Steel Structures

Course Instructors

Prof. Dr. Beenish Jehan Khan

Course Information

Course Title: Steel Structures

Course Code: CE – 423
Course Duration: One Semester
Credit Units: 03 Credit Hrs. (Contact Hrs. 03)
Level: 8th Semester (4th Year)
Medium of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent Courses: None

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Course Aims, CLOs, PLOs

Course Aim
To develop understanding among students to the steel as
structural component and to develop their ability to design of various
structural members comprising of a complete structural system.

CLOs, Mapping with PLOs

Taxonomy
CLO No. Description PLOs
Domain
Describe the theories and models suitable for the analysis
1 C2 1
and design of structural steel members.
Design structural steel members under axial loads, flexure
2 C5 3
and shear and connections under axial loads
Design structural steel members under axial loads, flexure
3 C5 3
and shear and connections under axial loads
Assessment Activities

Sessional Activities
(25%)
• Assignments
(04 Nos.)
• Quizzes
(04 Nos.)
• Complex Engineering Problem (01 No.)
• Presentation

Mid-term Exam
(25%)

Final-term Exam
(50%)

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Topics

• Introduction
• Design Philosophies
• Design of Welded Connections
• Design of Bolted Connections
• Design of Tension Members
• Design of Compression Members
Topics

• Design of Column Bases

• Design of Beams
• Design of Composite Beams
• Design of Plate Girders
Recommended Books

Steel Design Design of Steel Structures Structural Steel

by by by
William T. Segui Edwin H. Gaylord Jack C. McCormac
(Fifth Edition) (Third Edition) (Sixth Edition)

7
Reference Manual

Manual of Steel Construction

Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
by
AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction)
(Second Edition)
 CE-423 Steel Structures

Lecture No. 1
Introduction to Steel Structures
Objectives

• To provide basic knowledge about steel structures design process

• To introduce different steel materials which can be opted for steel
design.
• To provide an idea to the students that what are the different structural
shape options available.
• Difference between building codes and specifications in design of steel
structures.
Contents

• Structural Design Process

• Advantages & Disadvantages of Steel Structures

• Building Codes

• Design Specifications

• Types of Structural Steel

• Typical Stress-Strain Curves

• Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes

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Structural Design

• The structural design of buildings (steel or reinforced concrete)

requires:

⮚ Determination of overall proportions

⮚ Dimensions of the supporting frame
⮚ Selection of Cross-Sections of individual member

• The functional design, including the establishment of number of

stories and the floor plan are decided by the architect and the
structural engineer works within the constraints already set.

• In short, the architect decides how the building should look like
while the structural engineer make sure that the building does not
fall.

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Design Process

Preliminary
Functional Structural Structural Design Cost
Member
Planning Scheme Analysis Review Estimation
Sizing

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Design Process

1. Functional Planning:
Development of a plan that will enable the structure to fulfill effectively the purpose for which it is to be built. Functional
planning is an ideal concept of planning a building based on the principles of architecture and in accordance with the function
served by it. Functional design pertains to the development of the plan to facilitate in purely practical way the purpose of the
building.

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Design Process

2. Structural Scheme:

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Design Process

2. Structural Scheme (continued):

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Design Process

3. Preliminary Member Sizing of Beams:

– Deflection Considerations
– Strength/Capacity Considerations
– Tributary area refers to the total area of the structure that is supported by a particular load. Loads can be
either point loads or distributed loads. Point loads are loads that are applied to a specific point on a
structure, while distributed loads are loads that are spread out over an area.

Beam
17
Design Process

3. Preliminary Member Sizing of Beams:

Strength/Capacity Considerations

Tributary Area

• Use of Tributary Areas and

Column Tables

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Design Process

4. Structural Analysis - Modeling:

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Design Process

4. Structural Analysis - Analysis

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Design Process

5. Design Review/ Member Modification

Must be chosen so that they will be able to resist, within appropriate
margin of safety, the forces which the structural analysis has disclosed.

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Design Process

6. Cost Estimation
1. Make a tentative cost estimates for several preliminary structural
layouts.

2. Selection of constructional material based on:

• Availability of specific material
• Corresponding skilled labor
• Relative costs
• Wage scales

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Design Process

6. Preparation of Structural Drawing and Specifications

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Steel Structures: Advantages and
Disadvantages

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Structural Design (Cont.)

• A general statement assuming safety in engineering design is

Resistance ≥ Effect of Applied Load(s) (Eq. 1)

• In Eq. 1, it is essential that both sides are evaluated for same

conditions and units. For example, compressive stress on column
should be compared with compressive strength of column material
(steel, concrete, wood, etc.)

• The resistance of a structure/building comes from the materials and

cross-sections.

• The terms resistance, capacity and strength are substitutable.

• The terms like demand, stress and load are used to express the
effect of applied load(s).

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Structural Design (Cont.)
• A structural engineer shall always make sure that a structure does
not exceed the limit states.

• When a particular loading reaches its limit, failure is the assumed

result, i.e., the loading condition becomes failure mode, such a
condition is referred to as limit state.

Limit State:
A limit state is a condition beyond which a structural system or a
structural component ceases to fulfill the function for which it is
designed.

• The limit states can broadly be classified into the following three
categories:
i. Strength Limit State
ii. Serviceability Limit State
iii. Special Limit State

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Structural Design (Cont.)
⮚ Strength Limit State: It ensures safety of the structure
• Flexure, Torsion, Shear, Fatigue, Settlement, Bearing

⮚ Serviceability Limit State: It ensures serviceability of the structure

• Cracking, Excessive Deflection, Buckling, Stability

⮚ Special Limit State: It is associated with the economy aspect of

the design
• Structural effects in extreme earthquakes, fire, explosives
• Economy

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Structural Design (Cont.)
• An economical structure requires an efficient use of materials and
construction labor.

• Although this objective can usually be accomplished by a design

that requires a minimum amount of material, savings can often be
realized by using more material if it results in a simpler, more easily
constructed project.

• In fact, materials account for a relatively small portion of the cost of

a typical steel structure as compared with labor and other costs
(Cross, 2005)

• For the design purpose, the structural engineer must select and
evaluate the overall structural system in order to produce an efficient
and economical design but cannot do so without a thorough
understanding of the design of the components of the structure.
Thus, component design is the focus of this course.

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Building Codes

• Building must be designed and constructed according to the

provisions of a building code, which is a legal document containing
requirements related to such things as structural safety, fire safety,
plumbing and ventilation

• A building code has the force of law and is administered by a

government.

• Building codes do not give design procedures, but they do specify

the design requirements and constraints that must be satisfied.

• In USA, the following three (03) codes were in practice:

1. Uniform Building Code,
2. BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrators) National Building Code
3. American Standard Building Code.

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Building Codes (Cont.)

• A unified building code, the International Building Code

(international code council ,2003), has been developed to eliminate
some of the inconsistencies among the three national building
codes.

• ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and other structures

(American Society of Civil Engineers ,2002) is similar in form to a
building code. This standard provides load requirements in a format
suitable for adoption as part of a code. The International Building
Code incorporates much of ASCE 7 in its load provision.

• The following codes/standards are being currently used :

1. International Building Code, 2021
2. ASCE 7-22, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and other structures

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Design Specifications
• In contrast to building codes, design specifications give more
specific guidance for the design of structural members and their
connections.

• Design specifications represent good engineering practice based on

the latest research.

• They are periodically revised and updated by the issuance of

supplements or completely new editions.

• As with model building codes, design specifications are written in a

legal format by nonprofit organizations.

• They have no legal standing on their own, but by presenting design

criteria and limits in the form of legal mandates and prohibitions,
they can easily be adopted, by reference, as part of a building code.

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Design Specifications (Cont.)
The specifications of most interest to the structural steel designer are
those published by the following organizations.
1. American Institute of Steel Construction
This specification provides for the design of structural
steel buildings and their connections. It is the one of primary concern in
this book
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, 2002, 2004).

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Design Specifications (Cont.)
3. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-way
Association (AREMA)
The AREMA Manual of Railway Engineering covers
the design of railway bridges and related structures (AREMA, 2021).
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, which
will be discussed in coming slides (AISI, 2001).

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Structural Steel

What is Steel?

• Steel is an alloy in which iron is mixed with carbon and other

elements.

• An Alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at

least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has
metallic properties.

• An Alloy usually has different properties (sometimes significantly

different) from those of its components.

34
Structural Steel (Cont.)

• In the later part of the eighteenth century and in the early nineteenth
century, cast iron and wrought iron were used in various types of
bridges.
• Steel, an alloy of primarily iron and carbon, with fewer impurities
and less carbon than cast iron, was first used in heavy construction
in the nineteenth century.
• In 1874, the first structural steel railroad bridge Eads bridge was
constructed in St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Tall, 1964).
• In 1884, the first building the Home Insurance Building with a steel
frame was completed in Chicago, USA.

• The different types of steel that can be used, are discussed in the
next slides.

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Structural Steel (Cont.)

Eads bridge during construction (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

36
Structural Steel (Cont.)

Eads bridge (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

37
Structural Steel (Cont.)

Home Insurance Building, Chicago, USA

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Structural Steel (Classification)

Types of Steel
Based on the composition, steel can be of the following three
types:

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.

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Structural Steel (Cont.)

Types of Steel
• Different grades of structural steel are identified by the designation
assigned to them by the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM).
• This organization develops standards for defining materials in terms
of their composition, properties, and performance, and it prescribes
specific tests for measuring these attributes.
• One of the most commonly used structural steels is a mild steel
designated as ASTM A36, or A36 for short.
• It has a stress–strain curve of the type shown in the Figures in the
following slides.
• It has the following tensile properties.
Yield stress: Fy = 36,000 psi (36 ksi)
Tensile strength: Fu = 58,000 psi to 80,000 psi (58
ksi to 80 ksi)
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Structural Steel (Cont.)

Types of Steel

• Other commonly used structural steels are ASTM A572 Grade 50

and ASTM A992.

• These two steels are very similar in both tensile properties and
chemical composition, with a maximum carbon content of 0.23%.

• A comparison of the tensile properties of A36, A572 Grade 50, and

A992 is given in table below:

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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)

P P

L ΔL

Area = A
Section
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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
Typical Stress-Strain Curve (Ductile/Mild Steel)

43
Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
Idealized Stress-Strain Curve (Ductile/Mild Steel)

44
Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
Idealized Stress-Strain Curve (Ductile/Mild Steel)

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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
Various Points on Stress-Strain Curve:
i. Proportional Limit:
The point on the stress-strain curve, up to which the
stress and strain in a material remains proportional. The material is
said to be follow Hook’s Law.
ii. Elastic Limit:
Elastic limit, maximum stress or force per unit area
within a solid material that can arise before the onset of permanent
deformation
iii. Yield Point:
The point at which the material will have appreciable
deformation without any appreciable increase in load.
iv. Ultimate Strength Point:
The maximum stress that a material can bear before
any failure. It corresponds to the maximum stress point on the stress-
strain curve.

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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
v. Rupture Point:
The point on the stress-strain curve at which the
material fails / breaks / fractures.
vi. Engineering Stress:
The stress obtained by using the original (initial) area
of the material in calculations.
vii. Engineering Strain:
The strain obtained by using the original length of the
material in calculations.
viii. True Stress:
The stress obtained by using the current area of the
material in calculations.
ix. True Strain:
The stress obtained by using the current length of the
material in calculations.

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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)
x. Elastic Region:
The region in which the material obeys Hook’s Law. In
this region the stress and strain varies proportionally. Up to this stress,
the specimen can be unloaded without any permanent deformation
xi. Plastic Region:
The constant stress region where the specimen
elongates without any change in load.
xii. Strain Hardening:
At a strain of approximately 12 times the strain at yield,
strain hardening begins, and additional load (and stress) is required to
cause additional elongation (and strain).
xiii. Necking:
At the maximum value of stress, the specimen begins
to “neck down”. The stress decreases with increasing strain, and
fracture occurs.

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Stress-Strain Curves (Mild Steel)

49
Stress-Strain Curves (Cont.)

ii. Modulus of Elasticity:

The ratio of the stress to strain within the elastic range
is the modulus of elasticity. It is same for all the structural steel and
has a value of 29000 ksi.
iii. Toughness:
It is the capacity of the material to absorb energy. It is
calculated as area under the stress-strain curve.
iv. Resilience:
It is the capacity of the material to absorb energy within
the elastic region and release that energy upon unloading. It is
calculated as area under the stress-strain curve up to the proportional
limit.

50
Stress-Strain Curves (Cont.)

v. Brittleness:
It is the property of a material that fractures when
subjected to stress, without any post yield deformation.

51
Stress-Strain Curves (High Strength
Steel)
Typical Stress-Strain Curve (High Strength Steel)

• No well-defined yield point or

yield plateau.
• The 0.2% offset method is
used for determining the yield
strength.
• A strain of 0.002 is usually
selected, and this method of
determining the yield
strength is called the 0.2%
offset method

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Stress-Strain Curves (Cont.)

Typical Stress-Strain Curve (Comparison)

53
Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes

54
Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes
(Cont.)

55
Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes
(Cont.)

56
Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes
(Cont.)

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Standard Cross-Sectional Shapes
(Cont.)
•

58
Steel Structural Members
1. Tension Members
2. Steel tension members are those structural elements that are subjected to direct axial tensile loads, which
tend to elongate the members. Tension members are probably the most common and efficient members
in steel structures. They occur as components of trusses, bridges, wind bracings and transmission towers

Primarily occur as:

• Chord Members in trusses:
• In diagonal bracing in bracing systems;
• Cable elements in suspension roofs, main cables of suspension
bridges and suspenders.

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Steel Structural Members

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Steel Structural Members (Cont.)
3. Compression Members
Primarily occur as:
• Columns in buildings;
• Chord Members in trusses and diagonal members in end panels of
trusses
• Stability is an important consideration in design and behavior of
compression members

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Steel Structural Members (Cont.)
4. Beam Members
• Primarily loaded transverse to the longitudinal axis and resist loading by
flexure
• X-sectional area is located as far from the neutral axis as is practical
• Commonly W shapes are used in most cases
• For deeper beams I-shaped sections made by welding plates are
commonly used
• For smaller loads and spans open-web joists are commonly used
• Instability due to lateral Torsional Buckling is an important consideration

Open-Web Steel Joist

• Economical & popular for Roof & floor framing.
• Bar joist are supported by bearing walls or steel girders.

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Steel Structural Members (Cont.)
3. Beam Members

Open-Web Steel Joist

• Economical & popular for Roof & floor framing.
• Bar joist are supported by bearing walls or steel girders.

63
Steel Structural Members (Cont.)

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Famous Steel Structures

Eiffel Tower, Paris James R. Thompson Center, Chicago

65
Famous Steel Structures

The Geodesic Dome Golden Gate Bridge, USA

at Walt Disney
World
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Famous Steel Structures

Taipei 101, Taiwan Beijing National Stadium, China

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69
Do you have any questions?
Structural Design (Cont.)

Components of Structure:

D F
E

Beam
Column
Beam-Column

Beam-Column

A B C

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The involvement of Structural engineer in the functional planning is very imp
because an Architect can suggest a plane which is practically not possible.

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Loads

Definition:
The forces that act on a structure are called loads.

These loads can be broadly classified into two (02) categories:

1. Dead Loads
Dead loads are those that are permanent, including the
weight of the structure itself, which is sometimes called the self-weight.
In addition to the self-weight of the structure, dead
loads in a building include the weight of nonstructural components
such as floor coverings, partitions, and suspended ceilings (with light
fixtures, mechanical equipment, and plumbing).
All the loads mentioned thus far are forces resulting
from gravity and are referred to as gravity loads.

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Loads (Cont.)
2. Live Loads
Those loads which are not permanently attached to the
structure (unlike the dead loads) and can vary in magnitude and
location with time. Live loads can also be gravity loads like the dead
loads.
Examples of live loads include furniture, equipment,
occupants of buildings, earthquake load, snow load, wind load, blast
load, etc.
As, the magnitude of a live load is not well defined,
therefore, these loads, must be estimated based on certain codes.
In many cases, a structural member must be
investigated for various positions of a live load so that a potential
failure condition is not overlooked.
If a live load is applied slowly and is not removed and
reapplied, then it can be quantified as a static load. In this course, all
the loads to be dealt with, will be considered as static loads.

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Structural Design (Cont.)

Components of Structure:
The components of a frame structure can be classified as:
i. Beam:
A structural member used to carry vertical / transverse loads.
It is primarily subjected to bending or flexural stresses.
ii. Column:
A structural member used to carry axial loads. It is primarily
subjected to axial compressive stresses.
iii. Beam-Column:
A structural member used to carry axial loads along with
significant amount of bending. It is primarily subjected to axial compressive
stresses.
In reality, all members, even those classified as beams or columns,
may be subjected to both bending and axial loading, but in many cases, the
effects are minor and can be neglected.

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