Design of Steel Structures

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Engineering & Technology,
Taxila

Design of Steel Structures

Course Name:

Design of Steel Structures

Course ID:

306

Lecture Days: Section - B Monday (3-7)

Section - A Tuesday (3-7)
Text Books:
STEEL STRUCTURES by Prof. Dr. Zahid
Ahmad Siddiqi
LRFD Steel Design Aids by Prof. Dr. Zahid
Ahmad Siddiqi
AISC 2005 Specifications (free on web site
www.aisc.org)
Instructor:
Reference Books:
STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGN LRFD Method by Jack C. McCormac
STEEL STRUCTURES Design & Behavior by Charles G. Salmon &
John E. Johnson
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Sessional
Marks

Design of Steel Structures

Chapter 1

Fundamentals of Steel Design

4

1.1 Introduction to Steel Structures

Steel structures are assembly of structural steel shapes
joined together by means of riveted / bolted or welded
connections.

Majority of concrete structures are cast in-situ but in

steel structures, we have to select out of those available
in the market.

Joints are monolithic in concrete structures whereas in

steel structures special methods are required to join
individual members.
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Steel Shapes

Connections

Bolted Connections

Riveted Connections

Simple & Moment

Resisting Joints

10

In

steel structures, connections including the details

are to be designed for expected forces.

Steel construction is being used for almost every type

of structure including high-rise buildings, bridges,
industrial building, towers etc.

There are main two categories of steel structures: Framework or Skeletal Systems
Shell Systems
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Framework or Skeletal Systems

The main load carrying elements are one-dimensional

or line elements (such as beams, columns, etc.)
forming two-dimensional or three-dimensional frames.

Examples are: The frameworks

of industrial buildings with their

internal members such as crane girders, platforms,
etc.

Highway and railways large span bridges.

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Industrial Building

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Multi-storey buildings, large halls, domes etc.

Towers, poles, structural components of hydraulic
works.

All

other trusses and rigidly connected frame

structures.

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Shell Systems

The

main load carrying elements in this category of

structures are plates and sheets.

Examples are: Gas tanks for storage and distribution of gases.

Tanks and reservoirs for storage of liquids.
Bins and bunkers for storage of loose material.
Special structures such as blast furnaces,
heaters, etc.

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air

 Large diameter pipes.

All other plate and shell structures.

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Large Diameter Pipe

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Shell Structures

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Frame & Shell Structures

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Merits of Steel Construction

1. Reliability

Consistency and uniformity in properties.

Better quality control due to factory manufacture.
Large elasticity and ductility.
Truly homogeneous.
Satisfies most of the analysis & design assumptions.
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2. Industrial Behavior

Rolled steel sections are manufactured in factories.

Also, the members may be cut & prepared for
assembly in factories while only joining is carried out
at site.

Sometimes parts are also assembled in the factories,

that is, there is great adaptation to prefabrication.
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Erection

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Hot Rolled Steel

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Hot Rolled Steel

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Hot Rolled Steel

25

Assembling in factory

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3. Lesser Construction Time

Because of its industrial nature, progress of work is

very fast resulting in economical structures.

The reason is that these structures can be put to use

earlier.

The reduction in labor cost & overhead charges and

the benefits obtained from the early use of the
building contribute to economy.
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4. High Strength & Light Weight Nature

It means that the dead load will be smaller.

Dead loads are bigger part of the total structure load.
If dead load reduces, the resulting member will be
smaller.

This

fact is important for long span bridges, tall

buildings & for structures having poor foundations.
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Material

C= / (m-1)

-4
Aluminum
1.1
x
10
A factor (C) defined as the ratio of the density of the
x 10
material ()Steel
to the stress it can 3.2
carry
()-4 is one of the
least for steel.
Wood
4.5 x 10-4

Concrete

24.0 x 10-4
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5. Uniformity, Durability & Performance

Durability means long life of structures.

Steel is a homogeneous & uniform material.
Satisfies the basic assumptions of analysis & design.
If properly maintained with painting, etc., the
properties of steel do not change appreciably with
time.
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6. Elasticity

Steel

behaves closer to design assumptions than

most of the other materials because it follows Hooks
Law up to fairly high stresses.

The

stress produced remains proportional to the

strain applied or stress-strain diagram remains a
straight line.

The

steel sections do not crack or tear before

ultimate load and hence the moment of inertia of a
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steel structure can be definitely calculated.

7. Ductility & Warning before Failure

The property of a material by which it can withstand

extensive deformation without failure under high
tensile stresses is said to be its ductility.

Mild steel is a very ductile material. The percentage

elongation of a standard tension test specimen after
fracture can be as high as 25 to 30%.

This

gives visible deflections or evidence

impending failure in case of overloads. 32

of

 The extra loads may be removed to prevent collapse.

Even if collapse occurs, time is available for
occupants to vacate the building.

In

structural members under normal loads, high

stress concentrations develop at various points.

The

ductile nature of the structural steels enable

them to yield locally at those points, thus
redistributing the stresses and preventing premature
failure.
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8. Additions to Existing Structures

Additions to existing steel structures are very easy to

be made.

Connections

between new and existing structures

can be employed very effectively.
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9. Possible Reuse

Steel

sections can be reused after a structure is

disassembled.

10. Scrap Value

Steel

has a scrap value even though it is not reuseable in its existing form.
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Steel Scrap

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11. Water-Tight & Air-Tight

Steel

structures
construction.

Structures

provide

completely

impervious

like reservoirs, oil pipes, gas pipes etc.,

are preferably made from structural steel.
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12. Long Span Construction

High-rise

buildings, long span bridges and tall

transmission towers are made up of structural steel.

Industrial

buildings up to a span of 90 m can be

designed by plate girders or trusses.

Bridge

spans up to 260 m are made with plate

girders.
used.
For truss bridges, spans of 300 m have been
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Long Span

39

Long Span

40

Long Span

41

Long Span

42

Long Span

43

Long Span

44

Long Span

45

Long Span

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13. Temporary Construction

Steel

structure is always preferred for temporary

construction.

Army constructions during war are mostly made out

of structural steel.

The structures may be disassembled by opening few

bolts, component parts are carried to new places and
the structure is easily reassembled.
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Creativity

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Demerits of Steel Construction

1. High Maintenance Costs & More Corrosion

Most steels are susceptible to corrosion when freely

exposed to air and water.

They must be periodically painted.

This requires extra cost and special care.
The use of weathering steels, in suitable
applications, tends to eliminate this cost.49

design

 If not properly maintained, steel members can loose

1 to 1.5 mm of their thickness each year.

Such

constructions can loose weight up to 35%

during their specified life and can fail under the
external loads.
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Corrosion

51

Corrosion

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2. Fireproofing Costs

Although

steel members are incombustible, their

strength is tremendously reduced at temperatures
prevailing in fire.

At

about 400C, creep becomes much more

pronounced.

Creep

is defined as plastic deformation under a

constant load for a long period of time. 53

 This produces large deflections/deformations of main

members forcing the other members to higher
stresses or even to collapse.

Steel

is an excellent conductor of heat and may

transmit enough heat from a burning compartment of
a building to start fire in other parts of the building.

Extra

cost is required to properly fire proof the

building.
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Steel in Fire

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3. Susceptibility to Buckling

Steel

sections usually consists of a combination of

thin plates.

The

overall steel member dimensions are also

smaller than reinforced concrete members.

If

these slender members are subjected to

compression, there are greater chances 56
of buckling.

 Buckling is a type of collapse of the members due to

sudden large bending
compressive load.

caused

by

critical

Steel when used for columns is sometimes not very

economical because considerable material has to be
used to stiffen the column against buckling.
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Buckling in a
Composite column

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4. Higher Initial Cost / Less Availability

In few countries, Pakistan is one such example, steel

is not available in abundance and its initial cost is
very high compared with the other structural material.

This is the most significant factor that has resulted in

the decline of steel structures in these countries.
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5. Aesthetics

For

certain types of buildings, the steel form is

architecturally preferred.

However, for majority of residential & office buildings,

steel structures without the use of false ceiling and
cladding are considered to have poor aesthetic
appearance.

A considerable cost is to be spent on such structures

to improve their appearance.

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 Cladding is a covering of metal, concrete, plastic or

timber put on the surface of a structural member to
completely encase it.

The cladding not only protects the member but also

improves its appearance.

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False Ceiling

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Cladding

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Specifications

The adequacy of a structural member is determined

by a set of design rules, called specifications, which
include formulas that guide the designer in checking
strength, stiffness, proportions and other criteria that
may govern the acceptability of the member.

There are a variety of specifications that have been

developed for both materials and structures.

Each is based on years of research and experience

gained through actual structural usage.

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Following Specification will be used in this class quite often:

AISC

American Institute of Steel Construction

AWS

American Welding Society

AASHTO American Association of State Highway &

Transportation Officials
AREMA
ASTM

American Railway Engineering & Maintenanceof-way Association

American Society for Testing & Material

AISI

American Iron & Steel Institute

ASCE

American Society of Civil Engineers

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Types of Loads

1. Dead Load

It

almost retains its magnitude and point of

application throughout the life of the structure
and is denoted by D.

This is estimated by multiplying volume of a

member with the standard density of the
material.
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 This load constitute a bigger part of the total

load on a structure.

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2. Live Load

The

load due to persons occupying the

structure and their belongings, denoted by L.

Its

magnitude and
changes with time.

point

of

application

In

case of bridges, live load consists of

weight of vehicles moving over the bridge.

Typical values for common occupancy types

are given in next slide.

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Occupancy or Use

Live Load
(kg/m2)

Private apartments, school class rooms

200

Offices

250

Fixed-seats, assembly halls, library reading rooms

300

Corridors

400

Moveable seats assembly halls

500

Wholesales stores, light storage warehouses

600

Library stack rooms

750

Heavy manufacturing, heavy storage ware houses,

sidewalks and driveways subject to trucking

1200

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3. Self Load

This is type of load which is due to self weight

of the member to be designed.

For

design, a reasonable value of self load

depending on the past experience is
assumed in the start which is then compared
with the actual self weight at the end.

Corrections in design are made if necessary.

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4. Imposed Load

This

term is used for all external loads,

leaving the self weight, acting on the member
to be designed.

This include live load, wind load, earthquake

load etc.

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5. Service Load

The

maximum intensity of load expected

during the life of the structure depending
upon a certain probability of occurrence is
called service load.

No

additional factor of safety or overload

factor is included in the service load.
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6. Factored Load

Service

loads increased by some factor of

safety or overload factor are called factored
loads.
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Snow Load

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Mechanism of Load Transfer

The gravity load passes from top to bottom through

all the members of the structure until it reaches the
underneath soil.

The

load acts at the floor finish, goes to the

underneath slab and transfers to the beams and
walls.

This

is then accumulated in the columns, moves to

the foundations and then finally dissipates in the soil.

The terms member and support are defined relative

to each other.

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 There are no separate supports in the structure as in

normally seen in the structural analysis books.

For the roof slabs, beams and walls are supports.

For beams, columns are acting like supports, and for
the columns, foundations are acting as supports.

Similarly, the underneath soil acts as support for the

foundations.

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 This load path is only in one direction.

The load of roof slab may acts on

the beams,
columns and foundations, but the load of column is
not acting on the beams.

Similarly, the
column.

load of foundation can not act on the

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Load Path

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End of File

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