Practical stability design of general I-section members for combined forces

Publication Name: Proceedings of the Annual Stability Conference Structural Stability Research Council Ssrc 2025

Publication Date: 2025-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

Numerous situations occur in engineering practice where I-section members must be designed for a combination of flexure, shear, torsion, and/or axial loadings. Particularly in metal buildings and horizontally curved I-girder bridges, these member types may have variable web depth and stepped cross-section transitions along their length. Design guidance for handling combined loadings on these member types has been limited. Modern software systems that can accurately calculate combined second-order elastic demands and elastic buckling loads for general I-section members in general framing systems are increasingly available. This paper discusses new AISC 360 Chapter F provisions under consideration in the 2027 Specification development cycle. These provisions provide an improved, streamlined calculation of the flexural resistance of general I-section members. The calculations address recent research findings regarding the influence of moment gradient and corresponding web shear. The discussion of the new AISC 360 procedures is followed by a brief presentation of recommended ways to verify a design where the member is also subjected to axial compression and/or torsion based on experiences from European and American practice. The focus of the paper is on the essential concepts.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Authors - 2