4
S
x
=114in.
3
Checkcompactness:
Refer to Table3.8, and assumingthat thetransversedistancebetween thetwo bolt linesis4in., we
have
Beamanges
_
b
f
2t
f
= 6.94"
_
<
_
65
F
y
= 10.8"
_
Beamweb
_
d
t
w
= 59.7"
_
<
_
640
F
y
= 107"
_
Cover plates
_
4
1/2
= 8"
_
<
_
190
F
y
= 31.7"
_
Therefore, thesection iscompact.
Determinetheallowableexural stress, F
b
:
Sincethesection iscompact and thelateral unbraced length, L
b
= 60 in., islessthan L
c
= 83.4
in., theallowablebendingstressfromEquation 3.26is0.66F
y
=24ksi.
Determinesectionmodulusof thebeamwithcover plates:
S
x,combination section
=
I
c
=
1350 +2
__
1
12
_
(7)(1/2)
3
+(7)(1/2)(12.035)
2
_
(11.785 +1/2)
= 192 in.
3
Determineexural capacityof thebeamwithcover plates:
M
= S
F
b
= (192)(24) = 4608 k-in.
Sincetheexural capacity of thebeamwithout cover platesis
M
x
= S
x
F
b
= (114)(24) = 2736 k-in.
theincreasein exural capacity is68.4%.
Determinediameter andlongitudinal spacingof bolts:
From Mechanicsof Materials, the relationship between the shear ow, q, the number of bolts
per shear plane, n, the allowable bolt shear stress, F
v
, the cross-sectional bolt area, A
b
, and the
longitudinal bolt spacing, s, at theinterfaceof two component elementsof acombination section is
given by
nF
v
A
b
s
= q
Substituting n = 2, q = VQ/I = (100)[(7)(1/2)(12.035)]/2364 = 1.78 k/in. into the above
equation, wehave
F
v
A
b
s
= 0.9 k/in.
If 1/2" diameter A325Nboltsareused, wehaveA
b
= (1/2)
2
/4 =0.196in.
2
, andF
v
=21ksi (from
Table3.12), from which s can besolved from theaboveequation to be4.57in. However, for easeof
installation, uses =4.5in.
In calculatingthesection propertiesof thecombination section, nodeduction ismadefor thebolt
holesin thebeamangesnor thecover plates. Thisisallowed provided that thefollowingcondition
issatised:
0.5F
u
A
f n
0.6F
y
A
fg
whereF
y
and F
u
aretheminimumspecied yield strength and tensilestrength, respectively. A
f n
is
thenet angeareaand A
fg
isthegrossangearea. For thisproblem
Beamanges
_
0.5F
u
A
f n
= 0.5(58)(7.005 2 1/2)(0.505) = 87.9 kips
_
>
_
0.6F
y
A
fg
= 0.6(36)(7.005)(0.505) = 76.4 kips
_
Cover Plates
_
0.5F
u
A
f n
= 0.5(58)(7 2 1/2)(1/2) = 87 kips
_
>
_
0.6F
y
A
fg
= 0.6(36)(7)(1/2) = 75.6 kips
_
sotheuseof thegrosscross-sectional areatocomputesection propertiesisjustied. In theevent that
thecondition is violated, cross-sectional properties should beevaluated using an effectivetension
angeareaA
f e
given by
A
f e
=
5
6
F
u
F
y
A
f n
Use1/2 diameter A325N boltsspaced 4.5 apart longitudinally in two lines4 apart to connect the
cover platesto thebeamanges.
Flexural membersmust bedesigned to satisfy theexural strength criterion of
b
M
n
M
u
(3.36)
where
b
M
n
is the design exural strength and M
u
is the required strength. The design exural
strength isdetermined asfollows:
Compact SectionMembersBent About Their Major Axes
For L
b
L
p
, (Plastichingeformation)
b
M
n
= 0.90M
p
(3.37)
For L
p
< L
b
L
r
, (Inelasticlateral torsional buckling)
b
M
n
= 0.90C
b
_
M
p
(M
p
M
r
)
_
L
b
L
p
L
r
L
p
__
0.90M
p
(3.38)
For L
b
> L
r
, (Elasticlateral torsional buckling)
For I-shapedmembersandchannels:
b
M
n
= 0.90C
b
_
_
L
b
_
EI
y
GJ +
_
E
L
b
_
2
I
y
C
w
_
_
0.90M
p
(3.39)
For solidrectangular barsandsymmetricboxsections:
b
M
n
= 0.90C
b
57, 000
JA
L
b
/r
y
0.90M
p
(3.40)
Thevariablesused in theaboveequationsaredened in thefollowing.
L
b
= lateral unsupported length of themember
L
p
, L
r
= limitinglateral unsupported lengthsgiven in thefollowingtable
Structural shape L
p
L
r
I-shaped sections,
chanels
300r
y
/
_
F
yf
_
r
y
X
1
/F
L
_
__
_
1 +
_
_
1 +X
2
F
2
L
_
_
_
where where
r
y
= radiusof gyration r
y
= radiusof gyration about minor axis, in.
about minor axis, in. X
1
= (/S
x
)
(EGJA/2)
F
yf
= angeyield X
2
= (4C
w
/I
y
)(S
x
/GJ)
2
stress, ksi F
L
= smaller of (F
yf
F
r
) or F
yw
F
yf
= angeyield stress, ksi
F
yw
= web yield stress, ksi
F
r
= 10ksi for rolled shapes, 16.5ksi
for welded shapes
S
x
= elastic section modulusabout themajor axis,
in.
3
(useS
xc
, theelasticsection modulusabout the
major axis with respect to the compression ange
if thecompression angeislarger than thetension
ange)
I
y
= moment of inertiaabout theminor axis, in.
4
J = torsional constant, in.
4
C
w
= warpingconstant, in.
6
E = modulusof elasticity, ksi
G = shear modulus, ksi
Solid rectangular bars,
symmetricbox sections
_
3, 750r
y
(JA)
_
/M
p
_
57, 000r
y
(JA)
_
/M
r
where where
r
y
= radiusof gyration r
y
= radiusof gyration about minor axis, in.
about minor axis, in. J = torsional constant, in.
4
J = torsional A = cross-sectional area, in.
2
constant, in.
4
M
r
= F
y
S
x
for solid rectangular bar, F
yf
S
eff
A = cross-sectional for box sections
area, in.
2
F
y
= yield stress, ksi
M
p
= plasticmoment F
yf
capacity = F
y
Z
x
S
x
= plasticsection modulusabout themajor
F
y
= yield stress, ksi axis, in.
3
Z
x
= plastic section modulus
about themajor axis, in.
3
Note: L
p
given in thistablearevalid only if thebending coefcient C
b
isequal to unity. If C
b
> 1, thevalueof L
p
can beincreased. However, usingtheL
p
expressionsgiven abovefor C
b
> 1 will giveaconservativevaluefor the
exural design strength.
and
M
p
= F
y
Z
x
M
r
= F
L
S
x
for I-shaped sectionsand channels, F
y
S
x
for solid rectangular bars, F
yf
S
eff
for box
sections
F
L
= smaller of (F
yf
F
r
) or F
yw
F
yf
F
yw
= web yield stress
F
r
= 10ksi for rolled sections, 16.5ksi for welded sections
F
y
S
x
= elasticsection modulusabout themajor axis
S
eff
= effectivesection modular, calculated usingeffectivewidth b
e
, in Table3.7
Z
x
= plasticsection modulusabout themajor axis
I
y
= moment of inertiaabout theminor axis
J = torsional constant
C
w
= warpingconstant
E = modulusof elasticity
G = shear modulus
C
b
= 12.5M
max
/(2.5M
max
+3M
A
+4M
B
+3M
C
)
M
max
, M
A
, M
B
, M
C
= maximum moment, quarter-point moment, midpoint moment, and
three-quarter point moment alongtheunbraced length of themember,
respectively.
C
b
is a factor that accounts for the effect of moment gradient on the lateral torsional buckling
strength of thebeam. Lateral torsional bucklingstrength increasesfor asteepmoment gradient. The
worst loadingcaseasfar aslateral torsional bucklingisconcerned iswhen thebeamissubjected to a
uniform moment resultingin singlecurvaturebending. For thiscaseC
b
=1. Therefore, theuseof
C
b
=1isconservativefor thedesign of beams.
Compact SectionMembersBent About Their Minor Axes
Regardlessof L
b
, thelimit statewill beaplastichingeformation
b
M
n
= 0.90M
py
= 0.90F
y
Z
y
(3.41)
Noncompact SectionMembersBent About Their Major Axes
For L
b
L
p
, (Flangeor web local buckling)
b
M
n
=
b
M
n
= 0.90
_
M
p
(M
p
M
r
)
_

p
r

p
__
(3.42)
where
L
p
= L
p
+(L
r
L
p
)
_
M
p
M
n
M
p
M
r
_
(3.43)
L
p
, L
r
, M
p
, M
r
aredened asbeforefor compact section members, and
For angelocal buckling:
= b
f
/2t
f
for I-shaped members, b
f
/t
f
for channels
p
= 65/
_
F
y
r
= 141/
_
(F
y
10)
For weblocal buckling:
= h
c
/t
w
p
= 640/
_
F
y
r
= 970/
_
F
y
in which
b
f
= angewidth
t
f
= angethickness
h
c
= twicethedistancefromtheneutral axistotheinsidefaceof thecompression angelessthe
llet or corner radius
t
w
= web thickness
For L
p
< L
b
L
r
, (Inelastic lateral torsional buckling),
b
M
n
isgiven by Equation 3.38 except
that thelimit 0.90M
p
isto bereplaced by thelimit 0.90M
n
.
For L
b
> L
r
, (Elasticlateral torsional buckling),
b
M
n
isthesameasfor compact sectionmembers
asgiven in Equation 3.39or Equation 3.40.
Noncompact SectionMembersBent About Their Minor Axes
Regardlessof thevalueof L
b
, thelimit statewill beeither angeor web local buckling, and
b
M
n
isgiven by Equation 3.42.
Slender Element Sections
Refer to thesection on PlateGirder.
TeesandDoubleAngleBent About Their Major Axes
The design exural strength for tees and double-angle beams with ange and web slenderness
ratioslessthan thecorrespondinglimitingslendernessratios
r
shown in Table3.8isgiven by
b
M
n
= 0.90
_
_
EI
y
GJ
L
b
(B +
_
1 +B
2
)
_
0.90(CM
y
) (3.44)
where
B = 2.3
_
d
L
b
_
_
I
y
J
(3.45)
C = 1.5 for stemsin tension, and 1.0for stemsin compression.
Usetheplussign for B if theentirelength of thestemalongtheunbraced length of themember isin
tension. Otherwise, usetheminussign. Theother variablesin Equation 3.44 aredened asbefore
in Equation 3.39.
For asatisfactory design, thedesign shear strength of thewebsmust exceed thefactored shear
actingon thecross-section, i.e.,
v
V
n
V
u
(3.46)
Dependingon theslendernessratiosof thewebs, threelimit statescan beidentied: shear yielding,
inelastic shear buckling, and elastic shear buckling. Thedesign shear strength that correspondsto
each of theselimit statesisgiven asfollows:
For h/t
w
418/
_
F
yw
, (Shear yieldingof web)
v
V
n
= 0.90[0.60F
yw
A
w
] (3.47)
For 418/
_
F
yw
< h/t
w
523/
_
F
yw
, (Inelasticshear bucklingof web)
v
V
n
= 0.90
_
0.60F
yw
A
w
418/
_
F
yw
h/t
w
_
(3.48)
For 523/
_
F
yw
< h/t
w
260, (Elasticshear bucklingof web)
v
V
n
= 0.90
_
132,000A
w
(h/t
w
)
2
_
(3.49)
Thevariablesused in theaboveequationsaredened in thefollowing:
h = clear distancebetween angeslessthellet or corner radius, in.
t
w
F
yw
= yield stressof web, ksi
A
w
= dt
w
, in.
2
d = overall depth of section, in.
Criteriafor ConcentratedLoads
When concentrated loads are applied normal to the anges in planes parallel to the webs
of exural members, theange(s) and web(s) must bechecked to ensurethat they havesufcient
strengthsR
n
to withstand theconcentrated forcesR
u
, i.e.,
R
n
R
u
(3.50)
Thedesign strength for avariety of limit statesaregiven below:
Local FlangeBending
Thedesign strength for local angebendingisgiven by
R
n
0.90[6.25t
2
f
F
yf
] (3.51)
where
t
f
= angethicknessof theloaded ange, in.
F
yf
Local WebYielding
Thedesign strength for yieldingof abeamweb at thetoeof thellet under tensileor compressive
loadsactingon oneor both angesare:
If theloadactsat adistancefromthebeamendwhichexceedsthedepthof themember
R
n
= 1.00[(5k +N)F
yw
t
w
] (3.52)
If theloadactsat adistancefromthebeamendwhichdoesnot exceedthedepthof themember
R
n
= 1.00[(2.5k +N)F
yw
t
w
] (3.53)
where
k = distancefromouter faceof angeto web toeof llet
N = length of bearingon thebeamange
F
yw
= web yield stress
t
w
= web thickness
WebCrippling
Thedesign strength for cripplingof abeam web under compressiveloadsactingon oneor both
angesare:
If theloadactsat adistancefromthebeamendwhichexceedshalf thedepthof thebeam
R
n
= 0.75
_
135t
2
w
_
1 +3
_
N
d
__
t
w
t
f
_
1.5
_
_
F
yw
t
f
t
w
_
(3.54)
If theloadactsat adistancefromthebeamendwhichdoesnot exceedhalf thedepthof thebeamand
if N/d 0.2
R
n
= 0.75
_
68t
2
w
_
1 +3
_
N
d
__
t
w
t
f
_
1.5
_
_
F
yw
t
f
t
w
_
(3.55)
If theloadactsat adistancefromthebeamendwhichdoesnot exceedhalf thedepthof thebeamand
if N/d>0.2
R
n
= 0.75
_
68t
2
w
_
1 +
_
4N
d
0.2
__
t
w
t
f
_
1.5
_
_
F
yw
t
f
t
w
_
(3.56)
where
d = overall depth of thesection, in.
t
f
= angethickness, in.
Theother variablesarethesameasthosedened in Equations3.52and 3.53.
SideswayWebBuckling
Sidesway web buckling may occur in theweb of amember if acompressiveconcentrated load is
applied toaangewhich isnot restrained against relativemovement bystiffenersor lateral bracings.
Thesidesway web bucklingdesign strength for themember is:
If the loaded ange is restrained against rotation about the longitudinal member axis and
(h
c
/t
w
)(l/b
f
) 2.3
R
n
= 0.85
_
C
r
t
3
w
t
f
h
2
_
1 +0.4
_
h/t
w
l/b
f
_
3
__
(3.57)
If the loaded ange is not restrained against rotation about the longitudinal member axis and
(h
c
/t
w
)(l/b
f
) 1.7
R
n
= 0.85
_
C
r
t
3
w
t
f
h
2
_
0.4
_
h/t
w
l/b
f
_
3
__
(3.58)
where
t
f
= angethickness, in.
t
w
h = clear distance between anges less the llet or corner radius for rolled shapes; distance
between adjacent linesof fastenersor clear distancebetween angeswhen weldsareused
for built-up shapes, in.
b
f
= angewidth, in.
l = largest laterally unbraced length alongeither angeat thepoint of load, in.
C
r
= 960,000if M
u
/M
y
<1at thepoint of load, ksi
= 480,000if M
u
/M
y
1at thepoint of load, ksi
CompressionBucklingof theWeb
Thislimit statemay occur in memberswith unstiffened webswhen both angesaresubjected to
compressiveforces. Thedesign strength for thislimit stateis
R
n
= 0.90
_
4, 100t
3
w
_
F
yw
h
_
(3.59)
Thisdesign strength shall bereduced by 50%if theconcentrated forcesareactingat adistancefrom
thebeam end which ishalf thebeam depth. Thevariablesin Equation 3.59 arethesameasthose
dened in Equations3.56to 3.58.
Stiffenersshall beprovided in pairsif any oneof theabovestrength criteriaisviolated. If thelocal
angebendingor thelocal webyieldingcriterion isviolated, thestiffener pair tobeprovidedtocarry
theexcessR
u
need not extend morethan one-half theweb depth. Thestiffenersshall bewelded to
theloaded angeif theapplied forceistensile. They shall either bear on or bewelded to theloaded
ange if the applied force is compressive. If the web crippling or the compression web buckling
criterion isviolated, thestiffener pair to beprovided shall extend thefull height of theweb. They
shall bedesigned as axially loaded compression members(seesection on Compression Members)
with an effectivelength factor K =0.75, across-section A
g
composed of thecross-sectional areasof
thestiffenersplus25t
2
w
for interior stiffeners, and 12t
2
w
for stiffenersat member ends.
DeectionCriterion
Thedeection criterion isthesameasthat for ASD. Sincedeection isa serviceability limit
state, service(rather than factored) loadsshould beused in deection computations.
3.5.3 ContinuousBeams
Continuousbeamsshall bedesignedin accordancewiththecriteriafor exural membersgiven in the
precedingsection. However, a10%reduction in negativemomentsduetogravity loadsisallowed at
thesupportsprovided that:
1. themaximumpositivemoment betweensupportsisincreasedby1/10theaverageof thenegative
momentsat thesupports;
2. thesection iscompact;
3. thelateral unbraced length doesnot exceed L
c
(for ASD), or L
pd
(for LRFD) whereL
c
isas
dened in Equation 3.26and L
pd
isgiven by
L
pd
=
_
3,600+2,200(M
1
/M
2
)
F
y
r
y
, for I-shaped members
5,000+3,000(M
1
/M
2
)
F
y
r
y
, for solid rectangular and box sections
(3.60)
in which
F
y
= specied minimumyield stressof thecompression ange, ksi
r
y
= radiusof gyration about theminor axis, in.
M
1
/M
2
= ratio of smaller to larger moment within theunbraced length, taken aspositiveif the
momentscausereversecurvatureandnegativeif themomentscausesinglecurvature.
4. thebeamisnot ahybrid member;
5. thebeamisnot madeof high strength steel;
6. thebeamiscontinuousover thesupports(i.e., not cantilevered).
EXAMPLE3.4:
UsingLRFD, select thelightest Wsectionfor thethree-spancontinuousbeamshowninFigure3.10a
to support auniformly distributed dead load of 1.5k/ft (22kN/m) and auniformly distributed live
load of 3k/ft (44kN/m). Thebeamislaterally braced at thesupportsA,B,C, and D. UseA36steel.
Loadcombinations
Thebeam isto bedesigned based on theworst load combination of Table3.3 By inspection, the
load combination 1.2D+1.6L will control thedesign. Thus, thebeamwill bedesigned to support a
factoreduniformlydistributeddeadloadof 1.21.5 =1.8k/ft andafactoreduniformlydistributed
liveload of 1.6 3 =4.8k/ft.
Placement of loads
Theuniformdeadloadistobeappliedover theentirelengthof thebeamasshown in Figure3.10b.
Theuniform liveload isto beapplied to spansABand CD asshown in Figure3.10c to obtain the
FIGURE3.10: Design of athree-span continuousbeam(1k =4.45kN, 1ft =0.305m).
maximum positivemoment and it isto beapplied to spansABand BCasshown in Figure3.10d to
obtain themaximumnegativemoment.
Reductionof negativemoment at supports
Assuming thebeam iscompact and L
b
< L
pd
(weshall check theseassumptionslater), a10%
reduction in support moment dueto gravity load isallowed provided that themaximum moment
is increased by 1/10 the average of the negative support moments. This reduction is shown in
the moment diagrams as solid lines in Figures 3.10b and 3.10d (The dotted lines in these gures
represent theunadjusted moment diagrams). Thisprovision for support moment reduction takes
into consideration thebenecial effect of moment redistribution in continuousbeamsand it allows
for theselection of a lighter section if thedesign is governed by negativemoments. Notethat no
reduction in negativemomentsismadeto thecasewhen only spansABand CD areloaded. Thisis
becausefor thisloadcase, thenegativesupport momentsarelessthan thepositivein-span moments.
Determinationof therequiredexural strength, M
u
Combiningload case1and load case2, themaximumpositivemoment isfound to be256kip-ft.
Combining load case1 and load case3, themaximum negativemoment isfound to be266 kip-ft.
Thus, thedesign will becontrolled by thenegativemoment and so M
u
=266kip-ft.
Beamselection
Abeamsection isto beselected based on Equation 3.36. Thecritical segment of thebeamisspan
BC. For thisspan, thelateral unsupported length, L
b
, isequal to 20 ft. For simplicity, thebending
coefcient, C
b
, is conservatively taken as 1. The selection of a beam section is facilitated by the
useof aseriesof beam chartscontained in theAISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] . Beam chartsareplotsof
exural design strength
b
M
n
of beamsasafunction of thelateral unsupported length L
b
based on
Equations3.37 to 3.39. A beam isconsidered satisfactory for thelimit stateof exureif thebeam
strength curveenvelopestherequired exural strength for agiven L
b
.
For the present example, L
b
= 20 ft. and M
u
= 266 kip-ft, the lightest section (the rst solid
curvethat envelopesM
u
= 266 kip-ft for L
b
= 20 ft) obtained from thechart isaW16x67 section.
Upon adding thefactored dead weight of thisW16x67 section to thespecied loads, therequired
strengthincreasesfrom266kip-ft to269kip-ft. Nevertheless, thebeamstrengthcurvestill envelopes
thisrequired strength for L
b
=20ft; therefore, thesection isadequate.
Checkfor compactness
For theW16x67section,
Flange:
_
b
f
2t
f
= 7.7
_
<
_
65
F
y
= 10.8
_
Web:
_
h
c
t
w
= 35.9
_
<
_
640
F
y
= 106.7
_
Therefore, thesection iscompact.
Checkwhether L
b
< L
pd
Using Equation 3.64, with M
1
/M
2
= 0, r
y
= 2.46 in. and F
y
= 36 ksi, wehaveL
pd
= 246 in.
(or 20.5ft). SinceL
b
=20ft islessthan L
pd
=20.5ft, theassumption madeearlier isvalidated.
Checkfor thelimit stateof shear
Theselected section must satisfy theshear strength criterion of Equation 3.46. From structural
analysis, it can beshown that maximum shear occursjust to theleft of support Bunder load case1
(for dead load) and load case 3 (for live load). It has a magnitude of 81.8 kips. For the W16x67
section, h/t
w
= 35.9 which islessthan 418/
_
F
yw
= 69.7, so thedesign shear strength isgiven by
Equation 3.47. Wehave, for F
yw
=36ksi and A
w
= dt
w
=(16.33)(0.395),
[
v
V
n
= 0.90(0.60F
yw
A
w
) = 125 kips ] > [V
u
= 81.8 kips ]
Therefore, shear isnot aconcern. Normally, thelimit stateof shear will not becontrolled unlessfor
short beamssubjected to heavy loads.
Checkfor limit stateof deection
Deection isaserviceability limit state. Asaresult, adesigner should useservice(not factored)
loads, for deection calculations. In addition, most beamsarecambered to offset deection caused
by dead loads, so only liveloadsareconsidered in deection calculations. From structural analysis,
it can beshown that maximum deection occursin span AB and CD when (service) liveloadsare
placed on thosetwo spans. Themagnitudeof thedeection is0.297 in. Assuming themaximum
allowable deection is L/360 where L is the span length between supports, we have an allowable
deection of 20 12/360 = 0.667 in. Since the calculated deection is less than the allowable
deection, deection isnot aproblem.
Checkfor thelimit stateof webyieldingandwebcripplingat pointsof concentratedloads
From astructural analysisit can beshown that maximum support reaction occursat support B
when thebeam issubjected to loadsshown asload case1 (for dead load) and load case3 (for live
load). Themagnitudeof thereaction R
u
is157kips. Assumingpoint bearing, i.e., N = 0, wehave,
for d =16.33in., k =1.375in., t
f
=0.665in., and t
w
=0.395in.,
Web Yielding:
_
R
n
= Equation 3.52 = 97.8 kips
_
<
_
R
u
= 157 kips
_
Web Crippling:
_
R
n
= Equation 3.54 = 123 kips
_
<
_
R
u
= 157 kips
_
Thus, both theweb yieldingand web cripplingcriteriaareviolated. Asaresult, weneed to provide
web stiffenersor bearing plateat support B. Supposewechoosethelatter, thesizeof thebearing
plateisto bedetermined by solving Equation 3.52 and Equation 3.54 for N, given R
u
= 157 kips.
Solving Equation 3.52 and Equation 3.54 for N, we obtain N = 4.2 in. and 3.3 in., respectively.
So, useN = 4.25 in. Thewidth of theplate, B, should conform with theangewidth, b
f
, of the
W-section. TheW16x67section hasaangewidthof 10.235in., souseB = 10.5 in. For uniformity,
use the same size plate at all the supports. The bearing plates are to be welded to the supporting
angeof theW-section.
UseaW16x67section. Providebearingplatesof size10.5
at thesupports.
3.5.4 Lateral Bracingof Beams
Thedesign strength of beamsthat bent about their major axesdependson their lateral unsupported
length, L
b
. Themanner abeamisbracedagainst out-of-planedeformationaffectsitsdesign. Bracing
can beprovided by variousmeanssuch ascrossbeams, or diaphragms, or encasement of thecom-
pression angeof thebeam in theoor slab. Although neither theASD nor theLRFD specication
addressesthedesign of braces, anumber of methodologieshavebeen proposed in theliteraturefor
thedesign of braces[ 30] . It isimportant tonotethat bracesmust bedesignedwithsufcient strength
and stiffnessto prevent out-of-planemovement of thebeam at thebraced points. In what follows,
therequirements for bracedesign as specied in theCanadian Standards Association [ 10] for the
limit statesdesign of steel structureswill begiven.
StiffnessRequirement:
Thestiffnessof thebracing assembly in adirection perpendicular to thelongitudinal axisof the
braced member, in theplaneof buckling, must exceed
k
b
=
C
f
L
b
[1 +

o
b
] (3.61)
where
= bracingcoefcient givenby2, 3, 3.41, and3.63for one, two, three, andfour or moreequally
spaced braces, respectively.
C
f
= compressiveforceinthebracedmember. Inalimit statedesign, C
f
for adoublysymmetric
I-shaped beam can be calculated by dividing its design exural strength,
b
M
p
, by the
distancebetween centroidsof theanges, d t
f
.
L
b
= lateral unsupported length of thebraced member.
o
= initial misalignment of thebraced member at thepoint of thebrace.
o
may betaken as
thesweep toleranceof thebraced member.
b
= displacement of thebraced member and bracingassembly under forceC
f
at thepoint of
thebrace. For atrial design,
b
may betaken as
o
.
StrengthRequirement:
In addition to thestiffnessrequirement asstipulated above, bracesmust bedesigned for strength
that exceed
P
b
= k
b
b
(3.62)
whereP
b
istheforcein thebracingassembly under factored loads.
If a series of parallel members are being braced, a reduced initial misalignment can be used in
Equation 3.61toaccount for probableforceredistribution when thebracingassemblytransfersforce
fromonebraced member to another. Thisreduced misalignment isgiven by
m
=
_
0.2 +
0.8
n
_
o
(3.63)
wheren isthenumber of parallel braced members.
Finally, if the brace is under compression, a maximum slenderness, l/r, not exceeding 200 is
recommended.
EXAMPLE3.5:
Design an I-shaped crossbeam 15ft (4.6m) in length to beused aslateral bracesto bracea30-ft
(9.1m) longW30x90beamat everythirdpoint. Thesweepof theW30x90section is0.36in. (9mm)
in theplaneof thebrace. A36steel isused.
If abraceisprovidedat everythirdpoint, L
b
for theW30x90section is10ft. Therefore, thedesign
exural strength,
b
M
n
, is8890kip-in, fromwhichC
f
=
b
M
n
/(dt
f
) = 8890/(29.530.610) =
307 kips. As a rst trial, assume
b
=
o
= 0.36 in., we can calculate from Equation 3.61 and
Equation 3.62theminimumstiffnessand strength requirementsfor thecrossbeam
k
b
=
3(307)
10 12
[1 +
0.36
0.36
] = 15.4 kips/in.
P
b
= (15.4)(0.36) = 5.5 kips
Sincethecrossbeamwill besubject tocompression, itsslendernessratio, l/r, shouldnot exceed200.
Try aW4x13section (A = 3.83 in
2
, r
y
= 1.00 in.,
c
P
n
= 25 kips)
Stiffness,
EA
l
=
(29000)(3.83)
1512
= 617 kips/in. > 15.4 kips/in.
Strength,
c
P
n
= 25 kips > 5.5 kips
Slenderness,
l
r
y
=
1512
1.00
= 180 < 200
Recalculate
b
usingP
b
= 5.5 kipsand check adequacy of theW4x13section.
b
=
P
b
l
EA
=
(5.5)(15 12)
(29000)(3.83)
= 0.0089 in.
k
b
=
3(307)
10 12
_
1 +
0.36
0.0089
_
= 318 kips/in. < 617 kips/in. OK
P
b
= (318)(0.0089) = 2.83 kips < 25 kips OK
Recalculate
b
usingP
b
= 2.83 kipsand check adequacy of theW4x13section.
b
=
P
b
l
EA
=
(2.83)(15 12)
(29000)(3.83)
= 0.0046 in.
k
b
=
3(307)
10 12
_
1 +
0.36
0.0046
_
= 608 kips/in. < 617 kips/in. OK
P
b
= (608)(0.0046) = 2.80 kips < 25 kips OK
SinceP
b
, and hence
b
, hasconverged, no moreiterationsarenecessary.
UseW4x13crossbeamsasbraces.
3.6 CombinedFlexureandAxial Force
When amember issubject to thecombined action of bending and axial force, it must bedesigned
to resist stressesand forcesarisingfrom both bendingand axial actions. Whileatensileaxial force
may induce a stiffening effect on the member, a compressive axial force tends to destabilize the
member, andtheinstabilityeffectsduetomember instability(P- effect) andframeinstability(P-
effect) must beproperly accounted for. P- effect ariseswhen theaxial forceactsthrough thelateral
deection of themember relativeto itschord. P- effect ariseswhen theaxial forceactsthrough
the relative displacements of the two ends of the member. Both effects tend to increase member
deection and moment, and so they must be considered in the design. A number of approaches
areavailablein theliteratureto handletheseso-called P-deltaeffects(seefor example[ 9, 13] ). The
design of memberssubject tocombinedbendingandaxial forceisfacilitatedbytheuseof interaction
equations. In these equations, the effects of bending and axial actions are combined in a certain
manner to reect thecapacity demand on themember.
Theinteraction equationsare:
If theaxial forceistensile:
f
a
F
t
+
f
bx
F
bx
+
f
by
F
by
1.0 (3.64)
where
f
a
= computed axial tensilestress
f
bx
, f
by
= computed bendingtensilestressesabout themajor and minor axes, respectively
F
bx
, F
by
= allowablebendingstressesabout themajor and minor axes, respectively (seesection
on Flexural Members)
F
t
= allowabletensilestress(seesection on Tension Members)
If theaxial forceiscompressive:
Stability requirement
f
a
F
a
+
_
_
C
mx
_
1
f
a
F
ex
_
_
_
f
bx
F
bx
+
_
_
C
my
_
1
f
a
F
ey
_
_
_
f
by
F
by
1.0 (3.65)
Yield requirement
f
a
0.60F
y
+
f
bx
F
bx
+
f
by
F
by
1.0 (3.66)
However, if theaxial forceissmall (when f
a
/F
a
0.15), thefollowinginteraction equation can be
used in lieu of theaboveequations.
f
a
F
a
+
f
bx
F
bx
+
f
by
F
by
1.0 (3.67)
Thetermsin theEquations3.65to 3.67aredened asfollows:
f
a
, f
bx
, f
by
= computedaxial compressivestress, computedbendingstressesabout themajor and
minor axes, respectively. Thesestressesareto becomputed based on a rst-order
analysis
F
y
= minimumspecied yield stress
F
ex
, F
ey
= Euler stressesabout themajor and minor axes(
2
E/(Kl/r)
x
,
2
E/(Kl/r)
y
) di-
vided by afactor of safety of 23/12
C
m
= a coefcient to account for theeffect of moment gradient on member and frame
instabilities(C
m
isdened in thesection on LRFD to follow)
Theother termsaredened asin Equation 3.64.
Thetermsin bracketsin Equation 3.65aremoment magnication factors. Thecomputedbending
stressesf
bx
, f
by
aremagnied by thesemagnication factorsto account for theP-delta effectsin
themember.
Doubly or singly symmetric memberssubject to combined exureand axial forceshall bedesigned
in accordancewith thefollowinginteraction equations:
For P
u
/P
n
0.2
P
u
P
n
+
8
9
_
M
ux
b
M
nx
+
M
uy
b
M
ny
_
1.0 (3.68)
For P
u
/P
n
< 0.2
P
u
2P
n
+
8
9
_
M
ux
b
M
nx
+
M
uy
b
M
ny
_
1.0 (3.69)
where, if P istensile
P
u
= factored tensileaxial force
P
n
= design tensilestrength (seesection on Tension Members)
M
u
= factored moment (preferably obtained fromasecond-order analysis)
M
n
= design exural strength (seesection on Flexural Members)
=
t
= resistancefactor for tension = 0.90
b
= resistancefactor for exure= 0.90
and, if P iscompressive
P
u
= factored compressiveaxial force
P
n
= design compressivestrength (seesection on Compression Members)
M
u
= required exural strength (seediscussion below)
M
n
= design exural strength (seesection on Flexural Members)
=
c
= resistancefactor for compression = 0.85
b
= resistancefactor for exure= 0.90
Therequiredexural strengthM
u
shall bedeterminedfromasecond-order elasticanalysis. In lieu
of such an analysis, thefollowingequation may beused
M
u
= B
1
M
nt
+B
2
M
lt
(3.70)
where
M
nt
= factored moment in member assumingtheframedoesnot undergo lateral translation
(seeFigure3.11)
M
lt
= factored moment in amember asaresult of lateral translation (seeFigure3.11)
B
1
= C
m
/(1 P
u
/P
e
) 1.0 istheP- moment magnication factor
P
e
=
2
EI/(KL)
2
, with K 1.0 in theplaneof bending
C
m
= acoefcient toaccount for moment gradient, determinedfromthefollowingdiscussion
B
2
= 1/[1 (P
u
oh
/HL)] or B
2
= 1/[1 (P
u
/P
e
)
P
u
= sumof all factored loadsactingon and abovethestory under consideration
oh
= rst-order interstory translation
H = sumof all lateral loadsactingon and abovethestory under consideration
L = story height
P
e
=
2
EI/(KL)
2
FIGURE3.11: Calculation of M
nt
and M
lt
.
For end-restrained memberswhich do not undergo relativejoint translation and arenot subject
to transverseloadingbetween their supportsin theplaneof bending, C
m
isgiven by
C
m
= 0.6 0.4
_
M
1
M
2
_
whereM
1
/M
2
istheratio of thesmaller to larger member end moments. Theratio ispositiveif the
member bendsin reversecurvatureand negativeif themember bendsin singlecurvature.
For end-restrained members which do not undergo relative joint translation and are subject to
transverseloadingbetween their supportsin theplaneof bending
C
m
= 0.85
For unrestrainedmemberswhichdonot undergorelativejoint translationandaresubject totransverse
loadingbetween their supportsin theplaneof bending
C
m
= 1.00
The selection of trial sections for use as beam-columns is facilitated by rewriting the interaction
equationsof Equation 3.68and 3.69into theso-called equivalent axial load form:
For P
u
/
c
P
n
> 0.2
P
u
+m
x
M
ux
+m
y
UM
uy

c
P
n
(3.71)
For P
u
/
c
P
n
0.2
P
u
2
+
9
8
m
x
M
ux
+
9
8
m
y
UM
uy

c
P
n
(3.72)
where
m
x
= (8/9)(
c
P
n
/
b
M
nx
)
m
y
U = (8/9)(
c
P
n
/
b
M
ny
)
Numerical values for m and U areprovided in theAISC Manual [ 22] . Theadvantageof using
Equations3.71and3.72for preliminarydesignisthat thetermsontheleft-handsideof theinequality
can beregarded asan equivalent axial load, (P
u
)
eff
, thusallowingthedesigner to takeadvantageof
thecolumn tablesprovided in themanual for selectingtrial sections.
3.7 Biaxial Bending
Memberssubjected to bendingabout both principal axes(e.g., purlinson an inclined roof ) should
bedesigned for biaxial bending. Sinceboth moment about themajor axisM
ux
and moment about
theminor axisM
uy
createexural stressesover thecross-section of themember, thedesign must take
into consideration thisstresscombination.
Thefollowinginteraction equation isoften used for thedesign of beamssubject to biaxial bending
f
bx
+f
by
0.60F
y
or, (3.73)
M
x
S
x
+
M
y
S
y
0.60F
y
where
M
x
, M
y
= serviceload momentsabout themajor and minor axes, respectively
S
x
, S
y
= elasticsection moduli about themajor and minor axes, respectively
F
y
EXAMPLE3.6:
UsingASD, select aW section to carry dead load momentsM
x
=20k-ft (27kN-m) and M
y
=5
k-ft (6.8kN-m), and liveload momentsM
x
=50k-ft (68kN-m) and M
y
=15k-ft (20kN-m). Use
steel havingF
y
=50ksi (345MPa).
Calculateserviceloadmoments:
M
x
= M
x,dead
+M
x,live
= 20 +50 = 70 k-ft
M
y
= M
y,dead
= M
y,live
= 5 +15 = 20 k-ft
Select section:
Substitutingtheaboveserviceload momentsinto Equation 3.73, wehave
70 12
S
x
+
20 12
S
y
0.60(50) or, 840 +240
S
x
S
y
30S
x
For Wsectionswith depth below14in. thevalueof S
x
/S
y
normally fallsin therange3to 8, and for
Wsectionswith depth above14in. thevalueof S
x
/S
y
normally fallsin therange5to 12. Assuming
S
x
/S
y
= 10, wehavefrom theaboveequation, S
x
108 in.
3
. Using theAllowableStressDesign
Selection Tablein theAISC-ASD Manual, letstry aW24x55section (S
x
=114in.
3
, S
y
=8.30in.
3
).
For theW24x55section
_
840 +240
114
8.30
= 4136
_
> [30S
x
= 30(114) = 3420]
.
.. NG
Thenext lightest section isW21x62(S
x
=127in.
3
, S
y
=13.9in.
3
). For thissection
_
840 +240
127
13.9
= 3033
_
< [30S
x
= 30(127) = 3810]
.
.. OK
UseaW21x62section.
Toavoiddistressat themost severelystressedpoint, thefollowingequation for theyieldinglimit state
must besatised:
f
un

b
F
y
(3.74)
where
f
un
= M
ux
/S
x
+M
uy
/S
y
istheexural stressunder factored loads
S
x
, S
y
= aretheelasticsection moduli about themajor and minor axes, respectively
b
= 0.90
F
y
Inaddition, thelimit statefor lateral torsional bucklingabout themajor axisshouldalsobechecked,
i.e.,
b
M
nx
M
ux
(3.75)
b
M
nx
isthedesign exural strength about themajor axis(seesection on Flexural Members). Note
that lateral torsional bucklingwill not occur about theminor axis. Equation 3.74can berearranged
to give:
S
x

M
ux
b
F
y
+
M
uy
b
F
y
_
S
x
S
y
_
M
ux
b
F
y
+
M
uy
b
F
y
_
3.5
d
b
f
_
(3.76)
Theapproximation (S
x
/S
y
) (3.5d/b
f
) whered istheoverall depthandb
f
istheangewidthwas
suggested by Gaylord et al. [ 15] for doubly symmetric I-shaped sections. Theuseof Equation 3.74
greatly facilitatestheselection of trial sectionsfor usein biaxial bendingproblems.
3.8 CombinedBending, Torsion, andAxial Force
Memberssubjected tothecombined effect of bending, torsion, and axial forceshould bedesigned to
satisfy thefollowinglimit states:
Yieldingunder normal stress
F
y
f
un
(3.77)
where
= 0.90
F
y
f
un
= maximumnormal stressdetermined froman elasticanalysisunder factored loads
Yieldingunder shear stress
(0.6F
y
) f
uv
(3.78)
where
= 0.90
F
y
f
uv
= maximumshear stressdetermined froman elasticanalysisunder factored loads
Buckling
c
F
cr
f
un
or f
uv
, whichever isapplicable (3.79)
where
c
F
cr
=
c
P
n
/A
g
, inwhich
c
P
n
isthedesigncompressivestrengthof themember (seesection
on Compression Members) and A
g
isthegrosscross-section area
f
un
, f
uv
= normal and shear stressesasdened in Equation 3.77and 3.78
3.9 Frames
Frames are designed as a collection of structural components such as beams, beam-columns
(columns), and connections. According to the restraint characteristics of the connections used
in the construction, frames can be designed as Type I (rigid framing), Type II (simple framing),
TypeIII (semi-rigid framing) in ASD, or fully restrained (rigid), partially restrained (semi-rigid) in
LRFD. Thedesign of rigid framesnecessitatestheuseof connectionscapableof transmittingthefull
or asignicant portion of themoment developed between theconnectingmembers. Therigidity of
theconnectionsmust besuch that theanglesbetween intersectingmembersshould remain virtually
unchanged under factored loads. Thedesign of semi-rigid framesispermitted upon evidenceof the
connectionstodeliver apredicableamount of moment restraint. Themain membersjoinedbythese
connections must be designed to assure that their ultimate capacities will not exceed those of the
connections. Thedesign of simpleframesisbased on theassumption that theconnectionsprovide
nomoment restraint tothebeaminsofar asgravityloadsareconcernedbut theseconnectionsshould
haveadequatecapacitytoresist windmoments. Semi-rigidandsimpleframingsoften incur inelastic
deformation in theconnections. Theconnectionsused in theseconstructionsmust beproportioned
to possesssufcient ductility to avoid overstressof thefastenersor welds.
Regardless of the types of constructions used, due consideration must be given to account for
member and frame instability (P- and P-) effects either by the use of a second-order analysis
or by other means such as moment magnication factors. Theend-restrained effect on members
should also beaccounted for by theuseof theeffectivelength factor (seeChapter 17).
Frames can be designed as sidesway inhibited (braced) or sidesway uninhibited (unbraced). In
sidesway inhibited frames, framedrift iscontrolled by thepresenceof abracingsystem (e.g., shear
walls, diagonal or crossbraces, etc.). In sidesway uninhibited frames, framedrift islimited by the
exural rigidity of the connected members and diaphragm action of the oors. Most sidesway
uninhibited frames aredesigned as TypeI or TypeFRframes using moment connections. Under
normal circumstances, theamount of interstory drift under serviceloadsshould not exceed h/500
to h/300 whereh isthestory height. Higher valueof interstory drift isallowed only if it doesnot
createserviceability concerns.
Beamsinsideswayinhibitedframesareoftensubject tohighaxial forces. Asaresult, theyshouldbe
designedasbeam-columnsusingbeam-columninteractionequations. Furthermore, vertical bracing
systemsshould beprovided for braced multistory framesto prevent vertical bucklingof theframes
under gravity loads.
3.10 PlateGirders
Plategirdersarebuilt-up beams. They areused asexural membersto carry extremely largelateral
loads. Aexural member isconsideredasaplategirder if thewidth-thicknessratioof theweb, h
c
/t
w
,
exceeds760/
F
b
(F
b
=allowableexural stress) accordingtoASD, or 970/
_
F
yf
(F
yf
=minimum
speciedangeyieldstress) accordingtoLRFD. Becauseof thelargewebslenderness, plategirdersare
often designed with transversestiffenersto reinforcetheweb and to allowfor post-buckling(shear)
strength (i.e., tension eld action) to develop. Table3.9summarizestherequirementsfor transverse
stiffenersfor plategirdersbasedon thewebslendernessratioh/t
w
. Twotypesof transversestiffeners
areused for plategirders: bearingstiffenersand intermediatestiffeners. Bearingstiffenersareused
at unframed girder endsand at concentrated load pointswheretheweb yielding or web crippling
criterion isviolated. Bearingstiffenersextend thefull depth of theweb from thebottom of thetop
angeto thetop of thebottom ange. Intermediatestiffeners areused when thewidth-thickness
ratio of theweb, h/t
w
, exceeds 260, or when theshear criterion is violated, or when tension eld
action isconsidered in thedesign. Intermediatestiffenersneed not extend thefull depth of theweb
but must bein contact with thecompression angeof thegirder.
Normally, thedepthsof plategirder sectionsaresolargethat simplebeamtheorywhichpostulates
that planesectionsbeforebendingremain planeafter bendingdoesnot apply. Asaresult, adifferent
set of design formulasfor plategirdersarerequired.
TABLE3.9 Web StiffenersRequirements
Rangeof web slenderness Stiffenersrequirements
h
tw
260 Plategirder can bedesigned without web stiffeners.
260
h
tw

14,000
_
F
yf
(F
yf
+16.5)
Plate girder must be designed with web stiffeners.
Thespacing of stiffeners, a, can exceed 1.5h. The
actual spacingisdetermined by theshear criterion.
14,000
_
F
yf
(F
yf
+16.5)
<
h
tw

2,000
_
F
yf
Plate girder must be designed with web stiffeners.
Thespacingof stiffeners, a, cannot exceed 1.5h.
a = clear distancebetween stiffeners
h = clear distancebetweenangeswhenweldsareusedor thedistancebetweenadjacent
linesof fastenerswhen boltsareused
t
w
= web thickness
F
yf
= compression angeyield stress, ksi
AllowableBendingStress
The maximum bending stress in the compression ange of the girder computed using the
exureformulashall not exceed theallowablevalue, F
b
, given by
F
b
= F
b
R
PG
R
e
(3.80)
where
F
b
= applicableallowablebendingstressasdiscussed in thesection on Flexural Members
R
PG
= plategirder stressreduction factor = 1 0.0005(A
w
/A
f
)(h/t
w
760/
F
b
) 1.0
R
e
= hybrid girder factor = [12 + (A
w
/A
f
)(3
3
)]/[12 + 2(A
w
/A
f
)] 1.0, R
e
= 1
for non-hybrid girder
A
w
= areaof web
A
f
= areaof compression ange
= 0.60F
yw
/F
b
1.0
F
yw
= yield stressof web
AllowableShear Stress
Without tensioneldaction:
Theallowableshear stressisthesameasthat for beamsgiven in Equation 3.33.
Withtensioneldaction:
Theallowableshear stressisgiven by
F
v
=
F
y
2.89
_
C
v
+
1 C
v
1.15
_
1 +(a/h)
2
_
0.40F
y
(3.81)
Notethat tension eld action can beconsidered in thedesign only for non-hybrid girders. If tension
eld action isconsidered, transversestiffenersmust beprovided and spaced at adistancesuch that
the computed average web shear stress, f
v
, obtained by dividing the total shear by the web area
doesnot exceed theallowableshear stress, F
v
, given by Equation 3.81. In addition, thecomputed
bendingtensilestressin thepanel wheretension eldaction isconsideredcannot exceed0.60F
y
, nor
(0.825 0.375f
v
/F
v
)F
y
wheref
v
isthecomputed averageweb shear stressand F
v
istheallowable
web shear stressgiven in Equation 3.81. Theshear transfer criterion given by Equation 3.84 must
also besatised.
TransverseStiffeners
Transversestiffenersmust bedesigned to satisfy thefollowingcriteria.
Moment of inertial criterion:
With referenceto an axisin theplaneof theweb, themoment of inertiaof thestiffeners, in cubic
inches, shall satisfy thecondition
I
st

_
h
50
_
4
(3.82)
whereh istheclear distancebetween anges, in inches.
Areacriterion:
Thetotal areaof thestiffeners, in squareinches, shall satisfy thecondition
A
st

1 C
v
2
_
a
h
(a/h)
2
_
1 +(a/h)
2
_
YDht
w
(3.83)
where
C
v
= shear bucklingcoefcient asdened in Equation 3.33
a = stiffeners spacing
h = clear distancebetween anges
t
w
Y = ratio of web yield stressto stiffener yield stress
D = 1.0 for stiffenersfurnished in pairs, 1.8 for singleanglestiffeners, and 2.4 for singleplate
stiffeners
Shear transfer criterion:
If tension eld action isconsidered, thetotal shear transfer, in kips/in., of thestiffenersshall not
belessthan
f
vs
= h
_
_
F
yw
340
_
3
(3.84)
where
F
yw
h = clear distancebetween anges, in.
Thevalueof f
vs
can bereduced proportionally if thecomputed averageweb shear stress, f
v
, is
lessthan F
v
given in Equation 3.81.
Doubly or singly symmetric single-web plate girders loaded in the plane of the web should
satisfy theexural strength criterion of Equation 3.36. Theplategirder design exural strength is
given by:
For thelimit stateof tensionangeyielding
b
M
n
= 0.90[S
xt
R
e
F
yt
] (3.85)
For thelimit stateof compressionangebuckling
b
M
n
= 0.90[S
xc
R
PG
R
e
F
cr
] (3.86)
where
S
xt
= section modulusreferred to thetension ange= I
x
/c
t
S
xc
= section modulusreferred to thecompression ange= I
x
/c
c
I
x
= moment of inertiaabout themajor axis
c
t
= distancefromneutral axisto extremeber of thetension ange
c
c
= distancefromneutral axisto extremeber of thecompression ange
R
PG
= plategirder bendingstrength reduction factor = 1 a
r
(h
c
/t
w
970/
F
cr
)/(1, 200 +
300a
r
) 1.0
R
e
= hybrid girder factor = [12 + a
r
(3m m
3
)]/(12 + 2a
r
) 1.0 (R
e
= 1 for non-hybrid
girder)
a
r
= ratio of web areato compression angearea
m = ratio of web yield stressto angeyield stressor F
cr
F
yt
= tension angeyield stress
F
cr
= critical compression angestresscalculated asfollows:
Limit state Rangeof slenderness F
cr
Flange local
buckling
b
f
2t
f
65
_
F
yf
F
yf
65
_
F
yf
<
b
f
2t
f
230
_
F
yf
/kc
F
yf
_
_
_
_
_
1
1
2
_
_
_
_
_
b
f
2t
f
65
_
F
yf
230
_
F
yf
/kc
64
_
F
yf
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
F
yf
b
f
2t
f
>
230
_
F
yf
/kc
26,200kc
_
b
f
2t
f
_
2
Lateral torsional
buckling
L
b
r
T
300
_
F
yf
F
yf
300
_
F
yf
<
L
b
r
T
756
_
F
yf
C
b
F
yf
_
_
_
_
1
1
2
_
_
_
_
L
b
r
T

300
F
yf
756
_
F
yf
300
_
F
yf
_
_
_
_
_
_
F
yf
L
b
r
T
>
756
_
F
yf
286,000C
b
_
L
b
r
T
_
2
k
c
= 4/
_(h/t
w
), 0.35 k
c
0.763
b
f
= compression angewidth
t
f
= compression angethickness
L
b
= lateral unbraced length of thegirder
r
T
=
_[(t
f
b
3
f
/12 +h
c
t
3
w
/72)/(b
f
t
f
+h
c
t
w
/6)]
h
c
= twicethedistancefrom theneutral axisto theinsidefaceof thecompression angelessthe
llet
t
w
= web thickness
F
yf
= yield stressof compression ange, ksi
C
b
= Bendingcoefcient (seesection on Flexural Members)
F
cr
must becalculated for both angelocal bucklingand lateral torsional buckling. Thesmaller
valueof F
cr
isused in Equation 3.86.
Theplategirder bending strength reduction factor R
PG
isafactor to account for thenonlinear
exural stressdistributionalongthedepthof thegirder. Thehybridgirder factor isareductionfactor
to account for thelower yield strength of theweb when thenominal moment capacity iscomputed
assumingahomogeneoussection madeentirely of thehigher yield stressof theange.
Plate girders can be designed with or without the consideration of tension eld action. If
tension eld action is considered, intermediate web stiffeners must be provided and spaced at a
distance, a, such that a/h issmaller than 3 or [260/(h/t
w
)]
2
, whichever issmaller. Also, onemust
check theexure-shear interaction of Equation 3.89, if appropriate. Consideration of tension eld
action isnot allowed if (1) thepanel isan end panel, (2) theplategirder isahybrid girder, (3) the
plategirder isaweb tapered girder, or (4) a/h exceeds3or [260/(h/t
w
)]
2
, whichever issmaller.
Thedesign shear strength,
v
V
n
, of aplategirder isdetermined asfollows:
If tensioneldactionisnot considered:
v
V
n
arethesameasthosefor beamsasgiven in Equations3.47to 3.49.
If tensioneldactionisconsideredandh/t
w
187/
_
(k
v
/F
yw
):
v
V
n
= 0.90[0.60A
w
F
yw
] (3.87)
and, if h/t
w
> 187/
_
(k
v
/F
yw
):
v
V
n
= 0.90
_
0.60A
w
F
yw
_
C
v
+
1 C
v
1.15
_
1 +(a/h)
2
__
(3.88)
where
k
v
= 5 +5/(a/h)
2
(k
v
shall betaken as5.0if a/h exceeds3.0or [260/(h/t
w
)]
2
, whichever is
smaller)
A
w
= dt
w
F
yw
C
v
= shear coefcient, calculated asfollows:
Rangeof h/t
w
C
v
187
_
kv
Fyw

h
tw
234
_
kv
Fyw
187
kv/Fyw
h/tw
h
tw
> 234
_
kv
Fyw
44,000kv
(h/tw)
2
Fyw
Flexure-Shear Interaction
Plategirdersdesignedfor tensioneldactionmust satisfytheexure-shear interactioncriterion
in regionswhere0.60V
n
V
u
V
n
and 0.75M
n
M
u
M
n
M
u
M
n
+0.625
V
u
V
n
1.375 (3.89)
where =0.90.
BearingStiffeners
Bearing stiffenersmust beprovided for aplategirder at unframed girder endsand at points
of concentrated loadswheretheweb yieldingor theweb cripplingcriterion isviolated (seesection
on Concentrated Load Criteria). Bearingstiffenersshall beprovided in pairsand extended fromthe
upper angeto thelower angeof thegirder. Denotingb
st
asthewidth of onestiffener and t
st
asits
thickness, bearingstiffenersshall beportioned to satisfy thefollowinglimit states:
For thelimit stateof local buckling
b
st
t
st
95
_
F
y
(3.90)
For thelimit stateof compression
Thedesign compressivestrength,
c
P
n
, must exceed therequired compressiveforceactingon the
stiffeners.
c
P
n
isto bedetermined based on an effectivelength factor K of 0.75 and an effective
area, A
eff
, equal to thearea of thebearing stiffeners plus a portion of theweb. For end bearing,
thiseffectiveareaisequal to 2(b
st
t
st
) +12t
2
w
; and for interior bearing, thiseffectiveareaisequal to
2(b
st
t
st
) +25t
2
w
. t
w
istheweb thickness. Theslendernessparameter,
c
, isto becalculated usinga
radiusof gyration, r =
_
(I
st
/A
eff
), whereI
st
= t
st
(2b
st
+t
w
)
3
/12.
For thelimit stateof bearing
Thebearingstrength, R
n
, must exceed therequired compression forceactingon thestiffeners.
R
n
isgiven by
R
n
0.75[1.8F
y
A
pb
] (3.91)
whereF
y
istheyield stressand A
pb
isthebearingarea.
IntermediateStiffeners
Intermediatestiffenersshall beprovided if (1) theshear strength capacity iscalculated based
on tension eld action, (2) theshear criterion isviolated (i.e., when theV
u
exceeds
v
V
n
), or (3) the
webslendernessh/t
w
exceeds418/
_
F
yw
. Intermediatestiffenerscan beprovidedin pairsor on one
sideof thewebonlyin theformof platesor angles. Theyshouldbeweldedtothecompression ange
and theweb but they may bestopped short of thetension ange. Thefollowingrequirementsapply
to thedesign of intermediatestiffeners:
Local Buckling
Thewidth-thicknessratio of thestiffener must beproportioned so that Equation 3.90issatised
to prevent failureby local buckling.
Stiffener Area
Thecross-section areaof thestiffener must satisfy thefollowingcriterion:
A
st

F
yw
F
y
_
0.15Dht
w
(1 C
v
)
V
u
v
V
n
18t
2
w
_
0 (3.92)
where
F
y
= yield stressof stiffeners
D = 1.0for stiffenersin pairs, 1.8for singleanglestiffeners, and 2.4for singleplatestiffeners
Theother termsin Equation 3.92aredened asbeforein Equation 3.87and Equation 3.88.
Stiffener Moment of Inertia
Themoment of inertiafor stiffener pairstakenabout anaxisinthewebcenter or for singlestiffeners
taken in thefaceof contact with theweb platemust satisfy thefollowingcriterion:
I
st
at
3
w
_
2.5
(a/h)
2
2
_
0.5at
3
w
(3.93)
Stiffener Length
Thelength of thestiffeners, l
st
, should fall within therange
h 6t
w
< l
st
< h 4t
w
(3.94)
whereh istheclear distancebetween theangeslessthewidthsof theange-to-web weldsand t
w
is
theweb thickness.
If intermittent weldsareusedtoconnect thestiffenerstothegirder web, theclear distancebetween
weldsshall not exceed 16t
w
, or 10in. If boltsareused, their spacingshall not exceed 12in.
Stiffener Spacing
Thespacing of thestiffeners, a, shall bedetermined from theshear criterion
v
V
n
V
u
. This
spacingshall not exceed thesmaller of 3h and [260/(h/t
w
)]
2
h.
EXAMPLE3.7:
UsingLRFD, design thecross-section of an I-shaped plategirder shown in Figure3.12atosupport
afactoredmoment M
u
of 4600kip-ft (6240kN-m), deadweight of thegirder isincluded. Thegirder
is a 60-ft (18.3-m) long simply supported girder. It is laterally supported at every 20-ft (6.1-m)
interval. UseA36steel.
FIGURE3.12: Design of aplategirder cross-section.
Proportionof thegirder web
Ordinarily, theoverall depth-to-span ratiod/Lof abuildinggirder isin therange1/12to1/10. So,
let ustryh =70in. Also, knowingh/t
w
of aplategirder isin therange970/
_
F
yf
and 2,000/
_
F
yf
,
let ustry t
w
=5/16in.
Proportionof thegirder anges
For apreliminary design, therequired areaof theangecan bedetermined usingtheangearea
method
A
f

M
u
F
y
h
=
4600 kip-ft x12 in./ft
(36 ksi )(70 in.)
= 21.7 in.
2
So, let b
f
= 20 in. and t
f
=1-1/8in. givingA
f
= 22.5 in.
2
Determinethedesignexural strength
b
M
n
of thegirder:
CalculateI
x
:
I
x
=
[I
i
+A
i
y
2
i
]
= [8932 +(21.88)(0)
2
] +2[2.37 +(22.5)(35.56)
2
]
= 65840 in.
4
CalculateS
xt
, S
xc
:
S
xt
= S
xc
=
I
x
c
t
=
I
x
c
c
=
65840
35 +1.125
= 1823 in.
3
Calculater
T
: Refer to Figure3.12b,
r
T
=
_
I
T
A
f
+
1
6
A
w
=
_
(1.125)(20)
3
/12 +(11.667)(5/16)
3
/12
22.5 +
1
6
(21.88)
= 5.36 in.
CalculateF
cr
:
For FlangeLocal Buckling(FLB),
_
b
f
2t
f
=
20
2(1.125)
= 8.89
_
<
_
65
_
F
yf
=
65
36
= 10.8
_
so, F
cr
= F
yf
= 36 ksi
For Lateral Torsional Buckling(LTB),
_
L
b
r
T
=
20 12
5.36
= 44.8
_
<
_
300
_
F
yf
=
300
36
= 50
_
so, F
cr
= F
yf
= 36 ksi
CalculateR
PG
:
R
PG
= 1
a
r
(h
c
/t
w
970/
F
cr
)
(1,200 +300a
r
)
= 1
0.972[70/(5/16) 970/
36]
[1,200 +300(0.972)]
= 0.96
Calculate
b
M
n
:
b
M
n
= smaller of
_
0.90 S
xt
R
e
F
y
t = (0.90)(1823)(1)(36) = 59,065 kip-in.
0.90 S
xc
R
PG
R
e
F
cr
= (0.90)(1823)(0.96)(1)(36) = 56,700 kip-in.
= 56,700 kip-in.
= 4725 kip-ft.
Since[
b
M
n
= 4725 kip-ft ] > [M
u
= 4600 kip-ft ], thecross-section isacceptable.
Useweb plate5/16 x70 and two angeplates1-1/8 x20 for thegirder cross-section.
EXAMPLE3.8:
Design bearingstiffenersfor theplategirder of theprecedingexamplefor afactored end reaction
of 260kips.
Sincethegirder end isunframed, bearingstiffenersarerequired at thesupports. Thesizeof the
stiffenersmust beselected to ensurethat thelimit statesof local buckling, compression, and bearing
arenot violated.
Limit stateof local buckling
Refer to Figure 3.13, try b
st
= 8 in. To avoid problems with local buckling, b
st
/2t
st
must not
exceed 95/
_
F
y
= 15.8. Therefore, try t
st
= 1/2 in. So, b
st
/2t
st
= 8 which islessthan 15.8.
FIGURE3.13: Design of bearingstiffeners.
Limit stateof compression
A
eff
= 2(b
st
t
st
) +12t
2
w
= 2(8)(0.5) +12(5/16)
2
= 9.17 in.
2
I
st
= t
st
(2b
st
+t
w
)
3
/12 = 0.5[2(8) +5/16]
3
/12 = 181 in.
4
r
st
=
_
(I
st
/A
eff
) =
_
(181/9.17) = 4.44 in.
Kh/r
st
= 0.75(70)/4.44 = 11.8
c
= (Kh/r
st
)
_
(F
y
/E) = (11.8/3.142)
_
(36/29,000) = 0.132
and fromEquation 3.17
c
P
n
= 0.85(0.658
2
c
)F
y
A
st
= 0.85(0.658)
0.132
2
(36)(9.17) = 279 kips
Since
c
P
n
> 260 kips, thedesign issatisfactory for compression.
Limit stateof bearing
Assumingthereisa1/4-in. weldcutout at thecornersof thebearingstiffenersat thejunctionof the
stiffenersandthegirder anges, thebearingareafor thestiffener pairsisA
pb
= (80.25)(0.5)(2) =
7.75 in.
2
. SubstitutethisintoEquation3.91, wehaveR
n
= 0.75(1.8)(36)(7.75) = 377 kips, which
exceedsthefactored reaction of 260kips. So, bearingisnot aproblem.
Usetwo 1/2 x 8 platesfor bearingstiffeners.
3.11 Connections
Connectionsarestructural elementsusedfor joiningdifferent membersof aframework. Connections
can beclassied accordingto:
thetypeof connecting medium used: bolted connections, welded connections, bolted-
welded connections, riveted connections
thetypeof internal forcestheconnectionsareexpected to transmit: shear (semi-rigid,
simple) connections, moment (rigid) connections
the type of structural elements that made up the connections: single plate angle con-
nections, doubleweb angleconnections, top and seated angleconnections, seated beam
connections, etc.
the type of members the connections are joining: beam-to-beam connections (beam
splices), column-to-column connections (column splices), beam-to-column connec-
tions, hanger connections, etc.
To properly design aconnection, adesigner must haveathorough understandingof thebehavior
of the joint under loads. Different modes of failure can occur depending on the geometry of the
connection and therelativestrengthsand stiffnessesof thevariouscomponentsof theconnection.
To ensurethat theconnection can carry theapplied loads, adesigner must check for all perceivable
modesof failurepertinent to each component of theconnection and theconnection asawhole.
3.11.1 BoltedConnections
Bolted connections are connections whose components are fastened together primarily by bolts.
The four basic types of bolts commonly used for steel construction are discussed in the section
on Structural Fasteners. Depending on thedirection and lineof action of theloadsrelativeto the
orientation and location of thebolts, thebolts may beloaded in tension, shear, or a combination
of tension and shear. For boltssubjected to shear forces, thedesign shear strength of theboltsalso
dependsonwhether or not thethreadsof theboltsareexcludedfromtheshear planes. Aletter Xor N
isplacedat theendof theASTM designation of theboltstoindicatewhether thethreadsareexcluded
or not excluded fromtheshear planes, respectively. Thus, A325X denotesA325boltswhosethreads
areexcluded from theshear planesand A490N denotesA490 boltswhosethreadsarenot excluded
from theshear planes. Becauseof thereduced shear areasfor boltswhosethreadsarenot excluded
from theshear planes, theseboltshavelower design shear strengthsthan their counterpartswhose
threadsareexcluded fromtheshear planes.
Boltscan beused in both bearing-typeconnectionsand slip-critical connections. Bearing-type
connections rely on bearing between the bolt shanks and the connecting parts to transmit forces.
Someslippagebetween theconnected partsisexpected to occur for thistypeof connection. Slip-
critical connectionsrely on thefrictional forcedevelopingbetween theconnectingpartsto transmit
forces. No slippage between connecting elements is expected for this type of connection. Slip-
critical connectionsareused for structuresdesigned for vibratory or dynamicloadssuch asbridges,
industrial buildings, andbuildingsinregionsof highseismicity. Boltsusedinslip-critical connections
aredenoted by theletter Fafter their ASTM designation, e.g., A325F, A490F.
Bolt Holes
Holesmadein theconnected partsfor boltsmay bestandard size, oversized, short slotted, or
longslotted. Table3.10givesthemaximumholedimension for ordinary construction usage.
Standard holescan beused for both bearing-typeand slip-critical connections. Oversized holes
shall beused only for slip-critical connections. Short- and long-slotted holescan beused for both
bearing-typeand slip-critical connectionsprovided that when such holesareused for bearing, the
direction of slot istransverseto thedirection of loading.
TABLE3.10 Nominal HoleDimensions
Bolt Holedimensions
diameter, d Standard Oversize Short-slot Long-slot
(in.) (dia.) (dia.) (width length) (width length)
1/2 9/16 5/8 9/1611/16 9/161-1/4
5/8 11/16 13/16 11/167/8 11/161-9/16
3/4 13/16 15/16 13/161 13/161-7/8
7/8 15/16 1-1/16 15/161-1/8 15/162-3/16
1 1-1/16 1-1/4 1-1/161-5/16 1-1/162-1/2
1-1/8 d+1/16 d+5/16 (d+1/16)(d+3/8) (d+1/16)(2.5d)
Note: 1in. = 25.4mm.
BoltsLoadedinTension
If atensileforceisappliedtotheconnection such that thedirection of theloadisparallel tothe
longitudinal axesof thebolts, theboltswill besubjected to tension. Thefollowingcondition must
besatised for boltsunder tensilestresses.
AllowableStressDesign:
f
t
F
t
(3.95)
where
f
t
= computed tensilestressin thebolt, ksi
F
t
= allowabletensilestressin bolt (seeTable3.11)
LoadandResistanceFactor Design:
t
F
t
f
t
(3.96)
where
t
= 0.75
f
t
= tensilestressproduced by factored loads, ksi
F
t
= nominal tensilestrength given in Table3.11
TABLE3.11 F
t
of Bolts, ksi
ASD LRFD
F
t
, ksi F
t
, ksi F
t
, ksi
(static F
t
, ksi (static
Bolt type loading) (fatigueloading) loading) (fatigueloading)
A307 20 Not allowed 45.0 Not allowed
A325 44.0 If N 20,000: 90.0 If N 20,000:
F
t
= sameasfor static F
t
= sameasfor static
loading loading
If 20,000< N 500,000: If 20,000< N 500,000:
F
t
= 40(A325) F
t
= 0.30F
u
(at
= 49(A490) serviceloads)
If N > 500,000:
A490 54.0 F
t
= 31(A325) 113 If N > 500,000:
= 38(A490) F
t
= 0.25F
u
(at
serviceloads)
where where
N = number of cycles N = number of cycles
F
u
= minimum F
u
= minimum
specied tensile specied tensile
strength, ksi strength, ksi
Note: 1ksi = 6.895MPa.
BoltsLoadedinShear
When thedirection of load isperpendicular to thelongitudinal axesof thebolts, theboltswill
be subjected to shear. The condition that needs to be satised for bolts under shear stresses is as
follows.
f
v
F
v
(3.97)
where
f
v
= computed shear stressin thebolt, ksi
F
v
= allowableshear stressin bolt (seeTable3.12)
v
F
v
f
v
(3.98)
where
v
= 0.75(for bearing-typeconnections), 1.00(for slip-critical connectionswhenstandard, over-
sized, short-slotted, or long-slottedholeswithloadperpendicular totheslotsareused), 0.85
(for slip-critical connectionswhen long-slotted holeswith load in thedirection of theslots
areused)
f
v
= shear stressproduced by factored loads(for bearing-typeconnections), or by serviceloads
(for slip-critical connections), ksi
F
v
= nominal shear strength given in Table3.12
TABLE3.12 F
v
of Bolts, ksi
F
v
, ksi
Bolt type ASD LRFD
A307 10.0
a
(regardlessof whether or not threads 24.0
a
(regardlessof whether or not threads
areexcluded fromshear planes) areexcluded fromshear planes)
A325N 21.0
a
48.0
a
A325X 30.0
a
60.0
a
A325F
b
17.0(for standard sizeholes) 17.0(for standard sizeholes)
15.0(for oversized and short-slotted holes) 15.0(for oversized and short-slotted holes)
12.0(for long-slotted holeswhen direction 12.0(for long-slotted holes)
of load istransverseto theslots)
10.0(for long-slotted holeswhen direction
of load isparallel to theslots)
A490N 28.0
a
60.0
a
A490X 40.0
a
75.0
a
A490F
b
21.0(for standard sizeholes) 21.0(for standard sizeholes)
18.0(for oversized and short-slotted holes) 18.0(for oversized and short-slotted holes)
15.0(for long-slotted holeswhen direction 15.0(for long-slotted holes)
of load istransverseto theslots)
13.0(for long-slotted holeswhen direction
of load isparallel to theslots)
a
tabulated valuesshall bereduced by 20%if theboltsareused to splicetension membershavingafastener pattern whoselength,
measured parallel to thelineof action of theforce, exceeds50in.
b
tabulated valuesareapplicableonly to classA surface, i.e., clean mill surfaceand blast cleaned surfacewith classA coatings(with
slip coefcient = 0.33). For design strengthswith other coatings, seeRCSC Load and ResistanceFactor Design Specication to
Structural JointsUsingASTM A325or A490Bolts [ 28]
BoltsLoadedinCombinedTensionandShear
If a tensile force is applied to a connection such that its line of action is at an angle with
thelongitudinal axes of thebolts, theboltswill besubjected to combined tension and shear. The
conditionsthat need to besatised aregiven asfollows.
f
v
F
v
and f
t
F
t
(3.99)
where
f
v
, F
v
= asdened in Equation 3.97
f
t
F
t
= allowabletensilestressgiven in Table3.13
v
F
v
f
v
and
t
F
t
f
t
(3.100)
where
v
, F
v
, f
v
= asdened in Equation 3.98
t
= 1.0
f
t
= tensilestressdueto factored loads(for bearing-typeconnection), or dueto service
loads(for slip-critical connections), ksi
F
t
= nominal tension stresslimit for combined tension and shear given in Table3.13
TABLE3.13 F
t
for BoltsUnder Combined Tension and Shear, ksi
Bearing-typeconnections
ASD LRFD
Threadsnot Threads Threadsnot Threads
Bolt excluded from excluded from excluded from excluded from
type theshear plane theshear plane theshear plane theshear plane
A307 26-1.8f
v
20 59-1.9f
v
45
A325
_
(44
2
4.39f
2
v
)
_
(44
2
2.15f
2
v
) 117 1.9f
v
90 117 1.5f
v
90
A490
_
(54
2
3.75f
2
v
)
_
(54
2
1.82f
2
v
) 147 1.9f
v
113 147 1.5f
v
113
Slip-critical connections
For ASD:
F
t
= valuesgiven above
F
v
= [1 (f
t
A
b
/T
b
)] (valuesof F
v
given in Table3.12)
where
f
t
T
b
= pretension load = 0.70F
u
A
b
, kips
F
u
= minimumspecied tensilestrength, ksi
A
b
= nominal cross-sectional areaof bolt, in.
2
For LRFD:
F
t
= valuesgiven above
F
v
= [1 (T/T
b
)] (valuesof F
v
given in Table3.12)
where
T = servicetensileforce, kips
T
b
= pretension load = 0.70F
u
A
b
, kips
F
u
= minimumspecied tensilestrength, ksi
A
b
= nominal cross-sectional areaof bolt, in.
2
BearingStrengthat Fastener Holes
Connectionsdesigned on thebasisof bearingrely on thebearingforcedeveloped between the
fastenersand theholesto transmit forcesand moments. Thelimit statefor bearingmust therefore
bechecked to ensurethat bearingfailurewill not occur. Bearingstrength isindependent of thetype
of fastener. Thisisbecausethebearingstressismorecritical on thepartsbeingconnected than on
thefastener itself. TheAISC specication provisionsfor bearing strength arebased on preventing
excessive hole deformation. As a result, bearing capacity is expressed as a function of the type of
holes(standard, oversized, slotted), bearingarea(bolt diameter timesthethicknessof theconnected
parts), bolt spacing, edge distance (L
e
), strength of the connected parts (F
u
) and the number of
fastenersin thedirection of thebearingforce. Table3.14 summarizestheexpressionsused in ASD
and LRFD for calculating thebearing strength and theconditions under which each expression is
valid.
TABLE3.14 BearingCapacity
ASD LRFD
Allowablebearing Design bearing
Conditions stress, F
p
, ksi strength, R
n
, ksi
1. For standard or short-slotted holes with L
e

1.5d, s 3d and number of fastenersin thedirec-
tion of bearing 2
1.2F
u
0.75[2.4dt F
u
]
2. For long-slottedholeswithdirection of slot trans-
versetothedirectionof bearingandL
e
1.5d, s
3d and thenumber of fastenersin thedirection of
bearing 2
1.0F
u
0.75[2.0dt F
u
]
3. If neither condition 1nor 2aboveis L
e
F
u
/2d 1.2F
u
For thebolt hole
satised nearest theedge:
0.75[L
e
t F
u
]
0.75[2.4dt F
u
]
a
For theremaining
bolt holes:
0.75[(s d/2)t F
u
]
0.75[2.4dt F
u
]
a
4. If holedeformation isnot adesign 1.5F
u
For thebolt hole
consideration and adequatespacing nearest theedge:
and edgedistanceisprovided 0.75[L
e
t F
u
]
(seesectionson MinimumFastener 0.75[3.0dt F
u
]
Spacingand MinimumEdgeDistance) For theremaining
bolt holes:
0.75[(s d/2)t F
u
]
0.75[3.0dt F
u
]
a
For long-slotted bolt holeswith direction of slot transverseto thedirection of bearing, thislimit is
0.75[2.0dt F
u
]
L
e
= edgedistance(i.e., distancemeasured fromtheedgeof theconnected part to thecenter of
astandard holeor thecenter of ashort- and long-slotted holeperpendicular to thelineof
force. For oversized holesand short- and long-slotted holesparallel to thelineof force,
L
e
shall beincreased by theedgedistanceincrement C
2
given in Table3.16)
s = fastener spacing(i.e., center tocenter distancebetween adjacent fastenersmeasured in the
direction of bearing. For oversized holesand short- and long-slotted holesparallel to the
lineof force, s shall beincreased by thespacingincrement C
1
given in Table3.15)
d = nominal bolt diameter, in.
t = thicknessof theconnected part, in.
F
u
= specied minimumtensilestrength of theconnected part, ksi
TABLE3.15 Valuesof SpacingIncrement, C
1
, in.
Slotted Holes
Nominal Parallel to lineof force
diameter of Standard Oversized Transverseto Short-
fastener (in.) holes holes lineof force slots Long-slots
a
7/8 0 1/8 0 3/16 3d/2-1/16
1 0 3/16 0 1/4 23/16
1-1/8 0 1/4 0 5/16 3d/2-1/16
a
When length of slot islessthan thevalueshown in Table3.10, C
1
may bereduced by the
differencebetween thevalueshown and theactual slot length.
MinimumFastener Spacing
To ensuresafety, efciency, and to maintain clearancesbetween bolt nutsaswell asto provide
room for wrench sockets, thefastener spacing, s, should not belessthan 3d whered isthenominal
fastener diameter.
TABLE3.16 Valuesof EdgeDistanceIncrement, C
2
, in.
Nominal diameter Slotted holes
of fastener Slot transverseto edge Slot parallel to
(in.) Oversized holes Short-slot Long-slot
a
edge
7/8 1/16 1/8 3d/4 0
1 1/8 1/8 3d/4
1-1/8 1/8 3/16 3d/4
a
If thelengthof theslot islessthan themaximumshown in Table3.10, thevalueshown may
bereduced by one-half thedifferencebetween themaximumand theactual slot lengths.
MinimumEdgeDistance
To prevent excessivedeformation and shear ruptureat theedgeof theconnected part, amin-
imum edge distance L
e
must be provided in accordance with the values given in Table 3.17 for
standard holes. For oversized and slotted holes, thevaluesshown must beincremented by C
2
given
in Table3.16.
TABLE3.17 MinimumEdgeDistancefor Standard Holes, in.
Nominal fastener diameter At rolled edgesof plates, shapes,
(in.) At sheared edges and barsor gascut edges
1/2 7/8 3/4
5/8 1-1/8 7/8
3/4 1-1/4 1
7/8 1-1/2 1-1/8
1 1-3/4 1-1/4
1-1/8 2 1-1/2
1-1/4 2-1/4 1-5/8
over 1-1/4 1-3/4x diameter 1-1/4x diameter
MaximumFastener Spacing
A limit isplaced on themaximumvaluefor thespacingbetween adjacent fastenersto prevent
the possibility of gaps forming or buckling from occurring in between fasteners when the load to
betransmitted by theconnection iscompressive. Themaximum fastener spacing measured in the
direction of theforceisgiven asfollows.
For paintedmembersor unpaintedmembersnot subject tocorrosion: smaller of 24t where t is the
thicknessof thethinner plateand 12in.
For unpaintedmembersof weatheringsteel subject toatmosphericcorrosion: smaller of 14t wheret is
thethicknessof thethinner plateand 7in.
MaximumEdgeDistance
A limit is placed on the maximum value for edge distance to prevent prying action from
occurring. Themaximum edgedistanceshall not exceed thesmaller of 12
t
wheret isthethickness
of theconnected part and 6in.
EXAMPLE3.9:
Check theadequacy of theconnection shown in Figure3.4a. Theboltsare1-in. diameter A325N
boltsin standard holes.
Checkbolt capacity
All boltsaresubjected to doubleshear. Therefore, thedesign shear strength of theboltswill be
twicethat shown in Table3.12. Assuming each bolt carriesan equal shareof thefactored applied
load, wehavefromEquation 3.98
[
v
F
v
= 0.75(2 48) = 72 ksi] >
_
_
f
v
=
208
(6)
_
1
2
4
_ = 44.1 ksi
_
_
Theshear capacity of thebolt isthereforeadequate.
Checkbearingcapacityof theconnectedparts
With reference to Table 3.14, it can be seen that condition 1 applies for the present problem.
Therefore, wehave
[R
n
= 0.75(2.4)(1)
_
3
8
_
(58) = 39.2 kips] >
_
R
u
=
208
6
= 34.7 kips
_
andsobearingisnot aproblem. Notethat bearingonthegusset plateismorecritical thanbearingon
thewebsof thechannelsbecausethethicknessof thegusset plateislessthan thecombined thickness
of thedoublechannels.
Checkbolt spacing
Theminimum bolt spacing is 3d = 3(1) = 3 in. Themaximum bolt spacing isthesmaller of
14t = 14(.303) = 4.24 in. or 7 in. Theactual spacingis3 in. which fallswithin therangeof 3 to
4.24in., so bolt spacingisadequate.
Checkedgedistance
FromTable3.17, it can bedetermined that theminimumedgedistanceis1.25in. Themaximum
edgedistanceallowed isthesmaller of 12t = 12(0.303) = 3.64 in. or 6in. Theactual edgedistance
is3in. which fallswithin therangeof 1.25to 3.64in., so edgedistanceisadequate.
Theconnection isadequate.
BoltedHanger TypeConnections
A typical hanger connection isshown in Figure3.14. In thedesign of such connections, the
designer must take into account the effect of pryingaction. Prying action results when exural
deformation occursin theteeangeor anglelegof theconnection (Figure3.15). Pryingaction tends
to increasethetensileforce, called prying force, in thebolts. To minimizetheeffect of prying, the
fastenersshould beplaced ascloseto theteestem or outstandinganglelegasthewrench clearance
will permit (see Tables on Entering and Tightening Clearances in Volume II-Connections of the
AISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] ). In addition, theangeand anglethicknessshould beproportioned so
that thefull tensilecapacitiesof theboltscan bedeveloped.
FIGURE3.14: Hanger connections.
Two failuremodescan beidentied for hanger typeconnections: formation of plastic hingesin
theteeangeor anglelegat cross-sections1 and 2, and tensilefailureof theboltswhen thetensile
force including prying action B
c
(= T + Q) exceeds the tensile capacity of the bolt B. Since the
determination of the actual prying force is rather complex, the design equation for the required
thicknessfor theteeangeor anglelegissemi-empirical in nature. It isgiven by thefollowing.
If ASD isused:
t
req
d
=
_
8T b
pF
y
(1 +
)
(3.101)
where
T =tensileforceper bolt dueto serviceload exclusiveof initial tighteningand pryingforce, kips
Theother variablesareasdened in Equation 3.102except that B in theequation for
isdened
astheallowabletensileforceper bolt. A design isconsidered satisfactory if thethicknessof thetee
angeor anglelegt
f
exceedst
req
d
and B > T .
If LRFD isused:
t
req
d
=
_
4T
u
b
b
pF
y
(1 +
)
(3.102)
where
b
= 0.90
T
u
= factored tensileforceper bolt exclusiveof initial tighteningand pryingforce, kips
p = length of ange tributary to each bolt measured along the longitudinal axis of the tee or
doubleanglesection, in.
= ratio of net areaat bolt lineto grossareaat anglelegor stemface= (p d
)/p
d
= diameter of bolt hole=bolt diameter +1/8
, in.
= [(B/T
u
1)(a
/b
)]/{[1 (B/T
u
1)(a
/b
)]}, but not larger than 1 (if
islessthan
zero, use
= 1)
B = design tensilestrength of onebolt = F
t
A
b
, kips(F
t
isgiven in Table3.11 and A
b
isthe
nominal diameter of thebolt)
a
= a +d/2
b
= b d/2
FIGURE3.15: Pryingaction in hanger connections.
a = distancefrombolt centerlineto edgeof teeangeor anglelegbut not morethan 1.25b, in.
b = distancefrombolt centerlineto faceof teestemor outstandingleg, in.
A design isconsidered satisfactory if thethicknessof theteeangeor angleleg t
f
exceedst
reg
d
and B > T
u
.
Notethat if t
f
ismuch larger than t
reg
d
, thedesign will betooconservative. In thiscase
should
berecomputed usingtheequation
=
1
_
4T
u
b
b
pt
2
f
F
y
1
_
(3.103)
Asbefore, thevalueof
should belimited to therange0
1. Thisnew valueof
isto be
used in Equation 3.102to recalculatet
reg
d
.
BoltedBracket TypeConnections
Figure3.16 shows threecommonly used bracket typeconnections. Thebracing connection
shown in Figure3.16ashould bedesigned so that thelineof action theforcepassesthrough isthe
centroid of thebolt group. It isapparent that theboltsconnectingthebracket to thecolumn ange
aresubjected to combined tension and shear. Asaresult, thecapacity of theconnection islimited
FIGURE3.16: Bolted bracket-typeconnections.
to thecombined tensile-shear capacitiesof theboltsin accordancewith Equation 3.99 in ASD and
Equation 3.100in LRFD. For simplicity, f
v
and f
t
aretobecomputed assumingthat both thetensile
and shear componentsof theforcearedistributed evenly to all bolts. In addition to checkingfor the
bolt capacities, thebearingcapacitiesof thecolumn angeand thebracket should also bechecked.
If theaxial component of theforceissignicant, theeffect of pryingshould also beconsidered.
In the design of the eccentrically loaded connections shown in Figure 3.16b, it is assumed that
the neutral axis of the connection lies at the center of gravity of the bolt group. As a result, the
boltsabovetheneutral axiswill besubjected to combined tension and shear and so Equation 3.99
or Equation 3.100needsto bechecked. Theboltsbelowtheneutral axisaresubjected to shear only
and soEquation 3.97or Equation 3.98applies. In calculatingf
v
, onecan assumethat all boltsin the
bolt group carry an equal shareof theshear force. In calculatingf
t
, onecan assumethat thetensile
forcevarieslinearly from avalueof zero at theneutral axisto amaximum valueat thebolt farthest
away from theneutral axis. Using thisassumption, f
t
can becalculated from theequation Pey/I
wherey isthedistancefrom theneutral axisto thelocation of thebolt abovetheneutral axisand
I =

A
b
y
2
isthemoment of inertiaof thebolt areaswith A
b
equal to thecross-sectional areaof
each bolt. Thecapacityof theconnection isdetermined bythecapacitiesof theboltsandthebearing
capacity of theconnected parts.
For theeccentrically loaded bracket connection shown in Figure3.16c, theboltsaresubjected to
shear. The shear force in each bolt can be obtained by adding vectorally the shear caused by the
applied load P and themoment P
o
. Thedesign of thistypeof connection isfacilitated by theuse
of tablescontained in theAISCManualsfor AllowableStressDesign and Load and ResistanceFactor
Design [ 21, 22] .
In addition to checkingfor bolt shear capacity, oneneedsto check thebearingand shear rupture
capacitiesof thebracket plateto ensurethat failurewill not occur in theplate.
BoltedShear Connections
Shear connectionsareconnectionsdesigned to resist shear forceonly. Theseconnectionsare
not expected to provide appreciable moment restraint to the connection members. Examples of
theseconnectionsareshown in Figure3.17. Theframed beam connection shown in Figure3.17a
consists of two web angles which are often shop-bolted to the beam web and then eld-bolted
to the column ange. The seated beam connection shown in Figure 3.17b consists of two ange
anglesoften shop-bolted to thebeam angeand eld-bolted to thecolumn ange. To enhancethe
strength and stiffnessof theseated beam connection, astiffened seated beam connection shown in
Figure3.17c is sometimes used to resist largeshear force. Shear connectionsmust bedesigned to
sustain appreciabledeformation and yieldingof theconnectionsisexpected. Theneed for ductility
often limitsthethicknessof theanglesthat can beused. Most of theseconnectionsaredesigned with
anglethicknessnot exceeding5/8in.
Thedesignof theconnectionsshowninFigure3.17isfacilitatedbytheuseof designtablescontained
in theAISC-ASD and AISC-LRFD Manuals. Thesetablesgivedesign loadsfor theconnectionswith
specic dimensionsbased on thelimit statesof bolt shear, bearingstrength of theconnection, bolt
bearingwith different edgedistances, and block shear (for coped beams).
BoltedMoment-ResistingConnections
Moment-resisting connections are connections designed to resist both moment and shear.
Theseconnectionsareoften referred to asrigid or fully restrained connectionsasthey providefull
continuitybetweentheconnectedmembersandaredesignedtocarrythefull factoredmoments. Fig-
ure3.18showssomeexamplesof moment-resistingconnections. Additional examplescan befound
in theAISC-ASDandAISC-LRFDManualsandChapter 4of theAISCManual on Connections[ 20] .
FIGURE3.17: Boltedshear connections. (a) Boltedframebeamconnection. (b) Boltedseatedbeam
connection. (c) Bolted stiffened seated beamconnection.
FIGURE3.18: Bolted moment connections.
Designof Moment-ResistingConnections
An assumption used quite often in the design of moment connections is that the moment
is carried solely by the anges of the beam. The moment is converted to a couple F
f
given by
F
f
= M/(d t
f
) actingon thebeamangesasshown in Figure3.19.
FIGURE3.19: Flangeforcesin moment connections.
Thedesign of theconnection for moment isconsidered satisfactory if thecapacitiesof thebolts
and connectingplatesor structural elementsareadequateto carry theangeforceF
f
. Depending
on thegeometry of thebolted connection, thismay involvechecking: (a) theshear and/or tensile
capacities of thebolts, (b) theyield and/or fracturestrength of themoment plate, (c) thebearing
strength of theconnected parts, and (d) bolt spacingand edgedistanceasdiscussed in theforegoing
sections.
Asfor shear, it iscommon practiceto assumethat all theshear resistanceisprovided by theshear
platesor angles. Thedesign of theshear platesor anglesisgoverned by thelimit statesof bolt shear,
bearingof theconnected parts, and shear rupture.
If themoment to beresisted islarge, theangeforcemay causebendingof thecolumn ange, or
local yielding, crippling, or buckling of thecolumn web. To prevent failuredueto bending of the
columnangeor local yieldingof thecolumnweb(for atensileF
f
) aswell aslocal yielding, crippling
or bucklingof thecolumn web (for acompressiveF
f
), column stiffenersshould beprovided if any
oneof theconditionsdiscussed in thesection on Criteriaon Concentrated Loadsisviolated.
Followingisaset of guidelinesfor thedesign of column web stiffeners[21, 22] :
1. If local web yielding controls, thearea of thestiffeners(provided in pairs) shall bede-
termined based on any excessforcebeyond that which can beresisted by theweb alone.
Thestiffenersneed not extend morethan one-half thedepth of thecolumn web if the
concentrated beamangeforceF
f
isapplied at only onecolumn ange.
2. If web crippling or compression buckling of the web controls, the stiffeners shall be
designedasaxiallyloadedcompressionmembers(seesectiononCompressionMembers).
Thestiffenersshall extend theentiredepth of thecolumn web.
3. Theweldsthat connect thestiffenersto thecolumn shall bedesigned to develop thefull
strength of thestiffeners.
In addition, thefollowingrecommendationsaregiven:
1. Thewidth of thestiffener plusone-half of thecolumn web thicknessshould not beless
than one-half the width of the beam ange nor the moment connection plate which
appliestheforce.
2. Thestiffener thicknessshould not belessthan one-half thethicknessof thebeamange.
3. If only oneangeof thecolumn isconnected by amoment connection, thelength of the
stiffener platedoesnot haveto exceed one-half thecolumn depth.
4. If both angesof thecolumn areconnected by moment connections, thestiffener plate
shouldextendthroughthedepthof thecolumn webandweldsshouldbeusedtoconnect
the stiffener plate to the column web with sufcient strength to carry the unbalanced
moment on oppositesidesof thecolumn.
5. If column stiffenersarerequired on both thetension and compression sidesof thebeam,
thesizeof thestiffenerson thetension sideof thebeam should beequal to that on the
compression sizefor easeof construction.
Inlieuof stiffener plates, astronger columnsectioncouldbeusedtoprecludefailureinthecolumn
angeand web.
For a more thorough discussion of bolted connections, the readers are referred to the book by
Kulak et al. [ 16] . Examples on the design of a variety of bolted connections can be found in the
AISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] and theAISCManual on Connections[ 20]
3.11.2 WeldedConnections
Weldedconnectionsareconnectionswhosecomponentsarejoinedtogether primarilybywelds. The
four most commonly used welding processes are discussed in the section on Structural Fasteners.
Weldscan beclassied accordingto:
typesof welds: groove, llet, plug, and slot welds.
positionsof thewelds: horizontal, vertical, overhead, and at welds.
typesof joints: butt, lap, corner, edge, and tee.
Although llet weldsaregenerally weaker than groovewelds, they areused moreoften because
they allowfor larger tolerancesduringerection than groovewelds. Plugand slot weldsareexpensive
to makeand they do not providemuch reliability in transmittingtensileforcesperpendicular to the
fayingsurfaces. Furthermore, qualitycontrol of suchweldsisdifcult becauseinspectionof thewelds
israther arduous. Asaresult, plugand slot weldsarenormally used just for stitchingdifferent parts
of thememberstogether.
WeldingSymbols
A shorthand notation givingimportant information on thelocation, size, length, etc. for the
varioustypesof weldswasdeveloped by theAmerican WeldingSociety [ 6] to facilitatethedetailing
of welds. Thissystemof notation isreproduced in Figure3.20.
FIGURE3.20: Basicweld symbols.
Strengthof Welds
In ASD, thestrength of weldsisexpressed in termsof allowablestress. In LRFD, thedesign
strengthof weldsistakenasthesmaller of thedesignstrengthof thebasematerial F
BM
andthedesign
strength of theweld electrodeF
W
. Theseallowablestressesand design strengthsaresummarized
in Table3.18[ 18, 21] . When adesign usesASD, thecomputed stressin theweld shall not exceed its
allowablevalue. When adesign usesLRFD, thedesign strength of weldsshould exceed therequired
strength obtained by dividingtheload to betransmitted by theeffectiveareaof thewelds.
TABLE3.18 Strength of Welds
Typesof weld and ASD LRFD Required weld strength
stress
a
Material allowablestress F
BM
or F
W
level
b,c
Full penetration grooveweld
Tension normal to effec-
tivearea
Base Sameasbasemetal 0.90F
y
Matching weld must be
used
Compression normal to
effectivearea
y
Weldmetal withastrength
level equal to
Tension of compression
parallel to axisof weld
y
or less than matching
must beused
Shear on effectivearea Base 0.30 nominal 0.90[0.60F
y
]
weld electrode tensilestrength of 0.80[0.60F
EXX
]
weld metal
Partial penetration groovewelds
Compression normal to
effectivearea
y
Weldmetal withastrength
level equal to
Tension or compression
d
or less than matching
weld metal may beused
Shear parallel to axisof Base 0.30 nominal 0.75[0.60F
EXX
]
weld weld electrode tensilestrength of
weld metal
Tension normal to Base 0.30 nominal 0.90F
y
effectivearea weld electrode tensilestrength of 0.80[0.60F
EXX
]
weld metal
0.18 yield stress
of basemetal
Fillet welds
Stresson effectivearea Base 0.30 nominal 0.75[0.60F
EXX
] Weld metal with a
weld electrode tensilestrength of 0.90F
y
strength level equal to
weld metal or less than matching
Tension or compression
d
y
Plugor slot welds
Shear parallel to Base 0.30nominal 0.75[0.60F
EXX
] Weld metal with a
fayingsurfaces weld electrode tensilestrength of strength level equal to
(on effectivearea) weld metal or less than matching
a
seebelowfor effectivearea
b
seeAWSD1.1for matching weld material
c
weld metal onestrength level stronger than matching weld metal will bepermitted
d
llet weldspartial-penetration grooveweldsjoiningcomponent elementsof built-up memberssuch asange-to-web con-
nections may be designed without regard to the tensile or compressive stress in these elements parallel to the axis of the
welds
EffectiveAreaof Welds
Theeffectiveareaof grooveweldsisequal to theproduct of thewidth of thepart joined and
theeffectivethroat thickness. Theeffectivethroat thicknessof afull-penetration grooveweldistaken
as thethickness of thethinner part joined. Theeffectivethroat thickness of a partial-penetration
grooveweld istaken asthedepth of thechamfer for J, U, bevel, or V (with bevel 60
) jointsand
it istaken asthedepth of thechamfer minus1/8in. for bevel or V jointsif thebevel isbetween 45
and 60
. For arebevel grooveweldstheeffectivethroat thicknessistaken as5R/16 and for are

V-groovetheeffectivethroat thicknessistaken asR/2 (or 3R/8 for GMAW processwhen R 1
in.). R istheradiusof thebar or bend.
Theeffectiveareaof llet weldsisequal totheproduct of length of thelletsincludingreturnsand
theeffectivethroat thickness. Theeffectivethroat thicknessof allet weld istheshortest distance
from theroot of thejoint to thefaceof thediagrammatic weld asshown in Figure3.21. Thus, for
FIGURE3.21: Effectivethroat of llet welds.
an equal legllet weld, theeffectivethroat isgiven by 0.707timesthelegdimension. For llet weld
madeby thesubmerged arc weldingprocess(SAW), theeffectivethroat thicknessistaken astheleg
size(for 3/8-in. and smaller llet welds) or asthetheoretical throat plus0.11-in. (for llet weld over
3/8-in.). A larger valuefor theeffectivethroat thickness is permitted for welds madeby theSAW
processto account for theinherently superior quality of such welds.
Theeffectiveareaof plugand slot weldsistaken asthenominal cross-sectional areaof theholeor
slot in theplaneof thefayingsurface.
SizeandLengthLimitationsof Welds
To ensureeffectiveness, certain sizeand length limitationsareimposed for welds. For partial-
penetration groovewelds, minimumvaluesfor theeffectivethroat thicknessaregiven in Table3.19.
TABLE3.19 MinimumEffectiveThroat Thicknessof Partial-Penetration
GrooveWelds
Thicknessof thethicker part joined, t (in.) Minimumeffectivethroat thickness(in.)
t 1/4 1/8
1/4 < t 1/2 3/16
1/2 < t 3/4 1/4
3/4< t 1-1/2 5/16
1-1/2< t 2-1/4 3/8
2-1/4< t 6 1/2
> 6 5/8
For llet welds, thefollowingsizeand length limitationsapply:
MinimumSizeof LegTheminimumlegsizeisgiven in Table3.20.
TABLE3.20 MinimumLegSizeof Fillet Welds
Thicknessof thicker part joined, t (in.) Minimumlegsize(in.)
1/4 1/8
1/4 < t 1/2 3/16
1/2 < t 3/4 1/4
> 3/4 5/16
MaximumSizeof LegAlongtheedgeof aconnected part lessthan 1/4thick, themaximumlegsize
isequal to thethicknessof theconnected part. For thicker parts, themaximum leg sizeist minus
1/16in. wheret isthethicknessof thepart.
Minimumeffectivelength of weldThe minimum effective length of a llet weld is four times its
nominal size. If ashorter lengthisused, thelegsizeof theweldshall betakenas1/4itseffectivelength
for purposeof stresscomputation. Thelength of llet weldsused for at bar tension membersshall
not belessthan thewidth of thebar if theweldsareprovided in thelongitudinal direction only. The
transversedistancebetween longitudinal weldsshould not exceed 8in. unlesstheeffect of shear lag
isaccounted for by theuseof an effectivenet area.
Maximumeffectivelengthof weldThemaximum effectivelength of a llet weld loaded by forces
parallel to theweld shall not exceed 70timesthesizeof thellet weld leg.
EndreturnsEnd returnsmust becontinued around thecorner and must havealength of at least
two timesthesizeof theweld leg.
WeldedConnectionsfor TensionMembers
Figure 3.22 shows a tension angle member connected to a gusset plate by llet welds. The
appliedtensileforceP isassumedtoact alongthecenter of gravityof theangle. Toavoideccentricity,
thelengthsof thetwo llet weldsmust beproportioned so that their resultant will also act alongthe
FIGURE3.22: An eccentrically loaded welded tension connection.
center of gravity of theangle. For example, if LRFDisused, thefollowingequilibriumequationscan
bewritten:
Summingforcealongtheaxisof theangle
(F
M
)t
eff
L
1
+(F
m
)t
eff
L
2
= P
u
(3.104)
Summingmoment about thecenter of gravityof theangle
(F
M
)t
eff
L
1
d
1
= (F
M
)t
eff
L
2
d
2
(3.105)
whereP
u
isthefactored axial force, F
M
isthedesign strength of theweldsasgiven in Table3.18,
t
eff
istheeffectivethroat thickness, L
1
, L
2
arethelengthsof thewelds, and d
1
, d
2
arethetransverse
distancesfromthecenter of gravity of theangleto thewelds. Thetwo equationscan beused to solve
for L
1
and L
2
. If end returnsareused, theadded strength of theend returnsshould alsobeincluded
in thecalculations.
WeldedBracket TypeConnections
Atypical weldedbracket connection isshown in Figure3.23. Becausetheloadiseccentricwith
respect to thecenter of gravity of theweld group, theconnection issubjected to both moment and
shear. Theweldsmust bedesigned to resist thecombined effect of direct shear for theapplied load
and any additional shear fromtheinduced moment. Thedesign of thewelded bracket connection is
facilitated by theuseof design tablesin theAISC-ASD and AISC-LRFD Manuals. In both ASD and
LRFD, theload capacity for theconnection isgiven by
P = CC
1
Dl (3.106)
where
P = allowableload (in ASD), or factored load, P
u
(in LRFD), kips
l = length of thevertical weld, in.
D = number of sixteenthsof an inch in llet weld size
C
1
= coefcientsfor electrodeused (seetablebelow)
C = coefcientstabulated in theAISC-ASD and AISC-LRFD Manuals. In thetables, valuesof
C for avariety of weld geometriesand dimensionsaregiven
FIGURE3.23: An eccentrically loaded welded bracket connection.
Electrode E60 E70 E80 E90 E100 E110
ASD F
v
(ksi) 18 21 24 27 30 33
C
1
0.857 1.0 1.14 1.29 1.43 1.57
LRFD F
EXX
(ksi) 60 70 80 90 100 110
C
1
0.857 1.0 1.03 1.16 1.21 1.34
WeldedConnectionswithWeldsSubjectedtoCombinedShear andFlexure
Figure3.24showsawelded framed connection and awelded seated connection. Theweldsfor
theseconnectionsaresubjected tocombined shear and exure. For purposeof design, it iscommon
practiceto assumethat theshear forceper unit length, R
S
, actingon theweldsisaconstant and is
given by
R
S
=
P
2l
(3.107)
whereP istheallowableload (in ASD), or factored load, P
u
(in LRFD), and l isthelength of the
vertical weld.
In addition to shear, theweldsaresubjected to exureasaresult of load eccentricity. Thereisno
general agreement on how theexurestressshould bedistributed on thewelds. Oneapproach is
to assumethat thestressdistribution islinear with half theweld subjected to tensileexurestress
and half issubjected to compressiveexurestress. Based on thisstressdistribution and ignoringthe
returns, theexuretension forceper unit length of weld, R
F
, acting at thetop of theweld can be
written as
R
F
=
Mc
I
=
P
e
(l/2)
2l
3
/12
=
3P
e
l
2
(3.108)
wheree istheload eccentricity.
Theresultant forceper unit length actingon theweld, R, isthen
R =
_
R
2
S
+R
2
F
(3.109)
FIGURE3.24: Weldssubjected to combined shear and exure.
For a satisfactory design, the value R/t
eff
where t
eff
is the effective throat thickness of the weld
should not exceed theallowablevaluesor design strengthsgiven in Table3.18.
WeldedShear Connections
Figure3.25showsthreecommonlyusedweldedshear connections: aframedbeamconnection,
aseatedbeamconnection, andastiffenedseatedbeamconnection. Theseconnectionscanbedesigned
by usingtheinformation presented in theearlier sectionson weldssubjected to eccentric shear and
weldssubjected to combined tension and exure. For example, theweldsthat connect theanglesto
thebeamwebin theframed beamconnection can beconsidered aseccentricallyloaded weldsand so
Equation 3.106can beused for their design. Theweldsthat connect theanglesto thecolumn ange
can beconsidered asweldssubjected to combined tension and exureand so Equation 3.109can be
usedfor their design. Likeboltedshear connections, weldedshear connectionsareexpectedtoexhibit
appreciableductility and so theuseof angleswith thicknessin excessof 5/8 in. should beavoided.
To prevent shear rupturefailure, theshear rupturestrength of thecritically loaded connected parts
should bechecked.
To facilitate the design of these connections, the AISC-ASD and AISC-LRFD Manuals provide
design tables by which the weld capacities and shear rupture strengths for different connection
dimensionscan bechecked readily.
WeldedMoment-ResistingConnections
Welded moment-resisting connections (Figure 3.26), like bolted moment-resisting connec-
tions, must be designed to carry both moment and shear. To simplify the design procedure, it is
customary to assumethat themoment, to berepresented by acoupleF
f
asshown in Figure3.19, is
to becarried by thebeamangesand that theshear isto becarried by thebeamweb. Theconnected
parts(e.g., themoment plates, welds, etc.) arethen designed to resist theforcesF
f
and shear. De-
pendingon thegeometry of thewelded connection, thismay includechecking: (a) theyield and/or
fracturestrength of themoment plate, (b) theshear and/or tensilecapacity of thewelds, and (c) the
shear rupturestrength of theshear plate.
If thecolumn to which theconnection isattached isweak, thedesigner should consider theuseof
column stiffenerstoprevent failureof thecolumn angeandwebduetobending, yielding, crippling,
or buckling(seesection on Design of Moment-ResistingConnections).
Examples on the design of a variety of welded shear and moment-resisting connections can be
found in theAISCManual on Connections[ 20] and theAISC-LRFD Manual [ 22] .
3.11.3 ShopWelded-FieldBoltedConnections
A large percentage of connections used for construction are shop welded and eld bolted types.
Theseconnectionsareusually morecost effectivethan fully welded connectionsand their strength
and ductility characteristicsoften rival thoseof fully welded connections. Figure3.27showssomeof
theseconnections. Thedesign of shop weldedeld bolted connectionsisalso covered in theAISC
Manual on Connectionsand theAISC-LRFD Manual. In general, thefollowingshould bechecked:
(a) Shear/tensile capacities of the bolts and/or welds, (b) bearing strength of the connected parts,
(c) yield and/or fracturestrength of themoment plate, and (d) shear rupturestrength of theshear
plate. Also, asfor any other typesof moment connections, column stiffenersshall beprovided if any
oneof thefollowing criteriaisviolated: column angebending, local web yielding, crippling, and
compression bucklingof thecolumn web.
FIGURE3.25: Weldedshear connections. (a) Framedbeamconnection, (b) seatedbeamconnection,
(c) stiffened beamconnection.
FIGURE3.26: Welded moment connections.
3.11.4 BeamandColumnSplices
Beam and column splices (Figure3.28) are used to connect beam or column sections of different
sizes. They are also used to connect beams or columns of the same size if the design calls for an
extraordinarily long span. Splices should be designed for both moment and shear unless it is the
intention of thedesigner toutilizethesplicesasinternal hinges. If splicesareusedfor internal hinges,
provisionsmust bemadeto ensurethat theconnectionspossessadequateductility to allowfor large
hingerotation.
Spliceplatesaredesignedaccordingtotheir intendedfunctions. Moment splicesshouldbedesigned
to resist theangeforceF
f
= M/(d t
f
) (Figure3.19) at thesplicelocation. In particular, the
following limit statesneed to bechecked: yielding of grossareaof theplate, fractureof net areaof
theplate(for bolted splices), bearingstrengthsof connected parts(for bolted splices), shear capacity
of bolts(for bolted splices), and weld capacity (for welded splices). Shear splicesshould bedesigned
toresist theshear forcesactingat thelocationsof thesplices. Thelimit statesthat need tobechecked
include: shear ruptureof thespliceplates, shear capacity of boltsunder an eccentricload (for bolted
splices), bearing capacity of the connected parts (for bolted splices), shear capacity of bolts (for
bolted splices), and weld capacity under an eccentric load (for welded splices). Design examplesof
beamandcolumn splicescan befoundin theAISCManual of Connections[ 20] andtheAISC-LRFD
Manuals[ 22] .
FIGURE3.27: Shop-welded eld-bolted connections.
FIGURE3.28: Bolted and welded beamand column splices.
3.12 ColumnBasePlatesandBeamBearingPlates
(LRFD Approach)
3.12.1 ColumnBasePlates
Column baseplatesaresteel platesplaced at thebottom of columnswhosefunction isto transmit
column loadsto theconcretepedestal. Thedesign of column baseplatesinvolvestwo major steps:
(1) determining the size N B of the plate, and (2) determining the thickness t
p
of the plate.
Generally, thesizeof theplateisdetermined based on thelimit stateof bearingon concreteand the
thickness of the plate is determined based on the limit state of plastic bending of critical sections
in theplate. Dependingon thetypesof forces(axial force, bendingmoment, shear force) theplate
will be subjected to, the design procedures differ slightly. In all cases, a layer of grout should be
placed between thebaseplateand itssupport for thepurposeof levelingand anchor boltsshould be
providedtostabilizethecolumn duringerection or toprevent uplift for casesinvolvinglargebending
moment.
AxiallyLoadedBasePlates
Baseplatessupportingconcentricallyloaded columnsin framesin which thecolumn basesare
assumed pinned aredesigned with theassumption that thecolumn factored load P
u
isdistributed
uniformly to theareaof concreteunder thebaseplate. Thesizeof thebaseplateisdetermined from
thelimit stateof bearingonconcrete. Thedesignbearingstrengthof concreteisgivenbytheequation
c
P
p
= 0.60
_
0.85f
c
A
1
_
A
2
A
1
_
(3.110)
where
f
c
= compressivestrength of concrete
A
1
= areaof baseplate
A
2
= area of concrete pedestal that is geometrically similar to and concentric with the loaded
area, A
1
A
2
4A
1
From Equation 3.110, it can beseen that thebearingcapacity increaseswhen theconcreteareais
greater than theplatearea. Thisaccountsfor thebenecial effect of connement. Theupper limit
of thebearingstrength isobtained when A
2
= 4A
1
. Presumably, theconcreteareain excessof 4A
1
isnot effectivein resistingtheload transferred through thebaseplate.
Settingthecolumn factored load, P
u
, equal tothebearingcapacityof theconcretepedestal,
c
P
p
,
and solvingfor A
1
fromEquation 3.110, wehave
A
1
=
1
A
2
_
P
u
0.6(0.85f
c
)
_
2
(3.111)
Thelength, N, and width, B, of theplateshould beestablished sothat N B > A
1
. For an efcient
design, thelength can bedetermined fromtheequation
N
_
A
1
+0.50(0.95d 0.80b
f
) (3.112)
where 0.95d and 0.80b
f
dene the so-called effective load bearing area shown cross-hatched in
Figure3.29a. OnceN isobtained, B can besolved fromtheequation
B =
A
1
N
(3.113)
Both N and B should berounded up to thenearest full inches.
Therequired platethickness, t
reg
d
, istobedetermined fromthelimit stateof yield lineformation
along the most severely stressed sections. A yield line develops when the cross-section moment
capacity isequal to itsplasticmoment capacity. Dependingon thesizeof thecolumn relativeto the
plateand themagnitudeof thefactored axial load, yield linescan form in variouspatternson the
plate. Figure3.29 shows threemodels of platefailurein axially loaded plates. If theplateis large
compared to thecolumn, yield linesareassumed to form around theperimeter of theeffectiveload
bearingarea(thecross-hatched area) asshown in Figure3.29a. If theplateissmall and thecolumn
factoredloadislight, yieldlinesareassumedtoformaroundtheinner perimeter of theI-shapedarea
asshown in Figure3.29b. If theplateissmall and thecolumn factored load isheavy, yield linesare
assumed to form around theinner edgeof thecolumn angesand both sidesof thecolumn web as
shown in Figure3.29c. Thefollowingequation can beused to calculatetherequired platethickness
t
req
d
= l
_
2P
u
0.90F
y
BN
(3.114)
FIGURE3.29: Failuremodelsfor centrally loaded column baseplates.
wherel isthelarger of m, n, and n
given by
m =
(N 0.95d)
2
n =
(B 0.80b
f
)
2
n
=
_
db
f
4
and
=
2
X
1 +
1 X
1
in which
X =
_
4db
f
(d +b
f
)
2
_
P
u
c
P
p
BasePlatesfor Tubular andPipeColumns
Thedesign concept for baseplatesdiscussed abovefor I-shaped sectionscan beapplied to the
design of baseplatesfor rectangular tubesand circular pipes. Thecritical section used to determine
theplatethicknessshouldbebasedon0.95timestheoutsidecolumndimensionfor rectangular tubes
and 0.80timestheoutsidedimension for circular pipes[11] .
BasePlateswithMoments
For columnsin framesdesigned to carry momentsat thebase, baseplatesmust bedesigned
to support both axial forcesand bending moments. If themoment issmall compared to theaxial
force, thebaseplatecan bedesigned without consideration of thetensileforcewhich may develop in
theanchor bolts. However, if themoment islarge, thiseffect should beconsidered. To quantify the
relativemagnitudeof thismoment, an eccentricity e = M
u
/P
u
isused. Thegeneral proceduresfor
thedesign of baseplatesfor different valuesof ewill begiven in thefollowing[ 11] .
Small eccentricity, e N/6
If e issmall, thebearingstressisassumedtodistributelinearlyover theentireareaof thebaseplate
(Figure3.30). Themaximumbearingstressisgiven by
f
max
=
P
u
BN
+
M
u
c
I
(3.115)
wherec = N/2 and I = BN
3
/12.
FIGURE3.30: Eccentrically loaded column baseplate(small load eccentricity).
Thesizeof theplateisto bedetermined by a trial and error process. Thesizeof thebaseplate
should besuch that thebearing stress calculated using Equation 3.115 does not exceed
c
P
p
/A
1
,
given by
0.60
_
0.85f
c
_
A
2
A
1
_
0.60[1.7f
c
] (3.116)
Thethicknessof theplateisto bedetermined from
t
p
=
_
4M
plu
0.90F
y
(3.117)
whereM
plu
isthemoment per unit width of critical section in theplate. M
plu
isto bedetermined
by assuming that theportion of theplateprojecting beyond thecritical section actsasan inverted
cantilever loaded by thebearingpressure. Themoment calculated at thecritical section divided by
thelength of thecritical section (i.e., B) givesM
plu
.
Moderateeccentricity, N/6 < e N/2
For platessubjected to moderatemoments, only portionsof theplatewill besubjected to bearing
stress(Figure3.31). Ignoringthetensileforcein theanchor bolt in theregion of theplatewhereno
FIGURE3.31: Eccentrically loaded column baseplate(moderateload eccentricity).
bearingoccursand denotingAasthelength of theplatein bearing, themaximumbearingstresscan
becalculated fromforceequilibriumconsideration as
f
max
=
2P
u
AB
(3.118)
whereA = 3(N/2 e) isdetermined from moment equilibrium. Theplateshould beportioned
such that f
max
does not exceed thevaluecalculated using Equation 3.116. t
p
is to bedetermined
fromEquation 3.117.
Largeeccentricity, e > N/2
For platessubjected tolargebendingmomentssothat e > N/2, oneneedstotakeintoconsidera-
tion thetensileforcedevelopingin theanchor bolts(Figure3.32). DenotingT astheresultant force
in theanchor bolts, forceequilibriumrequiresthat
T +P
u
=
f
max
AB
2
(3.119)
FIGURE3.32: Eccentrically loaded column baseplate(largeload eccentricity).
and moment equilibriumrequiresthat
P
u
_
N
N
2
_
+M =
f
max
AB
2
_
N
A
3
_
(3.120)
The above equations can be used to solve for A and T . The size of the plate is to be determined
usingatrial-and-error process. Thesizeshould bechosen such that f
max
doesnot exceed thevalue
calculated using Equation 3.116, A should besmaller than N
and T should not exceed thetensile

capacity of thebolts.
Once the size of the plate is determined, the plate thickness t
p
is to be calculated using Equa-
tion 3.117. Notethat therearetwo critical sectionson theplate, oneon thecompression sideof the
plateand theother on thetension sideof theplate. Two valuesof M
plu
areto becalculated and the
larger valueshould beused to calculatet
p
.
BasePlateswithShear
Under normal circumstances, the factored column base shear is adequately resisted by the
frictional forcedevelopedbetweentheplateanditssupport. Additional shear capacityisalsoprovided
bytheanchor bolts. For casesin whichexceptionallyhighshear forceisexpected, suchasin abracing
connection or in whichuplift occurswhichreducesthefrictional resistance, theuseof shear lugsmay
benecessary. Shear lugscan bedesignedbasedon thelimit statesof bearingon concreteandbending
of thelugs. Thesizeof thelugshould beproportioned such that thebearingstresson concretedoes
not exceed 0.60(0.85f
c
). Thethicknessof thelugcan bedetermined from Equation 3.117. M
plu
is
themoment per unit width at thecritical section of thelug. Thecritical section istaken to beat the
junction of thelugand theplate(Figure3.33).
3.12.2 Anchor Bolts
Anchor bolts are provided to stabilize the column during erection and to prevent uplift for cases
involving large moments. Anchor bolts can be cast-in-place bolts or drilled-in bolts. The latter
are placed after the concrete is set and are not too often used. Their design is governed by the
manufacturersspecications. Cast-in-placeboltsarehooked bars, bolts, or threaded rodswith nuts
(Figure3.34) placed beforetheconcreteisset. Of thethreetypesof cast-in-placeanchorsshown in
thegure, thehooked barsarerecommended for useonly in axially loaded baseplates. They arenot
normallyreliedupon tocarrysignicant tensileforce. Boltsandthreadedrodswith nutscan beused
FIGURE3.33: Column baseplatesubjected to shear.
FIGURE3.34: Baseplateanchors.
for both axially loaded baseplatesor baseplateswith moments. Threaded rodswith nutsareused
when thelength and sizerequired for thespecicdesign exceed thoseof standard sizebolts. Failure
of boltsor threaded rodswith nutsoccur when their tensilecapacitiesarereached. Failureisalso
considered tooccur when aconeof concreteispulled out fromthepedestal. Thisconepull-out type
of failureisdepicted schematically in Figure3.35. Thefailureconeisassumed to radiateout from
thebolt head or nut at an angleof 45
with tensilefailureoccurring along thesurfaceof thecone

at an averagestressof 4
_
f
c
wheref
c
isthecompressivestrength of concretein psi. Theload that
will causethisconepull-out failureisgiven by theproduct of thisaveragestressand theprojected
areatheconeA
p
[ 23, 24] . Thedesign of anchor boltsisthusgoverned by thelimit statesof tensile
fractureof theanchorsand conepull-out.
FIGURE3.35: Conepullout failure.
Limit Stateof TensileFracture
Theareaof theanchor should besuch that
A
g

T
u
t
0.75F
u
(3.121)
whereA
g
istherequired grossareaof theanchor, F
u
istheminimumspecied tensilestrength, and
t
istheresistancefactor for tensilefracturewhich isequal to 0.75.
Limit Stateof ConePull-Out
From Figure 3.35, it is clear that the size of the cone is a function of the length of the anchor.
Provided that thereissufcient edgedistanceand spacingbetween adjacent anchors, theamount of
tensileforcerequiredtocauseconepull-out failureincreaseswiththeembeddedlengthof theanchor.
Thisconcept can beused to determinetherequired embedded length of theanchor. Assumingthat
thefailureconedoesnot intersect withanother failureconenor theedgeof thepedestal, therequired
embedded length can becalculated fromtheequation
L
_
A
p
=
_
(T
u
/
t
4
_
f
c
)
(3.122)
whereA
p
istheprojected areaof thefailurecone, T
u
istherequired bolt forcein pounds, f
c
isthe
compressivestrength of concretein psi and
t
istheresistancefactor assumed to beequal to 0.75.
If failureconesfrom adjacent anchorsoverlap oneanother or intersect with thepedestal edge, the
projected areaA
p
must beadjusted according(see, for example[ 23, 24] ).
Thelength calculated usingtheaboveequation should not belessthan therecommended values
given by [ 29] . Thesevaluesarereproduced in thefollowing table. Also shown in thetablearethe
recommended minimumedgedistancesfor theanchors.
Bolt type(material) Minimumembedded length Minimumedgedistance
A307(A36) 12d 5d > 4in.
A325(A449) 17d 7d > 4in.
d = nominal diameter of theanchor
3.12.3 BeamBearingPlates
Beambearingplatesareprovidedbetweenmaingirdersandconcretepedestalstodistributethegirder
reactionsto theconcretesupports(Figure3.36). Beambearingplatesmay also beprovided between
crossbeamsand girdersif thecrossbeamsaredesigned to sit on thegirders.
FIGURE3.36: Beambearingplate.
Beambearingplatesaredesigned based on thelimit statesof web yielding, web crippling, bearing
on concrete, andplasticbendingof theplate. Thedimension of theplatealongthebeamaxis, i.e., N,
isdetermined from theweb yielding or web crippling criterion (seesection on Concentrated Load
Criteria), whichever ismorecritical. ThedimensionB of theplateisdeterminedfromEquation3.113
with A
1
calculated usingEquation 3.111. P
u
in Equation 3.111isto bereplaced by R
u
, thefactored
reaction at thegirder support.
OncethesizeB N isdetermined, theplatethicknesst
p
can becalculated usingtheequation
t
p
=
_
2R
u
n
2
0.90F
y
BN
(3.123)
whereR
u
isthefactored girder reaction, F
y
istheyield stressof theplateand n = (B 2k)/2 in
which k isthedistancefrom theweb toeof thellet to theouter surfaceof theange. Theabove
equation wasdeveloped based on theassumption that thecritical sectionsfor plasticbendingin the
plateoccur at adistancek fromthecenterlineof theweb.
3.13 CompositeMembers(LRFD Approach)
Compositemembers are structural members made from two or more materials. The majority of
compositesectionsused for buildingconstructionsaremadefromsteel and concrete. Steel provides
strength and concrete provides rigidity. The combination of the two materials often results in
efcient load-carryingmembers. Compositemembersmay beconcrete-encased or concrete-lled.
For concrete-encased members(Figure3.37a), concreteiscasted around steel shapes. In addition
to enhancingstrength and providingrigidity to thesteel shapes, theconcreteactsasare-proong
material to thesteel shapes. It also servesasacorrosion barrier shielding thesteel from corroding
under adverse environmental conditions. For concrete-lled members (Figure 3.37b), structural
steel tubesarelledwithconcrete. In bothconcrete-encasedandconcrete-lledsections, therigidity
of theconcreteoften eliminatestheproblemof local bucklingexperienced by someslender elements
of thesteel sections.
Somedisadvantagesassociated with compositesectionsarethat concretecreepsand shrinks. Fur-
thermore, uncertaintieswith regard to themechanical bond developed between thesteel shapeand
theconcreteoften complicatethedesign of beam-column joints.
3.13.1 CompositeColumns
AccordingtotheLRFDSpecication[ 18] , acompressionmember isregardedasacompositecolumnif
(1) thecross-sectional areaof thesteel shapeisat least 4%of thetotal compositearea. If thiscondition
isnot satised, themember should bedesigned asareinforced concretecolumn. (2) Longitudinal
reinforcementsand lateral tiesareprovided for concrete-encased members. Thecross-sectional area
of thereinforcingbarsshall be0.007in.
2
per inchof bar spacing. Toavoidspalling, lateral tiesshall be
placed at aspacingnot greater than 2/3theleast dimension of thecompositecross-section. For re
and corrosion resistance, aminimum clear cover of 1.5 in. shall beprovided. (3) Thecompressive
strength of concretef
c
used for thecompositesection fallswithin therange3 to 8 ksi for normal
weight concreteand not lessthan 4 ksi for light weight concrete. Theselimitsareset becausethey
represent therangeof test dataavailablefor thedevelopment of thedesignequations. (4) Thespecied
minimumyield stressfor thesteel shapesand reinforcingbarsused in calculatingthestrength of the
compositecolumn doesnot exceed 55ksi. Thislimit isset becausethisstresscorrespondsto astrain
belowwhich theconcreteremainsunspalled and stable. (5) Theminimumwall thicknessof thesteel
shapesfor concretelled membersisequal to b
_
(F
y
/3E) for rectangular sectionsof width b and
D
_
(F
y
/8E) for circular sectionsof outsidediameter D.
DesignCompressiveStrength
Thedesign compressivestrength,
c
P
n
, shall exceed thefactored compressiveforce, P
u
. The
design compressivestrength isgiven asfollows:
FIGURE3.37: Compositecolumns.
For
c
1.5
c
P
n
=
_
_
_
0.85
__
0.658
2
c
_
A
s
F
my
_
, if
c
1.5
0.85
__
0.877
2
c
_
A
s
F
my
_
, if
c
> 1.5
(3.124)
where
c
=
KL
r
m
_
F
my
E
m
(3.125)
F
my
= F
y
+c
1
F
yr
_
A
r
A
s
_
+c
2
f
c
_
A
c
A
s
_
(3.126)
E
m
= E +c
3
E
c
_
A
c
A
s
_
(3.127)
A
c
= areaof concrete, in.
2
A
r
= areaof longitudinal reinforcingbars, in.
2
A
s
= areaof steel shape, in.
2
E = modulusof elasticity of steel, ksi
E
c
= modulusof elasticity of concrete, ksi
F
y
= specied minimumyield stressof steel shape, ksi
F
yr
= specied minimumyield stressof longitudinal reinforcingbars, ksi
f
c
= specied compressivestrength of concrete, ksi
c
1
, c
2
, c
3
= coefcientsgiven in tablebelow
Typeof composite
section c
1
c
2
c
3
Concreteencased 0.7 0.6 0.2
shapes
Concrete-lled pipes 1.0 0.85 0.4
and tubings
In addition tosatisfyingthecondition
c
P
n
P
u
, thebearingcondition for concretemust alsobe
satised. Denoting
c
P
nc
(=
c
P
n,composite section
c
P
n,steel shape alone
) astheportionof compressive
strength resisted by theconcreteand A
B
astheloaded area(thecondition), then if thesupporting
concreteareaislarger than theloaded area, thebearingcondition that needsto besatised is
c
P
nc
0.60[1.7f
c
A
B
] (3.128)
3.13.2 CompositeBeams
For steel beamsfully encased in concrete, no additional anchoragefor shear transfer isrequired if
(1) at least 1.5in. concretecover isprovided on top of thebeam and at least 2in. cover isprovided
over thesidesand at thebottom of thebeam, and (2) spallingof concreteisprevented by adequate
mesh or other reinforcingsteel. Thedesign exural strength
b
M
n
can becomputed usingeither an
elasticor plasticanalysis.
If an elastic analysisisused,
b
shall betaken as0.90. A linear strain distribution isassumed for
thecross-section with zerostrain at theneutral axisand maximumstrainsat theextremebers. The
stressesarethencomputedbymultiplyingthestrainsbyE (for steel) or E
c
(for concrete). Maximum
stressinsteel shall belimitedtoF
y
, andmaximumstressinconcreteshall belimitedto0.85f
c
. Tensile
strengthof concreteshall beneglected. M
n
istobecalculatedbyintegratingtheresultingstressblock
about theneutral axis.
If aplastic analysisisused,
c
shall betaken as0.90, and M
n
shall beassumed to beequal to M
p
,
theplasticmoment capacity of thesteel section alone.
3.13.3 CompositeBeam-Columns
Compositebeam-columnsshall bedesigned to satisfy theinteraction equation of Equation 3.68 or
Equation 3.69, whichever is applicable, with
c
P
n
calculated based on Equations 3.124 to 3.127,
P
e
calculated using theequation P
e
= A
s
F
my
/
2
c
, and
b
M
n
calculated using thefollowing equa-
tion [ 14] :
b
M
n
= 0.90
_
ZF
y
+
1
3
(h
2
2c
r
)A
r
F
yr
+
_
h
2
2

A
w
F
y
1.7f
c
h
1
_
A
w
F
y
_
(3.129)
where
Z = plasticsection modulusof thesteel section, in.
3
c
r
= averageof thedistancemeasured fromthecompression faceto thelongitudinal reinforce-
ment in that face and the distance measured from the tension face to the longitudinal
reinforcement in that face, in.
h
1
= width of thecompositesection perpendicular to theplaneof bending, in.
h
2
= width of thecompositesection parallel to theplaneof bending, in.
A
r
= cross-sectional areaof longitudinal reinforcingbars, in.
2
A
w
= web areaof theencased steel shape(= 0 for concrete-lled tubes)
If 0 < (P
u
/
c
P
n
) 0.3, a linear interpolation of
b
M
n
calculated using the above equation
assumingP
u
/
c
P
n
= 0.3 and that for beamswith P
u
/
c
P
n
= 0 (seesection on CompositeBeams)
should beused.
3.13.4 CompositeFloor Slabs
Compositeoor slabs(Figure3.38) can bedesigned asshored or unshored. In shored construction,
FIGURE3.38: Compositeoor slabs.
temporaryshoresareusedduringconstructiontosupport thedeadandaccidental liveloadsuntil the
concretecures. Thesupportingbeamsaredesigned on thebasisof their abilitytodevelop composite
action to support all factored loadsafter theconcretecures. In unshored construction, temporary
shores arenot used. As a result, thesteel beams alonemust bedesigned to support thedead and
accidental liveloadsbeforetheconcretehasattained 75%of itsspecied strength. After theconcrete
iscured, thecompositesection should haveadequatestrength to support all factored loads.
Compositeaction for thecompositeoor slabsshown in Figure3.38isdeveloped asaresult of the
presenceof shear connectors. If sufcient shear connectorsareprovidedsothat themaximumexural
strength of the composite section can be developed, the section is referred to as fully composite.
Otherwise, the section is referred to as partially composite. The exural strength of a partially
compositesection isgoverned by theshear strength of theshear connectors. Thehorizontal shear
forceV
h
, which should bedesigned for at theinterfaceof thesteel beam and theconcreteslab, is
given by:
Inregionsof positivemoment
V
h
= min(0.85f
c
A
c
, A
s
F
y
,
Q
n
) (3.130)
Inregionsof negativemoment
V
h
= min(A
r
F
yr
,
Q
n
) (3.131)
where
f
c
= compressivestrength of concrete, ksi
A
c
= effectiveareaof theconcreteslab = t
c
b
eff
, in.
2
t
c
= thicknessof theconcreteslab, in.
b
eff
= effectivewidth of theconcreteslab, in.
= min(L/4, s), for an interior beam
= min(L/8+ distance from beam centerline to edge of slab, s/2+ distance from beam
centerlineto edgeof slab), for an exterior beam
L = beamspan measured fromcenter-to-center of supports, in.
s = spacingbetween centerlineof adjacent beams, in.
A
s
= cross-sectional areaof thesteel beam, in.
2
F
y
= yield stressof thesteel beam, ksi
A
r
= areaof reinforcingsteel within theeffectiveareaof theconcreteslab, in.
2
F
yr
= yield stressof thereinforcingsteel, ksi
Q
n
= sumof nominal shear strengthsof theshear connectors, kips
Thenominal shear strength of ashear connector (used without aformed steel deck) isgiven by:
For astudshear connector
Q
n
= 0.5A
sc
_
f
c
E
c
A
sc
F
u
(3.132)
For achannel shear connector
Q
n
= 0.3(t
f
+0.5t
w
)L
c
_
f
c
E
c
(3.133)
where
A
sc
= cross-sectional areaof theshear stud, in.
2
f
c
= compressivestrength of concrete, ksi
E
c
= modulusof elasticity of concrete, ksi
F
u
= minimumspecied tensilestrength of theshear stud, ksi
t
f
= angethicknessof thechannel, in.
t
w
= web thicknessof thechannel, in.
L
c
= length of thechannel, in.
If a formed steel deck isused, Q
n
must bereduced by a reduction factor. Thereduction factor
dependson whether thedeck ribsareperpendicular or parallel tothesteel beam. Expressionsfor the
reduction factor aregiven in theAISC-LRFD Specication [18] .
For full composite action, the number of connectors required between the maximummoment
point and thezeromoment point of thebeamisgiven by
N =
V
h
Q
n
(3.134)
For partial compositeaction, thenumber of connectorsrequiredisgovernedbythecondition
b
M
n

M
u
, where
b
M
n
isgoverned by theshear strength of theconnectors.
Theplacement and spacingof theshear connectorsshould comply with thefollowingguidelines:
1. Theshear connectorsshall beuniformlyspacedwiththeregionof maximummoment and
zero moment. However, thenumber of shear connectorsplaced between aconcentrated
load point and thenearest zero moment point must besufcient to resist thefactored
moment M
u
.
2. Except for connectorsinstalled in theribsof formed steel decks, shear connectorsshall
haveat least 1in. of lateral concretecover.
3. Unless located over the web, diameter of shear studs must not exceed 2.5 times the
thicknessof thebeamange.
4. Thelongitudinal spacingof thestudsshould fall in therange6 timesthestud diameter
to 8timestheslab thicknessif asolid slab isused or 4timesthestud diameter to 8times
theslab thicknessif aformed steel deck isused.
Thedesign exural strength
b
M
n
of thecompositebeamwith shear connectorsisdetermined as
follows:
Inregionsof positivemoments
For h
c
/t
w
640/
_
F
yf
,
b
= 0.85, M
n
= moment capacity determined using a plastic stress
distribution assuming concrete crushes at a stress of 0.85f
c
and steel yields at a stress of F
y
. If
a portion of the concrete slab is in tension, the strength contribution of that portion of concrete
is ignored. The determination of M
n
using this method is very similar to the technique used for
computing themoment capacity of areinforced concretebeam according to theultimatestrength
method.
For h
c
/t
w
> 640/
_
F
yf
,
b
= 0.90, M
n
= moment capacity determined usingsuperposition of
elastic stress, consideringtheeffect of shoring. Thedetermination of M
n
usingthismethod isquite
similar to the technique used for computing the moment capacity of a reinforced concrete beam
accordingto theworkingstressmethod.
Inregionsof negativemoments
b
M
n
istobedeterminedfor thesteel sectionaloneinaccordancewiththerequirementsdiscussed
in thesection on Flexural Members.
To facilitatedesign, numerical valuesof
b
M
n
for compositebeamswith shear studsin solid slabs
aregiven in tabulated form by theAISC-LRFD Manual. Valuesof
b
M
n
for compositebeamswith
formed steel decksaregiven in apublication by theSteel Deck Institute[ 19] .
3.14 Plastic Design
Plastic analysis and design is permitted only for steels with yield stress not exceeding 65 ksi. The
reason for thisisthat steelswith high yield stresslack theductility required for inelastic rotation at
hingelocations. Without adequateinelasticrotation, moment redistribution (which isan important
characteristicfor plasticdesign) cannot takeplace.
In plastic design, the predominant limit state is the formation of plastic hinges. Failure occurs
whensufcient plastichingeshaveformedfor acollapsemechanismtodevelop. Toensurethat plastic
hingescan formand can undergo largeinelasticrotation, thefollowingconditionsmust besatised:
1. Sectionsmust becompact. That is, thewidth-thicknessratiosof angesin compression
and websmust not exceed
p
in Table3.8.
2. For columns, theslendernessparameter
c
(seesection on Compression Members) shall
not exceed1.5K whereK istheeffectivelengthfactor, andP
u
fromgravityandhorizontal
loadsshall not exceed 0.75A
g
F
y
.
3. For beams, thelateral unbraced length L
b
shall not exceed L
pd
where
For doublyandsinglysymmetricI-shapedmembersloadedintheplaneof theweb
L
pd
=
3,600 +2,200(M
1
/M
2
)
F
y
r
y
(3.135)
andfor solidrectangular barsandsymmetricboxbeams
L
pd
=
5,000 +3,000(M
1
/M
2
)
F
y
r
y

3,000r
y
F
y
(3.136)
In the above equations, M
1
is the smaller end moment within the unbraced length of the beam.
M
2
= M
p
istheplastic moment (= Z
x
F
y
) of thecross-section. r
y
istheradiusof gyration about
theminor axis, in inches, and F
y
isthespecied minimumyield stress, in ksi.
L
pd
isnot dened for beamsbent about their minor axesnor for beamswith circular and square
cross-sectionsbecausethesebeamsdo not experiencelateral torsional buckingwhen loaded.
3.14.1 Plastic Designof ColumnsandBeams
Provided that the above limitations are satised, the design of columns shall meet the condition
1.7F
a
A P
u
whereF
a
is theallowablecompressivestress given in Equation 3.16, A is thegross
cross-sectional area, and P
u
isthefactored axial load.
Thedesign of beamsshall satisfy theconditionsM
p
M
u
and 0.55F
y
t
w
d V
u
whereM
u
and
V
u
are the factored moment and shear, respectively. M
p
is the plastic moment capacity F
y
is the
minimum specied yield stress, t
w
isthebeam web thickness, and d isthebeam depth. For beams
subjected to concentrated loads, all failuremodesassociated with concentrated loads(seesection on
Concentrated Load Criteria) should also beprevented.
Except at thelocation wherethelast hingeforms, abeam bending about itsmajor axismust be
braced to resist lateral and torsional displacementsat plastic hingelocations. Thedistancebetween
adjacent braced pointsshould not exceed l
cr
given by
l
cr
=
_
_
_
_
1375
F
y
+25
_
r
y
, if 0.5 <
M
M
p
< 1.0
_
1375
F
y
_
r
y
, if 1.0 <
M
M
p
0.5
(3.137)
where
r
y
= radiusof gyration about theweak axis
M = smaller of thetwo end momentsof theunbraced segment
M
p
= plasticmoment capacity
M/M
p
= istaken aspositiveif theunbraced segment bendsin reversecurvature, and it istaken as
negativeif theunbraced segment bendsin singlecurvature
3.14.2 Plastic Designof Beam-Columns
Beam-columnsdesignedonthebasisof plasticanalysisshall satisfythefollowinginteractionequations
for stability (Equation 3.138) and for strength (Equation 3.139).
P
u
P
cr
+
C
m
M
u
_
1
Pu
Pe
_
M
m
1.0 (3.138)
P
u
P
y
+
M
u
1.18M
p
1.0 (3.139)
where
P
u
= factored axial load
P
cr
= 1.7F
a
A, F
a
isdened in Equation 3.16and A isthecross-sectional area
P
y
= yield load = AF
y
P
e
= Euler bucklingload =
2
EI/(Kl)
2
C
m
= coefcient dened in thesection on Compression Members
M
u
= factored moment
M
p
= plasticmoment = ZF
y
M
m
= maximummoment that can beresisted by themember in theabsenceof axial load
= M
px
if themember isbraced in theweak direction
= {1.07 [(l/r
y
)
_
F
y
]/3160}M
px
M
px
if themember isunbraced in theweak direction
l = unbraced length of themember
r
y
= radiusof gyration about theminor axis
M
px
= plasticmoment about themajor axis= Z
x
F
y
F
y
= minimumspecied yield stress
3.15 DeningTerms
ASD: Acronymfor AllowableStressDesign.
Beamxcolumns: Structural memberswhoseprimary function isto carry loadsboth alongand
transverseto their longitudinal axes.
Biaxial bending: Simultaneousbendingof amember about two orthogonal axesof thecross-
section.
Builtxup members: Structural membersmadeof structural elementsjointed together bybolts,
welds, or rivets.
Compositemembers: Structural membersmadeof both steel and concrete.
Compression members: Structural members whoseprimary function is to carry loads along
their longitudinal axes
Design strength: Resistance provided by the structural member obtained by multiplying the
nominal strength of themember by aresistancefactor.
Drift: Lateral deection of abuilding.
Factored load: Theproduct of thenominal load and aload factor.
Flexural members: Structural memberswhoseprimary function isto carry loadstransverseto
their longitudinal axes.
Limit state: A condition in which a structural or structural component becomes unsafe
(strength limit state) or unt for itsintended function (serviceability limit state).
Load factor: A factor to account for the unavoidable deviations of the actual load from its
nominal valueand uncertaintiesin structural analysisin transformingtheapplied load
into aload effect (axial force, shear, moment, etc.)
LRFD: Acronymfor Load and ResistanceFactor Design.
PD: Acronymfor PlasticDesign.
Plastichinge: A yielded zoneof astructural member in which theinternal moment isequal to
theplasticmoment of thecross-section.
Resistancefactor: Afactor to account for theunavoidabledeviationsof theactual resistanceof
amember fromitsnominal value.
Serviceload: Nominal loadexpectedtobesupportedbythestructureor structural component
under normal usage.
Sidesway inhibited frames: Frames in which lateral deections are prevented by a system of
bracing.
Sidesway uninhibited frames: Framesinwhichlateral deectionsarenot preventedbyasystem
of bracing.
Shear lag: Thephenomenon in which thestiffer (or morerigid) regionsof astructureor struc-
tural component attract more stresses than the more exible regions of the structure
or structural component. Shear lag causesstressesto beunevenly distributed over the
cross-section of thestructureor structural component.
Tension eld action: Post-bucklingshear strength developed in theweb of aplategirder. Ten-
sion eld action can develop only if sufcient transversestiffenersareprovided to allow
thegirder to carry theapplied load usingtruss-typeaction after theweb hasbuckled.
References
[ 1] AASHTO. 1992. StandardSpecicationfor HighwayBridges. 15th ed., American Association
of StateHighway and Transportation Ofcials, Washington D.C.
[ 2] ASTM. 1988. SpecicationforCarbonSteel BoltsandStuds, 60000psi TensileStrength(A307-
88a). American Society for Testingand Materials, Philadelphia, PA.
[ 3] ASTM. 1986. SpecicationforHighStrengthBoltsforStructural Steel Joints(A325-86).Amer-
ican Society for Testingand Materials, Philadelphia, PA.
[ 4] ASTM. 1985. Specicationfor Heat-TreatedSteel Structural Bolts, 150ksi MinimumTensile
Strength(A490-85). American Society for Testingand Materials, Philadelphia, PA.
[ 5] ASTM. 1986. Specication for Quenched and Tempered Steel Boltsand Studs(A449-86).
American Society for Testingand Materials, Philadelphia, PA.
[ 6] AWS. 1987. WeldingHandbook. 8th ed., 1, WeldingTechnology, American Welding Society,
Miami, FL.
[ 7] AWS. 1996. Structural WeldingCode-Steel. American WeldingSociety, Miami, FL.
[ 8] Blodgett, O.W. Distortion... Howto Minimizeit with Sound Design Practicesand Controlled
WeldingProceduresPlusProvenMethodsfor StraighteningDistortedMembers.BulletinG261,
TheLincoln ElectricCompany, Cleveland, OH.
[ 9] Chen, W.F. and Lui, E.M. 1991. StabilityDesignof Steel Frames, CRCPress, BocaRaton, FL.
[ 10] CSA. 1994. LimitStatesDesignofSteel Structures.CSAStandardCAN/CSAS16.1-94, Canadian
StandardsAssociation, Rexdale, Ontantio.
[ 11] Dewolf, J.T. and Ricker, D.T. 1990. ColumnBasePlates. Steel Design GuideSeries1, American
Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 12] Disque, R.O. 1973. InelasticK-factor in column design. AISCEng. J., 10(2):33-35.
[ 13] Galambos, T.V., Ed. 1988. GuidetoStabilityDesignCriteriaforMetal Structures. 4thed., John
Wiley & Sons, NewYork.
[ 14] Galambos, T.V. and Chapuis, J. 1980. LRFD Criteria for CompositeColumns and Beam
Columns. Washington University, Department of Civil Engineering, St. Louis, MO.
[ 15] Gaylord, E.H., Gaylord, C.N., and Stallmeyer, J.E. 1992. Design of Steel Structures, 3rd ed.,
McGraw-Hill, NewYork.
[ 16] Kulak, G.L., Fisher, J.W., and Struik, J.H.A. 1987. GuidetoDesign Criteria for Bolted and
RivetedJoints, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, NewYork.
[ 17] Lee, G.C., Morrel, M.L., andKetter, R.L. 1972. Design of TaperedMembers. WRCBulletinNo.
173.
[ 18] LoadandResistanceFactorDesignSpecicationforStructural Steel Buildings.1993. American
Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 19] LRFD DesignManual for CompositeBeamsandGirderswithSteel Deck. 1989. Steel Deck
Institute, Canton, OH.
[ 20] Manual of Steel Construction-VolumeII Connections. 1992. ASD1st ed./LRFD1st ed., Amer-
ican Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 21] Manual of Steel Construction-AllowableStressDesign. 1989. 9th ed., American Instituteof
Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 22] Manual of Steel Construction-LoadandResistanceFactor Design. 1994. Vol. I and II, 2nd ed.,
American Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 23] Marsh, M.L. and Burdette, E.G. 1985. Multiplebolt anchorages: Method for determiningthe
effectiveprojected areaof overlappingstresscones. AISCEng. J., 22(1):29-32.
[ 24] Marsh, M.L. and Burdette, E.G. 1985. Anchorage of steel building components to concrete.
AISCEng. J., 22(1):33-39.
[ 25] Munse, W.H. and Chesson E., Jr. 1963. Riveted and Bolted Joints: Net Section Design. ASCE
J. Struct. Div., 89(1):107-126.
[ 26] Rains, W.A. 1976. Anewerainreprotectivecoatingsfor steel. Civil Eng.,ASCE, September:80-
83.
[ 27] RCSC. 1985. AllowableStressDesignSpecicationfor Structural JointsUsingASTMA325or
A490Bolts. American Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 28] RCSC. 1988. LoadandResistanceFactorDesignSpecicationforStructural JointsUsingASTM
A325or A490Bolts. American Instituteof Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
[ 29] Shipp, J.G. and Haninge, E.R. 1983. Design of headed anchor bolts. AISCEng. J., 20(2):58-69.
[ 30] SSRC. 1993. IsYour StructureSuitablyBraced?Structural Stability Research Council, Bethle-
hem, PA.
Further Reading
Thefollowingpublicationsprovideadditional sourcesof information for thedesign of steel struc-
tures:
General Information
[ 1] Chen, W.F. and Lui, E.M. 1987. Structural StabilityTheoryandImplementation, Elsevier,
NewYork.
[ 2] Englekirk, R. 1994. Steel StructuresControllingBehavior ThroughDesign, John Wiley &
Sons, NewYork.
[ 3] Stabilityof Metal StructuresAWorldView. 1991. 2nd ed., Lynn S. Beedle(editor-in-chief ),
Structural Stability Research Council, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA.
[ 4] Trahair, N.S. 1993. Flexural-Torsional Bucklingof Structures, CRCPress, BocaRaton, FL.
[ 5] Adeli, H. 1988. InteractiveMicrocomputer-AidedStructural Steel Design, Prentice-Hall, En-
glewood Cliffs, NJ.
[ 6] Cooper S.E. and Chen A.C. 1985. DesigningSteel StructuresMethodsandCases, Prentice-
Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
[ 7] Crawley S.W. and Dillon, R.M. 1984. Steel BuildingsAnalysisandDesign, 3rd ed., John Wiley
& Sons, NewYork.
[ 8] Fanella, D.A., Amon, R., Knobloch, B., andMazumder, A. 1992. Steel DesignforEngineersand
Architects, 2nd ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, NewYork.
[ 9] Kuzmanovic, B.O. and Willems, N. 1983. Steel Design for Structural Engineers, 2nd ed.,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
[ 10] McCormac, J.C. 1981. Structural Steel Design, 3rd ed., Harper & Row, NewYork.
[ 11] Segui, W.T. 1989. Fundamentalsof Structural Steel Design, PWS-KENT, Boston, MA.
[ 12] Spiegel, L. and Limbrunner, G.F. 1986. AppliedStructural Steel Design, Prentice-Hall, Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ.
PlasticDesign
[ 13] Horne, M.R. andMorris, L.J. 1981. PlasticDesignofLow-RiseFrames,ConstradoMonographs,
Collins, London, England.
[ 14] PlasticDesigninSteel-AGuideandCommentary.1971. 2nded., ASCEManual No. 41, ASCE-
WRC, NewYork.
[ 15] Chen, W.F. and Sohal, I.S. 1995. PlasticDesignandSecond-Order Analysisof Steel Frames,
Springer-Verlag, NewYork.
[ 16] Geschwindner, L.F., Disque, R.O., and Bjorhovde, R. 1994. LoadandResistanceFactor Design
of Steel Structures, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
[ 17] McCormac, J.C. 1995. Structural Steel DesignLRFDMethod, 2nd ed., Harper & Row, New
York.
[ 18] Salmon C.G. and Johnson, J.E. 1990. Steel StructuresDesignandBehavior, 3rd ed., Harper
& Row, NewYork.
[ 19] Segui, W.T. 1994. LRFDSteel Design, PWS, Boston, MA.
[ 20] Smith, J.C. 1996. Structural Steel DesignLRFDApproach, 2nd ed., John Wiley& Sons, New
York.
[ 21] Chen, W.F. andKim, S.E. 1997. LRFDSteel DesignUsingAdvancedAnalysis, CRCPress, Boca
Raton, FL.
[ 22] Chen, W.F., Goto, Y., and Liew, J.Y.R. 1996. StabilityDesignof Semi-RigidFrames, John Wiley
& Sons, NewYork.

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Lui, E.M.

Structural Steel Design

Built-Up Compression Members

Lateral Bracingof Beams

Load and ResistanceFactor Design

Load and ResistanceFactor Design

Load and ResistanceFactor Design

Beamand Column Splices

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