A new approach and tables developed for design of steel beam-columns are presented.
The new method, which was adopted by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and has been included in the third edition of the AISC-LRFD Manual of Steel Construction, is an exact, fast, and rational method for effective design of members subjected to combined axial and bending stresses. Numerical example problems are presented to illustrate effective use of the method and tables.
Tables developed cover a wide range of W-sections; however, the general approach applies to all sections. Further, the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) method is used in all discussions and examples presented, but the concepts apply equally to design of beam-columns based on the allowable stress design (ASD) method as well.
