Steel design, or more specifically, structural steel design, is an area of structural engineering used to design steel structures. In structural engineering, a structure is a body or combination of pieces of rigid bodies in space that form a fitness system for supporting loads and resisting moments. The effects of loads and moments on structures are determined through structural analysis. A steel structure is composed of structural members that are made of steel, usually with standard cross-sectional profiles and standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties. The depth of steel beams used in the construction of bridges is usually governed by the maximum moment, and the cross section is then verified for shear strength near supports and lateral torsional buckling (by determining the distance between transverse members connecting adjacent beams). Steel column members must be verified as adequate to prevent buckling after axial and moment requirements are met.
