ASIA PACIFIC COLLEGE OF ADVANCED STUDIES

AH Banzon St., Ibayo, City of Balanga, Bataan

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL
IN PRINCIPLES OF
STEEL DESIGN
(CE PROF 6)

A.Y. 2021-2022

REFERENCES:

1. Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines. (2004). ASEP Steel Handbook 2004, 3nd
Edition, Philippines: Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines.
2. Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, Inc., (2015) National Structural Code of
the Philippines NSCP C101-15 Volume 1 Buildings, Towers and Other Vertical Structures, 7 th
Edition Second Printing 2019, Philippines: ASEP.
3. Spiegel, Leonard and Limbrunner George F. (1997). Applied Structural Steel Design, 3rd Edition.
Mc Graw-Hill, New York, USA.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Steel Design
OBJECTIVES

• To Introduce the concept of structural steel design

• To recall the mechanical properties of structural steel

DEFINITIONS

Structural steel, as defined by AISC (in the LRFD Specification and elsewhere), refers to the steel
elements of a structural frame supporting the design loads. It includes steel beams, columns, beam-
columns, hangers, and connections.

• Beam – A structural member whose primary function is to carry loads transverse to its longitudinal
axis. Beams are usually horizontal and support the floors in buildings. (See Fig. below)
• Column – A structural member whose primary function is to carry loads in compression along its
longitudinal axis. In building frames, the columns are generally the vertical members which support
the beams. (See Fig. below)
• Beam-column – A structural member whose function is to carry loads both transverse and parallel
to its longitudinal axis. A building column subjected to horizontal forces (such as wind) is actually a
beam-column.
• Hanger - A structural member carrying loads in tension along its longitudinal axis.
• Connection - The material used to join two or more structural members. Examples of connections
are beam-to-beam and beam-to-column.

STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAME

TYPES OF STEEL BUILDINGS

Steel buildings are generally framed structures and range from simple one-story buildings to multistory
structures. One of the simplest type of structure is constructed with a steel roof truss or open web steel
joist supported by steel columns or masonry walls, as shown.

Steel roof construction

An alternative construction technique is the single bay rigid frame structure shown.

Single bay rigid frame

Framed structures consist of floor and roof diaphragms, beams, girders, and columns as shown in figure
below. The building may be one or several stories in height. Figure below illustrates the framing
arrangements at the second floor of a multistory building.

Framed building

The floor diaphragm spans east-west over the supporting beams and consists of concrete fill over
formed steel deck as shown in figure below.

Beam Detail

The beams span north-south and are supported on girders, as shown in figure below.
 Girder detail

The girders frame into columns as shown in figure below.

Column detail

As well as supporting gravity loads, framed structures must also be designed to resist lateral loads
caused by wind or earthquake. Moment-resisting frames resist lateral loads by means of special flexural
connections between the columns and beams. The flexural connections provide the necessary ductility
at the joints to dissipate the energy demand with large inelastic deformations. A number of different
methods are used to provide the connections and these are specified in American Institute of Steel
Construction, Prequalified Connections for Special and Intermediate Steel Moment Frames for Seismic
Applications (AISC 358-10). A typical moment-resisting frame building is shown in Fig. 1.9 with a
reduced beam section connection detailed.

Moment Resisting Frame

Concentrically braced frames, described by Cochran and Honeck, and eccentrically braced frames,
described by Becker and Ishler, are illustrated below. These systems have the advantage over moment-
resisting frames of less drift and simpler connections.

Braced Frames

A building with a steel plate shear wall lateral force-resisting system is shown below and is described by
Sabelli. This system provides good drift control but lacks redundancy.

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

The specifications of most interest to the structural steel designer are those published by the following
organizations.

1. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC): This specification provides for the design of
structural steel buildings and their connections.
2. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO): This specification
covers the design of highway bridges and related structures. It provides for all structural materials
normally used in bridges, including steel, reinforced concrete, and timber (AASHTO, 2010).
3. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA): The AREMA
Manual for Railway Engineering covers the design of railway bridges and related structures (AREMA,
 2010). This organization was formerly known as the American Railway Engineering Association
(AREA).
4. American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI): This specification deals with cold-formed steel, (AISI, 2007).

STRUCTURAL STEEL

The characteristics of steel that are of the most interest to structural engineers can be examined by
plotting the results of a tensile test. If a test specimen is subjected to an axial load 𝑷, as shown below,
the stress and strain can be computed as follows:
(Eq. 1.1)
𝑃 Δ𝐿
𝑓 = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜖 =
𝐴 𝐿
where
𝑓 = axial tensile stress
𝐴 = cross-sectional area
𝜖 = axial strain
𝐿 = length of specimen
∆𝐿 = change in length

The relationship between stress and strain is linear up to the proportional limit; the material is said to
follow Hooke’s law.

PROPORTIONAL LIMIT AND HOOKE’S LAW

As seen in the figure above, the stress-strain diagram is a straight line from the origin O to a point called
the proportional limit. This plot is a manifestation of Hooke’s law Stress is proportional to strain; that is,
(Eq. 1.2)

𝜎 = 𝐸𝜖
where E is a material property known as the modulus of elasticity or Young’s modulus.
Note that Hooke’s law does not apply to the entire diagram; its validity ends at the proportional limit.
Beyond this point, stress is no longer proportional to strain.

ELASTIC LIMIT

A material is said to be elastic if, after being loaded, the material returns to its original shape when the
load is removed. The elastic limit is, as its name implies, the stress beyond which the material is no
longer elastic. The permanent deformation that remains after the removal of the load is called the
permanent set.

The elastic limit is slightly larger than the proportional limit. However, because of the difficulty in
determining the elastic limit accurately, it is usually assumed to coincide with the proportional limit.

YIELD POINT, 𝑭𝒚

The point where the stress-strain diagram becomes almost horizontal is called the yield point, and the
corresponding stress is known as the yield stress or yield strength. Beyond the yield point there is an
appreciable elongation, or yielding, of the material without a corresponding increase in load. Indeed, the
load may actually decrease while the yielding occurs. However, the phenomenon of yielding is unique to
structural steel. Other grades of steel, steel alloys, and other materials do not yield, as indicated by the
stress-strain curves of the materials shown below.

Stress-strain diagrams for various materials that fail without significant yielding

Incidentally, these curves are typical for a first loading of materials that contain appreciable residual
stresses produced by manufacturing or aging processes. After repeated loading, these residual stresses
are removed and the stress-strain curves become practically straight lines.

For materials that do not have a well-defined yield point, yield stress is determined by the offset
method. This method consists of drawing a line parallel to the initial tangent of the stress-strain curve;
this line starts at a prescribed offset strain, usually 0.2% (𝜖 = 0.002). The intersection of this line with the
stress-strain curve, shown in figure below, is called the yield point at 0.2% offset.

Determining the yield point by the 0.2% offset method

ULTIMATE STRESS, 𝑭𝒖

The ultimate stress or ultimate strength, as it is often called, is the highest stress on the stress-strain
curve.

RUPTURE STRESS

The rupture stress or rupture strength is the stress at which failure occurs. For structural steel, the
nominal rupture strength is considerably lower than the ultimate strength because the nominal rupture
strength is computed by dividing the load at rupture by the original cross-sectional area.

The true rupture strength is calculated using the reduced area of the cross section where the fracture
occurred.

The difference in the two values results from a phenomenon known as necking. As failure approaches,
the material stretches very rapidly, causing the cross section to narrow, as shown below.

Failed tensile test specimen showing necking, or narrowing, of the cross section

Because the area where rupture occurs is smaller than the original area, the true rupture strength is
larger than the ultimate strength. However, the ultimate strength is commonly used as the maximum
stress that the material can carry.

PROBLEM 1

A tension test for a steel alloy results in the stress–strain diagram shown in the figure below. Calculate
the modulus of elasticity and the yield strength based on a 0.2% offset. Identify on the graph the
ultimate stress and the fracture stress.
PROBLEM 2

The stress–strain diagram for an aluminum alloy that is used for making aircraft parts is shown in Fig. 3–
19. If a specimen of this material is stressed to s = 600 MPa, determine the permanent set that remains
in the specimen when the load is released. Also, find the modulus of resilience both before and after the
load application.

The various properties of structural steel, including strength and ductility, are determined by its
chemical composition. Structural steels can be grouped according to their composition as follows.

1. Plain carbon steels: mostly iron and carbon, with less than 1% carbon.
2. Low-alloy steels: iron and carbon plus other components (usually less than 5%). The additional
components are primarily for increasing strength, which is accomplished at the expense of a
reduction in ductility.
3. High-alloy or specialty steels: similar in composition to the low-alloy steels but with a higher
percentage of the components added to iron and carbon. These steels are higher in strength than
the plain carbon steels and also have some special quality, such as resistance to corrosion.

One of the most commonly used structural steels is a mild steel designated as ASTM A36, or A36 for
short and has the following properties.

• Yield stress: 𝐹𝑦 = 248 MPa (36 ksi)

• Tensile strength: 𝐹𝑢 = 400 MPa to 552 MPa (58 ksi to 80 ksi)
• Endurance Strength: 207 MPa (30 ksi)
• Density: 𝜌 = 7780 kg/m3
• Poisson Ratio: 𝜇 = 0.3
• Shear Modulus: 𝐺 = 77,200 MPa
• Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: 𝑘 = 11,7 x 10-6 /°C

A36 steel is classified as a plain carbon steel, and it has the following components (other than iron).

- Carbon: 0.26% (maximum)

- Phosphorous: 0.04% (maximum)
- Sulfur: 0.05% (maximum)

Other commonly used structural steels are ASTM A572 Grade 50 and ASTM A992. A comparison of the
tensile properties of A36, A572 Grade 50, and A992 is given in Table below.
 Comparison of the tensile properties of A36, A572 Grade 50, and A992

Property A36 A572 Gr. 50 A992

Yield Point 248 MPa (36 ksi) 345 MPa (50 ksi) 345 MPa (50 ksi)
Tensile Strength 400 to 552 MPa (58
448 MPa (65 ksi) 448 MPa (65 ksi)
to 80 ksi)
Elongation in 200 mm 20% 18% 18%

STANDARD CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPES

• The W-shape, also called a wide-flange shape, consists of two parallel flanges
separated by a single web. The orientation of these elements is such that the
cross section has two axes of symmetry. A typical designation would be “W460
× 74,” where W indicates the type of shape, 460 is the nominal depth parallel to
the web, and 74 is the weight in kilograms per meter of length.
• The American Standard, or S-shape, is similar to the W-shape in having two
parallel flanges, a single web, and two axes of symmetry. The difference is in the
proportions: The flanges of the W are wider in relation to the web than are the
flanges of the S. In addition, the outside and inside faces of the flanges of the W-
shape are parallel, whereas the inside faces of the flanges of the S-shape slope
with respect to the outside faces. An example of the designation of an S-shape is
“S 460 × 104,” with the S indicating the type of shape, and the two numbers
giving the depth in mm and the weight in kilograms per meter. This shape was
formerly called an I-beam.
• The angle shapes are available in either equal-leg or unequal-leg
versions. A typical designation would be “L152 × 152 × 19” or “L152
× 102 × 15.9.” The three numbers are the lengths of each of the two
legs as measured from the corner, or heel, to the toe at the other
end of the leg, and the thickness, which is the same for both legs. In
the case of the unequal-leg angle, the longer leg dimension is
always given first.
• The American Standard Channel, or C-shape, has two flanges and a web, with
only one axis of symmetry; it carries a designation such as “C230 × 30.” the first
number giving the total depth in mm parallel to the web and the second
number the weight in kilograms per linear meter. The inside faces of the flanges
are sloping, just as with the American Standard shape. Miscellaneous
Channels—for example, the MC250 × 37—are similar to American Standard
Channels.
• The Structural Tee is produced by splitting an I-shaped member at mid-depth.
This shape is sometimes referred to as a split-tee. The prefix of the designation
is either WT, ST, or MT, depending on which shape is the “parent.” For
example, a WT18 × 105 has a nominal depth of 18 inches and a weight of 105
pounds per foot, and is cut from a W36 × 210. Similarly, an ST10 × 33 is cut
from an S20 × 66, and an MT5 × 4 is cut from an M10 × 8. The “M” is for
“miscellaneous.”

Other frequently used cross-sectional shapes are shown in figure below. Bars can have circular, square,
or rectangular cross sections.
Other shapes are available, but those just described are the ones most frequently used. In most cases,
one of these standard shapes will satisfy design requirements. If the requirements are especially severe,
then a built-up section, such as one of those shown maybe needed.