85 Book1-01022018e

Handbook for
Code of practice for structural

use of steel 2011
published by the Joint Structural Division,
The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers &
The Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction
S.L. Chan, S.S.H. Cho, Y.P. Liu and S.W. Liu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
J.C.K. Iu
Department of Civil Engineering,
The Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Copyright 1
reserved S.L.Chan et al.
All rights reserved
Preface by Chairman
The evolution of the latest Code of Practice for Structural Use of Steel 2011 follows
closely with the latest design practice, the desire for more exact analytical approach and
the deeper understanding of the effect on stability, and most importantly, the aim to
achieve a safe and cost effective design. Since the issuance of the Code, the practicing
engineers are presented with a concept on stability that revolutionizes the approach for
the analysis and design of steel structures. Many look for explanatory materials,
analytical and design software to help them in their course of design. Being a more
sustainable material and able to meet the latest design requirements in high-rise and
long span structures, structural steel is rapidly gaining popularity. The pressure is
mounting for the practicing engineer in the need to design and to comply with the latest
Steel Code.
This handbook is not only a supplement to the Code and the Explanatory Materials. It
also provides you with the background of the code requirements, guides you to correlate
the design assumptions and the actual structural behavior, and illustrates its application
with step-by-step design examples including a detailed narrative design approach and
application in second order analysis. This is without doubt a dreamed gift to the
practicing engineers.
On behalf of the Structural Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, I

express our most sincere gratitude to the Working Committee led by Ir Professor Chan
Siu Lai, and everyone who has contributed in preparing this handbook. The making of
this handbook has not come easy, it has taken up the Working Committee a lot of their
own time. It is entirely their dedication and effort in sharing their knowledge and
knowhow that make this handbook possible. I sincerely wish you can enjoy and benefit
from this handbook
Ir Edward CHAN Sai Cheong

Chairman,
Structural Division
Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
April 2018
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All rights reserved
Forewords
In 2002, a contract was initiated by the Buildings Department of the Hong Kong SAR
Government to draft a limit state design code for steel structures used in Hong Kong SAR
region. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Ove Arup and Partners (Hong Kong)
Limited by then jointly formed a joint venture to bid for the project which was awarded in July
of the same year. The first author was involved as one of the principal consultants of this project
and this book is written with an aim of assisting the users of the Code of which the official
name is “Code of Practice for the Structural Use of Steel 2005/2011” published by the Buildings
Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government. The code can also be downloaded at web
http://www.bd.gov.hk/english/documents/index_crlist.html.
This book is written for use with the Code of Practice for the Structural Uses of Steel
Hong Kong 2005 and 2011 versions (The HK Code) which are under the direction of a modern
limit state design philosophy, the simulation-based design (SBD) concept which is actually
embedded in the second-order direct and advanced analysis referred in many other national
codes. SBD makes use of the first and second variation of the energy principle for checking of
strength and stability and it encompasses various non-linear analyses but excludes the first-
order linear, rigid plastic and elastic P--only second-order direct analyses. Undoubtedly, this
book is not only a design text, it is also written in the hope as a guidebook on the use of second-
order direct and advanced analysis to any code with provision of second-order direct analysis.
To the authors’ knowledge, a comprehensive design guide on the codified use of second-order
direct analysis is not yet available. When using the SBD, the simple difference between various
codes will be on the use of imperfection factors and notional forces or other means of
disturbance. This argument is based on the fact that full second-order direct analysis in all codes
are to reflect structural behaviour and SBD as a realistic simulator in second-order effect,
practically fit the bill. This feature cannot be established when the codes are prescriptive and
the formulae are empirical.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the supports by the Research Grant Council of the
Hong Kong SAR Government for drafting of this handbook which has incorporated the
valuable comments by the advisory committee of the Joint Structural Division of the Hong
Kong Institution of Engineers in year 2014 to 2016 below.
Ir CHAN Chi-kong, Ir Edward CHAN Sai-cheong, Ir Kenneth CHAN, Ir Jacky CHIONG Kam–
yueng, Ir Prof KUANG Jun-shang, Ir CHAN Siu-tack, Ir Paul LEE Kai-hung, Ir Paul TSANG
Sau-chung, Ir Prof Paul PANG Tat-choi, Ir LAU Chi-kin, Ir Dr Eddie LAM Siu-shu, Ir Jenny
Lau, Ir Paul LEE, Ir Prof Andrew LEUNG, Ir LAM King-kong, Ir Benny LAI Siu-lun, Ir Ken
NG Kin-shing, Mr. Simon Pang, Ir Thomas WONG, Ir Albert LEUNG Wing-keung, Ir LEUNG
Kwok-tung, Ir LUI Yuen-Tat, Ir Johnny SHING, Ir Martin TSOI Wai-tong, Ir Ben TSE Wai-
keung, Ir TSE Kam-leung, Ir Dr. Simon WONG and Ir Prof. Ben YOUNG. Special thanks
should also go to Dr. Z.H. Zhou for his contributions to the background research of this book.
Cover:
Steel building “Centro Polidesportivo” in Macau.
Architect : Eddie Wong & Associates.
Structural Engineer : Alpha Consulting Limited.
Designed by Second-order Direct Analysis (or simly Direct Analysis) without effective length.
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Table of content
Page
Chapter 1 Introduction to limit state design .................................................. 8
1.1 Background ................................................................................... 8
1.2 Scope of this book ........................................................................ 8
1.3 Aim of structural design ................................................................ 9
1.4 Limit state design ........................................................................ 10
1.4.1 Ultimate limit state ............................................................... 11
1.4.2 Serviceability limit state ....................................................... 11
1.5 Load and resistance factors ....................................................... 13
1.6 Structural integrity and robustness ............................................ 14
1.7 Progressive and disproportionate collapse................................ 14
Chapter 2 Steel as Engineering Material .................................................... 16
2.1 Materials ..................................................................................... 16
2.2 Grades of steel ........................................................................... 17
2.3 Designation system .................................................................... 18
2.4 Residual stress ........................................................................... 19
2.5 Chemistry of steel ....................................................................... 21
2.6 Strength....................................................................................... 22
2.7 Resistance to brittle fracture ...................................................... 22
2.8 Ductility........................................................................................ 22
2.9 Weldability................................................................................... 23
2.10 Used steels ................................................................................. 24
Chapter 3 Framing and Load Path .............................................................. 25
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 25
3.2 Common types of steel frames .................................................. 25
3.3 Typical lateral force resisting systems ....................................... 26
3.3.1 Simple construction ............................................................. 27
3.3.2 Continuous construction ..................................................... 27
3.3.3 Braced frames ..................................................................... 27
3.4 Load sharing ............................................................................... 28
3.4.1 Live, dead and wind loads .................................................. 29
3.4.2 Load distribution .................................................................. 30
Chapter 4 Section Classification and Local Plate Buckling ........................ 36
4.1 Introduction of local plate buckling ............................................. 36
4.2 Cross section classifications ...................................................... 37
4.3 Limiting width-to-thickness ratio ................................................. 39
4.3.1 Effective width method ........................................................ 40
4.3.2 Effective stress method ....................................................... 43
4.3.3 Finite element method ........................................................ 43
4.4 Worked examples ....................................................................... 44
4.4.1 Section classification of rolled universal I-beam ................ 44
4.4.2 Effective width method for hot-rolled RHS under uniform
compression ....................................................................................... 45
4.4.3 Effective stress method of slender section......................... 47
4.4.4 Effective section modulus of rolled H-section .................... 48
Chapter 5 Tension Members ....................................................................... 49
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 49
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5.2 Tension capacity ......................................................................... 49
5.3 Eccentric connections ................................................................ 50
5.3.1 Single and double angle, channel and T-sections ............. 51
5.3.2 Double angle, channel and T-sections with intermediate
connections ........................................................................................ 51
5.4 Non-linear analysis for asymmetric sections ............................. 51
5.5 Worked Examples ...................................................................... 52
5.5.1 Tension capacity of plate .................................................... 52
5.5.2 Tension capacity of unequal angle ..................................... 53
5.5.3 Tension capacity of angle bracings .................................... 54
5.5.4 Tension capacity of channel connected by welding ........... 55
Chapter 6 Restrained and Unrestrained beams .............................................. 56
6.1 Introduction and uses of beam member .................................... 56
6.2 In-plane bending of beams ......................................................... 57
6.2.1 In-plane bending of laterally restrained beams .................. 58
6.2.2 In-plane elastic analysis of beams...................................... 60
6.2.3 In-plane plastic moment capacity of beams ....................... 60
6.2.4 Shear capacity of beams .................................................... 62
6.2.5 Interaction between shear and bending ............................. 64
6.2.6 Web bearing, buckling and shear buckling ........................ 64
6.2.7 Serviceability limit state considerations .............................. 65
6.3 Design procedure for in-plane bending of beams ..................... 67
6.4 Worked examples ....................................................................... 70
6.4.1 Simply supported beam under mid-span point load .......... 70
6.4.2 Design of a cantilever ......................................................... 72
6.4.3 Design of beam in two way floor ......................................... 74
6.4.4 Design of beam at the one way typical floor system.......... 76
6.5 Design of unrestrained beams ................................................... 79
6.5.1 Elastic Lateral-Torsional buckling of beams ...................... 80
6.5.2 Buckling resistance moment ............................................... 81
6.5.3 Normal and Destabilizing loads .......................................... 82
6.5.4 Effective length in an unrestrained beam ........................... 82
6.5.5 Equivalent uniform moment factor mLT ............................... 84
6.6 Design procedures of unrestrained beams ................................ 86
6.7 Worked examples ....................................................................... 87
6.7.1 Moment resistance of hot-rolled and welded sections ....... 87
6.7.2 Beam under double curvature ............................................ 89
6.7.3 Over-hung Beam ................................................................. 91
6.7.4 I-section beam with intermediate restraints........................ 94
6.7.5 Cantilever without intermediate restraint ............................ 97
6.7.6 Cantilever with intermediate restraint ................................. 99
6.7.7 Simply supported I-beam .................................................. 100
Chapter 7 Compression Members ............................................................ 102
7.1 Introduction and uses of compression member ...................... 102
7.2 Behaviour of compression members ....................................... 104
7.2.1 Introduction ........................................................................ 104
7.2.2 Buckling of imperfection columns ..................................... 107
7.2.3 Perry-Robertson formula for column buckling .................. 111
7.3 Compression strength and buckling curves............................. 112
7.3.1 Effective length .................................................................. 113
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7.3.2 Slenderness ratio .............................................................. 117
7.3.3 Buckling strength pc and buckling resistance Pc ............. 118
7.4 Design procedures of compression member ........................... 118
7.5 Worked Examples .................................................................... 120
7.5.1 Compression resistance of restrained column ................. 120
7.5.2 Compression resistance of column in the portal frame ... 121
7.5.3 Compression member in the braced multi-storey frame.. 123
7.5.4 Compression member in unbraced multi-storey frame .... 125
7.5.6 Compression resistance of slender welded column ........ 129
Chapter 8 Beam-columns .......................................................................... 131
8.1 Introduction to beam-columns .................................................. 131
8.2 Behaviour for combined tension and biaxial bending ............. 133
8.2.1 Yield surface of tension members .................................... 133
8.2.2 Design procedures for stocky beam-columns .................. 137
8.3 Worked Examples .................................................................... 138
8.3.1 Combined tension and bending of angle beam ............... 138
8.4 Beam-columns under tension and lateral-torsional buckling .. 140
8.5 Design procedures of unrestrained beam-column .................. 141
8.6 Worked Examples ................................................................... 142
8.6.1 Bending about two axes of an I beam .............................. 142
8.6.2 Cantilever beam bent about two axes .............................. 144
8.7 Sectional strength under compression and bending ............... 147
8.8 Buckling strength under biaxial bending .................................. 149
8.8.1 Cross section capacity ...................................................... 149
8.8.2 Overall buckling resistance ............................................... 149
8.9 Design procedures of compression and bending .................... 153
8.10 Worked Examples .................................................................... 154
8.10.1 Column in simple frame .................................................... 154
Chapter 9 Connections .............................................................................. 157
9.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 157
9.2 Connection behaviour in strength, stiffness and ductility ........ 160
9.3 Welded connection ................................................................... 162
9.3.1 Weld process ..................................................................... 162
9.3.2 Electrodes .......................................................................... 163
9.3.3 Types of welds .................................................................. 163
9.3.4 Welding symbols ............................................................... 164
9.3.5 Structural design of fillet welds ......................................... 167
9.3.6 Stress analysis in a welded connection ........................... 170
9.4 Worked Examples .................................................................... 175
9.4.1 Simple welded connection ................................................ 175
9.4.2 Bracket connection in typical portal frame ....................... 177
9.5 Bolted connection ..................................................................... 179
9.5.1 Bolt grades ........................................................................ 181
9.5.2 Spacing and detailing requirements ................................. 181
9.5.3 Behaviour of bolted connections ...................................... 181
9.5.4 Design of ordinary non-preloaded bolts ........................... 187
9.5.5 Design of high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts ........... 191
9.5.6 Stress analysis in bolts ..................................................... 193
9.6 Worked Examples .................................................................... 196
9.6.1 Beam-to-beam connection by single fin plate .................. 196
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9.6.2 Typical extended plate for beam to column connection .. 199
9.7 Base plate ................................................................................. 202
9.7.1 Column base under concentric force ................................ 202
9.7.2 Column base under eccentric force .................................. 203
9.7.2.1 Column base under small eccentricity with e  d/6 .. 204
9.7.2.2 Column base under large eccentricity with e>d/6..... 205
9.8 Worked Examples .................................................................... 207
9.8.1 Base plate subjected to eccentric load ............................. 207
9.8.2 Column base subjected to different loading conditions ... 208
9.8.3 Connection at base of space frame .................................. 211
9.9 Bearing and buckling of webs .................................................. 214
9.9.1 Bearing capacity ................................................................ 214
9.9.2 Buckling resistance ........................................................... 215
Chapter 10 Second-order Direct and Indirect Analysis .............................. 216
10.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 216
10.2 Background ............................................................................... 216
10.3 Methods of analysis .................................................................. 218
10.3.1 Types of stability ................................................................... 222
10.3.2 Formulation for Nonlinear Numerical Methods ................ 235
10.3.2.3 ..................................................................................... 240
10.3.3 Convergence criteria ......................................................... 243
10.4 Imperfections ............................................................................ 244
10.4.1 Frame imperfections ......................................................... 244
10.4.2 Member imperfections ...................................................... 248
10.5 The effective length method for indirect analysis .................... 250
10.5.1 Non-sway frame ................................................................ 250
10.5.2 Sway-sensitive frames ...................................................... 252
10.5.3 Sway ultra-sensitive frames .............................................. 253
10.6 Examples .................................................................................. 254
10.6.1 Simple benchmark example for testing of software ............ 254
10.6.2 Structural analysis of the portal frame .............................. 258
10.6.3 Sway and non-sway frame ............................................... 261
10.6.4 Leaning column portal ....................................................... 266
10.6.5 Braced and unbraced frames ........................................... 268
10.6.6 3-Dimensional steel building ............................................. 271
10.6.7 Some selected structures designed by Direct Analysis in
practice ............................................................................................. 276
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Chapter 1 Introduction to limit state design
1.1 Background
Code of Practice for the Structural Uses of Steel Hong Kong (abbreviated as
HK Code in this book) was published and released by the Buildings Department in
replacement of the British Standard BS5950 (1990) used in Hong Kong. This book
describes the use of HK Code but the final interpretation should follow clauses in the
HK Code rather than in this book.
In modern steel structural design, computer software is commonly used even

though we always advocate double-checking by hand as well as analysis method using
physical models to study the structural behaviour for checking, scheming and framing.
In HK Code and this guidebook, the structural analysis and design software NIDA
Version 9 (2015) or above is used, which fullfills the requirements included in the code.
For example, the member imperfection in Table 6.1 of HK Code or Table 5.1 in
Eurocode 3 (2005) can be input explicitly in NIDA Version 9 while such option is not
available in most other software available in the market, thus greater caution should be
given if such software is to be used.
1.2 Scope of this book
This book describes the design of hot-rolled steel sections and cold-formed steel
hollow sections. It covers mainly building structures. Other types of structures and other
common structural forms as referenced by other supporting building codes are also
admitted in this guidebook to help the readers achieve a more economical and safer
design.
Structural elements in a steel structure refer to members designed and

constructed to assist the structure in resisting external loads. This book encompasses
the design of steel structures against safety and serviceability or the ultimate and
serviceability limit state design. This book is aimed for a basic guide for engineers
involved in the design and it covers the modern system based design based on second-
order direct nonlinear analysis as well as conventional first-order linear analysis and
design using the effective length method.
A detailed coverage of all topics in steel structure design is not only impossible
in the length of a single book, it also impairs its readibility. Therefore, this book
provides some of the most basic information and guidance on structural design of hot-
rolled steel sections, cold-formed steel hollow sections and structures. A more in-depth
design of various specific and specialist structures may still require the engineers to
carry out research and studies on the topic. For example, the design of specialist
scaffolding system may involve the assessment and subsequent assumption of joint
stiffness of sleeve between scaffolding modules which can be found in other design
codes such as BS EN 12810 and relevant research papers. They are not within the scope
of this book.
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1.3 Aim of structural design
The aim of structural design is to produce a structure of adequate level of safety

and serviceability during its design life with a satisfactorily low probability of violating
the limit states. The structure should be fit for its intended usage during its design
life,which is generally taken as 50 years for “permanent” structures. For temporary
structures and more sensitive structures may respectively require a higher and lower
probability of failure and a shorter and longer length of design lives. For example, the
design life of temporary structures can be much shorter than for permanent structures
because the chance of having a wind speed greater than wind over 50 year return period
is smaller when a structure is only used for, say, 2 years as temporary structures. Also,
the chance of having accidentally large live load is reduced.
As stated in Clause 1.2.1 of HK Code, the explicit aims of structural design

are made as follows.
a) Overall Stability against overturning, sliding or global buckling under the

design loads.
b) Strength against collapse under normal loads and imposed deformations and
during construction with an acceptable level of safety.
c) Integrity, ductility and robustness against abnormal loads from extreme
events without suffering disproportionate collapse, in which alternative load
paths may be established.
d) Fire resistance.
e) Serviceability under all normal loads and imposed deformations.
f) Durability.
g) Maintainability during its design working life.
h) Buildability.
i) Economy: The structure should fulfill the above requirements in an
economical manner.
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1.4 Limit state design
The limit state design (LSD) was first introduced and became widely used
around early 80’s and it is aimed to make sure the factored resistance greater than
factored design load as,
R   l F (1.1)
in which andl are respectively the resistance and load factors, R is the resistance of
the structure and F is the external load.
It may be useful to make a reference to the older design philosophy. In contrast

to LSD, allowable stress design code (ASD) is an old design code which controls stress
only and it becomes more difficult to apply to large and slender structures where safety
is not controlled solely by stress, but also by stability. As ASD applies the factor of
safety to material yield stress such as multiplying the yield stress by a material factor,
its control of safety in a structure failed predominantly by buckling becomes
complicated and inconsistent. ASD cannot control the variation of loads in a simple
manner and it is becoming less used in practice.
There are mainly two limit states, namely the ultimate and the serviceability
limit states. Ultimate limit state (ULS) is arrived when a structure fails or becomes
incapable of taking the loads. Serviceability limit state (SLS) is a limiting state when
the structure is unfit for use by the users of the structure. For obvious economical
reason, the engineer does not impose the same margin of arriving at a particular limit
state and this margin or factor of safety depends on the consequence of reaching the
limit state. As the consequence for ultimate limit state, which implies structural failure,
the load factors as a means of controlling the safety margin are normally larger than the
factors for serviceability limit state, with the exception that a smaller load factor is on
the favourable side such as overturning. Table 2.1 of HK Code reproduced below shows
various limit states under these two principal categories. The use of factors of safety as
load and material factors is to account for the variation in different aspects of structural
deficiency such as,
Load and material properties variation

Fabrication and erection minor errors in shop and on site
Connection detailing
Design and analysis assumptions and
Rolling and fabrication tolerance
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Ultimate limit states (ULS) Serviceability limit states (SLS)
Strength (including general yielding, Deflection
rupture, buckling and forming a
mechanism)
Stability against overturning and sway Vibration
stability
Fire resistance Wind induced oscillation
Brittle fracture and fracture caused by Durability
fatigue
Table 1.1 Limit states
1.4.1 Ultimate limit state
As its name implies, ultimate limit state (ULS) refers to the ultimate strength
and stability of a structure against failure and thus it adopts a larger factor of safety
through the load factor in the design. Recognizing that loading and material properties
are probabilistic based, the design ensures a smaller probability of violation of the limit
state through the use of larger load factors. Table 4.4 of HK Code indicates various
values of partial load factors used.
1.4.2 Serviceability limit state
A structure becomes unfit for use when one or more limit state is violated. The
common serviceability limit state includes the deflection and deformation, vibration,
repairable damage due to fatigue and corrosion and durability not leading to immediate
collapse.
1.4.2.1 Deflection limit state

Deformation is commonly considered as an intolerable serviceability limit state.
It affects the cracking of finishes, makes occupants uncomfortable and it is also used as
a means of preventing vibration. Normally unfactored live and wind loads are used for
the calculation of deflection. Typical and suggested deflection limits are given in Table
5.1 of HK Code. Deflection limits of tall buildings are more related to the comfort of
occupants and the following section shows the acceleration limits for tall buildings.
1.4.2.2 Vibration limit state

Excessive vibration leads to human discomfort. Worst of all, resonance leads to
a structural response in phase with exciting disturbance such as wind or machine
vibration for which the consideration should be under the ultimate limit state. In HK
Code, the table under Section 5.3.4(b) gives recommended limiting peak acceleration
in a high-rise building. Alternatively, the present HK Code provides simple frequency
check whilst the ISO (2003) gives the acceleration limit as a function of the structural
natural frequency which is a more complicated means of assessing human response due
to building vibration.
1.4.2.3 Human-induced vibration

Long span floors and beams may be susceptible to human induced vibration. A
conservative prevention of the occurrence is to design a beam to have a natural
frequency greater than 5 Hertz. The newer version of the HK Code lowers this
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requirement to 3 Hertz. For more detailed study of beam vibration, ISO (2003) or other
guides should be referred.
1.4.2.4 Corrosion and durability

Other serviceability limit states include fatigue, corrosion and durability. Steel
will rust and corrode only in the presence of oxygen and water and therefore steel burry
one meter below ground normally has no problem in corrosion because of lack of
oxygen. When under bad environmental condition such as chlorides near sea and
sulphide in industrial area, corrosion is more serious. Careful detailing prevents
corrosion in many occasions such as prevention of ponding and debris trap.
To prevent corrosion leading to early structural defects, the expected design life
is estimated and coating, painting, galvanizing, cathodic protection, coverage by
concrete or use of thicker section plate thickness can be considered. In general, painting
and application of protection measures are best to be done in shop rather than on-site.
However, this may not be possible for some applications such as protection of corrosion
around region of site weld. In assessing the degree of protection, the environmental
exposure condition and the ease of maintenance are required to be considered. Table
5.2 and Clause 5.5.1.2 of the HK Code provide basic consideration of these issues.
Monitoring is sometimes important in confirming the assumption of durability in steel
members.
When metal is subject to repeated load, fatigue failure may occur. Design
methods for fatigue are based on the S-N curves such as the one indicated in Figure 2.1
of the HK Code.
Failure due to low cycle repeated loads of 10 to 100 cycles happens occasionally
in some structures like cranes and scaffolds. Inspection and scrapping of old structures
or their components may be needed as a management process for prevention of
unexpected failure.
1.4.2.5 Brittle fracture

Brittle fracture for steel may become important under the action of low
temperature, applied tension, thick steel plates and sudden change in stress and
resistance against brittle fracture can also be enhanced by proper detailings. The steel
quality in this aspect is controlled by its sub-grade governing impact resistance under
certain tempeartures. Commonly, grade J0 is used for thin plates and higher sub-grades
need to be used for thicker plates. For prevention of laminar tearing, higher Z-grade
steels need to be used. The HK Code and specialist literatures should be consulted for
design of steel structures made of thick steels which are becoming more popular at the
time of writing this handbook. The maximum thickness formulae and tables under
Clause 3.2 in the HK Code can be referenced in selecting the maximun steel thickness.
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1.5 Load and resistance factors
In the limit state design, loads are commonly amplified to account for load
variation and as a factor of safety. Load combination will be applied to cater for various
scenarios. The followings are common combined load cases for structural design and
Table 1.2 shows the load factors.
Load combination 1: Dead load, imposed load (and notional horizontal forces)
Load combination 2: Dead load and lateral load
Load combination 3: Dead load, imposed load and lateral load
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Load Load Type
combination Dead Imposed Earth Wind Temperature
(including earth, and
water and water
temperature Gk Qk Sn Wk Tk
loading where Adverse Beneficial Adverse Beneficial
present)
1. dead and 1.4 1.0 1.6 0 1.4 - 1.2
imposed
2. dead and 1.4 1.0 - - 1.4 1.4 1.2
lateral
3. dead, lateral 1.2 1.0 1.2 0 1.2 1.2 1.2
and imposed
Table 1.2 Load factors for different load combinations
In the Table, the adverse and beneficial effects refer to a condition where loads
are exacerbating and assisting a structure against failure, such as vertical load at the
centre of a building will be beneficial against overturning.
1.6 Structural integrity and robustness
A new requirement is stipulated in the new codes like the Eurocode 3 (2005)
and the HK Code (2011). The implementation of the clauses here requires engineering
judgment and design experience. In essence, a structure should not have progressive
collapse when a single member fails. This can be done by provision of ties for general
and especially edge columns. Also connections should be designed to take tensile force
such that the failure of a lower column will be compensated by the column above when
the connection is able to take tension. To achieve this, Clause 2.3.4.3 of HK Code
should be referred.
1.7 Progressive and disproportionate collapse
Progressive collapse refers to failure leading to a sequence of element collapse

and disproportionate collapse is defined as collapse to an extent disproportionated to
the cause. In general, the checking should ensure local failure will not lead to global
collapse. A steel and steel-concrete composite structure or any structure should be
designed to avoid this occurrence. The checking should only be conducted using the
second-order direct analysis specified in Clauses 6.8 and 6.9 of the HK Code (2011)
using an authority approved software because of the important consequence of this type
of failue. The load factors could be taken as those recommended in other codes below.
The global collapse can be considered as failure of an area more than 15% of the floor
area or 70 m2 (whichever is less).
0.35 for dead load and 0.4 for live load with 1% of total loads as horizontal notional
force. Wind load is not required to be considered.
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Tying members should be able to resist 75kN or 1% of the factored vertical dead
and imposed loads of the columns being tied in order to prevent the columns being
separated from the building or structure.
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Chapter 2 Steel as Engineering Material
2.1 Materials
What is steel? Steel is iron added with carbon with content close to 0,
corresponding to very slight amount to 2%. Carbon content has a significant influence
on the characteristics of the metal.
There are two major types of steel as alloy steels and non-alloy steels. Alloy
steel refers to chemical elements other than carbon added to the iron in accordance with
a minimum variable content for each. For example: 0.50% for silicon, 0.08% for
molybdenum, 10.5% for chrome. An alloy of 17% chrome and 8% nickel is used to
create stainless steel.
For iron or what we normally call low-carbon steel to-date, the carbon content
is less than 0.1%. For steel this content is between 0.1% and 2% and between 2.5% and
6% for cast iron.
Material constitutes a very important component of a steel structure. The HK

Code covers the control of steel material up to 460 N/mm2, with use of higher grade
steel based on a performance-based approach. Because Hong Kong is an international
city, it accepts steel from various countries of greater population size and reputation in
making quality steel. These countries are Australia, China, Japan, Europe including
Britain and USA. Steel is commonly of type carbon or carbon-manganese steel (mild
steel), high strength low alloy steel and high strength, quenched and tempered alloy.
High strength, quenched and self-tempered alloy steel is not commonly used and will
not be further elaborated. Shown in Figure 2.1 is the common stress vs strain curve of
mild steel.
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Stress Strain to failure
Strain at ultimate tensile strength
Yield
strength
general necking ductile

elastic
elongation fracture
Strain
Figure 2.1 Stress vs. Strain Relationship for ductile steel
Irrespective of the grade of steel, the Young’s modulus of elasticity, Poisson

ration and coefficient of thermal expansion for all steel grades are the same as follows.
E = 205 kN/mm2 (Young’s modulus)

 = 0.30 (Poisson’s ratio)
 = 14  10 -6 /C (Coefficient of linear thermal expansion)
In accepting or rejecting the use of steel material, the mill certificate is referred
and various contents of chemical are inspected. Many elements must be controlled
below a certain percentage otherwise one or more properties in strength, weldability,
durability or ductility is not warranted.
2.2 Grades of steel
In general, we have the following common grades of steel. The design strength
is normally taken as the strength for the steel plate of thickness 16mm.
Low carbon or carbon-manganese steel (mild steel) like S275 of yield 275 N/mm2
High strength low alloy steels like S355 steel of yield 355 N/mm2
High strength, quenched and self-tempered alloy steel of yield 500 N/mm2
High strength, quenched and tempered alloy plates of yield 690 N/mm2
Alloy bars for tension only of yield 1000 N/mm2
High carbon hard-drawn wire for cables of yield 1700 N/mm2
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Only the first two types of steel (i.e. Low carbon and High strength low alloy
steels of yield between 275 to 355 N/mm2) are commonly used because other steel types
are brittle, contain too high the carbon content and difficult to weld. These high strength
steels are more commonly used in some applications like bolts.
2.3 Designation system
In HK Code, steel grades from 5 countries are allowed to use but only the
European and the Chinese grade steels are tabulated on their resistance when used in
beams and columns. The commonly used grades like grade 43A and grade 50C are
replaced by S275 and S355J0 steel. Below is the summary of the symbol meaning.
Taking S355J0 as an example in the new system, the symbols (S in S355J0 here)
in front of the steel grade are represented by S for structural steel and E for engineering
steel. The following number (355) refers to the minimum yield strength in N/mm 2 at
steel plate thickness equal to 16mm. The next following letters refer to the impact value
as JR, J0 and J2 are respectively the longitudinal Charpy V-notch impacts at 27 J and
at 20C, 0C, -20C temperature while K2 refers to impact value of 40J at -200C. For
some special steels like thick steel plates under stress in transverse direction, additional
property in the perpendicular direction to the surface is required and this is specified as
Z grade like Z25. The following table represents some of the common conversions
between the old and new system steels.
New Yield Tensile Charpy V-notch in Old

grade (N/mm2) (N/mm2) longitudinal direction grade
0
Temperature( C) Energy
(J)
S185 185 290/510 / / /
S235 235 360/510 / / 40A
S235JR 20 27 40B
S235J0 0 27 40C
S235J2 -20 27 40D
S275 275 410/560 / / 43A
S275JR 20 27 43B
S275J0 0 27 43C
S275J2 -20 27 43D
S355 355 470/630 / / 50A
S355JR 20 27 50B
S355J0 0 27 50C
S355J2 -20 27 50D
S355K2 -20 40 50DD
E360 360 650/830 / / /
Note: The strength and energy are referred to steel plate of 16mm thickness.
Table 2.1 Comparison between the new and the old grading systems for steel
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2.4 Residual stress
During a rolling process at 2,300F, the steel section is rolled to a sectional shape
and during cooling, the heat dissipates but at a different rates making the section to
contain a residual stress. The fibre such as those in flanges cools faster will be in
compression when other parts cool slower and exert a contracting tensile force on the
cooled fibre. The residual stresses in a section are in a self-equilibrium state. As the
stress depends on E which is the same for all steel grades, the residual stress affects
lower grade steel than high grade steel. Also, as residual stress makes the steel material
to yield earlier, buckling of columns and beams is more affected by residual stress and
this explains why welded columns are weaker than rolled columns which have a smaller
residual stress. Generally speaking, the thicker a section, the larger its residual stress
and its pattern for rolled and welded I-sections is simplified as follows.
Flange
rc= 0.5py rc = 0.5py
rt = 0.4py
rt = 0.4py
rc = 0.3py Web
rt = 0.4py
Figure 2.2 Residual stress in a rolled I-section
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Flange
rt = py
Web
Figure 2.3 Residual stresses in a welded I-section
Figure 2.4 Idealised residual stress for box sections

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Residual stresses for some sections have been idealized for practical design. It
is now possible to make use of residual sections across a section and geometrical
imperfection commonly taken as 0.1% of a member length to obtain the buckling
resistance or buckling curves of any section (see Li, Liu and Chan, 2015).
Rolling creates residual stress but local welding also generates residual stress,
which can be a problem in welding of thick sections or flame-cutting of a section. The
pattern of residual stress in a welded section is indicated in Figure 2.3. Pre-heating or
heating in the region after welding in order to allow the zone to cool more uniformly
will reduce the residual stress. This process is necessary for welding of thick sections.
Cold straightening is a process of meeting the straightness requirement in codes,

but it will induce a residual stress in the section and also changing the grain size of the
section, making it to have a higher strength but lower ductility. This explains why
corners in a hollow section normally have higher strength and lower ductility. Welding
should be avoided in the area when cooling work took place.
2.5 Chemistry of steel
Carbon (or carbon-manganese) steel is normally referred to as mild steel. Its

composition is iron, carbon, manganese with restricted amount on phosphorus and
sulphur and their excess of which are detrimental to weldability and/or durability of
steel. Increasing the content of carbon will improve the yield strength, but will decrease
the weldability and ductility. S275 belongs to this category of steel.
High strength low alloy steel was developed over the past 3 decades and it is
the most widely used steel grade. The strength of this steel material is increased by
lowering carbon but increasing other alloys contents so that the toughness, ductility and
strength can be improved. S355 steel belongs to this category of steel
High strength alloy steel quenched and tempered alloy steel is the commonly
used steel with highest strength. It is commonly available in the form of plates and the
high strength property is achieved by a combined lower carbon content replaced by
alloys and a quenching (rapid cooling) process. The steel is of very fine grain size and
very hard and therefore they are very suitable for making bolts and nuts where hardness
is very important in making rigid connection at the teeth and notch of the threaded area
of bolts and nuts. Tempering and re-heating improve the ductility and other
performance of steel. The steel material is very good for fabrication and welding.
In control of weldability of steel in HK Code, the content of chemicals, carbon,

sulphur and phosphorus are limited. Carbon equivalent value given in Equation (2.1)
below should be satisfied and the carbon content should not be greater than 0.24%, the
sulphur and the phosphorus content should not be greater than 0.035 individually.
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Table 2.2 Chemical content requirements in HK Code
2.6 Strength
The design strength shall be the minimum yield strength but not greater than the
ultimate tensile strength divided by 1.2. Steel grade number normally refers to the
approximate or nominal design strength and the alphabet refers to the resistance against
impact Charpy test. Thicker plates normally need a higher resistance against impact
Charpy test.
2.7 Resistance to brittle fracture
The minimum average Charpy V-notch impact test energy at the required design
temperature is specified in Clause 3.2 of HK Code. When thick steel is used or when it
is used in cold weather, the Charpy test will check whether or not the steel material will
exhibit brittle fracture. For example, in Table 3.7 of HK Steel Code, the maximum
thickness is specified as the steel material which can pass a Charpy test of 27J at a
specified temperature.
2.8 Ductility
The elongation on a gauge length of 5.65 S 0 is not to be less than 15% where
S 0 is the cross sectional area of the section. Steel of low elongation cannot be used
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because of lack of ductility prohibiting stress re-distribution. For example, stress around
an opening has a high stress concentration that steel material needs to sufficiently
ductile.
2.9 Weldability
Carbon increases the yield strength of steel, but reduces its weldability. In HK
Code, the carbon equivalent value (CEV) should not be greater than 0.48% and the
carbon content should not exceed 0.24%. The carbon equivalent value can be calculated
as follows.
Mn Cr  Mo  V Ni  Cu
CEV  C    (2.1)
6 5 15
The design strength py of steel is not constant even for the same grade of steel.
The thicker steel contains lower design strength because of residual stress which is
present when the materials in different locations of a steel section cool at a different
rate resulting in the building up of residual stress. For welded columns with design
strength below 460N/mm2, we need to reduce the design strength by 20N/mm2 because
of greater residual stress. This reduction should further be increased to 30N/mm 2 for
higher steel grade. Web has greater design strength than flanges that testing of steel
strength may be taken from flange rather than from web for more critical test. Table 2.3
below adopted from Clause 3.1.2 of HK Code shows the design strength for steel
specified in the British system.
Steel grade Thickness less than or equal Design strength

to (mm) py (N/mm2)
S235 16 235
40 225
63 215
80 215
100 215
150 205
S275 16 275
40 265
63 255
80 245
100 235
150 225
S355 16 355
40 345
63 335
80 325
100 315
150 295
S460 16 460
40 440
63 430
80 410
100 400
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Table 2.3 Design strength py of steel material
Design strength of steel grades from countries of China, Japan, Australia and
USA should be referred to HK Code.
2.10 Used steels
For sustainability construction, used steel is normally allowed for temporary structures such
as scaffolds, hoarding and excavation and lateral support works. However, the traceability
of the mill certificates and structural conditions of these used steel sections have to be
strictly enforced so as to ensure structural integrity and safety. Re-used temporary
structures attract a higher collapse rate than new ones and care should be taken. In Hong
Kong practice, certified copies of mill certificates endorsed by the respective registered
contractors shall be properly kept on site for audit checking by the engineers. The structural
conditions of the used structural steel sections shall also be assessed in accordance with
acceptable standard like BSEN 10034 should the original design stresses of the steel
sections be adopted in design analysis.
When the above conditions are not saisified, the allowable design stress of the used steel
members shall follow the un-certified steel requirement (i.e. 170 MPa) given in the Clause
3.1.4 of the HK Code. Sectional dimensions should also be measured and determined to
ensure plate thicknesses and other dimensions are adequate and not reduced by
corrosion.
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Chapter 3 Framing and Load Path
3.1 Introduction
Structures are erected to protect and support people, equipment etc like
buildings and to allow transportation like bridges. Different framing systems are
derived to achieve these aims under the consideration of economy, safety, speed of
construction and environment. The principle of designing a structure is to carry load
from gravity or from wind or seismic motion safely to the foundations. Failures due to
buckling, overturning type of instability, fracture and yielding should be avoided with
additional use of load and material factors to account for unexpected event and variation
in loads and material properties.
3.2 Common types of steel frames
For steel structures, engineers normally adopt the following frame systems.
Braced frames
Frames with shear or core wall
Moment frames like portal frames
Shell structures
Long span trusses systems and
Tension systems
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Figure 3.1 Typical structural schemes
Depending heavily on the site condition and purpose of use, these systems have
their advantages and limitations. In essence, we need to have a stiffer and high strength
structural system to resist large forces, such as braces and shear walls to resist wind
loads and columns to resist large gravitational force from the weight of the structure.
The load paths should be clearly defined so that we visualize how loads are transferred
from slabs, beams to columns and foundations.
3.3 Typical lateral force resisting systems
A structure can be designed and constructed by using different lateral force

resisting systems. The connection design should follow the design assumption such as
one should design a connection to resist moment if a rigid moment joint assumption is
made in a frame design. On the other hand, the connection should be designed to resist
shear and direct force only if the connection is assumed as pinned. In this case, the
connection should further be designed to allow rotation with minimum moment
resistance.
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3.3.1 Simple construction
The concept of “simple construction” is to design the structure to be composed

of members connected by nominally pinned connections and the lateral forces are then
taken by other structural systems like bracings, shear walls and core walls. The joints
should be assumed not to take the moments in the design and sufficient ductility is
allowed. For example, we should use angle cleat bolted or fin plate connections at webs
to prevent the connection taking too much moment. The lateral force is taken by a
structurally independent system such as bracing system and shear wall so that the frame
is required to take vertical loads only.
3.3.2 Continuous construction
In continuous construction, the frame is to resist lateral force by moment joints.

The vertical and horizontal forces and moments are transferred between members by
moment connections. The disadvantages of this method include high connection cost
and larger member size. Very often, the lateral drift or deflection quite easily exceeds
the deflection limit or the frame is prone to sway. However, it does not need an
independent lateral force resisting system and thus save space and cost of constructing
these systems.
3.3.3 Braced frames
A steel frame can be stiffened laterally by addition of braces which resist the
loads by an efficient axial force system. This type of frames is normally lighter than the
continuous construction using the moment frames, but the frames require braces which
are not welcomed by occupants. Therefore, in many commercial and domestic
buildings, moment frames are preferred. For high framed structures beyond
approximately 10-storey high, the use of moment frames will become too expensive
with the very large member sizes and braced frames or frames with other lateral force
resisting systems like simple construction with shear walls are more commonly used.
The bracing can be replaced by other lateral stiffening systems like shear walls, core
walls and outriggers.
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Figure 3.2 A braced frame
Either rigid or pinned joints can be assumed in braced frames and this affects
the moment and force distribution. For moment connections, the joints should have
sufficient rotational stiffness and moment capacity to transfer bending moment. For
pinned connections, the joints should be ductile and detailed to avoid taking of moment.
Rotational capacity of joints becomes more important here.
3.4 Load sharing
An important process for structural analysis and design is the assumption of

load sharing. Weight of human beings on a slab will be distributed to the supporting
beams and then transferred to columns and finally to foundation. The planned passing
of load will affect the member size, safety and finally economy of the structure and
therefore a sensible assumption should be made. The ductility of material and
robustness of framing system may assist to distribute load in order to prevent failure
due to local over-load but engineers should also need to assess load sharing. The
mechanism of transferring loads from one part of a structure to another is generally
termed as load path and a good structure normally has a clear load path for load transfer.
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3.4.1 Live, dead and wind loads
Loads acting on the structural members in a building should be estimated at the

early stage of a structural design process. Very often, the architectural requirements,
locations and functions of the buildings are considered. Load estimation is an important
exercise in a design process for economy and safety.
Realistic and possible loads and load combinations should be considered in the
design life of a structure. In limit state design principle, loads are normally considered
as the maximum load expected to occur in the life span of a structure. In statistical terms,
characteristic loads have 95% probability of not being exceeded in a building life.
However, this statistical value is only an assumption or a concept since record can
hardly be obtained for many buildings which are different in function than those
constructed decades ago.
Structures are designed to take the loads, such as dead, live and wind loads with
a certain degree of confidence. Therefore, load estimation becomes an important
exercise in determining the member size or even the structural schemes. For common
steel buildings, the loads are transferred from slab panels to beam members and to
columns and foundations. For some special framing, the columns can be designed to be
in tension to hang the loads onto trusses at higher levels.
The load associated with the self-weight of the structure and its permanent
elements like concrete floor, self-weight of beam and column member, utilities and
finishes, is classified as dead load. Since dead load depends on the sizes of members
which is not known in advance, its magnitude is an estimation only. If a large difference
exists between the estimated and computed values of dead load, the designer should
revise the design again.
Variable loads that can be applied on or removed from a structure are termed as
live loads. Live loads included the weight of occupants, furniture, machine, and other
equipment. The values of live loads are specified by codes for various types of buildings
and they represent a conservative estimate of the maximum load, occurred in the
expected life of the structure.
Air motion or wind exerts pressure which may damage a structure. Since the
speed and direction of wind are varied, the exact pressure or suction applied by winds
to structures is difficult to assess accurately and they again are obtained by statistics.
Furthermore, the actual effect of wind on a structure depends on the wind velocity,
structure shape and surrounding configuration from ground profile and influence from
adjacent structures. Thus, wind coefficients are available to determine more precisely
the wind effect on structures. Values of wind coefficients for typical buildings are
available in wind codes and structures with special geometry may require a wind tunnel
test to determine accurately the wind coefficients. Wind tunnel test is sometimes called
for assessing the wind load on a structure and on foundations.
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3.4.2 Load distribution
The load w acting on the slab is generally assumed to be uniform, even though
we expect some non-uniformity of load can occur on a floor. However, for some cases,
the loadings can be so concentrated that the assumption is insufficiently accurate. For
instance, the weight of partition wall and machine rest only on a small area and uniform
load assumption is in gross error under this condition.
For uniform load w on slab resting on the supporting beam members, the load
distribution on beams follows the yield line pattern of the slab based on a plastic
collapse mechanism. At plastic collapse of the slab, the loads within the collapsed
portion of slab will be transferred to the connected beam as shown in Figure 3.3.
Therefore, the pattern of yield lines is assumed to be the same as the pattern of loading
shared by the connected beam members. The pattern of yield lines depends on the types
of boundary conditions and geometry of floor slab as shown in Figure 3.3(a) for a
general case. Also shown in Figure 3.3(b) is the deformed shape of floor constructed
from the yield lines of the slab. It can be visualized that beams on the longer edges of
the slab take greater loads as the same deflection at centre of the slab causes larger
moment and force at supports spacing across shorter span.
simply supported simply supported
Floor slab
simply supported
Continuous
Yield lines
Free
simply supported simply supported
a) Yield lines on floor slab for different support conditions b) Collapse mechanism based on yield lines
Figure 3.3 Pattern of yield lines of general cases
For simplicity, the yield line is assumed to be the angle bisector at the corner of
a slab, when assuming the supporting conditions of the floor slab are identical for load
sharing. The effect of actual boundary conditions of floor slab is ignored. For the case
of a one-way slab, the slab spans in one direction and it behaves like a beam member
with larger width. This assumption is normally made when the aspect ratio of the floor
is larger than two in which case the slab is narrow. Obviously, the one-way slab
assumption is made when the connection details or member stiffness vary significantly,
such as the stiffness of a pair of opposite beams is much greater than the other pair of
beams. Apart from this simple condition, a two-way slab is also commonly assumed
and designed as it is more economical and loads are shared by all four beams. The loads
distributed to the supports are respectively illustrated in Figure 3.4(a) and (b) for one-
way and two-way slab.
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sup
sup por
por t t
t por
Load paths
sup
a) Load path on one-way slab b) Load path on two-way slab
Figure 3.4 Load paths in one-way slab and two-way slab
When the slab is square and supported by four beam members as shown by solid
lines in Figure 3.5, the loadings w (kN/m2) on the triangular collapsed portion of slab
spread to the beam members. Hence the beam is then subjected to a triangularly
distributed load as shown in Figure 3.5. This slab is then a two-way slab, where the
load spreads in both directions. The distribution is based on identical boundary
conditions, the spreading angle at the corner is 45 as indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 3.5, which is also equivalent to the yield line pattern.
uniform pressure
per unit area, w
L/2
45
L
L
w
2
wL2 wL2
8 8
Figure 3.5 Square floor slab
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In general, the length and width of floor slab are not equal such that L1  L2, and
the length L2 of floor slab is less than twice of the width L1 as shown in Figure 3.6. The
load imposed on shorter beam member should also be triangular, whereas the loading
on longer beam is trapezoidal. The maximum unit distributed load on each beam should
be pressure w times the distance to beam L1/2, as wL1/2 (kN/m) and this load sharing in
a two-way slab is also considered as two way.
L1
w
2
wL12
8
L1
45 wL12
When L1 > L2/2 8
L2
L1/2
L
w 1
2
wL1 L2 wL12 wL1L2 wL12

 
4 8 4 8
Figure 3.6 Rectangular floor slab
Consider the case of a secondary beam dividing the slab discussed above into
two parts as shown in Figure 3.7, the length L2 of each floor slab is not greater than
twice the width L1. The load spreading on main beam along transverse direction still
remains trapezoidal. However, the loading distribution on the main beam in
longitudinal direction will comprise of two triangular distributed loads from the slab
and a point load transmitted by the secondary beam. Maximum distributed load on each
beam should also be wL1/2.
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wL1
2
Secondary beam wL1 L2 wL12

4 8
L2
wL1 L2 wL12

4 8
L1 L1 When L1 > L2/2
2
wL1 L2 wL
 1
2 4
wL1
2
wL1 L2 wL12 wL1 L2 wL12

 
4 8 4 8
Figure 3.7 Two rectangular floor slabs
When the width L1 of floor slab is very short, which is commonly assumed when
the length L2 is longer than twice of the width L1 as shown in Figure 3.8, the load is
assumed to spread in a shorter direction and there will be no loading distributed to
shorter beam member because the triangular loads on the shorter beams are small here.
The floor slab is regarded as the one-way slab, which is convenient to design. The yield
line is simply a straight line dividing the floor slab into two equal parts.
Consider another case of a panel being split by two secondary beams to become
three slabs as shown in Figure 3.9. The length L2 of each floor slab is longer than twice
of the width L1. Each slab becomes a one-way slab. In this case, the beam supporting
the dividing beams is considered as being loaded by point loads as shown in Figure 3.9
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wL1
2
wL1 L2
4
L2
wL1 L2
4
When L1 < L2/2
L1
Figure 3.8 Floor slab of one-way slab
wL1
2
wL1 L2
4
L2
wL1 L2
When L1 < L2/2
4
L1 L1 L1
wL1 L2 wL1 L2
2 2
wL1 L2 wL1L2
2 2
Figure 3.9 Combined one-way slab
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The load on the floor is transferred to the beam member and then to column.
Loading on column should be the summation of reactions of the connected beam
members at each floor level. Alternatively, the axial loads on column can be simply
determined from the loaded area multiplied by pressure w as shown in Figure 3.10 for
different cases at various levels. In Figure 3.10, the loaded column is indicated by a
circle and loaded area is shaded. The load area supported by a column should be
obtained according to the load paths of connected beams discussed in the previous
sections.
Figure 3.10 Loading taking by columns in different floor systems
When the beam-column connection is designed as moment connection, the

moments from beam transmitted to the column should be considered. It is convenient
to design a simple structure, which implies all beam-column connections in a structure
are pinned. However, load eccentricity is required to be considered here. Alternatively,
when the moment connection allowing full transfer of moment is assumed, the moment
due to load eccentricity is not required to be considered.
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Chapter 4 Section Classification and Local Plate Buckling
4.1 Introduction of local plate buckling
When thin plates are in compression, local plate buckling may occur. The local
plate buckling resistance depends on the stress distribution along the plate, boundary
condition of the plate, material design strength, presence of ribs, if any, geometry of the
plate (i.e. width-to-thickness ratio) and initial imperfection in plates.
As it is uncommon to use hot rolled members with sections classified as slender,

HK Code only provides effective stress method for the local plate buckling check and
it refers to Chapter 11 for the effective width method. As the application of the formulae
in Chapter 11 is limited to 8mm thick plate, Clause 7.6 of HK Code further refers to
other literatures for the checking by the effective width method and Eurocode 3 (2005)
is considered as one of the literatures appropriate for checking of hot rolled slender
sections by the effective width method for plates thicker than 8mm.
Figure 4.1 Local plate buckling simulated by the NIDA-9, non-linear frame and
shell analysis and design software
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In the HK Code, two types of elements are generally considered in classifying
for plate boundary condition, namely the internal and outstanding elements. Internal
elements refer to the plate elements or components with both longitudinal edges
supported by other plate elements such as webs of box or I-sections. Outstanding
elements refer to plate elements or components with only one edge supported by other
plate elements such as flanges of an I-section.
Figure 4.2 Internal and outstanding plate elements in an I-section
4.2 Cross section classifications
Plate buckling is controlled and classified by the breadth to thickness ratio (b/t).
Thicker plates or plates with smaller breadth are less likely to buckle than the thinner
plates or plates with larger breadth. Plates with stiffeners will reduce the breadth by the
distance between longitudinal stiffeners and thus increase the buckling resistance.
Transversely placed stiffeners are not effective in reducing the local plate buckling
resistance as they are unable to stiffen the long plate elements unless they are very
closely spaced.
In HK Code, the breadth is generally measured as the width of flange or webs

as in Figure 7.1 of the HK Code. There are 4 types of element class, being Class 1 for
plastic sections, Class 2 for compact sections, Class 3 for semi-compact sections and
Class 4 for slender sections. The graphical representation of the resistance of these 4
classes of element against member rotation is indicated in Figure 4.3.
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Class 1: Plastic Cross Sections
Plastic hinge can be developed with sufficient rotation capacity.
Class 2: Compact Cross section

Full plastic moment capacity can be developed but local buckling will
occur soon after the formation of plastic hinge. Thus, it is allowed to
possess a plastic hinge in an elastic design but it is not allowed to do so
when used in a plastic design. However, all members must be at least
compact cross sections when used in a plastic design.
Class 3: Semi-compact Sections

Extreme fiber may yield but local buckling prevents it from plastic
moment formation. Both Classes 3 and 4 cannot be used in plastic
design.
Class 4: Slender Sections

Sections under compression or bending that do not meet the limits for
Class 3 sections. The section may buckle before extreme fiber yields.
The purpose of the above classification is to calculate the load carrying capacity
of the structural members, which depends on the failure mode (yielding, buckling or
combined elasto-plastic buckling). For slender section in Class 4, the member sectional
properties or design strength shall be reduced to account for the local buckling effect.
Moment Capacity Mc
Mp
My
Semi-compact Compact Plastic
Slender
Rotation 
Figure 4.3 Local buckling of various classes of plate element in sections
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4.3 Limiting width-to-thickness ratio
There are three main methods for the design of sections against local plate
buckling, namely the effective width method, the effective stress method and the
numerical finite element method. The effective width method is widely adopted in
newer design codes and the width of a section is reduced to an “effective” width. As it
sometimes depends on the stress and thus the load case so it is more tedious in general
applications but it is considered to be more economical. The effective stress method
reduces the design strength to account for local buckling and it is simpler to use. The
numerical finite element method is most exact but sometimes involves analysis expert
for an accurate solution.
The section classification is carried out by the limiting b/T ratio in Table 7.1 for
non-RHS and non-CHS sections and Table 7.2 for RHS and CHS (RHS Rectangular
hollow sections and CHS Circular hollow sections). To unifying the use of the
equations to various steel grades, a parameter,   275 p y , is used to factor the
limiting ratio.
In the Tables 7.1 and 7.2, the stress ratio r1 and r2 are the stress ratios given in
Equations (4.1) to (4.4) as,
For typical H-sections with equal flange, r1 and r2 are determined as,
Fc
r1  but - 1  r1  1 (4.1)
dtp yw
Fc
r2  (4.2)
Ag p yw
For typical RHS or welded box sections with equal flanges, r1 and r2 are
determined as,
Fc
r1  but - 1  r1  1 (4.3)
2dtp yw
Fc
r2  (4.4)
Ag p yw
where
Ag = gross cross-sectional area
d = web depth
Fc = axial compression (negative for tension)
pyw = design strength of the web (but pyw  pyf)
t = web thickness
For other sections such as unequal flange sections, the code should be referred and
for other complex shape sections, a finite element buckling analysis NIDA-9 (2015)
can be used.
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4.3.1 Effective width method
4.3.1.1 Effective width of flange element under uniform compression

If the plate section of member is classified as Class 4 slender section according
to the above mentioned classification method, it represents the local plate buckling may
probably occur on the plate section. The effective section properties should be evaluated
such that the corresponding member resistance, such as section modulus or cross-
section area, can be computed accounting for the local plate buckling effect.
In the evaluation of section properties for slender section, the effective width of
slender section including flange or web should be determined pursuant to Clause 11.3
of HK Code. There are two types of section. One is section, whose thickness is between
1mm to 8mm, and the other is sheet profile, whose thickness ranges from 0.5mm to
4mm. When any thickness of the section is greater than 8mm, the effective width
method for such member section should accord to other literature or Eurocode 3 (2005).
For hot-rolled member sections, their plate section is most likely classified as section.
In other case, the section type should be sheet profiles for floor decking, roof and wall
cladding commonly.
The type of section is only used in determination of effective width of flat

stiffened flange section under uniform compression. The stiffened and unstiffened
elements are defined by their support conditions. The internal element, which includes
internal flange or web, used in classification Tables 7.1 and 7.2 is same as stiffened
element named in Clauses 11.3 of HK Code. On the other hand, the outstand element,
which comprises outstand flange, should be equivalent to the unstiffened element.
It should be emphasized that the dimension of the plate section in Chapter 11

of HK Code is defined by the mid-line section in the subsequent effective width method,
which is disparate from the dimension of element section used in Section 7 of HK Code
according to Tables 7.1 and 7.2. When the slender hot-rolled section properties are
calculated based on the effective width method, which is a less conservative approach
for hot-rolled section, the dimension of element section should be according to Tables
7.1 and 7.2 of HK Code.
After classification of section type, the determination of effective width should

also depend on the loading cases including uniform compression case and bending case.
In the following calculations of effective width of element are confined to the flange
element section under uniform compression. The effective width of element under
uniform compression is given as,
be  b (4.5)
and  is given by,

𝑝 𝑝
𝛽 = √ 𝑝𝑐𝑟 (1.0 − 0.22√ 𝑝𝑐𝑟 ) (4.6)
𝑒 𝑒
The local buckling strength pcr of the element is given as Equation (4.7).
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𝜋2𝐸 𝑡 2
𝑝𝑐𝑟 =𝐾 ( ) (4.7)
12(1 − 𝜐 2 ) 𝑏
where E is elastic modulus of element, t and b are the net thickness and the width of the
element respectively and K is relevant local buckling coefficient depending on the
support conditions of flange element, such as stiffened and unstiffened element and
intenal and outstand element,  is the Poisson’s ratio taken as 0.3. It should be noted
that the gross section, such the width b and depth d, should be defined by the mid-line
dimension in Clause 11.3.1 of HK Code.
Equation (4.7) is the local buckling strength of the element. For different
element section types and support conditions, the local buckling strength pcr of the
element is also different relying on the different value of relevant local buckling
coefficient K. The unstiffened element, which is supported at one edge, is more
vulnerable to the local plate buckling by comparing with the stiffened element, which
is supported by both edges, as the supporting condition can cater the additional section
capacity of the section for post-buckling or load redistribution effect. Therefore, the
buckling coefficient K for stiffened flange or internal element under uniform
compression can be expressed as,
1.4h
K  5.4   0.02h 3 (4.8)
0.6  h
where h is equal to the ratio between depth of web dw and width of flange b, i.e.
h  d w b , dw is the sloping distance between the intersection points of a web and the
two flanges and b is the flat width of the flange. It should be pointed out that the
buckling coefficient K of stiffened flange element for sheet profiles is neglected herein,
because it is uncommon that the thickness of hot-rolled section is less than 4mm.
Alternatively, the value of the buckling coefficient K should be conservatively taken as
4 for internal or simpl supported elements.
When the flange element is restrained at only one edge, the unstiffened flange
element is prone to local plate buckling with a slight modification of coefficient in
Equation 4.6 to the following.
𝑝 𝑝
𝛽 = √ 𝑝𝑐𝑟 (1.0 − 0.188√ 𝑝𝑐𝑟 ) (4.9)
𝑒 𝑒
The buckling coefficient K for determination of pcr of unstiffened flange or outstand

element should be taken as,
0.8h
K  1.28   0.0025h 2 (4.10)
2h
Alternatively, the value of buckling coefficient K should be conservatively taken

as 0.425 for unstiffened elements.
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4.3.1.2 Effective width of web element under bending stress
When the element section is subjected to bending stress, the local plate buckling
may not be so easy to occur than those under uniform compression. It is because
compression load deteriorates the stiffness of the slender element section to cause local
plate buckling. On the contrary, the tensile load in a certain extent eliminates the
instability effect from compression load and therefore hinders the slender element
section from plate buckling. Thus, when the web section is fully under tension, the web
is considered as fully effective. Further, if the slenderness ratio of web, such as depth
to thickness ratio d w t is smaller than or equal to 70, the web section is classified as
fully effective.
As a result, the buckling load resistance of the element section differs under
different loading conditions. When the element section is subjected to bending stress,
the local plate buckling load should be determined correspondingly in the following set
of formulae.
For one edge in tension as shown in Figure 4.4(a), the effective width of different
portion are given as,
E
be,1  0.76t (4.11)
f c ,1
be,3  1.5be,1 (4.12)
in which be,1 and be,3 are the portion of the effective width adjacent to the more
compressed edge and tension edge respectively, fc,1 is the larger compressive edge
stress, bt is the portion of web under tension, E is elastic modulus and t is the net
thickness of the steel material. It should be remarked that if the condition of
be,1  be,3  bt  d w for web section attains, then the web section is fully effective
against local plate buckling.
For both edges in compression as shown in Figure 4.4(b), the effective width of
different portion are written as,
E
be,1  0.76t (4.13)
f c ,1
 f c,2 
be, 2  1.5  0.5 be,1
 (4.14)
 f c ,1 
in which be,1 and be,2 are the portion of the effective width adjacent to the more and less
compressed edge respectively, fc,1 and fc,2 are the larger and smaller compressive edge
stress respectively. Similarly, if the condition of be,1  be, 2  d w for web section
achieves, the web is classified as fully effective.
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fc,1 fc,1
be,1
be,1
dw dw
be,3
be,2
bt Neutral Axis
fc,2
a) One edge in tension b) Both edges in compression
Figure 4.4 Stress distributions over effective portions of web element
4.3.2 Effective stress method
The effective width method allows for stress distribution across a section and it
is more accurate in general. The effective stress method is simpler to use by reducing
the design strength. In HK Code, the reduction can carried out using the following
formula.
2
 
p yr   3  p y (4.15)

in which  is the value of width-to-thickness ratio that exceeds the limiting values of
.
4.3.3 Finite element method
Possibly second to a direct experimental test, the finite element method is most
accurate. In some cases where the geometry of a plate is irregular, or opening or ribs
exists, the finite element method is the most sensible solution to the design of slender
sections. Care should be taken to assume an appropriate set of initial imperfection for
the plates and a nonlinear incremental-iterative analysis method is needed to trace the
load vs. deflection path to locate the maximum load resistance of the plated structure.
The procedure and concept for the analysis is the same as in the second-order direct
analysis for frames in Chapter 10, while they use different element types as beam-
column and shell elements for the structural model.
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4.4 Worked examples
4.4.1 Section classification of rolled universal I-beam
Determine classification of section of beam of 25410222 UB in steel grade S355.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  254.0mm , B  101.6mm , t  5.7mm , T  6.8mm , d  225.2mm
SECTION CLASSIFICATION
Design strength, p y  355N / mm 2 for T  16mm (Table 3.2)
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355
Plastic limiting value of b T for outstand flange of an I-section is 9

b 101.6
  7.47  9  0.88  7.92 (Table 7.1)
T 2  6.8
flange is plastic
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an I-section with neutral axis at mid-depth is 80
d 225.2
  39.5  80  0.88  70.4 (Table 7.1)
t 5.7
web is plastic
the section is Class 1 plastic
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4.4.2 Effective width method for hot-rolled RHS under uniform
compression
A stocky column of 300×200×6.3 hot-rolled RHS section in steel grade S355 is under
a factored compression force of 1600kN and under a small moment causing negligible
stress gradient. Determine the section properties for compression capacity of the section.
200
6.3 300
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  300mm , B  200mm , t  6.3mm , A  61.0cm
2
Design strength, p y  355N / mm 2 for t  16mm (Table 3.2)
275
  0.88 (Table 7.2 Note b)
355
Width of RHS, b  B  3t  200  3  6.3  181.1mm (Table 7.2 Note a)
Depth of RHS, d  D  3t  300  3  6.3  281.1mm (Table 7.2 Note a)
Limiting value of b t for flange of a hot-rolled RHS is 40

b 181.1
  28.7  40  0.88  35.2 (Table 7.2)
t 6.3
flange is non-slender
Limiting value of d t for web of a hot-rolled RHS under axial compression is 120 1  2r2 
Fc 1600  103
Stress ratio, r2    0.739 (7.6)
Ag p yw 6100  355
d 281.1 120  0.88
  44.6   42.6 (Table 7.2)
t 6.3 1  2  0.739
web is slender
the section is Class 4 slender
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COMPRESSION RESISTANCE
By effective width method,
K  4 for conservative approach (Clause 11.3.4.4.3)
1600  103
fc   262.3 N mm 2 (Clause 11.3.4.4.1)
6100
For flange,
2 2
t  6.3 
pcr  0.904EK    0.904  205000 4     897.1 N mm
2
(11.11)
b  181.1 
f 262.3
 c   0.292  0.123 (11.10)
p cr 897.1
 
  1  14   0.35 
4 0.2
  
 1  14 0.292  0.35
4 0.2
 0.996 (11.9b)
 be  b  0.996  181.1  180.4mm (11.8)
For web,
2
 6.3 
p cr  0.904  205000 4     372.3 N mm
2
(11.11)
 281.1 
262.3
  0.705  0.123 (11.10)
372.3
 
  1  14 0.705  0.35 
4 0.2
 0.889 (11.9b)
 be  0.889  281.1  249.9mm (11.8)
Effective Area, Aeff  180.4  249.9  6.3  2  5422mm 2

Compression Resistance, Pc  Aeff p y  5422  355  1924.8kN  Fc (OK)
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4.4.3 Effective stress method of slender section
Determine the reduced design strength of a 305457127 Tee in S275 steel.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  459.1mm , B  305.5mm , t  17.3mm , T  27.9mm , A  161cm 2
Design strength, p y  265N / mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
275
  1.02 (Table 7.1 Note b)
265
Plastic limiting value of b T for outstand flange of a T-section is 9

b 305.5
  5.47  9  1.02  9.18 (Table 7.1)
T 2  27.9
Semi-compact limiting value of D t for stem of a T-section is 18

D 459.1
  26.5  18  1.02  18.4 (Table 7.1)
t 17.3
stem is slender
the section is Class 4 slender
By effective stress method,

2
 
2
 18.4 
Reduced design strength, p yr   3  p y     265  127.8 N / mm
2
(7.13)
   26.5 
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4.4.4 Effective section modulus of rolled H-section
Classify beam section of 15215223 UC in Grade S275 steel, which is subjected to

pure bending. And calculate the effective section moduli.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  152.4mm , B  152.2mm , t  5.8mm , T  6.8mm , d  123.6mm , Z x  164cm 3 , Z y  52.4cm 3 ,
S x  182cm 3 , S y  80.1cm 3
275
 1 (Table 7.1 Note b)
275
Semi-compact limiting value of b T for outstand flange of an H-section is 15

b 152.2
  11.2  15  1  15 (Table 7.1)
T 2  6.8
flange is semi-compact
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an H-section with neutral axis at mid-depth is 80
d 123.6
  21.3  80 1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 5.8
web is plastic
the section is Class 3 semi-compact
EFFECTIVE PLASTIC MODULUS

  
2
   120  2 
  3w   1     1
  d t  
S x ,eff  Z x  S x  Z x    21.3 
  164  182  164  
  1421.5cm 3 (7.7)
2 
   3w 
2
 
120 
    1   1 
   100  
  2w  
      15  
  3 f   1    1
 
 b T  
 Z x  S x  Z x   11.2  
But S x ,eff   164  182  164    176.2cm 3
  
  3 f   1   15   (7.9)
 2 f      1 
     10  
 S x,eff  176.2cm 3
   
 3 f   1    15  
   1
 b T 
S y , eff 
 Zy  Sy  Zy   
  52.4  80.1  52.4    11.2  
  15  
 71.2cm 3 (7.8)
   3 f  
 
 1    1 
    10  
 2 f  
Copyright 48
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Chapter 5 Tension Members
5.1 Introduction
Tension members are very effective in resisting as they have no buckling

problems. Also, their design is relatively simple. The capacity of a tension member is
limited by the following conditions.
1. Eccentric connection e.g. angles connected in one leg only.

2. Reversed loads making the tension members under compression and then
buckle.
3. Moment due to eccentric loads etc.
5.2 Tension capacity
The tension capacity of a member, Pt, is given by

Pt  p y Ae (5.1)
in which Ae is the effective area of all elements in a cross section. The effective area of
each element, ae, is given by,
ae  Ke an but  a g (5.2)
in which Ke is the effective net area coefficient given by,

Ke = 1.2 for grade S275 steel
= 1.1 for grade S355 steel
= 1.0 for grade S460 steel
Us
  1.2 for other steel grades (5.3)
1.2 p y
an = the net cross sectional area of leg deducted for openings
ag = gross sectional area without deduction for openings
Us = ultimate strength
py = design strength
Copyright 49
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5.3 Eccentric connections
Many sections are commonly or unavoidably connected by eccentric

connections as shown in Figure 5.1 for a truss. When the axial tension is applied not
through the centroid of a section, a moment exists and it can be accounted for explicitly
by an application of a moment equal to the product of axial force and eccentricity and
the member should be designed as a beam-column under axial force and moment. This
is a conservative approach for slender members as they will deform and reduce the
amount of moment. An alternative approach in clause of HK Code available for design
of single and double angles is to use the effective area (Ae) for the area in a cross section
to account for eccentric load.
Figure 5.1 Truss with T-sections as chords and angles as webs
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5.3.1 Single and double angle, channel and T-sections
In bolted connections, Pt  p y  Ae  0.5a2  (5.4)

In welded connections, Pt  p y  Ae  0.3a2  (5.5)
in which
a2  gross sectional area of the unconnected element in the section
 Ag  a1 (5.6)
a1  gross sectional area of the connected element in the section
Ag  gross area of the section
Ae  effective area of the section defined in Equation 5.1
5.3.2 Double angle, channel and T-sections with intermediate
connections
The effect here is less severe than the above cases.

In bolted connections, Pt  p y  Ae  0.25a2  (5.7)
In welded connections, Pt  p y  Ae  0.15a2  (5.8)
To qualify for design as double sections here, the sections must be separated by
at least 2 number of solid packing pieces or battens along the combined member
otherwise the combined section is required to be designed as a single section.
5.4 Non-linear analysis for asymmetric sections
The general second-order direct analysis method can be applied to the design of
angle and asymmetric sections, provided that the effects of member imperfections as
well as additional effects due to eccentric connection and sectional asymmetry are
accounted for. Chan and Cho (2005) tested a series of angle trusses and the test results
were compared with the first-order linear, second-order direct elastic and advanced
analysis, indicating a conservative design can be obtained
The eccentric connection effect can be modeled in a robust nonlinear frame

analysis program by rigid links connecting the connecting and off-set nodes. The
section capacity check is carried out until the section yields, no matter whether the
member is in tension or in compression as the presence or absence of P-delta effects
have been considered in computation of moment. Thus, the sectional check as follows
can be carried out as in Equation (10.24). It will be necessary to use a reduced section
capacity in the section capacity check by using the smaller sectional strength in
Equation (5.1), with automatic consideration in computer program of checking the
sectional tensile strength according to the connection type. A detailed discussion on the
rationale is discussed in Chapter 10.
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5.5 Worked Examples
5.5.1 Tension capacity of plate
Determine the design load capacity of a tension member consisted of two plates
of 150×16 cross section and grade S275 steel connected by a single line of 20 mm bolts.
16mm
150mm
Solution
TENSION CAPACITY
Gross area of the plate, Ag  150 16  2400mm 2
Net area of the plate, An  2400  22  16  2048mm 2

Effective net area coefficient, Ke  1.2 for S275 (Clause 9.3.4.4)
Effective area of the plate, Ae  K e An  1.2  2048  2458mm  Ag
2
(9.10)
 Ae  Ag  2400mm 2
If the load eccentricity is ignored, the tension capacity Pt is given by

Pt  p y Ae  275  2400  660kN (8.66)
If the load eccentricity is considered, the tension capacity Pt is given by

Pt 6 Pt e
py  
bd bd 2
Pt 6 Pt  16
275  
150  16 150  16 2
 Pt  94.3kN
This is why use of double plates to reduce moment is better.
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5.5.2 Tension capacity of unequal angle
Determine the design load capacity of an angle 65×50×6 of Grade S275 Steel connected
through the long leg by a single line of 20 mm bolts.
 22mm
65mm
50mm
Unconnected
area a2
Connected
area a1
Solution
TENSION CAPACITY
Gross area of the angle, Ag  65  50  6  6  654mm 2
 6
Gross area of the connected leg, a1   65    6  372mm 2
 2
Gross area of the unconnected leg, a2  Ag  a1  654  372  282mm 2 (8.69)
Net area of the connected leg, a n  372  22  6  240mm 2
Effective net area coefficient, K e  1.2 for S275 (Clause 9.3.4.4)
Effective area of the connected leg, ae  K e an  1.2  240  288mm  a g  a1
2
(9.10)
Effective area of the angle, Ae  ae  a 2  288  282  570mm 2
Tension capacity, Pt  p y  Ae  0.5a 2   275  570  0.5  282  118.0kN (8.67)
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5.5.3 Tension capacity of angle bracings
A single angle is used as a tension bracing as shown, which is in S275 steel material
and section is unequal angle 1007510. The section of single angle is shown. The
factored tension force supported by the tension bracing is 200kN. At the end connection,
M18 bolts are used and diameter of bolt holes are then 20mm. Check the tension
capacity of the tension bracing with the single angle section.
10
30
100 30
30 Welded steel plate
10
75
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  100mm , B  75mm , t  10mm , Ag  16.6cm 2
TENSION CAPACITY
 10 
Gross area of the connected leg, a1  100    10  950mm 2
 2
Gross area of the unconnected leg, a 2  Ag  a1  1660  950  710mm 2
Net area of the connected leg, a n  950  20 10  2  550mm 2
Effective net area coefficient, K e  1.2 for S275 (Clause 9.3.4.4)
Effective area of the connected leg, ae  K e an  1.2  550  660mm  a g  a1
2
(9.10)
Effective area of the angle, Ae  ae  a2  660  710  1370mm 2
Tension capacity, Pt  p y  Ae  0.5a 2   275 1370  0.5  710  279.1kN  200 kN

(8.67)
(OK)
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5.5.4 Tension capacity of channel connected by welding
The channel section acts as a hanger whose section is CH2307526 in Grade

S460 to take 150kN dead load and 500kN imposed load. The cross section of channel
section is shown in following diagram. The hanger is welded to the web of the beam
member, which support the floor slab as displayed. Design the tensile load carrying
capacity of the hanger.
12.5
6.5 75
230
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored tension force, Ft  1.4  150  1.6  500  1010kN (Table 4.2)
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  230mm , B  75mm , T  12.5mm , t  6.5mm , Ag  32.7cm 2
TENSION CAPACITY
Gross area of the connected leg, a1  230  6.5  1495mm 2
Gross area of the unconnected legs, a 2  Ag  a1  3270  1495  1775mm 2 (8.69)
Tension capacity, Pt  p y  Ae  0.3a 2   460  3270  0.3  1775  1259.3kN  Ft
(8.68)
(OK)
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Chapter 6 Restrained and Unrestrained beams
6.1 Introduction and uses of beam member
Beam member refers to structural element with loads along its length or under
an action of transverse loads, making the member to be loaded principally by bending
moment. Beam can be defined as a structural member to resist the transverse or lateral
loads. A non-uniform moment will further create a shear along the beam which is then
required to be checked for shear capacity.
In the most steel buildings, beams are used to support floors and they are then
supported by columns. For typical applications, standard hot-rolled sections are used.
Beams can be hot-rolled, cold-formed or fabricated from steel plates which is generally
called plate girders. Hot rolled sections eliminate the need for welding steel plates but
they are less flexible in adapting to various environments. Section classification system
is further employed to make sure local plate buckling does not occur before the assumed
moment capacity of a beam is reached or the local buckling effect is considered in the
design. In some cases, stiffeners are used to reduce the breadth to thickness ratio for
increasing the buckling strength of a plate section. A common practice is to fabricate
stiffeners to locations under concentrated loads and supports to stiffen and strengthen
locally the beam. The first part of this chapter discusses the design and in-plane
behaviour of fully restrained beams with full lateral restraint and the second part of this
chapter discusses the design of unrestrained beams where lateral-torsional buckling
effect is required to be considered.
For beams supporting floor, beams with sufficiently large torsional stiffness
such as beams of hollow sections or they are bent about the minor axis, the lateral
movements are prevented such that lateral-torsional buckling is not a concern. Under
this behavioral assumption, the beam can be designed as a restrained beam.
The common steel sections used in a beam member are shown in Figure 6.1
which include universal beam, compound, channel, tee, hollow, angle and other
sections.
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UB Compound Section Channel
Tee Hollow Angle
Figure 6.1 Typical sections used as beam members
Composing plate elements in a beam section are under tension, compression

and combined tension and compression which respectively occur in tension flange,
compression flange and web. The section classification system has different formulae
to cater for the effect of boundary conditions on local plate buckling.
6.2 In-plane bending of beams
In-plane bending of beams refers to the condition of displacement of beam

restrained in the loading plane. Thus, restrained beams are not affected by lateral-
torsional buckling in the complete loading stage until failure. This condition can be
achieved by the provision of lateral restraints along the beam that it is not allowed to
deflect significantly out of the loading plane, or the length of beam is sufficiently short
to warrant no out-of-plane displacement. Retrained beams are commonly used in
practice for support of floors and panels which restrain the beams against its out-of-
plane displacement.
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6.2.1 In-plane bending of laterally restrained beams
In design of restrained beams the effect of torsional and lateral-torsional

buckling is ignored and assumed to be restrained by lateral bracing or floors on top of
the beams. The structural adequacy of a restrained beam is checked for section
classification, adequacy of lateral restraints, shear and bending capacities, web bearing
and buckling, deflection and vibration.
The in-plane bending behaviour of a beam is shown in Figure 6.2. The moment-
curvature relationship of the beam is constrained in the loading plane and contained in
the principal axis. Thus, the strength of a steel beam under in-plane bending is affected
by material yielding only, which depends on the section properties and its yield stress
py. The moment capacity of beam can be based on the use of the plastic or elastic section
modulus for classes 1 to 4 sections of the beams. In the HK Code, the plastic section
modulus is allowed for finding the moment capacity of a plastic or a compact section
and the effective plastic section modulus or the elastic section modulus is used for a
semi-compact section. For slender sections, the effective elastic section modulus shall
be used for prevention of local buckling before attaining the design moment in a section.
M
5
MP
First yield 2 4
Me
Elastic limit Plastic limit Curvature
Figure 6.2 In-plane moment-curvature relationships of a beam
The stress distribution across a section in a beam under an increasing moment

from an elastic stage to a plastic stage is shown in Figure 6.3. The behaviour is a
conceptual and an idealized case assumed for design and the effect of residual stress is
not considered here. The first yield moment My and plastic moment Mp in the beam
section can be determined respectively by the product of elastic and plastic section
modulus and the design strength.
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py py py py
1 Elastic 2 First yield 3 Elastic-plastic 4 Fully plastic 5 Strain-hardened
Figure 6.3 Stress distributions for the moment-curvature relationships
When a beam is loaded under an increasing bending moment in the elastic

range, the strain and stress are linear before reaching the elastic limit. The elastic
moment My refers to the moment where the extreme fiber of the beam section reaches
its yield stress y or py in general and the moment is then equal to M y  p y Z in which
Z is the elastic section modulus of the beam section. It is indicated by stages ①and ②
in Figure 6.3. If moment is further increased after yielding at the extreme fiber and no
local buckling occurs on the plate section of beam, the plastic moment of the beam, Mp,
will be reached. The value of plastic moment is then equal to the product of design
strength and plastic modulus as M p  p y S in which S is the plastic modulus. This is
referred as stage ④in Figure 6.3.
The transition from elastic to plastic moment is indicated in curve ③in Figure
6.2. The rotational capacity of the section is not a concern in elastic design, but it may
be required for checking in plastic design in which structural resistance can be beyond
the first plastic range.
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6.2.2 In-plane elastic analysis of beams
When a beam is under uniform moment, the strain at a fiber with distance y
d
from the centroid is equal to   y where   .
dz
y d 𝑀𝑥 = න 𝐸𝜀𝑦𝑑𝐴
Mx Mx
-y x -y  =y -y  =E
dA dz dz
a. Cross-section b. Side view of beam c. Linear strain d. Linear stress

of beam (deformed) distribution distribution
Figure 6.4 Stress distribution across a section by the elastic beam theory
The elastic stress can be obtained from the bending moment and the elastic modulus as,
M x y max M x
  (6.1)
Ix Zx
where Zx is the elastic section modulus and Mx is the bending moment about the major
principal axis.
The moment capacity, Mcx, for a section is given by,

M cx  py Z x (6.2)
Similarly, for bending about minor axis,

M cy  p y Z y (6.3)
in which Mcx and Mcy are respectively the moment capacity about the major x- and y-
axes, py is the design strength and Z is the elastic section modulus.
6.2.3 In-plane plastic moment capacity of beams
When applied moment is increased further, the maximum moment capacity will
be obtained from the completely yielded condition for the beam section, with half area
yielded in tension and half in compression. Once the longitudinal strains of the fiber
across a steel beam section exceeds the yield strain y equal to py/E at elastic limit, the
stress distribution is no longer linear under further loading but varies across the beam
section as indicated in stage ③ in Figure 6.3. The section becomes elasto-plastic when
resultant moment M exceeds the first yield moment as M y  p y Z and inelastic bending
stress distribution will occur. The section becomes fully plastic when the moment
resultant M is equal to the full plastic moment. As no local buckling has been assumed
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when reaching the plastic moment capacity and therefore only plastic and compact
sections are allowed to adopt the plastic modulus in calculation for the moment capacity.
The plastic moment at fully yielded section can be written as,
M p  py S (6.4)
in which S is the plastic section modulus about the centroid axis shown in Figure 6.5,
which divides the cross-section into two equal areas. This plastic neutral axis can be
taken as the centroidal axis of cross-section in the absence of axial force. Equation (6.4)
is derived from the force equilibrium of the fully plastic stress distribution over the
section as shown in Equation (6.5). Force equilibrium is achieved so that the
compression and tension on the beam section are same, which leads to the moment
resultant Mp of the fully plastic stress distribution.
M p   p y  Ai yi tension   p y  Ai yi compression  p y S (6.5)

i i
in which Ai and yi are the area of cross-section and its corresponding distance from
centroid to plastic neutral axis respectively.  Ai yi is the first moment of area
calculated using the centroidal axis of equal area of the section, which is the same as
the plastic section modulus S.
p p p p
Compression Compression
Tension Tension
Figure 6.5 Stress distribution on symmetric beam section
Summarizing the moment capacities for sections affected and unaffected by local
buckling and under low shear load condition that shear does not have interaction with
the moment capacity of beams, we have the following expressions of moment capacities.
M cx  p y S x  1.2 p y Z x for Class 1 plastic and Class 2 compact sections

 p y Z x or p y S x,eff for Class 3 semi-compact sections (6.6)
 p y Z x,eff or p yr Z x for Class 4 slender sections
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Similarly, for bending about minor axis,
M cy  p y S y  1.2 p y Z y for Class 1 plastic and Class 2 compact sections

 p y Z y or p y S y , eff for Class 3 semi-compact sections (6.7)
 py Z y , eff or p yr Z y for Class 4 slender sections
in which Mcx and Mcy are respectively the moment capacity about the x- and y-axes. In
the effective stress method, py should be reduced to pyr to account for the local plate
buckling effect.
6.2.4 Shear capacity of beams
Shear force Fv across a section transverse to the longitudinal x-axis of a beam

creates shear stresses. The distribution of the vertical shear stresses can be determined
by considering the horizontal force equilibrium of an infinitesimal element of the beam
in longitudinal direction shown in Figure 6.6. The horizontal shear stress zy is in
equilibrium with the horizontal change in bending stress . Assuming an infinitesimal
length for the section with x being small, the force equilibrium is obtained by equating
the horizontal force to zero.
𝜏𝑣 𝑏𝛿𝑥
න 𝜎𝑏 𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑦
𝛿𝑥
න(𝜎 + 𝛿𝜎)𝑏 𝑑𝑦
Figure 6.6 Horizontal force equilibrium of an element
 v bx    b dy (6.8)
M bydy VAy
x  bI
v   (6.9)
bI
in which Ay is first moment of area for the area above the considered sectional cut, b
is the width of the considered section cut and I is the second moment of area of the
complete cross section.
Steel structural members are mostly made of thin-walled sections with thickness
t much smaller than other dimensions like width B and depth D. As can be seen in
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Equation (6.9), shear stress increases significantly at the web zone, because of the
smaller thickness of web when compared with the width of flanges in a typical I-section.
Also, the first moment of area above the section is larger when the section cut for shear
is close to the centroid. It is therefore a good approximation to assume the web to take
shear with the flanges to take moment. This assumption is sufficiently accurate with
great simplification in computation. With an additional simplification made for the
uniformity of shear stress across the web that the design shear stress is simply taken as
the shear force divided by the web area (d×t or D×t, depending on whether the section
is welded or rolled section) as,
F
v  v (6.10)
Dt
where t is the thickness of web and D is the overall depth of the I-section beam. This
expression is a basis of the design formula of shear capacity of the web element.
For simplicity in design, flanges are assumed to take moment and web resists shear.
For shear areas of other sections, the following expressions from Clause 8.2.1 of HK
Code can be used.
Rolled I, H and channels sections tD

Welded I-sections td
Rolled and welded rectangular hollow section 2td
Rolled and welded T-sections t (D  T )
Circular hollow sections 0 .6 A
Solid rectangular sections 0 .9 A
Others 0.9AO
in which A is the cross-sectional area, AO is the area of the rectilinear element in the
cross-section with largest dimension parallel to the design shear force direction, B is
the overall breadth, D is the overall depth, d is the depth of the web, T is the flange
thickness, t is the web thickness.
The web in the thin-walled section behaves elastically in shear until first yielding
py 1
occurs at  v  . The factor here is derived from the von Mises yield criterion
3 3
for metal as  x   y   x y  3   , in which x, y and v are respectively the
2 2 2 2
normal stress in x- and y-axes and shear stress. Therefore, the yield stress in shear  can
be determined from the yield stress in tension, py for design approach. Thus, using the
design yield strength and shear area, we have the shear capacity Vc of a section as,
p y Av
Vc  (6.11)
3
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6.2.5 Interaction between shear and bending
Interaction between shear can be ignored when the external shear force is not
greater than 0.6 of the shear capacity (i.e. V  0.6Vc ) and Equations (6.6) and (6.7) can
be used. When the condition of low shear load is violated, the bending capacity of the
beam shall be reduced using the following equations.
For Class 1 plastic and Class 2 compact sections:

M c  py (S  Sv )  1.2 py (Z  Sv / 1.5) (6.12)
For Class 3 semi-compact sections:

M c  p y (Z  S v / 1.5) (6.13)
or M c  p y (Seff  Sv /1.5) (6.14)
For Class 4 slender sections:

M c  p y (Z eff  S v / 1.5) (6.15)
in which
SV is the plastic modulus of shear area AV
2
 2F 
 is given by  v  1
 Vc 
Vc is the shear capacity;
Fv is the design shear.
When the web slenderness d t is larger than 70 for hot-rolled sections, or 62 for
welded sections, the web section should be checked for web shear buckling.
6.2.6 Web bearing, buckling and shear buckling
For typical beams under dominant bending, thickness of flanges is normally

much greater than webs in order to economically put material away from the centre of
the section to increase the second moment of area under the same weight. However,
capacity of webs normally of smaller thickness should be ensured to avoid failure in
taking shear loads. Webs shall be designed against four major modes of failure as shear
buckling, web buckling under concentrated compressive loads or at supports, web
bearing and crushing. A thorough discussion of web design should be referred to
Chapter 9.
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6.2.7 Serviceability limit state considerations
In addition to checking to the ultimate limit state for safety, a beam shall also
be checked to satisfy the serviceability limit state to avoid unsatisfactory functional use.
Deflection and vibration serviceability limit states are two common criteria for ensuring
the stiffness of the beam will not hinder its serviceable use.
Excessive deflection leads to human discomfort and cracking of finishes. A

typical value for control under normal use is span/360 and Table 5.1 in the HK Code
should be referred for other cases. In general, only unfactored live load is required to
consider in calculation of deflection. Pre-cambering during fabrication of a beam to
introduce an initial upward deflection can be exercised to reduce deflection from dead
load to avoid ponding. Table 6.1 below shows typical maximum deflection of a beam
under different load cases and conditions.
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Deflection Msag Mhog
F
L/2 L/2
FL3 FL
0
48EI 4
L
F
a b
FL3  3a a 
3
Fab
  4   0
48EI  L  L   L
L
w 5L4  L2
0
384EI 8
L
a
w
b c b
384EI

8L3  4b 2 L  b 3    b b 
2

 a    c    a 2  0
2  L2  
L if a  c
a b a
a 2 a 2
w
16a 2
 20ab  5b 2  0
120EI 3
L
w
L4  L2
0
120EI 12
L/2 L/2
L/2 L/2
L4  L2
w w
0
146.28EI 16
L
w  L4  L2
0 
8 EI 2
L
F
L/2 L/2
FL3 FL FL

192EI 8 8
L
w L4  L2  L2

384EI 24 12
L
F
a b
2 Fa 2 b 3 2 Fa 2 b 2 Fab 2

3EI 3L  2a 
2
L3 L2
L
a b a
b
w
384EI
L 3
 2 L2 a  4 La 2  8a 3  b
3L 2
 3bL  b 2  
b
3L 2
b2 
24L 24L
L
a b a
a 3 a 3 a 2
w
15L  16a   4 L  3a 
480EI 4L 12L
L
w
0.7L4  L2 5L2

L/2 L/2
384EI 32 96
Table 6.1 Deflections and moments under different loading cases
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Apart from serviceability check against deflection, vibration and natural
frequency shall be checked and determined. A nominal minimum vibration frequency
of 5 hertz is required to avoid excessive human induced vibration but other values of
vibration frequency can be used with justifications. For structures under wind, a
minimum 1 hertz is normally taken to ensure the structural vibration frequency is not
sensitive to wind excitation.
6.3 Design procedure for in-plane bending of beams
The following steps I to VII is a typical procedure for design of beams with full
lateral restraints. The steps IVa and IVb refer to two conditions of low and high shear
loads.
I STEEL GRADE AND SECTION CLASSIFICATION

A beam section is classified and a reduced section property in the effective width
method and the reduced stress in the effective stress method may be adopted to limit
the sectional strength due to local plate buckling before reaching the designed capacity
of the beam.
II LATERAL RESTRAINT
To prevent torsional and lateral movement of a beam, the compression flange of the
beam should be restrained laterally while the vertical movement of the beam is
permitted. The adequacy of a restraining member required in the HK Code is that the
restraining member is capable of taking 2.5% of the force in the compression flange of
the beam. The compression force in flange can be determined simply by dividing the
maximum moment of the beam by the distance between the top and bottom flanges as,
M max
Fres  (6.16)
D T
in which Fres is the force in flange used for designing the restraining members or ties,
Mmax is the maximum bending moment in the beam under the factored load, D and T
are the depth and flange thickness of the beam.
III SHEAR CAPACITY

The shear capacity of the section shall be checked to be larger than or equal to the
external shear as,
p y Av
Vc   Fv (6.17)
3
1
in which py is design strength in shear of the steel material which is equal to of the
3
design strength in tension py and Av is shear area normally taken as the web area.
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IVa MOMENT CAPACITY UNDER LOW SHEAR LOAD
When the applied shear is equal to or less than 60% of the permissible shear in a beam,
i.e.
Fv  0.6Vc (6.18)
the low shear condition applies and the interaction between shear and moment can be
ignored.
For plastic or compact section of beam, the plastic analysis, the moment capacity Mc
for plastic and compact section are given as,
M c  p y S  1.2 p y Z (6.19)
For semi-compact section, the full plastic moment capacity cannot be developed on
beam. The moment capacity Mc should be based on the elastic modulus or effective
plastic modulus and expressed as,
M c  p y Z or M c  p y S eff (6.20)
For slender section, two approaches are also allowed to deal with this effect. One is the
effective stress and the other is the effective section approach. Thus the moment
capacity Mc is written as,
M c  p y Z eff (6.21)
M c  p yr Z (6.22)
in which Zeff and pyr are effective elastic section modulus and reduced yield stress
respectively. The effective section approach is more economical but involves more
complex calculation for different load cases.
IVb MOMENT CAPACITY UNDER HIGH SHEAR LOAD

When the shear force is higher than 0.6Vc and not satisfying Equation (6.18) at a section,
the moment capacity is lower due to interaction of shear and moment. The reduced
moment capacity can be obtained from a reduction of plastic section modulus from S
to S  Sv  for plastic section as,
M c  p y S  Sv   1.2 p y Z  Sv 1.5 (6.23)
For semi-compact section, the reduced moment capacities are determined as,
M c  p y Z  S v 1.5 (6.24)
M c  p y S eff   S v 1.5 (6.25)
For slender section, the reduction moment capacity is given by,

M c  p y Z eff  S v 1.5 (6.26)
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V WEB BEARING AND BUCKLING
At support and at location of a concentrated load, the web bearing capacity and buckling
resistance should be checked. If no stiffeners are added, slenderness of webs should not
be greater than 62 and 70 for welded and rolled sections respectively.
Webs shall also be checked against bearing and buckling due to concentrated loads to
Chapter 9.
VI ADDITIONAL CHECKS TO OTHER LIMIT STATES

The serviceability of the beam is checked against relevant serviceability limit states to
avoid non-functional use.
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6.4 Worked examples
6.4.1 Simply supported beam under mid-span point load
Check the adequacy of a beam under an unfactored imposed load of 100kN and an
unfactored dead load of 50kN at mid-span. The beam is simply supported of span 6m.
The beam is a 45715260 UB of Grade S275 steel.
DL=50kN & LL=100kN
457 152 60 UB
6000
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored point load, P  1.4  50  1.6  100  230kN (Table 4.2)
230
Maximum shear, V   115kN
2
230  6
Maximum moment, M x   345kNm
4
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  454.6mm , B  152.9mm , t  8.1mm , T  13.3mm , d  407.6mm , I x  25500cm 4 ,
Z x  1120cm 3 , S x  1290cm 3
275 (Table 7.1 Note
 1
275 b)

b 152.9
  5.75  9 1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 2 13.3
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an I-section with neutral axis with mid-depth is 80
d 407.6
  50.3  80 1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 8.1
web is plastic
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SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Av  tD  8.1 454.6  3682mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
p y Av 275  3682
Shear capacity, Vc    584.6kN  V (OK) (8.1)
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  115kN  0.6Vc  350.8kN
it is low shear condition (Clause 8.2.2.1)
Moment capacity, M cx  p y S x  1.2 p y Z x (8.2)

 275129010  1.2  275112010
3 3
 354.8kNm  369.6kNm
 M x (OK)
DEFLECTION
Unfactored imposed load, P  100kN
Maximum deflection due to imposed load,
PL3 L
  (Table 5.1)
48EI x 360
100  103  60003 6000
 
48  205000 25500 104 360
 8.6mm  16.7mm (OK)
Copyright 71
All rights reserved
6.4.2 Design of a cantilever
Check the adequacy of a cantilever of 2.5m under an unfactored dead load of 5kN/m
and an unfactored imposed load of 10kN/m along the member. The cantilever is a
25410225 UB of Grade S275 steel.
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored point load,   1.4  5  1.6 10  23 kN m (Table 4.2)
Maximum shear, V  23  2.5  57.5kN
1
Maximum moment, M x   23  2.5 2  71.9kNm
2
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  257.2mm , B  101.9mm , t  6.0mm , T  8.4mm , d  225.2mm , I x  3410cm 4 , Z x  266cm 3 ,
S x  306cm 3
275 (Table 7.1 Note
 1
275 b)

b 101.9
  6.07  9 1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 2  8.4
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an I-section with neutral axis with mid-depth is 80
d 225.2
  37.5  80 1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 6
web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Av  tD  6  257.2  1543mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
p y Av 275  1543
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  57.5kN  0.6Vc  147.0kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
it is low shear condition

 275  306  10  1.2  275  266  10
3 3
 84.2 kNm  87.8kNm

 M x (OK)
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All rights reserved
DEFLECTION
Unfactored imposed load,   10 kN m
L4 L
  (Table 5.1)
8 EI x 180
10  25004 2500
 
8  205000 341010 4
180
 7.0mm  13.9mm (OK)
Copyright 73
All rights reserved
6.4.3 Design of beam in two way floor
The concrete floor system is supported by the primary and secondary steel beams as
shown below. The primary beam at gridline Ⓑ is under consideration. The spread of
load to the designed beam member is assumed two-way as shown. Simple connections
are used to allow sufficient rotations and ductility. The design loads are given below.
Design the primary beam in gridline Ⓑ using the section 686254140 UB of Grade
S355 steel to the ultimate and serviceability limit states.
Dead load, Q  6kPa

Imposed load, G  7.5kPa
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored distributed load on floor, p  1.4  6  1.6  7.5  20.4kPa (Table 4.2)
Maximum factored distributed load on beam, w  20.4  4  81.6 kN m
Factored point load from secondary beam, P  20.4 

3  1  2  4  326.4kN
2
1 1
Maximum shear, V   81.6  4   326.4  326.4kN
2 2
1 1
Maximum moment, M x   81.6  8 2   326.4  8  979.2kNm
16 4
SECTION PROPERTIES
Z x  3990cm 3 , S x  4560cm 3
Copyright 74
All rights reserved
275 (Table 7.1 Note
  0.89
345 b)

b 253.7
  6.68  9  0.89  8.01 (Table 7.1)
T 2 19
d 615.1
  49.6  80  0.89  71.2 (Table 7.1)
t 12.4
web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Av  tD  12.4  683.5  8475mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
p y Av 345  8475
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  326.4kN  0.6Vc  1012.9kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)

 345  456010  1.2  345  399010
3 3
 1573.2kNm  1651.9kNm
 M x (OK)
The beam supports the floor slab, which provides a full lateral restraint to the beam. Thus, the beam is
not required to be checked for lateral-torsional buckling.
DEFLECTION
Maximum unfactored imposed load,   7.5  4  30 kN m
Unfactored imposed point load from secondary beam, P  7.5 

3  1  2  4  120kN
2
PL3 L4 L
   (Table 5.1)
48EI x 146.28EI x 360
120  103  80003 30  80004 8000
  
48  205000 136000 10 4
146.28  205000 136000 10 4 360
 7.6mm  22.2mm (OK)
Copyright 75
All rights reserved
6.4.4 Design of beam at the one way typical floor system
An one-way floor system is illustrated in the figure below. A 12m long primary beam
of section 45715252 UB of Grade S275 is simply supported in gridline ②. Check
the structural adequacy of the primary beam. When the aspect ratio of concrete slab is
more than 3, the loading from slab spreads to the beam member can be considered in
one direction only. The loading applied including self weight of beam member on the
floor system are tabulated as follows:
Services load 0.6kPa

Imposed load 3.0kPa
Finish load 0.6kPa
Dead load 0.5kPa
Wind load 1.2kPa
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Load combination 1,
  1.4 Q  1.6 G  1.4  0.5  0.6  0.6  1.6  3  2  14.36 kN m (Table
4.2)
Load combination 2,
  1.4 Q  1.4 L  1.4  0.5  0.6  0.6  1.4  1.2  2  8.12 kN m (Table
4.2)
Load combination 3,
  1.2 Q  1.2 G  1.2W  1.2  0.5  0.6  0.6  3  1.2  2  14.16 kN m (Table
4.2)
load combination 1 is critical
1
Maximum shear force, V   14.36  12  86.2kN
2
1
Maximum bending moment, M x   14.36  12 2  258.5kNm
8
SECTION PROPERTIES
Z x  950cm 3 , S x  1100cm 3
Design strength, p y  275 N mm 2 for T  16mm (Table 3.2)
275 (Table 7.1 Note
 1
275 b)

b 152.4
  7.99  9 1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 2 10.9
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d 407.6
  53.6  80  1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 7.6
web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 275  3418
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  86.2kN  0.6Vc  325.6kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)

 275  1100 10  1.2  275  950  10
3 3
 302.5kNm  313.5kNm
 M x (OK)
As the floor slab provides a full lateral restraint to the beam, thus there is no lateral-torsional buckling.
DEFLECTION
Unfactored uniform imposed load,   3  2  6kN / m
5 L4 L
  (Table 5.1)
384 EI x 360
5 6.0 120004
 
384 205000 21400104
12000
 36.9mm   33.3mm (Not OK)
360
Loading acting on this primary beam is relatively low, and the beam section is adequate
to resist all bending moment and shear force. However, the design of beam is inadequate
in deflection in serviceability limit state. Therefore, another section is chosen for
deflection check. Try 45715260 UB.
SECTION PROPERTIES
Z x  1120cm 3 , S x  1290cm 3
DEFLECTION
From the above result, maximum deflection due to imposed load,
21400 L
  36.9   (Table 5.1)
25500 360
12000
 31.0mm   33.33mm (OK)
360
Copyright 77
All rights reserved
Copyright 78
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6.5 Design of unrestrained beams
When a beam member is under lateral load or moment without full lateral
restraints along its length, it is then considered as a not fully restrained or simply an
unrestrained beam. It is necessary to check the beam resistance with allowance for
buckling effects. The lateral-torsional buckling behaviour of unrestrained beam can be
viewed as the compression flange of the beam deflects out-of-plane due to compression
induced from the bending moment. This phenomenon leads to the compression flange
to buckle like a column with restraints provided by the lateral and twisting stiffness of
the member. The buckling mode of a beam can be seen in Figure 6.7. As can be seen in
the figure the failure of the beam is due to a combined action of twisting and lateral
bending.
The design of an unrestrained beam member considers the segment of a beam

as the portion lying between two lateral restraints for the compression flanges, so the
length of beam can be considered as equal to distance between lateral restraints. The
strength required for the lateral restraints is minimum 2.5% of the maximum force in
the compression flanges.
m
y
-u
A O B z
D -u 
A1 B1 x
O
n -v
y
z
m O

Me Me
O z
L n
Figure 6.7 Lateral-torsional buckling of a beam member
The basic requirement for ensuring the structural adequacy of an unrestrained

beam is to satisfy the following Equation (6.28) as,
mLT M x  M b (6.28)
in which mLT is the equivalent uniform moment factor to account for moment variation
along a beam or a beam segment, Mx is the maximum bending moment about major x-
axis and Mb is the buckling resistance moment accounting for the effects of initial
imperfection, material strength and lateral-torsional buckling effect.
Copyright 79
All rights reserved
6.5.1 Elastic Lateral-Torsional buckling of beams
In Section 6.3, the restrained beam is assumed to deform in the loading plane
until it fails. In this Section, there are the cases of unrestrained beam in which a member
buckles either by twisting or by a combination of bending laterally and twisting. This
buckling mode is therefore named as lateral-torsional or flexural-torsional buckling.
The member resistance of an unrestrained beam can be substantially less than its in-
plane load carrying capacity. This lateral-torsional buckling is of importance in the
design of beams without full lateral restraints along its member length.
For a simply supported elastic beam under uniform moment, the buckling
moment can be obtained numerically by the finite element method or analytically by
solving differential equation obtained as,
 2 EI y  2 EI w
M cr  GJ  (6.29)
L2 L2
in which Mcr is the elastic lateral-torsional buckling moment, Iy is the second moment
of area about the minor axis, J is the torsional constant, I w is the warping constant, and
L is the span of the simply supported beam. For beams under other boundary condition,
the effective length LE should be used in place of L.
It can be seen from Equation (6.29) that the buckling resistance of a beam
depends on the following factors.
1 The effective length factor from the boundary condition and the span L,
2 The sectional properties as torsional constant J and second moment of area about
the minor axis Iy,
3 The load height above shear center which affects the buckling resistance and its
effect is considered by increasing the effective length in the HK Code,
4 The varying pattern of bending moment of the beam under consideration and,
5 The material design strength which is not included in Equation (6.29) for elastic
flexural-torsional buckling moment.
The effects from point 1 to 3 are considered in a single term as the equivalent
slenderness LT and the influence of point 4 above is allowed for in the equivalent
uniform moment factor mLT. Detailing at connection affects the effective length and
Figure 6.8 shows typical connections in beams.
Copyright 80
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Floor slab provides Secondary beam provides
Torsional restraint
full lateral restraint lateral restraint
free to rotate in plan
Figure 6.8 Different kinds of restraints for unrestrained beam member
6.5.2 Buckling resistance moment
The determination of buckling resistance moment, Mb in Equation (6.28), can

be carried out with the information in the section tables. The equivalent slenderness LT
can be obtained as,
 LT  uv W (6.30)
in which u can be obtained from section design tables or taken as 0.9 conservatively, v
is the slenderness factor obtained as,
1
v
 1  0.05 x  
2 0.25 (6.31)
where x is a torsional constant available from the section table or taken conservatively
as D/T for I-beams with equal flanges,  is the slenderness ratio equal to LE/ry, LE is the
effective length, ry is the radius of gyration about minor axis of a section and w is
section modulus ratio given by the followings.
 w  1.0 for Class 1 plastic section and Class 2 compact section,

Zx S
w  or x ,eff for Class 3 semi-compact sections and, (6.32)
Sx Sx
Z
 w  x ,eff for Class 4 slender sections (6.33)
Sx
With the use of LT and the design strength py, the buckling strength pb can be
obtained from Table 8.3 of HK Code. When the effective stress method is used, w can
be taken as 1.0 as the local buckling effect has been accounted for in the use of reduced
design strength pyr. The buckling resistance moment, Mb, is then equal to M b  pb S x
for Classes 1 and 2 plastic and compact sections, M b  pb Z x or pb S x,eff for Class 3
p yr
semi-compact sections and M b  pb Z x,eff or pb Z x for Class 4 slender sections.
py
Copyright 81
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6.5.3 Normal and Destabilizing loads
The formulae in the HK Code are based on the case of loads applied at the level
of shear centre of the beam. If the load is applied above the shear centre of the beam
and when the beam deflects laterally as shown in Figure 6.9, an additional torsional
moment will be generated and makes the beam to buckle at a lower load than when the
load is at the shear centre. The effect of destabilizing loading condition is considered in
the HK Code by using a larger effective length factor as indicated in Clause 8.3.4.1(d)
of HK Code.
 
Fv Fv
Fv

 After
buckling
Before
buckling
L/2 L/2 Addition torsion

Additional =
Torsion
Section at mid-span
Elevation
Figure 6.9 Destabilizing load in a beam
6.5.4 Effective length in an unrestrained beam
A stocky beam fails by action of moment attaining its plastic moment. On the
other hand, a slender beam is failed by the action of moment closer to its elastic
buckling moment. For beams of intermediate slenderness, the moment resistance is due
to an elasto-plastic buckling by having part of the material in a section yields, leading
to a reduction in effective sectional properties and also flexural-torsional buckling.
Figure 6.10 shows the effect of buckling over a range of beam slenderness.
Copyright 82
All rights reserved
Strain
hardening
Maximum
moment
capacity
M Me
c
MP
Fully Plastic Elastic

plastic buckling buckling
Member
0 length L
Figure 6.10 Moment capacity of beam with various member lengths
In Figure 6.10, the solid line is plotted by using Equation (6.29) for elastic
lateral-torsional buckling of beams and the dotted line indicates the inelastic buckling
moment of the beam with varying slenderness. It can be seen that both buckling and
material yielding can affect the moment resistance of an unrestrained beam. A reduced
bending buckling strength pb is used to account for the lateral buckling effect of a rolled
and a welded sections. For a very short beam, the moment capacity can be higher than
plastic moment Mp due to the effect of strain-hardening and it is indicated in line ⑤ in
Figure 6.2.
The typical values of effective length factor for beams without intermediate
restraints, or the effective length ratio LE/LLT are given in Table 6.2 below where LLT is
the distance between supports. For unrestrained beams with intermediate restraints, the
effective length LE can be taken as the member length between the lateral restraints,
which should be increased to 1.2LE for destabilizing loading condition. The minimum
resistance of the intermediate restraints should be taken as 2.5% of the maximum force
1
in compression flanges which can be reduced by a factor k r  0.2  with Nr equal
Nr
to the number of restraining members sharing a common restraint.
Copyright 83
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Support condition Normal load Destabilising load
i. Lateral restraint,
ii. Free to rotate on plan, LE=LLT LE=1.2LLT
iii. Torsional restraint.
i. Lateral restraint,
ii. Not free to rotate on plan, LE=0.8LLT LE=1.2 (0.8LLT)
iii. Torsional restraint.
i. No lateral restraint,
ii. Free to rotate on plan, LE=1.2LLT+2D LE=1.2 (1.2LLT+2D)
iii. Partial torsional restraint.
Table 6.2 Effective length of typical unrestrained beams
In most practical applications, it is generally considered adequate that the

effective length of a cantilever is taken as twice the member length and of beam the
same as member length. When the load is destabilizing, a factor of 1.2 should be
multiplied to the effective length.
6.5.5 Equivalent uniform moment factor mLT
The formulae in the beam buckling check in the HK Code are based on the
assumption of uniform moment causing the beam or beam segment under uniform
compression on a flange. When a simply supported elastic beam is subjected to unequal
end moments M and M as shown in Table 6.3, the moment resistance of the
unrestrained beam can be increased. The buckling resistance of unrestrained beam is
determined by the formulae under uniform bending case causing uniform stress on
compression flange. When the moment is non-uniform, the buckling resistance in terms
of maximum bending moment can be increased, as part of the beams is not under the
maximum moment. This effect can be considered by the use of the equivalent uniform
moment factor mLT which accounts for the effect of the non-uniform moment
distribution along the major axis. The end moment ratio  varies from 1 (single
curvature bending) to -1 (double curvature bending). The ratio for the end moments 
and the equivalent uniform moment factor mLT can be approximated and shown in Table
8.4 of the HK Code reproduced below.
Copyright 84
All rights reserved
Segment with end moment only (values of mLT from the formula for the general case)  mLT
 positive 1.0 1.00
0.9 0.96
0.8 0.92
0.7 0.88
0.6 0.84
0.5 0.80
0.4 0.76
0.3 0.72
X lateral 0.2 0.68
restraint
0.1 0.64
 negative 0.0 0.60
-0.1 0.56
-0.2 0.52
-0.3 0.48
-0.4 0.46
-0.5 0.44
-0.6 0.44
-0.7 0.44
-0.8 0.44
-0.9 0.44
-1.0 0.44
Special case (no intermediate lateral restraint)
Table 6.3 Equivalent uniform moment factor mLT for unrestrained beams under end
moments and typical loads
For general case and suitable for use in computer program, the following
formula can be used for evaluation of equivalent uniform moment factor.as given in
Equation (6.34).
0.15M 2  0.5M 3  0.15M 4
mLT  0.2   0.44 (6.34)
M max
in which M2 and M4 are moments at quarter points of the beam or the segment of a
beam, M3 is the moment at mid-span and Mmax is the maximum bending moment
The equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT, is taken as 1 for cantilever and the
HKCode allows the same mLT for normal and destabilizing loads. It is non-similar to
the BS5950(2000) which assumes mLT as 1 for destabilizing load. This use of unity mLT
implies a non-uniform factor of safety for beams under uniform and non-uniform
Copyright 85
All rights reserved
moments and also an inconsistency with the case for beams under normal loads. The
buckling design of unsymmetrical beams can be referred a non-linear finite element
package for buckling analysis to determine the buckling moment.
6.6 Design procedures of unrestrained beams
The procedure for design of unrestrained beams can be summarized as follows.
I SECTION CLASSIFICATION AND DETERMINATION OF DESIGN

STRENGTH py
The basic design strength is determined according to the steel grade and thickness of
plates in the section. A selected section is classified to Class 1, 2, 3 or 4. The design
strength or section properties for Class 4 sections are revised as necessary.
II EFFECTIVE LENGTH AND SLENDERNESS RATIO

The boundary conditions of end supports or intermediate lateral restraints are assessed.
L
The effective length LE and slenderness ratio   E are then calculated.
ry
III EQUIVALENT SLENDERNESS RATIO

The equivalent slenderness ratio LT is calculated as LT  uv  w . In conjunction
with the design strength py, the buckling strength pb is determined and moment
resistance is calculated as M b  pb S x for Classes 1 and 2 sections, M b  pb Z x or
p yr
pb S x,eff for Classes 3 sections and M b  pb Z x for Class 4 sections ( pb Z x,eff may be
py
used alternatively when the effective width method is used).
IV BUCKLING STRENGTH CHECK

The moment resistance Mb should be checked to be not less than mLTMx and the moment
capacity Mc should also be not less than than Mx.
V WEB BEARING AND BUCKLING

Checking for web against bearing, shear buckling and compression buckling should be
carried out as for restrained beams. The discussion should be referred to Chapter 9.
VI OTHER LIMIT STATES

Other limit states such as the deflection and vibration limit states shall also be checked.
Copyright 86
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6.7 Worked examples
6.7.1 Moment resistance of hot-rolled and welded sections
Determine the factored design uniform bending capacity of a 457×152×60 UB in S275

steel, simply supported a span of 3.0 m. Assume both the cases for hot-rolled and
welded sections and under normal load.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  454.6mm , B  152.9mm , t  8.1mm , T  13.3mm , d  407.6mm , ry  3.23cm , Z x  1120cm 3 ,
S x  1290cm 3 , x  37.5
275
275

b 152.9
  5.75  8 1  8 (Table 7.1)
T 2  13.3
d 407.6
  50.3  80  1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 8.1
web is plastic
the section is class 1 plastic
MOMENT CAPACITY
It is low shear condition (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 275  1290 103  1.2  275 1120 103
 354.8kNm  369.6kNm
LATERAL-TORSIONAL BUCKLING
Effective length, LE  LLT  3.0m for normal load (Clause 8.3.4.1(a))
L 3000
Slenderness ratio,   E   92.9 (8.26)
ry 32.3
1 1
v   0.935
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.0592.9 37.5 
2 0.25 (8.27)
w  1.0 for class 1 plastic section (Clause 8.3.5.3)
For hot-rolled section

u  0.9 for conservative approach (Clause 8.3.5.3)
Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.9  0.935  92.9 1  78.2 (8.25)
Copyright 87
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Buckling strength, pb  169.0 N / mm 2 (Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  169  1290  103  218.0kNm (8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1.0 for uniform moment (Table 8.4a)
mLT M x  M b (8.18)
M
 M x  b  218.0kNm  M cx (8.19)
mLT
Therefore, the factored design uniform bending capacity for hot-rolled section is 218.0kNm.
For welded section

u  1.0 (Clause 8.3.5.3)
Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  1 0.935  92.9 1  86.9 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  138.1N / mm 2
(Table 8.3b)
Buckling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  138.1  1290  10  178.1kNm
3
(8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1.0 for uniform moment (Table 8.4a)
mLT M x  M b (8.18)
M
 M x  b  178.1kNm  M cx (8.19)
mLT
Therefore, the factored design uniform bending capacity for welded section is 178.1kNm.
Copyright 88
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6.7.2 Beam under double curvature
A simply supported 203×203×60 UC section beam of S355 steel has a span of 3.5 m
and end moments M and 0.4 M which cause double curvature bending. Determine the
maximum design value of M.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
S x  656cm 3 , u  0.846 , x  14.1
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355
Plastic limiting value of b T for outstand flange of an H-section is 9

b 205.8
  7.25  9  0.88  7.92 (Table 7.1)
T 2  14.2
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an H-seciton with neutral axis at mid-depth is 80
d 160.8
  17.1  80  0.88  70.4 (Table 7.1)
t 9.4
web is plastic
MOMENT CAPACITY
Low shear condition is assumed (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 355  656  103  1.2  355  584  103
 232.9kNm  248.8kNm
It is normal loading condition (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  LLT  3.5m for normal load (Clause 8.3.4.1(a))
L 3500
ry 52
𝑢 = 0.9 conservatively for hot-rolled section or 𝑢 = 0.846 from section table
(Clause 8.3.5.3)
used below
1 1
v   0.827

1  0.05 x  
2 0.25

1  0.0567.3 14.1 
2 0.25 (8.27)
 w  1 for Class 1 plastic section (Clause 8.3.5.3)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.846 0.827  67.3 1  47.1 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  301.9 N / mm 2
(Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  301.9  656 10  198.0kNm
3
(8.20)
Copyright 89
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0.4M
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  0.46 for     0.4 (Table 8.4a)
M
mLT M x  M b (8.18)
M 198.0
 Mx  b   430.4kNm but  M cx (8.19)
m LT 0.46
Therefore, the maximum design moment is 232.9kNm.
Copyright 90
All rights reserved
6.7.3 Over-hung Beam
A 203×203×60 UC section beam of S355 steel is simply supported at A, continuous

over a support at C and free at D. AB = BC = CD = 3.0 m. The beam is torsionally
restrained with and its compression flange restrained against lateral movement but free
to rotate on plan at A and torsionally and laterally restrained at C. Downwards loads
of 4F at B and F at D act at the top flange and are free to deflect laterally. Determine
the maximum design value of F.
4F F
A B C D
3m 3m 3m
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
By moment equilibrium at C, R A  6  4F  3  F  3  0 ,  R A  1.5F
By force equilibrium, R A  RC  4F  F ,  RC  3.5F
Maximum shear at B, VB  1.5F  4F  2.5F
Maximum shear at C, VC  F
Maximum sagging moment at B, M B  R A  3  4.5F
Maximum hogging moment at C, M C  F  3  3F
SECTION PROPERTIES
S x  656cm 3 , u  0.846 , x  14.1
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355

b 205.8
  7.25  9  0.88  7.92 (Table 7.1)
T 2  14.2
Limiting value of d t for web of an I-section with neutral axis at mid-depth is 80
d 160.8
  17.1  80  0.88  70.4 (Table 7.1)
t 9.4
web is plastic
Copyright 91
All rights reserved
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 355  1970
Shear capacity, Vc    403.8kN (8.1)
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
Low shear condition is assumed (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 355  656  103  1.2  355  584
 232.9kNm  248.8kNm
For segment AC,
Destabilizing loading condition is assumed (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  1.2LLT  1.2  6  7.2m (Clause 8.3.4.1(d))
L E 7200
Slenderness ratio,     138.5 (8.26)
ry 52
u  0.9 conservatively for hot-rolled section (Clause 8.3.5.3)
1 1
v   0.644
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05  138.5 14.1 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness,  LT  uv  w  0.9  0.644  138.5  1  80.3 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  189.1 N mm 2 (Table 8.3a)

Buckling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  189.1  656  103  124.0kNm (8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor is given by
0.15M 2  0.5M 3  0.15M 4
m LT  0.2  (Table 8.4b)
M max
M 2  2.25F , M 3  M max  4.5F , M 4  0.75F
0.15  2.25  0.5  4.5  0.15  0.75
m LT  0.2   0.8  0.44
4.5
mLT M x  M b (8.18)
0.8  4.5F  124
 F  34.4kN
For segment CD,

Destabilizing loading condition is assumed (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  2.5LLT  2.5  3  7.5m (Table 8.1)
LE 7500
ry 52
u  0.9 conservatively for hot-rolled section (Clause 8.3.5.3)
1 1
v   0.633
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05  144.2 14.1 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness,  LT  uv  w  0.9  0.633144.2 1  82.2 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  183.4 N mm 2 (Table 8.3a)

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Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1.0 for cantilever (Clause 8.3.5.2)
mLT M x  M b (8.18)
1  3F  120.3
 F  40.1kN
Therefore, the maximum design value of F is 34.4kN.
Maximum shear at B is given by VB  2.5F  86.0kN , which is smaller than 0.6Vc  242.3kN .
Therefore, it is low shear condition. (Clause 8.2.2.1)
Copyright 93
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6.7.4 I-section beam with intermediate restraints
An I-section beam of 45719189 UB in S275 steel of span 9m and with rigid

connection to columns (not free to rotate on plan). The beam further supports two
secondary beams as shown. The end supports of the beam provide adequate lateral and
torsional restraint with compression flange fully restrained against rotation on plan,
whereas intermediate lateral restraint prevents the compression flange of the beam from
lateral movement but rotations are free at these intermediate restraint locations. The
unfactored dead load of 60kN and imposed load of 100kN are transferred from the
secondary beams to the I-section beam. Check the member capacities of the steel beam.
244kN 244kN
A B C D
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored point load, P  1.4 PQ  1.6 PG  1.4  60  1.6 100  244kN
Maximum shear, V  244kN
2 PL
Maximum hogging moment, M hog    488kNm
9
PL
Maximum sagging moment, M sag   244kNm
9
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  463.4mm , B  191.9mm , t  10.5mm , T  17.7mm , d  407.6mm , ry  4.29cm ,
Z x  1770cm 3 , S x  2010cm 3 , u  0.880 , x  28.3
275
  1.02 (Table 7.1 Note b)
265
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b 191.9
  5.42  9  1.02  9.18 (Table 7.1)
T 2  17.7
 flange is plastic
d 407.6
  38.8  80  1.02  81.6 (Table 7.1)
t 10.5
 web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 265  4866
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  244kN  0.6Vc  446.7kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 It is low shear condition
Moment capacity, M c  p y S x  1.2 p y Z x (8.2)
 265  2010 10  1.2  265 1770 10
3 3
 532.7kNm  562.9kNm
 M hog (OK)
Destabilizing loading condition is assumed as the load is at top flange (Clause 8.3.3)
Segment AB
Effective length, LE  1.2  0.9  LLT  3.24m (Clauses 8.3.4.1 & 8.3.4.2)
L 3240
ry 42.9
1 1
v   0.927
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.0575.5 28.3  2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.88  0.927  75.5 1  61.6 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  203.5 N mm 2
(Table 8.3a)
Bucling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  203.5  2010  10  409.0kNm 3
(8.20)
244
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  0.44 for     0.5 (Table 8.4a)
488
mLT M x  0.44  488  214.7kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
Copyright 95
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Segment BC
Effective length, LE  1.2LLT  3.6m (Clauses 8.3.4.2)
L 3600
ry 42.9
1 1
v   0.913
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.0583.9 28.3 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.88  0.913 83.9 1  67.4 (8.25)
(Table 8.3a)
Bucling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  190.2  2010  10  382.3kNm
3
(8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1 for   1 (Table 8.4a)
mLT M x  244kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
Copyright 96
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6.7.5 Cantilever without intermediate restraint
A cantilever of span 5m supports an imposed point load of 30kN at 2.5m from a beam.
The beam is of section 40617854 UB in S275 steel. As shown in the figure below,
the cantilever beam is restrained with partial torsional restraint at the end support and
is free at the tip. It is further subjected to a downward uniformly distributed wind load
of 5kN/m. The load is applied as normal load condition.
30kN
5kN/m
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Maximum shear, V  1.2  30  1.2  5  5  66kN
52
Maximum moment, M x  1.2  30  2.5  1.2  5   165kNm
2
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  402.6mm , B  177.7mm , t  7.7mm , T  10.9mm , d  360.4mm , r y  3.85cm , Z x  930cm 3 ,
S x  1050m 3 , u  0.871 , x  38.3
275
275

b 177.1
  8.15  9  1  9 (Table 3.2)
T 2  10.9
d 360.4
  46.8  80  1  80 (Table 3.2)
t 7.7
 web is plastic
 the section is Class 1 Plastic
Copyright 97
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SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 275  3100
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  66kN  0.6Vc  295.3kN
 it is low shear condition (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 275  1050  103  1.2  275  930  103
 288.8kNm  306.9kNm
 M x (OK)
Normal loading condition is assumed (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  2LLT  2  5  10m (Table 8.1)
L 10000
ry 38.5
1 1
v   0.742
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05259.7 38.3 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.871 0.742  259.7  1  167.8 (8.25)
(Table 8.3a)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1 for cantilever (Clause 8.3.5.2)
mLT M x  165kNm  M b (Not OK) (8.18)
A subsequent worked example repeats the same design procedure again by considering
a tie beam as intermediate restraint to the cantilever.
Copyright 98
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6.7.6 Cantilever with intermediate restraint
For the cantilever under the same load in Example 6.7.5, the imposed load is applied to
the cantilever beam at the same location as the steel angle in the transverse direction as
shown in the figure below. This steel angle can be treated as an internal tie and provides
an intermediate lateral and torsional restraint to the cantilever beam such that the
segment length is equal to 2.5m.
30kN
A 5kN/m B C
Solution
For the same cantilever beam, the shear and moment capacities of this beam member
are sufficient to resist applied shear forces and bending moments. However, the lateral-
torsional buckling resistance of the cantilever with the same section size in the previous
example is inadequate. The effective length about minor axis in this case is reduced,
when the angle connects to the cantilever as lateral and torsional restraint.
Segment AB
Normal loading condition is assumed (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  1.4LLT  1.4  2.5  3.5m (Table 8.1)
L 3500
ry 38.5
1 1
v   0.940
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.0590.9 38.3 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.871 0.94  90.9 1  74.4 (8.25)
Buckling strength, pb  177.4 N / mm 2
(Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  177.4 105010  186.3kNm 3
(8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1 for cantilever (Clause 8.3.5.2)
mLT M x 165kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
Copyright 99
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6.7.7 Simply supported I-beam
A simply supported beam of 8m length is under a uniformly distributed destabilizing

live load of 30kN/m and dead load of 15kN/m. At end supports, the compression
flanges of the beam are laterally restrained and fully restrained against torsion with both
flanges free to rotate on plan such that the effective length of the beam against flexural-
torsional buckling is the same as its physical length. Check the adequacy of the hot-
rolled beam 610305149 UB of grade S355.
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored distributed load,   1.4  15  1.6  30  69 kN m
69  8
Maximum shear, V   276kN
2
69  8 2
Maximum moment, M   552kNm
8
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  612.4mm , B  304.8mm , t  11.8mm , T  19.7mm , d  540mm , I x  126000cm 4 ,
ry  7.00cm , Z x  4110cm 3 , S x  4590cm 3 , u  0.886 , x  32.7
275
  0.89 (Table 7.1 Note b)
345

b 304.8
  7.74  9  0.89  8.01 (Table 7.1)
T 2  19.7
d 540
  45.8  80  0.89  71.2 (Table 7.1)
t 11.8
 web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 345  7226
Shear capacity, Vc    1439.3.kN  V (OK) (8.1)
3 3
Copyright 100
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MOMENT CAPACITY
V  0.6Vc  863.6kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 345  459010  1.2  345  411010
3 3
 1583.6kNm  1701.5kNm
 M (OK)
For destabilizing loading condition:
Effective length, LE  1.2LLT  1.2  8  9.6m (Clauses 8.3.4.1 & 8.3.4.2)
L E 9600
ry 70
1 1
v   0.854
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05137.1 32.7 
2 0.25 (8.27)

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.886  0.854  137.1  1  103.7 (8.25)
(Table 8.3a)
Bucling resistance moment, M b  pb S x  130.3  459010  598.1kNm 3
(8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  0.93 (Table 8.4a)
mLT M x  0.93  552  513.4kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
DEFLECTION
Unfactored uniform imposed load,   30kN / m
5 L4 L
  (Table 5.1)
384 EI x 360
5 30  80004 8000
  
384 205000 126000 10 4
360
 6.2mm  22.2mm (OK)
Copyright 101
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Chapter 7 Compression Members
7.1 Introduction and uses of compression member
Compression member refers to structural element taking loads principally by its

axial resistance, which includes column, strut and stanchion. The compression
resistance of compression member is governed either by the material strength, the
buckling resistance or their combination. The buckling resistance of compression
members is generally controlled by class of section and its properties, material strength
and member slenderness. Columns are normally vertical structural elements to transfer
the loads from superstructure to foundation and they are commonly used to support
horizontal members, such as beams, trusses and lattice girders. Common forms of
compression member in the building structures are shown in Figure 7.1. Rolled or
welded H-section and box section shown in Figure 7.2(a) are commonly used for
columns of which the large second moments of area are employed to increase their
resistance against buckling. Some other lighter duty compression members used as
struts are made of the rolled angle or channel section as shown in Figure 7.2(b). These
light duty compression members are widely used as bracings of framed structures and
as structural members in lattice structures and transmission line towers.
Bracing strut
Roof Roof
Wind Wind Wind

Floor Floor
Wall Wall
Building
columns
Elevation Elevation
Multi-storey building
C Wind Roof
A B Floors
Column
Plan Wall
Column in multi-storey buildings Elevation
Rigid frame buildings
Figure 7.1 Compression members in different types of building structures
Copyright 102
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Universal Built-up Welded
column H-section box column
a) Compression member of column
Angle Double Square hollow

T-section Circular hollow
angle section
section
b) Bracing and strut for trusses, lattices, girders and bracing
Figure 7.2 Different sections for compression member
The load capacity of a short compression member can be obtained as the section
strength allowing for local buckling effects, as depicted in Figure 7.3. For long
compression member, the member is susceptible to compression or column buckling.
The buckling resistance of slender columns is controlled by the cross sectional
properties and slenderness detailed in Section 7.3. As shown in Figure 7.3, the buckling
resistance of a column is normally a fraction of its tension capacity which is not affected
by the member buckling. Therefore it is common but not always possible to derive a
framing system to allow vertical members in tension to avoid their strength being
controlled by buckling. Nevertheless, it is sometimes unavoidable to have all axially
loaded columns in compression.
Copyright 103
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N Y = Af y
Tension member,
and very stocky
Axial load
compression member
Slender
compression
member
f y L/E
Change in length
Figure 7.3 Strength of tension member and compression member
The effective length method is adopted as an alternative method in the HK Code

for designing compression members with allowance for buckling effects. The method
of effective length is based on an imaginary buckling length of a member to estimate
its compression resistance. The accuracy, economy and reliability of the method very
much depend on the effective length factor (LE/L). An undesirable scenario will be that
one can fine tune his derived compression resistance of a member by assuming an
incorrect value of effective length factor. In spite of its shortcoming, the method is still
widely used in design of steel structures due to its simplicity.
7.2 Behaviour of compression members
7.2.1 Introduction
Except for some very stocky members where the member load capacity is
unaffected by the boundary condition and effective length, most compression members
resist external forces under the influence of buckling. It was first recognized in the end
of 18th century that the ultimate compression capacity of the compression member
depends on its geometry, such as member length. When the member length increases,
the geometric second-order effects, namely the P-Δ and P- effects, exaggerate rapidly
and decrease the ultimate compression resistance of the column. The P- effect is
referred to as the second-order effect due to deflection or bowing along a member,
whereas the P-Δ effect is caused by the lateral movement or displacement at member
ends to create an additional moment, which depends on displacement or sway of frame.
This sway-dependent moment is termed as the P-Δ moment and can deteriorate the
stiffness of the framed structures. Consideration of these two effects (i.e. P-Δ- effects)
together with their initial imperfections will lead to a design output superior to the
Copyright 104
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effective length method as the former eliminates the need to classify a frame. This
method is termed as second-order direct elastic and plastic analysis and it is called the
direct analysis in North America. Since the P-Δ and P- effects cannot be accurately
and automatically taken into account by effective length method, hand calculation is
therefore required to check the buckling strength of every member under different load
cases of which the procedure is tedious and inconvenient. Unfortunately, most
structural analysis or design programs have not been programmed to consider both
these two effects and, of equal importance, their initial imperfections and therefore the
method is not widely used in the industry at the time of writing this book. Note that
most software considers only the P- effect which is much easier to program by adding
displacements to the nodal coordinates. Chapter 10 gives a more detailed account on
the use of the new and advanced analysis and design method.
P
P
Le
L

Figure 7.4 P-∆ and P- effect on compression members
The phenomenon of buckling of a column can be viewed as the equilibrium

states shown in Figure 7.5 below. When the axial force acting on a simply supported
elastic slender column is small and less than the elastic buckling load (Pcr) of the
column equal to Pcr   2EI in which EI is the flexural constant and LE is the effective
2
LE
length, the column is in a state of stable equilibrium such that the column deflects more
only when the axial force is increased. The behaviour of compression member is no
longer in a state of stable equilibrium with a further increase in applied force. The
column will eventually become unstable with increase in displacement under a constant
axial force. When the column is further loaded, it comes to an unstable equilibrium state
that the displacement increases even when the applied force is infinitesimal.
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Original Original Original
position position position
Stable Neutral Unstable
Figure 7.5 Different types of equilibrium
The resistance of a compression member depends on the member length or more

precisely the effective length taking into account the boundary condition of the member.
The method based on the effective length of a compression column for determination
of the buckling resistance of a column is a simple but approximate method for
estimation of buckling resistance, as the correct value of effective length of
compression member may not be obvious in many real structures. In view of this, most
codes including the HK Code do not allow the use of the method when a structure is
susceptible to sway or when a slender structure is designed. The buckling problem is
quantified by the elastic critical load factor being equal to the ratio of elastic buckling
Pcr
load to the design load (cr  ) . The expression of Pcr was first derived by Euler
Fc
(1759) and has been used as a reference and upper bound buckling load for centuries.
When calculating the elastic critical load factor cr, one needs not consider the
deflection of a member and therefore member imperfection, frame imperfection and
load eccentricity are not required in the computation. The method of eigen-buckling
analysis cannot calculate deflection as it assumes no deflection perpendicular to the
load until the deflection become infinite and the structure becomes unstable. The eigen-
buckling analysis relies on the condition of vanishing of the tangent stiffness of a
structure which implies the attainment of the condition of elastic buckling.
In the HK Code, the effective length method should not be used when cr is less
than 5 (i.e. cr < 5), and a more accurate second-order direct analysis should be
employed for the design. Under this condition, the frame is termed as sway ultra-
sensitive frame. When cr is between 5 and 10 (i.e. 5  cr < 10), the frame is classified
as sway and the P-Δ effect is important and must be considered in design. When cr is
greater than 10 (i.e.cr  10), the frame is considered as non-sway and sway P-
moment can be ignored but P- effect should always be considered unless the
LE
slenderness ratio is less than around 15. Determination of cr can be carried out by
r
an option of eigen-buckling analysis as in software like NIDA Ver. 9 (2015) or by the
following empirical displacement method. A more detailed discussion of frame stability
will be given in the Chapter 10.
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FN h
cr  (7.1)
FV  N
in which
FV is the factored dead plus live loads on the floor considered.
FN is the notional horizontal force taken typically as 0.5% of FV for building
frames;
h is the storey height and
N is the notional horizontal deflection of the upper storey relative to the lower
storey due to the notional horizontal force FN .
7.2.2 Buckling of imperfection columns
When a practical member is under compression load, it deflects laterally as

shown in Figure 7.6. It deflects in pace with the applied load because of the unavoidable
member imperfection and load eccentricity.
P
Initial position
(P = 0)
L/2
e0
L/2
z u
uo
Figure 7.6 Deflection of compression member

(e0 and u0 are initial imperfections)
Based on the Timoshenko’s beam-column theory with negligible shear

deformation, the force equilibrium equation for a compression member is given in
Equation (7.2). In this case, the applied bending moment M is replaced with Pu as
shown in Equation (7.2) in which P is axially compressive force and u is lateral
deflection. When using the eigen-buckling analysis, a perfectly straight and elastic
compression member is considered and the boundary conditions of the compression
member are regarded as frictionless pinned.
d 2u
EI   Pu (7.2)
dz 2
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where E and I are respectively the Young’s modulus and second moment of inertia. Pu
is an additional moment due to deflection, namely as the P- moment, induced by the
lateral deflection and the axial force as shown in Figure 7.6. Using the simply supported
boundary conditions, the force equilibrium equation of Equation (7.2) is solved and the
buckling load for this simply supported case or the Euler buckling load PE is obtained
as Equation (7.3) and shown in Figure 7.7(a).
 2 EI
PE  2  p y A (7.3)
L
in which L is the member length and A is cross-section area of the member. The Euler
buckling load PE can therefore be seen as depending on member length. The Euler
buckling load PE and squash load (Py = py A) of a column represent two upper bound
failure loads of a member in all range of member slenderness.
PE   2 EI L2 PE  4 2 EI L2 PE  4 2 EI L2 PE  2 2 EI L2 PE   2 EI 4L 2
PE
PE PE PE PE
LE L
LE
L LE L L L LE
LE
a) LE = L b) LE = L/2 c) LE = L/2 d) LE = 0.7L e) LE = 2L
Figure 7.7 Effective lengths of compression members
The Euler buckling load PE varies with different boundary conditions. For
example, when both ends are fixed, the Euler buckling load PE is increased by 4 times
with an equivalent use of effective length LE half of the actual length of the column as
shown in Figure 7.7(b). For a cantilever, the effective length is equal to 2L as shown in
Figure 7.7(e) and the elastic buckling load depends on the square of the effective length
such that an error in approximating an effective length will lead to a quadratic increase
in the error in the computed elastic buckling load. The effective length factors for other
support conditions are indicated in Figure 7.7(c) and (d) which requires a careful
determination of effective length to correctly approximate the buckling resistance of a
practical column which unfortunately seldom has such an idealized boundary condition
as in Figure 7.7.
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Rearranging the terms for Euler buckling load as a function of slenderness ratio
, we have,
 2 EA  2 EA
PE   (7.4)
LE r 2 2
in which LE is the effective length of the compression member, LE r is the slenderness

I
ratio , r is radius of gyration equal to . Using Equation (7.4), the strength of a
A
compression member depends on the member slenderness ratio  and axial constant
Py LE py
EA. When the non-dimensional slenderness ratio    is less than 1,
PE r  2E
failure of the column is more controlled by material yielding or the squash load as
indicated in Figure 7.3. Conversely, the member with a non-dimensional slenderness
ratio greater than 1, it is then considered as a slender member with its strength more
controlled by buckling. The solid line in Figure 7.8 indicates inelastic compression
buckling curve for imperfect columns in practice.
Figure 7.8 Elastic and inelastic buckling of compression member
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7.2.3 Perry-Robertson formula for column buckling
Perfectly straight steel columns or columns free from residual stress are not
available in practice. Member initial crookedness or curvature and residual stresses are
present in all practical steel members and frames. Consequently, a realistic buckling
resistance of a column must take into account these imperfections.
For the compression members with both ends pinned and with an initial
  z 
imperfection u0 where u0   0 sin  as illustrated in Figure 7.6, the equilibrium
 L 
equation is similar to Equation (7.2) but with an additional term for initial curvature
d 2u0
given by Equation (7.5) as,
dz 2
d 2u d 2u0
EI 2   Pu  EI (7.5)
dz dz 2
Solving Equation (7.5) using the simply supported boundary condition, the
maximum lateral deflection is obtained as,
 P
u max  0 E (7.6)
PE  P 
in which umax and  0 are respectively the maximum and initial imperfections at mid-
span.
Therefore, the critical P- moment induced by initial imperfection on the

compression member is given by,
 PP
M  Pumax  0 E (7.7)
PE  P 
Based on the simple beam bending theory, the maximum compressive stress
due to combined bending and compressive load can be expressed in Equation (7.8).
Setting the maximum compressive stress equal to the material design strength py of the
member in Equation (7.8), the compression load Pc causing the cross section of a
member to yield is given by,
 PP y P p E p c
py  0 E c   c  p (7.8)
PE  Pc  I A p E  pc c
in which py is the maximum stress attained on the member or yield stress, pc and pE are
respectively the compressive design strength on the member and Euler buckling stress
 2E  y
as ,  is the Perry factor equal to 02 , and y is the distance from the centroid
LE / r  2
r
to the extreme location in the cross-section. Rearranging Equation (7.8), the Perry-
Robertson formula is obtained as follows.
 pE  pc   p y  pc   pE pc (7.9)
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The different buckling curves of the compression member with various initial
imperfections are plotted in Figure 7.9. The elastic buckling load with initial
imperfection is determined from the smaller root of Equation (7.9). The buckling loads
of imperfect members can be seen to be lower than the Euler load or elastic buckling
curve. When the initial imperfection 0 is near zero, compressive stress pc is very close
either to Euler buckling design strength pE or to the yield stress py. Thus, the formula is
useful in computing the buckling strength allowing for buckling and material yielding.
The discrepancy in buckling resistance of members under the 4 buckling curves

depicted in Figure 7.9 are due to the difference in use of the Perry factor  in Equation
(7.9) as,
     0  1000  0 (7.10)
in which  is the Robertson constant, which can be adjusted for types of sections,  is
LE  2E
the slenderness ratio as , 0 is limit slenderness ratio and equal to 0.2 . When
r py
the slenderness ratio  of the compression member is less than the limiting slenderness
ratio 0 , compression buckling is considered not to occur in the member. For a general
section not belonging to one of the typical sectional types, Equation (7.9) can be
adjusted by matching the buckling curve from the test results which include the effects
of initial imperfection and residual stress due to welding or other manufacturing
processes.
7.3 Compression strength and buckling curves
The safety check of a compression member requires information on its bucking

strength, pc in the HK Code. Totally five buckling curves are given in the Code with
each of them used to represent a particular section type and manufacturing process.
Also the effects of geometrical imperfection, which is normally in the order of 0.1% of
the member length, as well as the effect of residual stress are considered as the
equivalent initial imperfection of a column. Typical plots of residual stress across a hot-
rolled and a welded section are shown in Figure 2.2 and Figure 2.3 of this book. Table
6.1 of the HK Code gives the imperfections for various types of sections and Appendix
8.4 provides details on the use of Perry constant in constructing the buckling curves of
a section. In line with these parameters, software NIDA contains the set of
imperfections and a minimum default imperfection of 0.1% in order to disallow use of
imperfection less than the geometrical imperfection.
The buckling curves are initially prepared for hot-rolled sections as shown in
Figure 7.9. For use by welded columns and struts, their design strength is required to
be reduced by 20N/mm2 for the more serious effect of residual stress. A buckling curve
new in 2011 version of the HK Code for top quality annealed sections, the a0 curve, is
not shown in Figure below.
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1.20
Reduction factor Pc/Py

1.00
curve "a"
0.80
"b"
0.60 "c"
0.40
"d"
0.20
0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
slenderness ratio 
Figure 7.9 The 4 buckling curves
7.3.1 Effective length
As illustrated above, the effective length is an important parameter for

determination of buckling resistance of an axial compression member. In the HK Code,
there are several approaches for dealing with the problem of buckling strength check
with different levels of accuracy.
7.3.1.1 Column in a simple or single storey frame

For simple one-storey structures or a compression member designed with
idealized support conditions, the effective length factor in Table 8.6 in the HK Code
can be referred as follows.
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Flexural Buckling
Buckled shape of
column shown by
dashed line
Theoretical K
0.5 0.7 1.0 1.0 2.0 /
value
Recommended K
value when ideal
0.70 0.85 1.20 1.00 2.10 1.5
conditions are
approximated
End condition Rotation fixed. Transition fixed.
code
Rotation free. Transition fixed.
Rotation fixed. Transition free.
Rotation free. Transition free.
Rotation partially restrained. Transition free.

Table 7.1 Effective length of idealised columns
For restraining supports, the minimum force required in the restraining

members should not be less than 1% of the force in the member being restrained.
7.3.1.2 Column in a multi-storey frame

For columns in the sub-frame of a multi-storey frames shown in Figure 7.10, a more
rigorous method considering the boundary conditions and the interaction with the
restraining beams is available. Figure 6.4 in HK Code is used to approximate the
effective length factor ( LE L ) of a column in a multi-storey frame. For frames with
elastic critical load factor not less than 10 ( i.e. cr  10), the frame is considered as
non-sway or braced, and Figure 6.5a in HK Code should be used for finding the
effective length factor. For frames with elastic critical load factor less than 10 (i.e. cr
< 10), the frame is sway or unbraced, and Figure 6.5b in HK Code should be used for
finding of the effective length factor. The distinction between these two classes of
frames is essential as we can see the range of effective length factor ( LE L ) is from 0.5
to 1.0 for non-sway frames and 1.0 to infinity for sway frames. cr can be obtained from
Equation (7.1) of this chapter or from Clause 6.3.2.2 in HK Code.
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K1
K 11
k1 K12
column-length being designed Kc

K 21 K22
k2
K2
Figure 7.10 Column in a sub-frame
The non-dimensional parameters k1 and k2 can be found by finding the ratio of

the column under consideration and the connecting beam stiffness as,
K c  K1
k1  (7.11)
K c  K 1  K 11  K 12
Kc  K2
k2  (7.12)
K c  K 2  K 21  K 22
where
K1 and K2 are the values of stiffness for the adjacent column lengths;
K11, K12, K21 and K22 are the values of stiffness for the adjacent beams.
In order to cater for the restraining effect of beam stiffness under sway and non-
sway frames and frames supporting concrete slab, the factors K11, K12, K21 and K22 are
required to be modified to respectively 1.5, 0.5 and 1.0 time flexural constant of the
EI
beam (i.e. for these three cases and when the beams are principally under end
L
moments. For case where the beam is principally under load along its span, the
modification factors should be changed to 1.0, 0.75 and 1.0 respectively for the three
cases.
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Pinned
1
0.9
k1
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Fixed 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
k2
Fixed Pinned
Figure 7.11(a) Effective length factor of sway frames
Pinned
1
0.9
k1
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Fixed 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Fixed k2
Pinned
Figure 7.11(b) Effective length factor for non-sway frames
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7.3.1.3 Compression members in general
Effective length of members in other types of structures like triangulated trusses
and frames is mainly empirical with the recommended effective length given in Clause
8.7.9 in the HK Code. A safe, economical and more reliable design for this type of
structures should take into account the effect of eccentric connections via the eccentric
moment in the conventional design. For complex and advanced structural systems like
domes as shown in Figure 7.12, the effective length is more difficult to assess and resort
must be made to second-order elastic or inelastic (advanced) analysis. Great care should
be taken here for checking of effective length under snap-through buckling or other
modes in these special structural systems.
Figure 7.12 Inapplicability of the effective length method in design of

the chords which have a slenderness ratio greater than 250
7.3.2 Slenderness ratio
With a value of effective length ( LE ) for a member, the slenderness ratio can
be determined as,
L
 E for Classes 1, 2 and 3 non-slender sections and (7.13)
r
L Aeff
 E for Class 4 slender sections (7.14)
r Ag
in which Aeff is the effective area of the section and Ag is the gross sectional area.
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7.3.3 Buckling strength pc and buckling resistance Pc
The buckling strength pc can be found from Table 8.8 of the HK Code and the
buckling resistance of the column can be determined as follows.
For non-slender section including Class 1 plastic, Class 2 compact and Class 3 semi-
compact cross sections,
Pc  Ag p c (7.15)
For Class 4 slender cross-sections,

Pc  Aeff pcs (7.16)
in which:
Aeff is the effective cross-sectional area in Clause 7.6;
Ag is the sum of gross sectional area in Clause 9.3.4.1;
p c is the compressive strength in Clause 8.7.6;
Aeff
p cs is the value of p c obtained using a reduced slenderness of  where  is the
Ag
slenderness ratio calculated from the radius of gyration of the gross sectional area and
member length.
For welded I, H or box section, design strength py should be reduced by

20N/mm2 and pc should then be determined from this reduced value of py.
In design of simple structures, all beams are assumed simply supported on

columns. The bending behaviour on the compression member in a simple steel building
frame should account for load eccentricity as indicated in Clause 8.7.8 in HK Code.
The equivalent moment factor mLT in columns should be taken as unity with effective
length for column buckling taken in Clause 6.6.3 and the equivalent slenderness ratio
for lateral-torsional buckling is calculated as follows.
0 .5 L
 LT  (7.17)
ry
7.4 Design procedures of compression member
The procedure for design of a compression member can be summarized a follows.
1. Section and steel grade selection

2. Selection of design strength from Tables 3.2 to 3.6, HK Code
3. Section classification
4. If the section is Class 4 slender, reduce the design strength py by the effective
stress method or calculate the effective area by the effective width method. For
welded sections, reduce the design strength by 20 N/mm2.
5. Classify the frame as non-sway, sway or sway ultra-sensitive frame by finding
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FN h
of cr by formula as cr  or by computer software.
FV  N
6. Determine the effective length assuming the frame is simple one storey or
typical multi-storey frame.
7. Calculate the slenderness ratio about the two principal axes as,
L
 E for Classes 1, 2 and 3 non-slender sections and
r
L Aeff
 E for Class 4 slender sections
r Ag
8. Use appropriate clauses for other sections like channel, angle and T sections
9. Select a suitable buckling curve from a0, a, b, c and d curves for the section
10. Determine the buckling strength pc from Table 8.8 in HK Code.
11. Calculate the compression resistance Pc as Pc  pc Ag for Classes 1, 2 and 3
sections or Pc  pcs Aeff or Class 4 section.
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7.5 Worked Examples
7.5.1 Compression resistance of restrained column
A 3m high H-section steel column of section 25425473 UC in S275 steel material,

supports a factored compression load of 1000kN. The column is assumed to be pinned
at the base support and at top of column as shown in figure below. Check the adequacy
of compression resistance of the column.
Solution Fc = 1000kN
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  254.1mm , B  254.6mm , t  8.6mm , T  14.2mm , d  200.3mm ,
ry  6.48cm , A  93.1cm 2
SECTION CLASSIFICATION 3m
Design strength, p y  275 N mm 2 for T  16mm (Table 3.2)

275
275
Limiting value of b/T for outstand flange of an H-section is 13

b 254.6
  8.96  13 1  13 (Table 7.1)
T 2 14.2
Limiting value of d/t for web of an H-section under axial compression is 120 1  2r2 
Fc 1000  103
Stress ratio, r2    0.391 (7.2)
Ag p yw 9310  275
d 200.3 120 120
  23.3    67.3  40  1  40 (Table 7.1)
t 8.6 1  2r2 1  2  0.391
web is non-slender
the section is non-slender
Buckling about minor axis is more critical
Effective length, LE  1.0L  3m (Table 8.6)
LE 3000
Slenderness ratio,     46.3 (Clause 8.7.4)
ry 64.8
Compressive strength for rolled H-section with maximum thickness ≤40mm bending about y-y axis
should be obtained from buckling curve (c) (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, p c  227.4 N / mm 2 (Table 8.8(c))

Compression resistance, Pc  Ag p c  9310  227.4  2117.1kN  Fc
(8.73)
(OK)
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7.5.2 Compression resistance of column in the portal frame
(1) Determine the design compression resistance of 20320360 UC of Grade S355

steel with effective length LE 3.5m.
(2) Determine the design compression resistance of the columns of the rigid-jointed
frame as shown in the following figure if L is equal to 3.5m and the beam load
is zero by assuming that
(a) frame is fully braced against sidesway and no out-of-plane buckling, and
(b) frame is unbraced against sidesway and no out-of-plane buckling.
2EI
k1 k1
EI EI L
k2 k2
2L
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  209.6mm , B  205.8mm , t  9.4mm , T  14.2mm , d  160.8mm , rx  8.96cm , ry  5.20cm ,
A  76.4cm 2
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355
Limiting value of b T for outstand flange of an H-section is 13

b 205.8
  7.25  13  0.88  11.4 (Table 7.1)
T 2 14.2
Limiting value of d t for web of an H-section under axial compression is 40

d 160.8
  17.1  40  0.88  35.2 (Table 7.1)
t 9.4
(1) COMPRESSION RESISTANCE

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Buckling about minor axis is more critical in this case
Effective length, LE  3.5m
LE 3500
ry 52
Compressive strength for rolled H-section with maximum thickness less than 40mm bending about
y-y
axis should be obtained from buckling curve c (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, pc  225.1 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(c))

Compressive resistance, Pc  p c Ag  225.1  7640  1719.8kN (8.73)
(2) COMPRESSION RESISTANCE

a) When the frame is classified as non-sway, beam stiffness should be taken as
0.5 I L (Table 6.2)
K c  K1 I L
k1    0.67 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K 1  K 11  K 12 I L  0.5  2 I 2 L
k 2  1 for pinned end
Effective length, LE  0.88L  0.88  3.5  3.08m (Figure
6.5b)
LE 3080
rx 89.6
x-x
axis should be obtained from buckling curve b (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, pc  328.0 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(b))

Compressive resistance, Pc  p c Ag  328.0  7640  2505.9kN (8.73)
b) When the frame is classified as sway, beam stiffness should be taken as 1.5 I L (Table 6.2)
K c  K1 I L
k1    0 .4 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K 1  K 11  K 12 I L  1.5  2 I 2 L
Effective length, LE  2.34L  2.34  3.5  8.19m (Figure 6.5a)
L 8190
Slenderness ratio,   E   91.4 (Clause 8.7.4)
rx 89.6
Compressive resistance, Pc  pc Ag  177.5  7640  1356.1kN (8.73)
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7.5.3 Compression member in the braced multi-storey frame
A 3-storey composite frame shown in the figure below has been classified as non-sway.
A plan view of the frame is shown with a floor system. A 7m high column support the
I-beams, which carry concrete slab floor. The connection detail between column and
beams is also shown in the figure below. Thus the top end condition of column is rigidly
held in position without rotational restraints as indicated and the column base is
designed as pinned end. The dead load on the concrete floor slab is 4kN/m2 (including
the self-weight of floor slab and finishes) and the imposed load is 4.5kN/m2. The
column section is 356368153 UC in S275 steel material. The loading on the roof
level is 4kN/m2 dead load. Check the structural adequacy of the H-column at gridlines
② & Ⓑ.
A B C
4m
2 356 x 127 x 33 UB
4m
3
356 x 368 x 153 UB
6m 6m
3m
3m
7m
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Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored distributed load on floor, 1  1.4  4  1.6  4.5  12.8kN / m 2 (Table 4.2)
Factored distributed load on roof,  2  1.4  4  5.6kN / m 2
Compression force on column, Fc  12.8  2  5.6  24  748.8kN
SECTION PROPERTIES
I y  17600cm 4 , rx  15.8cm , ry  9.49cm , A  195cm 2
Design strength, p y  265 N mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
275
   1.02 (Table 7.1 Note b)
265

b 370.5
  8.95  13  1.02  13.3 (Table 7.1)
T 2  20.7
Limiting value of d t for web of an H-section under axial compression is 120 1  2r2 
Fc 748.8  103
Stress ratio, r2    0.145 (7.2)
Ag p yw 19500  265
d 290.2 120  1.02
  23.6   94.9 (Table 7.1)
t 12.3 1  2  0.145
Buckling about minor axis is more critical
Effective length, LE  1.0L  7m (Table 8.6)
LE 7000
ry 94.9
y-y
axis should be obtained from buckling curve c (Table 8.7)

Compressive resistance, Pc  Ag p c  19500  169.3  3301.4kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
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7.5.4 Compression member in unbraced multi-storey frame
The 3-storey frame of steel grade S275 and columns of 356368153 UC and beams
of 35612733 UB is a moment frame with rigid member connections and pinned bases.
Check the compression resistance of the column. Dead load is 2kN/m2 and Live load
is 4.5kN/m2.
3m 3m
3m 3m
7m 7m
6m 4m
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored distributed load on floor,   1.4  2  1.6  4.5  10 kN m 2 (Table 4.2)
Compression force on column, Fc  10  6  4  2  480kN
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  362.0mm , B  370.5mm , t  12.3mm , T  20.7mm , d  290.2mm , I x  48600cm ,
4
I y  17600cm 4 , rx  15.8cm , ry  9.49cm , A  195cm 2
Design strength, p y  265 N mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
275
   1.02 (Table 7.1 Note b)
265

b 370.5
  8.95  131.02  13.3 (Table 7.1)
T 2  20.7
Limiting value of d t for web of an H-section under axial compression is 120 1  2r2 
Fc 480  103
Stress ratio, r2    0.093 (7.2)
Ag p yw 19500 265
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d 290.2 120  1.02
  23.6   103.2 (Table 7.1)
t 12.3 1  2  0.093
FRAME CLASSIFICATION
The notional horizontal force applied at the centre node due to factored total load is 101240.5=
2.4kN in both directions. The notional force applied at the end node is 2.4/2 = 1.2kN in both directions.
From linear analysis by NIDA, the deflections about major and minor of the column under consideration
are 3.24mm and 5.97mm respectively.
About major axis,

Elastic critical load factor, cr  FN h  1  7000  10.8 (6.1)
Fv  N 200 3.24
 cr  10 (6.2)
 it is a non-sway frame (Clause 6.3.3)
About minor axis,

Elastic critical load factor, cr  FN h  1  7000  5.86 (6.1)
Fv  N 200 5.97
10  cr  5 (6.4)
 it is a sway frame (Clause 6.3.4)
The boundary condition of the interior column should be assessed by considering it as a column in a sub-
frame, while the stiffness of the connected beam contributing to the effective length of interior column
is taken into account in the frame. Thus the determination of effective length of the interior column allows
for the effect of restraining beam stiffness here.
The second moment of inertia of connecting beam (35612733 UB) is 8250cm4
About major axis,

I
Beam stiffness in non-sway mode should be taken as 0.75 (Table 6.2)
L
I x 48600
Kc    69.43cm 3
Lc 700
I x 48600
K1    162cm 3
L1 300
I bx 8250
K 11  K 12    13.75cm 3
Lb 600
K c  K1 69.43  162
k1    0.92 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K1  K11  K12 69.43  162  0.75  13.75  2
Effective length, LE  0.97L  0.97  7  6.79m (Figure 6.5b)
Slenderness ratio, L 6790
 E   43.0 (Clause 8.7.4)
rx 158
Compressive strength for rolled H-section with maximum thickness less than 40mm bending about x-
x
axis should be obtained from buckling curve b (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, p c  238.0 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(b))
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About minor axis,
I
Beam stiffness in sway mode should be taken as 1.0 (Table 6.2)
L
Iy 17600
Kc    25.14cm 3
Lc 700
Iy 17600
K1    58.67cm 3
L1 300
I bx 8250
K 11  K 12    20.63cm 3
Lb 400
K c  K1 25.14  58.67
k1    0.67 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K 1  K 11  K 12 25.14  58.67  20.63  2
Effective length, LE  2.9L  2.9  7  20.3m (Figure 6.5a)
Slenderness ratio, L
 E 
20300
 213.9 (Clause 8.7.4)
ry 94.9
Compressive strength for rolled H-section with maximum thickness less than 40mm bending about y-
y
axis should be obtained from buckling curve c (Table 8.8(c))
Compressive strength, pc  36.8 N mm 2
buckling about minor axis is more critical
Compression resistance, Pc  pc Ag  36.8  19500  717.6kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
The compression resistance of the column in the frame is greatly reduced when the frame is changed
from the non-sway mode to the sway mode, because of the P- effect.
The above represents one load case with maximum axial force and minimum moment since wind load
and loads on alternative bays are not considered. Other load cases should also be considered.
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7.5.5 Column with circular hollow section in Chinese steel
Part of a truss system with rigid lateral restraint is supported by a circular tube column
of CHS 21916 grade Q345 steel and 8m length as shown in the figure below. The
column is under a factored load of 1000kN. And the base of circular tube column is
assumed pinned to the ground and the upper column is pined to the truss. Check the
buckling resistance of the tube column.
8m
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  219.1mm , t  16mm , A  102cm , I  5300cm , r  7.20cm , Z  483cm , S  661cm
2 4 3 3
SECTION CLASSIFIACTION
275
2   0.89 (Table 7.2 Note b)
310
Limiting value of D t for circular hollow section under axial compression is 80 2
D 219.1
  13.7  80  0.89  71.2 (Table 7.2)
t 16
Effective length, LE  L  8m (Table 8.6)
L 8000
r 72
Compressive strength for hot-finihsed structural hollow section should be otained from buckling
curve a (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, pc  138.3 N mm 2 (Table 8.8e)

Compressive resistance, Pc  Ag pc  10200  138.3  1410.7kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
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7.5.6 Compression resistance of slender welded column
A 2.5m high column with both ends pinned and subjected to 1000kN factored load is
to be designed. The section is welded box section with dimensions shown in the
adjacent figure. All plate elements of the welded box section are S355 steel and of
thickness 5mm.
220
Solution
Width of section, b  220  2 10  2  5  190mm (Figure 7.1)
Depth of section, d  200mm 5 200
Design strength, p y  355 N mm

2
(Table 3.2)
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355 5
10
Limiting value of bo T for outstand flange of a box section under axial compression is 13 
bo 10
  2  13  0.88  11.4 (Table 7.1)
T 5
outstand flange is non-slender
Limiting value of b T for internal flange of a box section under axial compression is 40
b 190
  38  40  0.88  35.2 (Table 7.2)
T 5
internal flange is slender
Limiting value of d t for web of a box section under axial compression is 120 1  2r2 
Gross area, Ag  220  200  5  2  4200mm
2
Fc 100010 3
Stress ratio, r2    0.671 (7.6)
Ag p yw 4200 355
d 200 120  0.88
  40   45.1 (Table 7.1)
t 5 1  2  0.671
the section is slender
Assume the outstand flange is ignored, by the effective width method,

A  190  200  5  2  3900mm 2
K  4 for conservative approach (Clause 11.3.4.4.3)
1000  10
3
fc   256.4 N mm 2 (Clause 11.3.4.4.1)
3900
For flange,
2 2
t  5 
pcr  0.904EK    0.904  205000 4     513.4 N mm
2
(11.11)
b  190 
f 256.4
 c   0.499  0.123 (11.10)
pcr 513.4
 
  1  14   0.35    1  14 0.499  0.35 
4 0.2 4 0.2
 0.960 (11.9b)
be  b  0.96 190  182.4mm (11.8)
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For web,
2
 5 
pcr  0.904  205000 4     463.3 N mm
2
 200 
f c 256.4
   0.553  0.123 (11.10)
pcr 463.3
 
  1  14 0.553  0.35 
4 0.2
 0.944 (11.9b)
be  b  0.944  200  188.8mm (11.8)
Effective Area, Aeff  182.4  188.8  5  2  3712mm

2
For welded sections under axial compression buckling, p y should be reduced by 20 N/mm2
p y  355  20  335 N mm 2 (Clause 8.7.6)
Compressive strength for welded box section with thickness less than 40mm bending about both axes
should be obtained from buckling curve b (Table 8.7)
 5  2003 220  53 
I x     220  5  102.52   2  2.979  107 mm 4
 12 12 
 220  5 3
200  5 3

I y     200  5  97.52   2  2.789  107 mm 4
 12 12 
Iy 2.789  107
ry    81.5
A 4200
LE 2500
ry 81.5
Aeff 3712
Reduced slenderness,   30.7  28.9 (Clause 8.7.5)
Ag 4200
Compressive strength, pc  317.5 N mm 2 (Table 8.8b)
Compressive resistance, Pc  Aeff pcs  3712  317.5  1178.6kN  Fc (OK) (8.74)
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Chapter 8 Beam-columns
8.1 Introduction to beam-columns
Columns and beams are strictly speaking idealized structural members under
pure axial force or pure bending moment since all members are subjected to
unavoidable small forces and moments. In the design context, we may consider beams
or columns are structural elements with dominant axial force and bending moment.
When a structural member is not under a single action of axial force or bending moment,
the design should include their interaction behaviour. Columns are commonly under
eccentric axial force that the ignorance of bending moment is on the non-conservative
side. Many practical structural elements in steel building structures are under the
simultaneous action of bending moment and axial force and they are termed as beam-
columns. The design of beam-columns is based on both beam and column design and
it is relatively complex. The structural behaviour on beam-columns is summarized in
Figure 8.1, in which the first case is the member under tension and bending about two
axes, the second case is under bending about two principal axes free from axial force
and the third case is the column under a combined action of axial compression and
bending about two principal axes.
For beam-columns in practical range, both the material nonlinear and geometric
nonlinear effects play roles in the behaviour of beam-columns. For material nonlinear
effects, the load carrying capacity of beam-column member can be based on the plastic
design. Geometrically nonlinear effects on beam-column member comprise of local
plate buckling, compression buckling, lateral-torsional buckling and axial-torsional
buckling. According to the HK Code, the member resistance of beam-column member
should be checked against cross-section capacity considering the material strength and
member buckling resistance, which allows for both the geometric buckling and material
yielding effects.
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z z
yM y yM y yM y
P z P
xM x xM x xM x
L L
My My My
y y y
Mx Mx Mx
x x x
P P
a) tension and biaxial bending b) biaxial bending c) compression and biaxial bending
Figure 8.1 Interaction effects on beam-column member
Nearly all sections can be used as beam-columns. The choice of a particular

member section depends not only on the structural resistance and strength, but also the
ease of fabrication which constitutes a high proportion of construction cost in steel
structures.
In general, the structural check of a beam-column requires the checking on

 Local capacity and resistance check
 Cross section capacity check and
 Overall buckling check
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8.2 Behaviour for combined tension and biaxial bending
8.2.1 Yield surface of tension members
Steel structures exist in three-dimensional space. For members under biaxial

bending Mx and My, the normal stresses is equal to the bending stress b about both x-
and y-axes shown in Figure 8.2.
 bx
My Compression
Y
Mx Mx
X X X X
My  bx
Y Tension
Vertical bending
stresses
Y
 by
 by
Y
Horizontal bending
stresses
Figure 8.2 Bending stress distribution across section under biaxial bending
The combined stress formula under the elastic assumption is expressed in

Equation (8.1). For more general elastic or plastic analysis, it can be re-written as
Equation (8.2) for section capacity check. The conceptual considerations for the two
equations can be significantly different, especially when the plastic moment capacity (
p y S ) in place of the elastic moment capacity ( p y Z ) of the section is used for the
interactive function in Equation (8.2). Also, research is currently carried out on refining
a more economical and yet safe yield function for governing the condition of forming
a plastic hinge in a beam-column element in an elastic-plastic analysis (Chan and Chen
1995).
The member shown in Figure 8.1(a) resists tension load Ft and biaxial bending
moments Mx and My. Unless the compressive stress created by bending moment is larger
than the stress by tension force, the section is not controlled by compression buckling.
The combined stress under tension load and bending moments can be determined by
simple combined stress formula. However, in the HK Code, the case for having
favourable tension force in a section should be checked by ignoring the presence of
tension force unless the moment is directly due to eccentric tension force in which case
the absence of moment implies the disappearance of axial force. For general cases, the
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favourable effect of tension force in a beam bent about its major principal axis should
be ignored for beam lateral-torsional buckling check.
When a section is loaded under moments about two principal axes, the stresses
induced on the beam-column member section is made up of normal tensile stress t and
bending stress b about principal x- and y-axes. The resulting stress should be checked
to be not greater than the material design strength py for structural adequacy when using
the simplest linear interactive equation. Equation (8.1) is the elastic combined stress
formula.
F M My
 t   bx   by  t  x   py (8.1)
Ag Z x Zy
in which Ft is tension load, Mx and My are respectively bending moment about x- and
y-axes, Ag is the gross section area and it should be replaced by the sectional net area
(Anet) at the section with bolt opening, Zx and Zy are the elastic section modulus about
the principal axes. Equation (8.1) can be normalized and refined as below.
Ft Mx My F M My
   t  x  1 (8.2)
p y Ag p y Z x p y Z y Pt M cx M cy
in which Pt is the tension load capacity, Mcx and Mcy are respectively the moment
capacities about x- and y-axes. For plastic sections, the moment capacities Mcx and Mcy
are revised to the plastic section capacity as pySx and pySy, where Sx and Sy are the plastic
section moduli about the respective axes. The use of plastic section modulus is based
on a concept of section capacity strength rather than focusing on the stress in elastic
stage.
The interaction between tension and bending is plotted in Figure 8.3. When a stress
point lies outside the yield surface under the combined actions of force and moments,
the beam-column member is considered as failed and the structure is considered to be
inadequate when using the first plastic hinge design method or the member is not
allowed to be further loaded. For simplicity and conservative design, the linear
interaction surface represented by the dotted lines in Figure 8.3 is commonly adopted.
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Tension
Ft
Pt
1.0
A more accurate curved
yield surface
Moment Mx
X-X axis M cx
My 1. 0 1.0
M cy
Moment A conservative yield surface
Y-Y axis
made of straight line
Figure 8.3 Actual and linearised yield surfaces of a section

under tension and bending
The actual yield condition under bending moment and axial force involves shift
of neutral axis. Its interaction with residual stress and local buckling makes the exact
analysis or design complicated and unsuitable for practical uses. The simplified
assumption of yield surface to control the combined axial force and moment makes the
structural checking direct and convenient. For illustration, the two dimensional yield
surfaces under the linear and non-linear interaction are shown in Figure 8.4. When a
load point lies inside the linear failure surface at ‘B’, the summation of the tensile direct
stress as ‘BC’ and bending stress as ‘AB’ is equal to unity in Figure 8.4 and indicated
by Equation (8.2). Under such condition, the member is considered as structural
adequate and safe. For a more accurate prediction of the section strength, the Von
Mises-Hencky yield function can be used. Clauses 8.8 and 8.9 in the HK Code allow
the use of both the approaches of linear interaction and an assumption of axial force
taken by central core area of the section around web with the bending moment taken by
the remaining area. This approximation leads to a more economical design based on a
curved yield surface with little additional computational effort in computer (Chan and
Chui, 1997). The illustration can be seen in Figure 8.5 that the solid core at web is
assigned to take the axial force.
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Ft
Convex more economical
Pt
failure surface
1.0
Linear more conservative

failure surface
A B
M
x
0 C 1.0 M cx
Figure 8.4 Interaction of tension force and bending moments
This part of material is

used to resist axial force
The remaining material is

used to resist moment
Figure 8.5 Sectional strength analysis under axial force and moment
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8.2.2 Design procedures for stocky beam-columns
A section capable of resisting axial force and bending moment alone may
become inadequate when the force and moment act simultaneously. The checking is
covered in the HK Code.
Using the linear interaction between force and moments in Equation (8.2) with
the complexity of shift of neutral axis ignored. The linearised interaction between the
axial force and moments can be written as,
Ft M x M y
  1 (8.3)
Pt M cx M cy
in which Ft, Mx and My are the applied tension force and bending moment about the x-
and y-axes, Pt is the tension capacity of the member under pure tension and it is equal
to pyAe, where Ae is the effective area of the section to resist tension force and py is
design strength, Mcx and Mcy are the moment capacity of beam member about x- and y-
axes respectively and these moment capacities are discussed in Chapter 6 for beams
and in Clause 8.2.2 in HK Code.
For Class 1 plastic and Class 2 compact sections, the moment capacity Mc is
taken as the plastic moment of the section equal to pyS. For Class 3 semi-compact
sections, the moment capacity Mc is taken as the elastic moment capacity as pyZ.
Moment capacity Mc for Class 4 slender sections should be pyZeff or pyrZ to allow for
the effects of local plate buckling. The simplified linear failure surface in Equation (8.3)
to account the interaction effect is a conservative design approach.
The reduction of bending resistance of member in the presence of tension load

is considered by inclusion of the term of Ft/Pt in Equation (8.3). If this tension effect is
considered directly in the computation of moment capacity of section (i.e. the moment
capacity of the cross section is reduced in the presence of axial force shown in Figure
8.5), the term Ft/Pt tension should be omitted in the interaction Equation (8.3). This is
a more economical and exact design approach using the convex failure surface in Figure
8.3.
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8.3 Worked Examples
8.3.1 Combined tension and bending of angle beam
An angle tie with both ends pinned is subjected to a factored tension of 100kN and a
factored distributed load of 8kN/m. The tie spans 5.5m and it is made of 20020016
equal angle in S275 steel. Check the adequacy of the tension tie under combined
actions.
Simply Supported Ends
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
8  5.5
Maximum shear, V   22.0kN
2
8  5.5 2
Maximum moment, M x   30.3kNm
8
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  200mm , B  200mm , t  16mm , A  61.8cm 2 , I x  2340cm 4 , Z x  162cm 3
Design strength, p y  275N / mm for t  16mm
2
(Table 3.2)
275
275
Semi-compact limiting value of b t , d t for angle in compression due to bending is 15

b d 200
   12.5  15  1  15 (Table 7.1)
t t 16
SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Av  0.9 A0  0.9  200  16  2880mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
p y Av 275  2880
3 3
TENSION CAPACITY
Tension capacity, Pt  p y Ae  275 6180  1699.5kN (8.66)
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MOMENT CAPACITY
V  22kN  0.6Vc  274.4kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
It is low shear condition
Moment capacity,
M cx  p y Z x  275  162  103  44.6 Nm (8.3)
Buckling resistance moment,
M b  0.8 p y Z x  0.8  275  162  103  35.6 Nm  M x (OK) (8.64)
CROSS-SECTION CAPACITY
Ft M 100 30.3
 x    0.74  1 (OK) (8.77)
Pt M cx 1699.5 44.6
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8.4 Beam-columns under tension and lateral-torsional buckling
When a slender beam-column in under tension force and bending moment about
the major principal axis, it is required to be checked for resistance against lateral-
torsional buckling. Similar to the case for biaxial bending of short beams, the slender
beam has a failure yield surface under bending about two principal axes as shown in
Figure 8.6.
Mx
1.0
Mb
My
M cy
1.0
Figure 8.6 Buckling in beams under bending about two principal axes
Under this case where the lateral-torsional buckling governs, the member
resistance about major axis is limited to the buckling resistance moment or the lateral
torsional buckling moment Mb. As the tension force assists the member to resist
buckling, the checking may ignore the favourable effect of tension force and also the
equivalent uniform moment factor mLT is allowed to consider the effect of the non-
uniform bending moment distribution on beams in Chapter 6. The equation for checking
of failure under biaxial bending allowing for lateral torsional buckling effect on this
basis can be written as,
m LT M x m y M y
 1 (8.4)
Mb M cy
in which Mb is member resistance against lateral-torsional buckling based on Clause

8.3.5.2 in HK Code for different sections, Mx is the maximum design moment about
major principal x-axis governing Mb, mLT is equivalent uniform moment factor in Table
8.4 of HK Code, My is maximum design moment about the minor y-axis.
In addition to Equation (8.4) for buckling check, tension members should be

checked against sectional strength in Equation (8.3).
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8.5 Design procedures of unrestrained beam-column
The procedure for design of unrestrained beams can be summarized as follows.
I CHECK IF THE SECTION IS COMPLETELY IN TENSION AND SECTION

CLASSIFICATION
Use the combined stress formula to check whether or not there is any compressive stress
in the cross section. If compression is found in the cross section, section classification
is required.
II DETERMINE THE MOMENT CAPACITY AND BUCKLING MOMENT

RESISTANCE
If the beam-column is slender and susceptible to beam buckling, the procedure for
finding the buckling resistance moment in Chapter 6 is applied. For stocky beams, the
moment capacity is determined as elastic or plastic moment.
III INTERACTION EQUATION CHECK

Check the moment resistance of the member by the interactive equation as,
m LT M x m y M y
  1 for beam buckling
Mb M cy
Ft M x M y
   1 for sectional capacity
Pt M cx M cy
A more refined and economical formula can be used for the checking by assuming the
core area near web takes the tension axial force and the remaining area resists the
moments about the two axes.
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8.6 Worked Examples
8.6.1 Bending about two axes of an I beam
An I-section beam of span 5.5m and section 35617145 UB is simply supported on a

sloping roof as shown. The factored design load is 10kN/m vertically and it is applied
to the top flange of the I-beam as a destabilizing load. Check the adequacy of the I-
section beam of Grade S275 steel material.
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
10  5.5
Maximum shear, V   27.5kN
2
10  5.5 2
Maximum moment, M max   37.8kNm
8
Maximum shear along minor axis, V y  27.5 cos 20  25.8kN
Maximum shear along major axis, Vx  27.5 sin 20  9.4kN
Maximum moment about major axis, M x  37.8 cos 20  35.5kNm
Maximum moment about minor axis, M y  37.8 sin 20  12.9kNm
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  351.4mm , B  171.1mm , t  7.0mm , T  9.7mm , d  311.6mm , Z x  687cm 3 , Z y  94.8cm ,
3
S x  775cm 3 , S y  147cm 3 , ry  3.76cm , u  0.874 , x  36.8 , A  57.3cm 2
Design strength, p y  275N / mm for T  16mm
2
(Table 3.2)
275
275

b 171.1
  8.82  9  1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 2  9.7
d 311.6
  44.5  80  1  80 (Table 7.1)
t 7
web is plastic
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SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Avy  tD  7  351.4  2460mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
Avx  0.9  2  BT  0.9  2  171.1  9.7  2987mm 2
Shear p y Avy 275  2460

V cy    390.6kN  V y (OK) (8.1)
capacity, 3 3
p y Avx 275  2987
Vcx    474.2kN  Vx (OK)
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V y  25.8kN  0.6V cy  234.4kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
V x  9.4kN  0.6Vcx  284.5kN
 275  775  10  1.2  275  687 10
3 3
 213.1kNm  226.7 kNm

 M x (OK)
M cy  p y S y  1.2 p y Z y (8.2)
 275  147  10  40.4kNm
3
but  1.2  275 94.8 103  31.3kNm

 M cy  31.3kNm  M y (OK)
It is destabilizing loading condition as given (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  1.2LLT  1.2  5.5  6.6m (Clause
8.3.4.1(d))
L E 6600
ry 37.6
1 1
v   0.827
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05  175.5 36.8  2 0.25 (8.27)
 w  1.0 for Class 1 plastic section (Clause 8.3.5.3)

(Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance, M b  pb S x  87.7  775  10  68.0kNm 3
(8.20)
mLT M x  0.93  35.5  33.0kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
Mx My 35.5 12.9
    0.58  1 (OK) (8.78)
M cx M cy 213.1 31.3
MEMBER BUCKLING RESISTANCE

Equivalent moment factor, m y  0.95 (Table 8.9)
m LT M x m y M y 0.93  35.5 0.95  12.9
    0.96  1 (OK) (8.81)
Mb pyZ y 68 275  94.8  10 3
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8.6.2 Cantilever beam bent about two axes
A cantilever beam of channel section supports an advertisement board as shown in

figure below. The loading from the advertisement board contains 2.5kN/m lateral wind
load and 12kN/m vertical dead load. The channel section of the cantilever beam is
[2009030 in S275 steel. Determine the adequacy of the member under combined
interaction of bending about two axes.
Solution
DESIGN LOAD
Factored dead load, G  1.4  12  16.8 kN m (Table 4.2)
Factored wind load,  w  1.4  2.5  3.5 kN m
Maximum shear along minor axis, V y  16.8  2  33.6kN
Maximum shear along major axis, Vx  3.5  2  7.0kN
1
Maximum moment about major axis, M x   16.8  2 2  33.6kNm
2
1
Maximum moment about minor axis, M y   3.5  2 2  7.0kNm
2
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  200mm , B  90mm , t  7.0mm , T  14.0mm , d  148mm , Z x  252cm 3 , Z y  53.4cm ,
3
S x  291cm 3 , S y  94.5cm 3 , ry  2.88cm , u  0.952 , x  12.9 , A  37.9cm 2
Design strength, p y  275N / mm for T  16mm
2
(Table 3.2)
275
275
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Plastic limiting value of b T for outstand flange of a channel is 9
b 90
  6.43  9  1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 14
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of a channel with neutral axis at mid-depth is 40
d 148
  21.1  40  1  40 (Table 7.1)
t 7
web is plastic
SHEAR CAPACITY
Shear area, Avy  tD  7  200  1400mm 2 (Clause 8.2.1)
Avy  0.9  2  BT  0.9  2  90  14  2268mm 2
p y Avy 275  1400

Shear capacity, Vcy    222.3kN  V y (OK) (8.1)
3 3
p y Avx 275  2268
Vcx    360.1kN  V x (OK)
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V y  0.6Vcy  133.4kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
Vx  0.6Vcx  216.1kN
 275  291 10  1.2  275  252  10
3 3
 80.0kNm  83.2kNm
 M x (OK)
M cy  p y S y  1.2 p y Z y (8.2)
 275  94.5  10  26.0kNm
3
but  1.2  275  53.4  103  17.6kNm

 M cy  17.6kNm  M y (OK)
It is normal loading condition (Clause 8.3.3)
Effective length, LE  0.8LLT  0.8  2  1.6m (Table 8.1)
L E 1600
ry 28.8
1 1
v   0.849
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.05  55.6 12.9  2 0.25 (8.27)

(Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance, M b  pb S x  250.2  291 10  72.8kNm 3
(8.20)
Equivalent uniform moment factor, mLT  1 for cantilever (Table 8.4b)
mLT M x  1  33.6  33.6kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
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Mx M y 33.6 7
    0.82  1 (OK) (8.78)
M cx M cy 80 17.6

m y  1.0
m LT M x m y M y 1  33.6 1 7
    0.94  1 (OK) (8.81)
Mb pyZ y 72.8 275  53.4  10 3
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8.7 Sectional strength under compression and bending
For stocky members under compressive axial force and bending moments about
two axes, both the capacity and buckling strength of the members are required for
checking. When a member is under compression force Fc and biaxial bending moments
Mx and My, the induced stresses on the member section will comprise compressive stress
due to force and bending moments about x- and y-axes as shown in Figure 8.7.
Y
c  bx
X X
Y
 bx
Eccentricities in Axial
cross section stress
Bending stress about
X-X axis
by
 by
Bending stress
about Y-Y axis
p y   max  ( c   bx   by )
Figure 8.7 Stress distribution across a section under the action of axial force and
bending moments
For elastic design, the combined stress on the section should not be greater than
the material design strength py. The strength check of the member should follow
Equation (8.5), which is based on an elastic analysis superimposing the components of
compression and bending stresses as,
F M My
 c   bx   by  c  x   py (8.5)
Ag Z x Zy
in which Fc, Mx and My are the axial force and bending moments for the critical section
along a beam-column. The section capacity check for the interaction can be rewritten
as Equation (8.6) in a section capacity format beyond the elastic limit as,
Fc Mx My Fc M My
    x  1 (8.6)
p y Ag p y Z x p y Z y p y Ag M cx M cy
where Ag is the gross area of member section. Mcx and Mcy are respectively the member
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capacity about x-axis and y-axis. For plastic analysis allowing for the entire section
fully yielded, the moment capacities Mcx and Mcy can be taken as the plastic section
capacity pyS. The reduction of moment capacities due to compression load takes into
account the three-dimensional failure surface in Figure 8.8.
Fc
Pc
1.0
Mx
M cx
B
My 1.0
M cu
1.0
Figure 8.8 Failure surface of sectional strength under biaxial bending
The plastic failure surface is convex in space as shown by solid lines in Figure
8.8. The conservative linear failure surface under combined axial compression and
biaxial bending are also plotted in dotted lines in Figure 8.8. For any loaded point lying
inside or on the failure surface such as stress point “A” in Figure 8.8, the member is
considered as structurally adequate and capable of resisting the loads and bending
moments. When the axial force is released, the stress point drops to stress point “B” at
the yield surface with zero axial force and the section is allowed to take greater
moments because of this removal of axial force.
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8.8 Buckling strength under biaxial bending
The structural check of compression member under axial force and bending
moments should include the section capacity check and the overall buckling check. The
sectional capacity check and the buckling resistance checks are detailed respectively in
Clauses 8.9.1 and 8.9.2 of the HK Code. The section capacity check is to ensure no
section in the beam-column will be loaded beyond the failure yield surface of the
section. The overall member buckling resistance check is to ascertain the member will
not buckle under the combined action of axial force and moments.
8.8.1 Cross section capacity
The yield surface for a compression member is similar to the case for a tension
member and the simple linear interaction equation is used in the HK Code as follows.
For non-slender sections,

Fc M My
 x  1 (8.7)
p y A M cx M cy
For slender sections,

Fc M My
 x  1 (8.8)
p y Aeff M cx M cy
in which Aeff is the effective cross sectional area allowing for local buckling. The
external moments and force should be selected for the most critical section in a member.
More exact method allowing the inclusion of axial force effect into the bending moment
resistance is allowed in the HK Code. The method is based on the core area around web
taking the axial force with the remaining areas taking the moments.
8.8.2 Overall buckling resistance
The buckling check in the HK Code involves (1) the checking for column
buckling with prolonged effective buckling length, (2) the amplified moment due to
sway and displacement in the frame and (3) the lateral-torsional buckling interacted
with the axial force and flexural buckling about the minor axis. The interaction relation
between the force and the moment is shown in Figure 8.9 below, which indicates that
the failure surface is dependent not only on the cross sectional capacities, but also on
the effective length of the member. In the figure, when the slenderness ratio  of the
member increases, the allowed axial compression resistance and moment resistance
about major axis decrease. The moment resistance about the major axis reduces as the
effective length increases. Generally speaking, the permissible axial force and moments
reduce when the slenderness ratio increases.
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Fc
Py
1
Limiting slenderness  = 15
 = 100
Mx
1 Mcx
My
Mcy
1
Figure 8.9 Failure surfaces of compression members under combined actions
The HK Code is different from most other design codes in the checking of beam-
columns. In some steel design codes like Eurocode 3 (2005), either the moment
amplification method or the buckling effective length method is needed for checking of
buckling resistance of a beam-column. Below is an argument that the options are not
always equivalent and they may produce considerably different design loads. Thus, it
is one reason for not accepting the effective length method when the elastic critical load
factor cr is less than 5.
When the moment in a beam-column is small such as a concentrated load acting

directly on top of a beam-column, the design of the beam-column is not controlled by
the part for bending moment and the amplified moment remains small even the
amplification factor is large. The failure of the beam-column here is dominated by
column flexural buckling mode and Equation (8.79) of Clause 8.9.2 of HK Code should
be applied to check this mode of failure. On the other hand, when the moment on the
beam-column is large such as the beam-column is under large end moment or moment
along its length, the column flexural buckling is not in control of the member capacity
and the amplified moment becomes dominant in member strength check. In this case
Equation (8.80) of Clause 8.9.2 of HK Code checks the resistance of the member
against this scenario of failure. The remaining equation in the same clause obviously
checks the case for the beam-column against lateral-torsional buckling. Thus, 3
equations are required to be checked when using the HK Code at least for consistency
in design.
8.8.2.1 Member buckling check

The buckling of the member in the column flexural buckling mode is considered
in this clause here. When the bending moment is small such that the amplified moment
is moderate even the sway amplification factor is large, the flexural buckling is more
critical and this checking is to prevent the failure case for column buckling mainly due
to P- effect which is coupled with member buckling. The bending moment action
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reduces the buckling resistance of the beam column susceptible to column flexural
buckling and the checking can be expressed as follows.
Fc mx M x m y M y
  1 (8.9)
Pc M cx M cy
in which Pc is the buckling resistance of the member using the effective length
determined in Chapter 7, mx and my are the uniform moment equivalent factors, M x
and M y are the design moments which are not required for amplification as the effect
may be doubly considered after using the prolonged effective length for finding the Pc.
Mcx and Mcy are the resistance moment of the cross section. It can be seen great
uncertainty exists in estimating Pc which further depends on the stiffness and sway
amplitude of the whole frame and this is the disadvantage of the effective length method.
8.8.2.2 Sway amplified moment

When the beam-column in a frame sways considerably that the increase in
effective length in the above section cannot cater for the amplified sway moment
reliably, the checking in the following Equation (8.10) prevents this mode of failure.
However, as the sway moment cannot be applied to the amplifying buckling effect of
beam-column along its length, an effective length equal to the member length is still
required to be assumed. The equation for the checking is given in the following equation.
Fc m x M x m y M y
  1 (8.10)
Pc M cx M cy
in which Pc is the buckling resistance of the beam-column assuming the effective

length equal to the member length, mx and my are the equivalent uniform moment
factors about the x- and y-axes. Mx and My are the amplified bending moments using
the amplification factors in Equations (8.11) and (8.12) below.
 cr
Mx  Mx (8.11)
 cr  1
 cr
My  My (8.12)
 cr  1
cr
where is the greater of following Equations (8.13) and (8.14).
cr  1
 cr 1
 or
 cr  1 FV  N (8.13)
1
FN h
cr 1

 cr  1 F L2 (8.14)
1  c2 E
 EI
in which cr is the elastic critical load factor equal to the elastic buckling load divided
by the design load of a perfect (no imperfection) structural system, M x and M y are
the bending moment without amplification and obtained directly from a linearanalysis.
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FV and FN are the vertical and notional horizontal forces acting on a floor. Fc is the axial
force in the member being designed and LE is the effective length. Further details of the
concept of second-order nonlinear buckling analysis can be found in Chapter 10.
Equations (8.11) and (8.12) are to account for amplified effect from sway of
frame and Equation (8.13) and (8.14) are for the amplification from column buckling.
As only the P- effect is required for consideration in sway frames, the use of Equations
(8.13) is needed only for sway frames.
The amplification factor in Equation (8.13) is for the amplified moment effect
when a frame sways, such that the induced moment becomes axial force times the
lateral deflection. Equation (8.14) on the other hand is due to the effect of amplified
moment resulted from deflection bowing and axial force.
8.8.2.3 Lateral-torisional buckling

When the beam column is bent about the major axis with a possibility of
buckling about the minor axis, the following interaction equation is needed to ensure
the member does not fail in this combined buckling mode for flexural and lateral-
torsional buckling. Here the flexural buckling resistance Pcy about the minor axis is
used as the concern is on the buckling about the minor axis, but not about the major
principal axis.
Fc m M my M y
 LT LT  1 (8.15)
Pcy Mb M cy
in which Pcy is the buckling resistance about the minor axis of the section, mLT is the
uniform equivalent moment factor for lateral-torsional buckling of beams, MLT is the
amplified bending moment about x-axis governing Mb.
In Equation (8.15), as Pcy is obtained from sway effective length, we need not amplified
the My which is about the same y-axis. However, MLT is about the major axis and the
effective length about this major axis has not been considered and thus we need to
amplify MLT.
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8.9 Design procedures of compression and bending
The procedure for design of an unrestrained beam column can be summarized

as follows.
I SECTION CLASSIFICATION
Classify the sectional type into Class 1, 2, 3 or 4. The design strength or cross sectional
area for Class 4 sections should be reduced.
II SECTIONAL CAPACITY CHECK

Determine the most critical section containing the greatest stress due to bending
moments about the two axes. Apply Equations (8.7) and (8.8) for sectional strength
check.
III MEMBER BUCKLING CHECK

Compute the buckling resistance moment of a beam-column to Chapter 6 and the
 cr
buckling resistance against axial buckling in Chapter 7. Amplified factor should
 cr  1
be applied. Check the member to Equations (8.9) to (8.15) which are adopted from
Clauses 8.9.2 in HK Code.
IV OTHER LOCAL EFFECTS AND WEB BEARING AND BUCKLING

CHECK
As for beam and column design, checking for web against bearing, shear buckling and
compression buckling should be carried out as for restrained beams. The discussion
should be referred to Chapter 9.
V OTHER LIMIT STATES

Other limit states such as the deflection and vibration limit states shall also be checked.
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8.10 Worked Examples
8.10.1 Column in simple frame
A steel stanchion of 203203100 UC of length 8m and grade S355 grade of steel in a

multi-storey building frame is under a factored concentric axial force of 250 kN, a
factored reaction from beam of 100 kN with nominal eccentricities of 100mm from the
face of the web and another factored reaction from beam of 150 kN of 100mm nominal
eccentricity from the face of the flange. Check the adequacy of the stanchion. The
effective length for flexural column buckling is 1.0 of its physical length and the
effective length for lateral-torsional beam buckling is 0.5 of its physical length.
Solution
SECTION PROPERTIES
I y  3680cm 4 , rx  9.44cm , r y  5.39cm , Z x  988cm 3 , Z y  350cm , S x  1150cm 3 ,
3
S y  534cm 3 , u  0.852 , x  9.02 , A  127cm 2
DESIGN LOAD
Axial load, Fc  250  100  150  500kN
Moment about major axis, M x  150  (228.6 2  100)  103  32.1kNm
Moment about minor axis, M x  100  (14.5 2  100)  103  10.7kNm
Design strength, p y  345N / mm for 16mm  T  40mm
2
(Table 3.2)
275
  0.89 (Table 7.1 Note b)
345

b 210.3
  4.44  9  0.89  8.01 (Table 7.1)
T 2  23.7
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an H-section under both axial compression and bending is
80 1  r1 
Fc 500  103
Stress ratio, r1    0.622  1 (7.1)
dtp yw 160.8  14.5  345
d 160.8 80  0.89
  11.1   43.9
t 14.5 1  0.622
web is plastic
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MOMENT CAPACITY
Moment capacity, M cx  p y S x  1.2 p y Z x
 345  1150  103  1.2  345  988  103
 396.8kNm  409.0kNm
 M x (OK)
M cy  p y S y  1.2 p y Z y
 345  534 103  184.2kNm
but  1.2  345  350 103  144.9kNm
 M cy  144.9kNm  M y (OK)
Effective length, LE  0.5LLT  0.5  8  4m
LE 4000
ry 53.9
1 1
v 
1  0.05 x  1  0.05  74.2 9.02  2 0.25
 0.691 (8.27)
2 0.25

Equivalent slenderness, LT  uv  w  0.852  0.691 74.2  1  43.7 (8.25)
(Table 8.3a)
Buckling resistance, M b  pb S x  305.9  115010  351.8kNm 3
(8.20)
mLT M x  1.0  32.7  32.7kNm  M b (OK) (8.18)
Bending about minor axis is more critical
Effective length, LE  L  8m
LE 8000
ry 53.9
The compressive strength for rolled H-section bending about minor axis should be obtained from
buckling curve c. (Table 8.7)
Compressive resistance, Pc  Ag pc  12700 73.6  934.7 kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
Fc M My 500  103 32.1 10.7
 x      0.27  1 (OK) (8.78)
Ag p y M cx M cy 12700 345 396.8 144.9

Equivalent moment factor, mx  m y  mLT  1 for simple construction (Clause 8.7.8)
Moment amplification factor about major axis,

cr 1 1
   1.163
cr  1 FL 2
500  82 (8.82)
1  2c E 1 2
 EI x   2.05  11300
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Moment amplification factor about minor axis,
cr 1 1
   1.754
cr  1 FL 2
500  8 2 (8.82)
1  2c E 1 2
 EI y   2.05  3680
Fc mx M x m y M y 500 1.163  32.1  103 1.754  10.7  103

      0.80  1 (8.80)
Pc M cx M cy 934.7 345  988 345  350
Fc mLT M LT m y M y 500 1.163  32.1 10.7  103
      0.73  1 (8.81)
Pcy Mb M cy 934.7 351.8 345  350
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Chapter 9 Connections
9.1 Introduction
Connections play an important role in the steel structure; they link individual
members together and transfer loads from one member to another. The cost of
connection can be 20 to 30% or more of the total construction cost of a steel structure.
Details of connection can also affect the speed of construction, cost and safety of the
complete structure. In some occasions, the appearance of connections is also controlled
by architectural requirements.
The major consideration for connections is, apart from structural strength and
safety, the ease of fabrication which indirectly relates to the cost. The design aspect
requiring special consideration will be of the lack of ductility for most, especially the
welded connections. It has been reported that failure of many steel structures occurs at
connection and the strength and ductility of connections need to be considered and
analysed
Figure 9.1 Semi-rigid bolted connection with computer simulation
In general, a connection is either designed as a pinned connection transferring

only shear or a rigid connection transferring both shear and moment. The former
connection type of pinned connections is more widely used in simple construction and
the latter type of rigid connections is used in continuous construction. The newest
development is the semi-rigid connections which allow transfer of shear with partial
transfer of moment (see Figure 9.1 shows a finite element model of a semi-rigid bolted
connection used in a green hoarding system designed by second-order direct plastic
analysis in Hong Kong, Chan and Lo, 2019). When transferring moment through a
connection, the strength is of paramount importance and when only shear is transferred
with release of moment, the rotational capacity becomes the principal consideration.
Designer details the pinned connection to be flexible in releasing moment and
transferring shear only whereas the rigid connections are detailed to have sufficient
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strength to transfer moment as well as shear. Semi-rigid connections are designed to
have both the capability of transferring moment and allowing rotations.
In structural design of steel structures, the assumption for connection

characteristics should be consistent in detailing, strength calculation and in connection
fixity used in computer modeling for structural frame analysis. As a general rule, bolt
connections should be used on site and welded connections should be adopted in shop,
because of ease of quality control. In some cold areas, site welding is not feasible during
the winter or even not permitted. However, local practice in Hong Kong may prefer site
welding for easy fabrication and greater tolerance for fixing of connections.
The aim of connections is to transmit the load from one member to another.
Different forms of joining members should be referred to connections with different
names, such as beam-to-beam connection, column splice, truss joints, beam-column
connection and column base shown in Figure 9.2(a). These connections may perform
different functions such as transfer of moment and shear, or shear only with adequate
rotation capacity as shown in Figure 9.2(b). When load is transferred from one plate
element to another, lap joints shown in Figure 9.2(c) can be used. Fabrication and
erection procedures may be simplified by standardizing a number of common
connection details and arrangements for common connections.
Beam to beam connection Column splices Truss joints
Beam to column joint Column base
Figure 9.2(a) Types of member connections
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Moment connection Pinned connection
Figure 9.2(b) Moment connection and pinned connection
Lap joint by bolts Welded joint to form built-up element
Figure 9.2(c) Connections jointing the plate elements by bolts or welds
Figure 9.2 Typical connections
The common composing elements or components in different types of

connection are of bolts, pins, welds, seats, cleats and end plates. Riveted connections
are uncommon in modern construction and therefore not further discussed here. The
key elements of component in connection for direct load transfer are bolts and welds.
Bolting contains two types. They are non-preloaded ordinary bolts in standard
clearance or oversize holes and preloaded or high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolt.
Welding includes mainly fillet and butt welds.
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9.2 Connection behaviour in strength, stiffness and ductility
Connections are commonly assumed to be either perfectly rigid or ideally

pinned. The assumption of joint stiffness should be sufficiently accurate to prevent
unfavorable effect on frame behavior. A rigid frame or a frame with rigid connections
assumes all connections to be rigid and the moment can be all transferred from one
member to another. On the other hand, no moment is transferred through the pinned
connection; the stiffness of pinned connection is equal to zero. However, pin connection
must be able to transmit shear and to possess sufficient ductility for rotation as pinned
connection. While all connections of a structure are idealized as pinned, the structure is
called simple structure. It is convenient and simple for structural analysis and design of
the structure. Strictly speaking, these two extreme cases can seldom exist in reality and
the widely used assumption of perfectly rigid and frictionless pinned connection is
practically unattainable. A more realistic and possibly more economical design is to
allow for a certain degree of connection stiffness at the connection as shown in beam-
column connection in Figure 9.3. The corresponding moment-rotation curves are
illustrated in Figure 9.4. A certain degree of rotational deformation is allowed with part
of the fixed end moment is transferred.
The behavior of semi-rigid connection influences the global structural behavior

such as the classification of frame into sway or non-sway mode. And it also affects the
connection design. However, this degree of connection stiffness caused by local
behavior of the connection is not to be discussed here.
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a. Single Web Angle b. Double Web Angle
c. Bottom Flange and Web Angle

d. Top and Seat Angle
e. Web Side Plate f. Header Plate
g. Extended End Plate h. Flush End Plate
Figure 9.3 Different types of beam column connections
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Moment, M
Perfectly Rigid Joint
Se
m
Extended End-Plate
i-R
ig
id
Jo
in
st
Flush End-Plate
Top and Seat Angle
Header Plate
Double Web Angle
Single Web Angle
0
Ideally Pinned Joint Rotation 
Figure 9.4 Moment-rotation curves for corresponding beam column connections
9.3 Welded connection
9.3.1 Weld process
Welding is a process of fusing two pieces of steel materials together through the
use of heat. The required heat is produced by electric current or gas heat through
electrode such that the metal in the electrode melts, fuses and cools to form a single
piece of metal with the parent metals which refer to the pieces of metals intended for
joining. Welded connections are widely used in steel construction to date and they
provide great flexibility in connecting members. Lesser construction tolerance
requirement is especially attractive on site construction. However, most welded
connections are relatively less ductile than ordinary clearance bolts and they introduce
high residual stress leading to cracking if the welding process is not carefully monitored.
There are two main types of welds, namely the fillet weld and the butt weld in
Figures 9.5 and 9.6. Fillet weld is roughly triangular in its cross section formed at the
re-entrant corners of a joint. The strength of weld is developed as the shear capacity of
the weld across the size or throat of weld. The size of weld is defined as the width of
throat which is called the leg length of weld discussed in Section 9.3.5.1.
Butt weld refers to the weld lying within the surface of the joining plates. The
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welding process commonly used is the metal arc welding and gas welding. Metal arc
welding is carried out by fusion of metal accomplished by the heat of an electric arc. In
gas welding, a filler material or bare electrode is used to supply material which is melted
by high heat of gas like oxygen-acetylene flame. Shielding gas is used to shield the
molten weld zone from the atmosphere. In metal inert-gas process (MIG), a bare wire
electrode is used whereas in tungsten inert-gas process (TIG), tungsten electrode is used.
Welding may cause the region near to the weld to become relatively brittle.
When a crack is formed due to brittle material in that region, it is easily propagated at
a high stress concentration. This problem is particularly serious under lower
temperature. Further, the welding induces residual stress and strain in the component
of connection, which deteriorates the structural strength of connection in most cases.
9.3.2 Electrodes
The combined use of weldable steel, welding strength, welding condition and
welding position requires the specification of electrode in terms on strength, welding
position and supply of current to the electrode. In the HK Code, both the BS EN and
the Chinese standards for electrodes are listed for fillet welds. Electrode classification
of 35, 42 and 50 for BS EN standards and E43, E50 and E55 for Chinese GB standards
are used and listed in Table 9.2 of the HK Code.
9.3.3 Types of welds
The common welding types include fillet weld and butt weld. Fillet weld is that
the weld metal is generally lying outside the profile of the connected elements as shown
in Figure 9.5 while butt weld is that the weld metal is deposited with the profile of the
connected elements as shown in Figure 9.6.
Double fillet weld Single fillet weld Fillet weld for lap joint
Figure 9.5 Different types of fillet welds
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Double V butt weld Single V butt weld Single bevel butt weld
Figure 9.6 Different types of butt welds
9.3.3.1 Butt weld

Butt weld is classified into two catalogs of full penetration weld and partial
penetration weld, which influence the strength of weld depending on the depth of
penetration of weld. It normally requires 100% test and as the welding involves more
number of welding passes, it is more expensive and less common unless it is strictly
necessary to ensure the welded part will not fail earlier than the parent material.
9.3.3.2 Fillet weld

Fillet weld is relatively less expensive, when no preparation is required before
welding process. It is more commonly used for fillet the corner reentrance of two pieces
of metals. During welding, the electrode bisects its angle with the two pieces of metals.
The size of fillet welds is measured as its leg length. The minimum size used in the HK
Code is 3mm while the common size can be 6mm to 12mm or higher.
9.3.4 Welding symbols
In shop drawings and erection plan, the welds are shown on its type, size, length
and locations on the connected parts. This information is indicated in form of symbols.
Table 9.1 shows the common types of weld and the commonly used symbols are
indicated in Table 9.2 below.
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Weld type Single Double
Square
Bevel
Vee
Groove
Table 9.1 Common types of butt weld
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Notes:
The side of the joint to which the arrow points is the arrow or near side and the opposite
side of the joint is the other or far side.
All welds are continuous except otherwise stated. Arrow only points to the member
grooved.
Dimensions of weld sizes, length and spacing are in millimeters.
`
Table 9.2 Typical welding symbols
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9.3.5 Structural design of fillet welds
9.3.5.1 Strength of weld and leg length

The design strength of weld depends on the size of weld, such as leg length s,
which is the size of fusion face on unprepared surface of parent metal as shown in
Figure 9.7. Also the strength pw of weld is based on the material used in the welding
electrode and strength of parent metal. Further, the throat thickness a, which is the
perpendicular distance from inclined surface of weld to root of weld illustrated in Figure
9.7, is determined from the leg length s.
weld surface
a s a s a s
s s s
fusion faces root of weld
Figure 9.7 Equal leg length of typical fillet welds
For more complex connections, the throat size can be determined from
engineering assessment and below are some of the examples for locating the throat size.
In Figure 9.8(a), the throat thickness a is taken as the shortest distance from the root of
weld to the fusion surface and s1 and s2 denote the leg lengths on both sides parallel to
the parent metals. The throat thickness a for butt weld can be taken as perpendicular
distance from root of weld as indicated in Figure 9.8(b). In the cases of deep fillet weld,
throat thickness a is also taken shortest distance from root of weld as shown in Figure
9.8(c). For design calculation and drawing preparation, leg length with equal magnitude
on two sides is normally specified.
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S2
a S2 a a
a
S1 S1 S1 S1
S1 S1
Obtuse Acute
Partial penetration weld Full penetration weld
a S2 S2 b) Butt welds
a
S1 S1
Convex Concave S2 S2
a
a
a S1
a S2 S1 S1
S1 S1
Equal leg Unequal leg
a) Fillet welds c) Deep fillet welds
Figure 9.8 Definitions of sizes of fillet weld and butt weld
The strength pw of fillet weld depends not only on the strength of parent metal,
but also the material used in the welding electrode. The strength of different weld grades
can be found in Table 9.2 of the HK Code.
When two different grades of parent materials are joined by fillet welds, the
lower grade should be considered in design. The design strength pw of fillet weld for
standard steel grade and common electrode type are tabulated in the Table 9.3 below.
Steel grade Electrode classification

35 (N/mm2) 42 (N/mm2) 50 (N/mm2)
S275 220 220 220
S355 220 250 250
S460 220 250 280
Table 9.3 Design strength of fillet welds pw to BS EN standards
When the effective length be of weld is less than 40mm, the weld length is so
small that it cannot be assumed to take any load. Also, the section properties of welded
connection should be based on the effective section obtained from the effective length
section.
In addition to the design calculation, fillet weld is required to be returned around

corners for at least twice of the leg length and the lap length in a lap joint should not be
less than 4 times the thickness of the thinner plates.
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9.3.5.2 Directional method for capacity of fillet weld
In general, the failure surface of weld is approximately at the throat section
under longitudinal and transverse forces as shown in Figure 9.9(a). The strength of fillet
weld of length L and throat thickness a is illustrated in Figure 9.9(b).
s2
FTy FT
Failure surface s1
FTx
L
wLa
wLa
a FL
Throat section
a) Failure surface at throat section b) Resultant stresses on throat section
Figure 9.9 Resultant stresses acting on the fillet weld of throat section
The force on a particular weld due to moment and shear in a connection can be
resolved into the directions parallel and perpendicular to the weld and then checked
against the design capacities of the weld in these two directions as follows. The
longitudinal design capacity per unit length of weld PL is given by the following
expression.
PL  pwa (9.1)
in which pw is the design strength of weld obtained from Table 9.2 in the HK Code and
a is the throat size of the weld.
The capacity per unit length of the weld in the transverse direction PT is given by,
PT  KPL (9.2)
in which PL is design capacity per unit length of weld and K is a coefficient given by,
1.5
K  1.25 (9.3)
1  cos 2 
in which  is the angle between the resultant and the line bisecting the area of the weld
as shown in Figure 9.10(c).
The external force acting on the weld can be resolved into the components in the
longitudinal and transverse directions of the weld as shown in Figure 9.10(a) and (b)
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and determined as FL and FT where FT  FTx  FTy as shown in Figure 9.9(b).
2 2
The structural adequacy of the weld can be checked by the conditions as,
PL  FL (9.4)
PT  FT (9.5)
2 2
 FL  F 
    T   1 (9.6)
 PL   PT 
2FT
FL
FT FT
FL FT
FT
a) Welds subject to longitudinal shear b) Welds subject to transverse shear
FT
a
Throat of 
the weld
c) Resultant transverse force on weld
Figure 9.10 Directional approach for capacity of fillet weld
9.3.5.3 The simplified method

This is a simpler but less economical approach of finding the resultant stress acting on
weld and checking of this resultant stress against the design strength of weld as,
PL  FR (9.7)
in which FR is the vector resultant stress equal to Fx2  Fy2  Fz2 on the weld.
9.3.6 Stress analysis in a welded connection
Before the application of stress check on weld, the stress induced by external
loads must first be determined. The stress analysis can be carried out from the first
principle and two common connections are adopted for demonstration of the stress
analysis of weld group under torsion and shear and under bending and shear.
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9.3.6.1 Weld group under torsion and shear
The weld group shown in Figure 9.11(a) is under torsion and vertical shear.
Assuming a unit leg length for the weld, the direct shear can be written as,
P P
FS   (9.8)
length of weld 2 x  2 y
Figure 9.11(a) Torsion and vertical shear
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e b
D d x x
Figure 9.11(b) Bending and vertical shear
Figure 9.11 Connection group subjected to torsion, vertical shear and bending
Shear due to torsion is given by,

Per
FT  (9.9)
IP
in which
1 2
r x  y2 (9.10)
2
y 3 xy 2 x 3 x 2 y
IP  Ix  I y     (9.11)
6 2 6 2
The resulting shear stress on weld of unit leg length is then given by the resultant
of the shear due to vertical force and torsion as FR  FS2  FT2  2 FS FT cos in which
is the angle between the two vectors for vertical shear and torsional shear. The
FR
required leg length is then equal to s  in which s is the leg length and pw is the
0 .7 p w
design strength of weld. The factor 0.7 is used for common ratio of leg length to the
throat length and it should be varied for special weld geometry.
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9.3.6.2 Weld group under bending and shear
For the other common connection shown in Figure 9.11(b) with weld under
shear and tension due to bending moment, the shear force on unit leg length of weld
can be obtained as follows.
P
Shear on weld due to vertical load is FS  (9.12)
L
M D Pe D
Tension on weld due to bending is FT   (9.13)
Ix 2 Ix 2
The resultant stress on weld with unit leg length = FR  FS  FT (9.14)

2 2
in which FS is the induced shear stress, FT is the induced tension stress, M is the moment
at connection, L is the total weld length, D is the distance between the two welds equal
to the depth of the I-beam and Ix is the second moment of area about the horizontal x-
axis.
The leg length of weld can be obtained similarly as for torsion and shear case as
FR
s .
0.7 pw
9.3.5.5 Welded connections to unstiffened flanges

Owing to the flexibility of connecting plates, the weld length should be reduced
in unstiffened plate elements. When the welds connected to the unstiffened plate
element of an I-, H- or a box section, a reduced effective length be should be used when
the effect of weld is also accounted for. For a rolled I- or H-section, the effective length
be of weld should be as follows.
be  t c  2rc  5Tc (9.15)
 Tc2  p yc 
but be  t c  2rc  5   (9.16)
 t  p 
 p  yp 
in which tc and Tc are the thickness of web and flange of rolled I- or H-section member,
respectively, as shown in Figure 9.12(a), rc is root radius of rolled I- or H-section
member, tp is the thickness of connected plate as shown in Figure 9.12(b), pyc and pyp
are respectively design strength of rolled I- or H-column or structural members and
connected plate.
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rolled I- or H-section connected plate box section connected plate
Tc
Tc
tc 0.5be
tc
be
rc 0.5be
a) plan veiw of welded connection of c) plan veiw of welded connection of

rolled I- or H-section box-section
tp tp
b) elevation veiw of welded connection of d) elevation veiw of welded connection of

rolled I- or H-section box-section
Figure 9.12 Effective length of weld connected to unstiffened plate element
For a box section in Figure 9.12(c) and 9.12(d), the effective length be of weld
is taken as,
be  2t c  5Tc (9.17)
 T 2  p yc 
But be  2t c  5 c   (9.18)
 t  p 
 p  yp 
where tc and Tc are the thickness of web and flange of a box section respectively, as
shown in Figure 9.12(c) and tp is the thickness of connected plate as shown in Figure
9.12(d).
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9.4 Worked Examples
9.4.1 Simple welded connection
The connection is formed by joining two plates together by butt weld as shown.
The parent metal is in grade S460. They are used to transfer tension only, which are
200kN and 1520kN for case (a) and case (b), respectively. The sizes of butt weld are
also given in the figure. The electrode of weld is both E50. Length of connections for
both cases in longitudinal direction is 300mm.
Ft
40
30
a=
Ft 16 Ft 0.5F t 0.5F t
25 20 35
100
a) Partial penetration weld b) Full penetration weld
Solution
a) Partial penetration weld
TENSION CAPACITY
Design strength of parent metal, p y  440 N mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
Throat size, a  16mm (Clause 9.2.5.2.2)
16
Eccentricity, e  10   4.67mm
3
F F  e 200  10 200  103  4.67
3
Stress,  t  t    114.6 N mm 2  p y
A Z 300  16 300  162 6
(OK)
50.21 16
25 39.79
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b) Full penetration weld
TENSION CAPACITY
Design strength of parent metal, p y  440 N mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
Effective area of vertical plate element, Ae  300  40  12000mm
2
Tension capacity of vertical plate element, Pt  p y Ae  440  12000  5280kN  Ft (8.66)

(OK)
30
a=
3 31
35
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9.4.2 Bracket connection in typical portal frame
The crane beam in the simple portal frame is supported by bracket connection welded
to the steel column. Two gusset plates are welded to the flanges of the steel column to
form the bracket connection as shown in the figure. The 20mm thick gusset plate is
made of grade S275 steel material. The welded connection is used as this rigid moment
connection. The electrode of weld is E35 for the welded connection. Design the size of
fillet weld in the bracket connection to enable to take factored shear force of 500kN
from crane beam.
y e
264.5 P
220 100 100
250
450
254 254 167 UB
x x
end
return
420 x
254 254 167 UB
y
Solution
The bracket connection is supported to take point load P and the eccentric moment Pe. The three side
fillet welds are used to withstand the in-plane shear due to both point load and eccentric moment. The
structural adequacy of the most outer side weld should be checked.
DESIGN LOAD
Vertical shear, P  500kN
For unit leg length,
Area of weld, Lw  450  220  2  890mm
450  220  220  110  2
Distance to centroid, x   165.6mm
890
r  165.6 2  2252  279.4mm
Eccentricity of load, e  165.6  100  265.6mm
Second moment of inertia about x-x axis,

4503
Ix   220  2252  2  2.987  107 mm 3
12
Second moment of inertia about y-y axis,
 2203 2
Iy    220  165.6  110   2  450  220  165.6  4.467  10 6 mm 3
2
 12 
Polar moment of inertia about z-z axis,
I z  I x  I y  2.987  10  4.467  10  3.434  10 mm
7 6 7 3
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P 500  103
Direct shear, Fs    561.8 N mm
Lw 890
500  103  265.6  279.4
Shear due to torsion, FM   1080.5 N mm
3.434  107
CAPACITY OF WELD
 225 
  tan 1    53.6
 165.6 
Resultant load, FR  FS2  FM2  2 FS FM cos
 561.8 2  1080.5 2  2  561.8  1080.5  cos 53.6  1484.4 N mm

r FM 225
FS
165.6
Design strength of weld, pw  220 N mm 2 (Table 9.2a)

1484.4
Minimum Leg length required, s   9.6mm (Clause 9.2.5.1.6(a))
0.7  220
 use 10mm weld
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9.5 Bolted connection
Bolt or fastener is one of the most common methods of connecting two or more
members. The advantages of using bolts in place of weld include the easy fabrication
on site, avoidance of residual stress for weld, less on-site quality control problem and
easy dismantling and re-fabrication of connections. However, bolting on site requires
careful planning and positioning and therefore they are less flexible, which is
particularly true for construction in Hong Kong where a project is normally executed
within a short period of time.
Bolts transfer loads mainly by the actions shown in Figure 9.13 and accordingly
the strength of bolts is required to be checked against these actions.
 Tension in thread of bolt
 Shear in bolt shrank or thread
 Bearing of plates containing bolt hole on bolt shrank
 Friction between bolt and clamped plates
Shear connection Tension connection
Figure 9.13 Bolted connection under shear and tension
It is uncommon to allow bolt to be bent about its own principal axis because of
its small second moment of area about its own principal axis.
Steel bolts are required to be adequate not only on their strength, but also on the
hardness because insufficiently hard bolts may deform under stress, especially at their
thread area leading to slipping of thread and separation of bolts and nuts. Hardness can
also be a measure of bolt quality and uniformity. The thread tolerance in bolts is
important in making sure no slipping between the thread of bolts and nuts. Mixed use
of bolts and nuts from two manufacturing sources should be avoided as their tolerances
may not be compatible. The Vickers hardness and Brinell and Rockwell tests are
commonly used in bolt standards for measurement of hardness.
There are two major types of bolts as ordinary bolt and high strength friction
grip (HSFG) bolt. The ordinary bolt is commonly used because of easy fabrication and
simple mechanism in taking loads. It has the advantage of greater ductility. On the other
hand, preloaded high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolt normally has a greater strength
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of the pretension force action and it is normally made of high steel grade. HSFG bolt
resists shear by friction between bolts and bearing plates and tension by the pre-loading
force.
In the HK Code, bolt grades of 4.6, 8.8 and 10.9 are recommended. The first
number for the bolt grade refers to the minimum ultimate strength in hundred N/mm 2
and the second number, after dividing by 10, represents the ratio of yield to ultimate
stress. For example, grade 8.8 bolt has an ultimate strength of 800N/mm2 and the design
yield strength as 0.8×800 = 640N/mm2. However, the design strength needs to be not
greater than 0.7×Ub or 560 N/mm2 here. The Code does not recommended the use of
grade 12.9 bolts, which are occasionally used, because of their nominally lower ultimate
strain and lack of ductility.
The size of bolts in thread area and bolt opening cannot be directly calculated
from their nominal diameters and Table 9.4 shows the size of common bolt grades of
M12 to M36 bolts. M indicates the dimension is in metric unit.
Bolt Size Nominal Shrank area Tensile stress or

diameter thread area
(mm) (mm2) (mm2)
M12 12 113 84.3
M16 16 201 157
M20 20 314 245
M22 22 380 303
M24 24 452 358
M27 27 572 459
M30 30 706 561
M33 33 855 694
M36 36 1017 817
Table 9.4 Sizes of bolts of common bolt grades
The tensile strength of the bolt can then be equal to the product of the tensile
stress area and the design strength. For example, M22 grade 4.6 bolt has the capacity
equal to 400×0.6×303 = 72.7kN.
The size of bolt opening is slightly greater than bolt size in order to allow bolt
installation. As an approximation, for standard hole, bolt diameter greater than 24mm
should have a bolt hole with diameter greater than the bolt nominal diameter by 3mm
and those bolts with nominal diameter less than or equal to 24mm should have bolt
opening 2mm greater than the bolt size.
Tightening of bolts requires sufficient torque but not too high to cause fracture
in the bolt or its components. For bolt with faces normal to bolt axes and length not
greater than 4 times the diameter, the torque turn should be 1/3 about the bolt axis. For
bolt length between 4 and 8 diameters, the angle of turn should be 1/2 turn and for
longer bolt length, the angle of turn should be 2/3 turn.
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9.5.1 Bolt grades
The most commonly used grades of bolts are grade 4.6, 8.8 and 10.9 bolts. Other
grades of bolts are 4.8, 5.6, 5.8, 6.8, and 12.9. Bolt strength outside the range of 400
and 1000 should not be used unless test confirms the applicability. Both ordinary
clearance bolts and high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts are also widely used.
Grade 4.6 bolts made of low carbon high strength steel are used normally for
medium and light duty connections such as purlins or sheeting. Holding down bolts
also commonly use grade 4.6 bolts because of preferred ductility not only on bolts, but
also on base plate of which the design strength is not allowed to be greater than
275N/mm2.
Grade 8.8 bolts or higher grade bolts made of high strength alloy should be used
for heavy duty connections. HSFG bolts should be used in the load reversal condition
and in case when the controlled deflection is very much relying on the connection
stiffness, like fixed end in a cantilever beam or moment joints in eave of portals.
9.5.2 Spacing and detailing requirements
Bolts are commonly arranged as a group and positioned in a series of rows. In

order to utilize the bolt strength, the spacing and edge distance must be controlled
within a certain dimension. Below are some of the common criteria.
9.5.2.1 Maximum spacing

To ensure the load is reasonably shared between the bolts in a group, the spacing
cannot be too large. For connection under compression, the spacing should not exceed
12t and 150mm where t is the thickness of the thinner plates in the connection.
9.5.2.2 Minimum spacing

If spacing is insufficient, the material between bolts may be over-stressed. The
HK Code has a requirement for control of minimum spacing. The minimum spacing
parallel to the load direction is 2.5 times the hole diameter and 3.0 times the hole
diameter in the direction perpendicular to the load direction.
9.5.2.3 Minimum edge distance

The end distance e for a bolt measured as the distance between the centre of the
opening to the edge of the connecting plate should be referred to Table 9.3 of the Code.
9.5.3 Behaviour of bolted connections
Appreciation of local behaviour of bolted connection in beam-to-column or

beam-to-beam connections is important in detailing. The understanding of load path,
which should depend on the arrangement of the components at connection, for transfer
of force and moment between members is important in connection design and detailing.
When the deformation and stress distribution in the structural component are known,
the strength of structural component at the connection should be designed and checked.
This section describes the typical behaviour and failure mechanism for beam-to-column
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and beam-to-beam connections.
9.5.3.1 Beam-to-column connection

An example of the load path for an extended end plate connection showing the
behaviour of a bolt group is indicated in Figure 9.14. The connection is used to transmit
the vertical shear and moment from beam to column. The point of rotation is assumed
at the base of bottom flange of beam member as shown in Figure 9.14. The
corresponding deformations at the connection are caused by the loadings of moment
and shear transferred from beam member and finally to induce different structural
effects, which are tabulated in Table 9.5.
8 9
1
15 12 7
Ft 10
4
3
16 Fv
6
17 Fv
2 M
Fc 13
5
18 19
11
14
Extended End plate connection
Figure 9.14 Behaviour of different components at beam-to-column connection
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Components at connection Notations Structural effects
Bolt ① Yielding due to tension
② Yielding due to vertical bearing
③ Shear failure
Weld ④ Tear off failure
⑤ Compression failure
⑥ Shear out failure
End plate ⑦ Prying force due to bending
⑧ Yielding due to vertical bearing
⑨ Shear out failure
Flange of beam ⑩ Yielding due to tension on top flange
⑪ Local buckling on bottom flange
Flange of column ⑫ Prying force due to bending
⑬ Yielding due to shear and compression
⑭ Local buckling due to vertical load
Web of column ⑮ Web fracture due to tension
⑯ Yielding due to shear
⑰ Shear web buckling
⑱ Web crushing due to compression
⑲ Web buckling
Table 9.5 Structural failures at beam column connection
In Table 9.5, there are 19 principal failure modes at the connection to be checked
for the components of bolt, weld, end plate, beam member and column. In this chapter,
the behaviour of components of bolt, weld or end plate is studied for design. Other
structural components, such as column and beam, related to the behaviour at connection
should be referred to previous relevant chapters. The interaction effects on bolt and
weld are neglected in Table 9.5 but their interactive use to share a load is not
recommended because of their different ductility performance. In general, the principal
behaviour of these components at connection is similar. In addition, some local effects
are also ignored in Table 9.5 and these local effects make connection behaviour more
complex and variable. They include the geometric imperfections arising from welding
distortion and misalignment of clearance and residual stress and strain due to lack of
fits and welding shrinkage. Actually, these local effects are considered in the material
strength of weld or bolt. Therefore, the structural design can be carried out according
to the behaviour of connection or failure mode at connection as listed in Table 9.5,
which is adequate for structural design.
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9.5.3.2 Beam-to-beam connections
Secondary beams are commonly connected to primary beams through simple
supports indicated in Figure 9.15. In the connection vertical shear load is required to be
transferred. In Figure 9.15, the point of rotation is assumed to be at the base of the
secondary beam member. The common modes of local failure are tabulated in Table 9.6.
6
1 4 2
11 8
5
12
3
7
10
14
13
9
Figure 9.15 Behaviour of different components at beam to beam connection
In Table 9.6, there can be 14 local failure modes at the connection to be checked
in design for the components of bolt, weld, end plate, secondary and main beams.
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Components at connection Notations Structural effects
Bolt ① Yielding due to tension
② Yielding due to vertical bearing
③ Shear failure
Weld ④ Tear off failure
⑤ Shear out failure
Connected plate ⑥ Prying force due to bending
⑦ Yielding due to vertical bearing
⑧ Shear out failure
Web of main beam ⑨ Crushing due to compression
⑩ Shear web buckling
⑪ Web crushing due to vertical shear
Web of secondary beam ⑫ Block shear failure
Flange of secondary beam ⑬ Local buckling due to compression
⑭ Yielding due to compression
Table 9.6 Structural failures at beam to beam connection
The behaviour of a group of bolts in a connection is relatively more complex

than those of a single bolt as discussed above. The in-plane or out-of-plane loads shared
by a group of bolts is non-uniform. In a long shear bolted connection, the force at end
bolt may be high and up to the material yielding stress. The load on such bolts is to
redistribute to other bolts near the centre of connection. Also for bolts in tension
connection, the tension loads distribution may not be necessarily uniformly shared by
each tension bolt. For simplicity, it is commonly assumed that equal size bolts share
equally the load in in-plane and out-of-plane shears. To satisfy this condition, the
connection plate is assumed to behave rigidly and elastically and the bolts behave
elastically and in a ductile manner in order to shear loads.
9.5.3.3 Prying effect in bolted connection

For bolted connection subjected to external tension Ft, the flexible deformations
at unstiffened plate element, such as flange or connected plate, induce additional tensile
force in addition to axial force in bolt Fbt. This additional tensile force is termed the
prying force Q as shown in Figure 9.16 due to deflection of unstiffened plate component.
The prying force Q develops because unstiffened plate of member is in contact with the
connection. The contact area under compression and at the end of unstiffened plate
shown in Figure 9.16 produces an additional force in bolt.
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2F t
Unstiffened plate
Contact area
Fbt Fbt
Lb tp
Q Connection Q
bp ap
Figure 9.16 Prying force on bolt due to flexural deformation on unstiffened plate
For thicker connected plate where the bending stiffness of the connecting plate
is high, the magnitude of prying force is insignificant and vice versa. The prying force
for ordinary or pre-loaded bolt for simple bolted arrangement can be derived as follows.
Considering symmetrical half of the connection, by the method of virtual work, the
displacement at x  a p is given by,
b 
1  ap
0 Qx   xdx  a
EI  p

a p b p

Ft  Q a p  Ft x  a p dx

(9.19)
in which Q is the prying force shown in Figure 9.16, EI is the flexural constant of the
connecting plate, Ft is half of the applied tension and ap is the distance from the edge
of plate for the prying force to the bolt centre and bp is the distance from the bolt centre
to 20% distance into the end plate weld or the root radius as shown in Figure 9.16.
After integrating the above equation, b is given by,

b 
1
6 EI
 
3Ft a p b p2  2Qa 2p a p  3b p  (9.20)
On the other hand, the bolt axial deformation due to the bolt tension force
including prying force is given by,
b 
Ft  Q  Fbs Lb
(9.21)
EAs
in which As is the cross section area of bolt, Lb is grip or total length of the bolt, Fbs is
the preloaded force on HSFG bolt, if any. For ordinary bolt, the Fbs in Equation (9.21)
should be set to zero. Substituting b in Equation (9.21) into Equation (9.20), the prying
force Q for ordinary bolt can be obtained as follows.
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 6 ILb 
Ft  3a p b p2  
 As 
Q (9.22)
2a 2p a p  3b p  
6 ILb
As
9.5.4 Design of ordinary non-preloaded bolts
In simple design where all joints are pinned, connections are required to be
designed to take direct forces only and moment are not considered. In other cases
moments are unavoidable due to eccentricities of connections, the effect of moment
should be considered in finding of bolt forces. The pinned connections should be
detailed to allow full rotational ductility.
In design for moment frames where full rotational continuity at connections is

assumed, shear, axial forces and moments between members are needed for
consideration in finding the forces in bolts. Further, detailing should attempt to provide
adequate stiffness at joints. HSFG bolts are recommended when strict control of
slipping in joints is required.
In design for semi-rigid connections, partial continuity is assumed between

members and connections are required to have adequate strength with sufficient
rotational capacity. The moment-rotation characteristics of the connection details are
consistently used both in the analysis of the framework and the design of the
connections. At present, due to the lack of data in connection stiffness, semi-rigid
connection design is uncommon, but it can be included in design and analysis directly
and easily when the moment vs. rotation curve such as the ones in Figure 9.4 is available.
9.5.4.1 Shear capacity of ordinary bolts

The ISO hexagon head non-preloaded ordinary bolt shown in Figure 9.17 with washer
is most commonly used. The size of bolt hole against the size of bolts is specified in the
HK Code.
Washer
Thread
Shank
nominal diameter diameter for

(Bearing) effective section
(Shear & Tension)
Figure 9.17 Different parts of ordinary bolt and preloaded bolt
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When the shear surface is at the thread area, the shear area As of ordinary bolt
should be taken as the section shown in Figure 9.18. If the shear surface occurs at the
shrank, the cross sectional area of the shrank can be used. Table 9.4 shows the area at
these locations. With the value of shear area, the shear capacity Ps of an ordinary bolt
is then given by Equation (9.23) as,
Ps  ps As (9.23)
in which ps is the design shear strength of the bolt given in Table 9.5 of the HK Code.
For long joints, a reduction factor L is required and the determination of this
reduction factor is given in Clause 9.3.6.1.4 of the HK Code.
When the shear action is on two or more surfaces, the shear capacity should be
increased by multiplying the single surface shear capacity by the number of shear areas.
Figure 9.18 shows the condition of single and double shear capacity in joints.
0.5Fs
double shear Fs
0.5Fs
single shear Fs
Fs
Figure 9.18 Double shear and single shear capacity of ordinary bolt
Apart from the shear failure occurring on a bolt, the block shear failure of a
group of bolts is required to be checked. The shear failure surface will be constructed
by assuming the minimum length for shearing off of the bolt group shown in Figure
9.19 and the checking eliminates the failure of tearing off in thin plates at connections.
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cope
Ft Ft
Lt
Lv Lv
Lv
Lt Lt
Ft
Lv
Lt
Ft
Figure 9.19 Block shear failure through on a group of bolt holes
The combined block shear capacity for both the shear and tension edges or faces
in a shear joint shown in Figure 9.19 is given by,
p y t Lv  K e Lt  kDt 
1
Pr  (9.24)
3
in which py and t are the design strength and thickness of web of beam or bracket,
respectively, Lv and Lt are respectively the length of shear face and tension face shown
in Figure 9.19, Ke is the effective net area coefficient in Clause 9.3.4.4 of HK Code and
previously discussed, Dt is the diameter of bolt hole along tension face, respectively
and k is a factor equal to 0.5 for single row of bolts and to 2.5 for double row of bolts.
If block shear check is not satisfactory, increasing the plate thickness, welding
of an additional plate or increasing the length of the failure surface can be considered.
9.5.4.2 Bearing capacity of ordinary bolts

Another possibility of failure of bolts is due to bearing failure of bolts and on
bearing plates. The bearing capacity Pbb of an ordinary bolt should be taken from
Equation (9.25) as,
Pbb  dt p pbb (9.25)
in which d is the nominal diameter of bolt, tp is the thickness of thinner connected plate
and pbb is the bearing strength of bolt for different grade of bolts indicated in Table 9.6
of the HK Code.
The bearing capacity Pbs of the connected parts should be taken as the least of
the followings.
Pbs  k bs dt p pbs (bearing on edge of hole) (9.26)

Pbs  0.5k ps et p pbs (tearing out of connected plate) (9.27)
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in which pbs is the design bearing strength of the plates, kbs is the hole coefficient for
different hole types given in Clause 9.3.6.1.3 in HK Code and e is the edge distance
measured between the centre of the hole and the edge and along the direction of applied
force. Figure 9.20 shows the mode of failure for insufficient edge distance.
Figure 9.20 Different failure modes of bolted connection subjected to shear
9.5.4.3 Tension capacity of ordinary bolts

Bolts take tension in common connections. For the non-preloaded bolted
connection, the tension capacity Pt is written as,
Pt  At pt (9.28)
in which At is tensile stress area and pt is tension strength given by Table 9.8 in Clause
9.3.7.1 of HK Code.
The effect of prying action has been discussed in Section 9.5.3.3 of this chapter.
For bolted connections satisfying the requirements in Clause 9.3.7.2 of HK Code, the
effect of prying force Q should be taken into account in calculating the reduced tension
capacity Pnom as,
Pnom  0.8 At pt (9.29)
When the condition of using Equation (9.29) is not satisfied, the prying force is
required to be calculated explicitly to Section 9.5.3.3 of this chapter. The total applied
force Ftot in the bolt can be determined as,
Ftot  Ft  Q  Pt (9.30)
in which Ft is applied tension force required for transmission by bolted connection and
Q is the prying force calculated in Section 9.5.3.3 of this chapter and Pt is the design
tension capacity of the bolt.
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9.5.4.4 Interaction of shear and tension in ordinary bolts
When a bolt is to transfer both shear and tension, the interaction effect of the
bolt should be checked, in addition to the separated satisfaction in tension and shear
capacity. The additional interaction check can be carried out as follows for the case of
no explicit consideration of prying force.
Fs F
 t  1.4 (9.31)
Ps Pnom
in which Fs is shear force on each bolt and Ft is tension force in the bolt. If the prying
force Q is calculated explicitly, the condition of interaction effect is given by,
Fs Ftot
  1.4 (9.32)
Ps Pt
9.5.5 Design of high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts
High strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts or the pre-loaded bolts are commonly
used for heavily duty connections and they action of resisting tension and shear are very
much different from the ordinary bolts.
9.5.5.1 Shear capacity of HSFG bolts

HK Code considers the design of HSFG to the ultimate load without slipping.
In other design codes, the serviceability limit state conditions can be considered
alternatively. The design shear capacity of preloaded bolts is given by,
PSL  0.9K s P0 (9.33)
in which Ks is a coefficient allowing for different types of hole stated in the HK Code,
 is the slip resistance factor between connected parts for different surface conditions
given in Clause 9.3.6.2 in the HK Code, P0 is minimum shank tension listed in Table
9.7 below for different size of bolts.
Bolt size (mm) Minimum shank tension P0 (kN)

M12 49
M16 91
M20 142
M22 176
M24 205
M30 326
M36 475
Table 9.7 Design capacity for preloaded HSFG bolt
It should be noted that the bolt grade of higher than or equal to grade 8.8 should
be used for preloaded HSFG bolt. Moreover, for larger hole size and less skin friction
factor, the shear capacity PSL of preloaded HSFG bolt is generally lower, as the slip is
allowed for in the bolted connection.
For preloaded HSFG bolted connection, the slip is not allowed in the preloaded
bolt connection under factored load such that the preloaded HSFG bolt cannot be in
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contact with the connected plate. Therefore, the bearing capacity of HSFG bolt is then
not critical and it is unnecessary to check the HSFG bolt for bearing failure for the
condition under factored loads.
Similar to ordinary bolts, the shear capacity PSL of preloaded HSFG bolt can be
double, when there are two interfaces among connected plates in the preloaded bolted
connection as shown in Figure 9.21. It implies that the skin friction in this bolted
connection among connected plates becomes double. Otherwise, the shear capacity PSL
of preloaded HSFG should be same as the value in Equation (9.33).
0.5Fs
double shear Fs
0.5Fs
single shear Fs
Fs
Figure 9.21 Double shear and single shear capacity of preloaded HSFG bolt
9.5.5.2 Tension capacity of HSFG bolts

For the design of tension capacity of preloaded HSFG bolt, the tension capacity Pt of
each HSFG bolt should be taken as Equation (9.34) under factored load, when the
preloaded force in the HSFG bolt is considered.
Pt  0.9P0 (9.34)
in which P0 is minimum shank tension as listed in Table 9.7.
9.5.5.3 Interaction of shear and tension in HSFG bolts

The interaction check for preloaded HSFG bolts can be written as,
Fs F
 tot  1 (9.35)
PSL 0.9 P0
in which PSL is slip resistance of each preloaded bolt, Fs is shear force distributed on
each preloaded HSFG bolt and Ftot is the total tension force including prying force Q.
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9.5.6 Stress analysis in bolts
Before the application of the above formulae in checking of bolt strength, the
load on each bolt should be determined and the principle of structural mechanics can
be applied here. Two common types of connections for bolt group under torsion and
shear and under bending and shear are selected for illustration of the application of
structural mechanics in determination of force in bolts.
9.5.6.1 Bolt under torsion and shear

As shown in Figure 9.22, the bolt group is under torsional moment and shear.
The vertical shear for each bolt is given by the simple division as,
FV
FS  (9.36)
No. of bolts
rmax
 Fmax = FT
FV
Assumed centre of rotation
Figure 9.22 Bolt group under torsional moment and shear
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The assumption of shear force being proportional to the distance from centre of
rotation taken as the centroid of the bolt group is made. For equilibrium, the sum of
torsional moment from the shear forces Fi in bolts is equal to the applied torsional
moment MT as,
Fmax 2 Fmax Fmax Fi
M T  FV e   Fi ri   ri  r
i
2
as 
rmax rmax rmax ri
in which Fmax and rmax are respectively the maximum bolt force and the maximum
distance of this bolt from the centre of rotation of the bolt group. Noting from geometry
that ri 2  xi2  yi2 , the maximum bolt force can be obtained as,
M T  rmax
FT  (9.37)
 xi2   yi2
The resultant force in the bolt under maximum shear can be obtained by the
cosine rule for the resultant of shear and torsion forces as,
FR  FT2  FS2  2 Ft FS cos   PS (9.38)
in which PS is the design shear in bolt.
9.5.6.2 Bolts under bending and shear

Bolts can be under direct shear and tension induced by external moment or
forces as shown in Figure 9.23. This section shows the typical structural adequacy
check for bolts under tension and shear.
FT
FT y2 /y1
y1
y2 FT y3 /y1
y3
Assumed centre of rotation b)

a) Joint b) Bolt
Bolt forces
forces
Figure 9.23 Connection group subjected to bending moment and shear
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Considering equilibrium against external moment, the tension force induced in the bolt
is given by,
FT 2 F FT F
M   Fi yi   y
2
yi  T i
as  i (9.39)
y max ymax ymax yi
in which ymax and yi are respectively the maximum and the individual distance of the
bolt from centre of rotation and FT is the maximum bolt force.
The shear due to vertical load can be calculated directly to Equation (9.36).
In addition to the separated requirements as PsFs and PTFT, the two force components
are required to satisfy the force interaction equation as,
FS FT
  1.4 (9.40)
PS PT
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9.6 Worked Examples
9.6.1 Beam-to-beam connection by single fin plate
A secondary beam is connected to a main beam. The secondary beam is connected by

a single fin plate which is welded to the main beam as shown. Only vertical load is
transmitted from secondary beam to main beam through a beam-to-beam connection.
The factored vertical load is 450kN. The beam-to-beam connection is designed as
pinned connection, for which only shear is transferred. And the sections of main and
secondary beams are shown in the figure. Steel grade of both main and secondary beams
is S275. The bolts in the connection are M20 in grade 8.8 and fillet welds of connection
are made of E35 electrode.
210.1 30
50
610 305 101 UB 50 533 210 101 UB
50
50
50 602.2
50
50
50
10 50 50
10.9
17.4 10.6
14.8
227.6
Solution
The beam-to-beam connection is assumed as a pinned connection and the bending effect in the bolted
connection is neglected.
As a good practice in detailing, the size of fin plate should be at least half of the depth of beam to provide
sufficient torsional restraint against twist and the fin plate should be placed near the top flange in order
to provide lateral restraint to the top flange.
SHEAR CAPACITY OF BOLT

Fv 450
Shear force on each bolt, Fs    64.3kN
n 7
From Table 9.4, the shear area of an M20 bolt, As  245mm 2
Shear strength of bolt, ps  375 N mm 2 (Table 9.5)
Shear capacity of bolt, Ps  ps As  245  375  91.9kN  Fs (OK) (9.15)
BEARING CAPACITY OF BOLT

Thickness of thinner connected plate, t p  10mm
Nominal bolt diameter, d  20mm
Bearing strength of bolt, p bb  1000N / mm 2 (Table 9.6)
Bearing capacity of bolt, Pbb  dt p pbb  20  10  1000  200kN  Fs (OK) (9.16)
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BEARING CAPACITY OF CONNECTED PARTS
Bearing strength of connected parts, pbs  460N / mm 2 (Clause
9.3.6.1.3)
End distance, e  50mm
Hole coefficient for standard holes, kbs  1.0 (Clause
9.3.6.1.3)
Bearing capacity of connected parts,
Pbs  kbs dt p pbs  1 20  10  460  92kN  Fs (OK) (9.17)
Pbs  0.5kbs et p pbs  0.5  1 50  10  460  115kN  Fs (OK) (9.18)
BLOCK SHEAR CAPACITY
Standard bolt hole of M20, Dt  22mm (Table 9.4)

Length of shear force, Lv  50  7  350mm
Length of tension force, Lt  50mm
Coefficient of row number of bolts, k  0.5 (Clause 9.3.5)
Effective area coefficient, K e  1.2 (Clause 9.3.4.4)
Effective shear area, Av , eff  t Lv  K e Lt  kDt  (9.14)
 10  350  1.2  50  0.5  22  3968mm 2
1 1
Block shear capacity, Pr  p y Av,eff   275 3968  630.0kN  Fv
3 3 (9.13)
(OK)
SHEAR CAPACITY OF WELD

A leg length of 6mm is assumed
Effective length of weld, Lw  400  2  6  2  388  2  776mm (Clause 9.2.5.1.3)
3
388
Second moment of area of weld, I w   2  9.735  10 6 mm 3
12
F 450  10 3
Shear force per unit width, Fs  v   579.9 N mm
Lw 776
My max 450  10 3  50  388 2
Tension force per unit width, Ft    448.4 N mm
Iw 9.735  10 6
Resultant force per unit width,
FR  Fs2  Ft 2  579.9 2  448.4 2  733.0 N mm
Copyright 197
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Fs 733 (Clause
Minimum leg length required, s    4.8mm  6mm
0.7 p w 0.7  220 9.2.5.1.6(a))
6mm weld is adequate
Copyright 198
All rights reserved
9.6.2 Typical extended plate for beam to column connection
An extended end plate connection under both shear force and moment about major axis
is shown in Figure below. The factored shear force is 200kN and moment is 35kNm.
The configuration of beam column connection and the section of the members are also
indicated in the figure. The beam member is welded to the end plate which is then bolted
to the column. For welded connection, 6mm fillet weld is used in flange web as shown
in the figure below. The end plate and members are in S275 steel material and the bolts
are M16 in grade 8.8 and the electrode used for welding is E35.
30510233UB
254254107UC
Solution
The connection is under the action of shear and moment and the bolts and welds are under the action of
both shear and tension. The prying action and bearing due to vertical shear on connected plate should be
checked here.
CAPACITY OF FILLET WELD

Assume the centre of rotation at the centroid of the connection group and the connected plate is assumed
to be stiffened.
Effective length of weld at flange, be  102.4  2  6  90.4mm (Clause 9.2.5.1.3)
Effective length of weld at web, be  275.9  2  6  263.9mm
For unit length of weld,
Area of weld, Lw  90.4  275.9 2  708.6mm
 263.9 3  312.7  
2
Second moment of inertia, I w    90.4      2  7.483  10 mm

6 3
 12  2  
Fv 200  10 3
Average shear force on horizontal weld, Fs    282.2 N mm
Lw 708.6
M x  D 2 35  10 6  312.7 2
Maximum tension on horizontal weld, Ft    731.3 N mm
Iw 7.483  10 6
Copyright 199
All rights reserved
Simplified method
Resultant force on horizontal weld,
FR  F  Ft  282.2  731.3  783.9 N mm
s
2 2 2 2
FR 783.9
Minimum required leg length, s    5.1mm  6mm (OK) (Clause 9.2.5.1.6(a))
0.7 pw 0.7  220
6mm weld is ok
Directional Method
PL  pwa  220  6  0.7  924 N mm (9.4)
731.3
  tan 1  45  23.9
282.2
1 .5 1.5
K  1.25  1.25  1.130 (9.6)
1  cos 2
1  cos2 23.9
PT  KPL  1.13 0.92  1.04 kN mm  FR (OK) (9.5)
6mm weld is ok
(It should be noted that the simplified method is more conservative than the directional method.)
SHEAR CAPACITY OF BOLT

Fv 200
Shear force on each bolt, Fs    25kN
n 8
From Table 9.4, As  157mm 2

Shear strength of bolt, p s  375N / mm 2 (Table 9.5)
Shear capacity of bolt, Ps  p s As  375157  58.9kN  Fs (OK) (9.15)
BEARING CAPACITY OF BOLT

Thickness of thinner connected part, t p  20mm
Nominal diameter of bolt, d  16mm
Bearing strength of bolt, p bb  1000N / mm 2 (Table 9.6)
Bearing capacity of bolt, Pbb  dt p p bb  16  20  1000  320kN  Fs (OK) (9.16)
BEARING CAPACITY OF CONNECTED PLATE

Hole coefficient, k bs  1 for standard hole (Clause 9.3.6.1.3)
Bearing strength, p bb  460N / mm for grade S275
2
Pbs  kbs dt p pbs  1  16  20  460  147.2kN (9.17)

Pbs  0.5kbs et p pbs  0.5  1  40  20  460  184kN (9.18)
 Pbs  147.2kN  Fs (OK)
Copyright 200
All rights reserved
TENSION CAPACITY OF BOLT
 y  140
2
i
2

 2802  4202  2 5.488105 mm 2
Maximum tension force on bolt,

M x y max 35  106  420
Ft    26.8kN
y 2
i
5.488  105
Tensile strength of bolt, pt  560N / mm 2 (Table 9.8)

Tensile capacity of bolt, Pt  pt As  560157  87.9kN  Ft (OK) (9.25)
PRYING FORCE ON BOLT

Width of connected plate, B  200mm
Distance between centerline of bolts, G  100mm  0.55B  110mm
Tension capacity of bolt, Pnom  0.8 At pt  0.8 157  560  70.3kN  Ft (OK) (9.26)
design against prying force is not required (Clause 9.3.7.2)
INTERACTION BETWEEN TENSION AND SHEAR OF BOLT

Fs F 25 26.8
 t    0.81  1.4 (OK) (9.28)
Ps Pnom 58.9 70.3
Copyright 201
All rights reserved
9.7 Base plate
Column base is commonly used to transfer shear, compression and moment

from the superstructure to the foundation, as indicated in Figure 9.24. The base plate
should be designed with sufficient strength and ductility and the supporting concrete
foundation and base should be designed against concrete crushing and yielding in steel
plate. Overturning leading to the base taking tension caused by uplift is also required to
be considered in the design.
Fc
M
305x305x198UC
Tension
bolt steel
plate
Concrete foundation
Figure 9.24 Typical column base with steel column, base plate and concrete block
The maximum bearing pressure of the concrete due to both compression and
moment should be limited to 0.6fcu in which fcu is the 28 day concrete cube strength.
The allowable bending stress on the steel base plate should not exceed the design
strength py of steel plate. In the design, the stress distribution under the base plate is
assumed to be linear in practical design.
9.7.1 Column base under concentric force
When the base plate is only under pure compression, the size of base plate
should be sufficiently large to carry whole compression force. The effective area
method is used for design under concentric axial forces. Figure 9.25 illustrates the
effective area as shaded area in order to spread the compressive stress to the design
stress. In the construction of effective area the dimension c is the largest perpendicular
distance from the face of the column for finding the effective area under concentric
force.
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2c + t
2c + T
2c + t Stiffener
Figure 9.25 Effective areas of different typical base plates
c is determined from the effective area method, which sets equivalent area as shaded
area in Figure 9.25 to be equal to Fc/ for equilibrium under pure compression. Thus,
the shaded area times 0.6 of concrete cube strength is set equal to the axial force and
the parameter “c” is determined from this equivalent equation. The thickness tp of the
c 2 t2
base plate can be obtained directly from being stress analysis as M   p yp p as,
2 6
3
tp  c (9.41)
p yp
in which  is uniform compressive stress, which is assumed as uniform distribution

over entire effective portion but limited to 0.6fcu and pyp is the design strength of steel
base plate.
9.7.2 Column base under eccentric force
When a base plate is subjected to both compression and moment, the effective
area method is inapplicable and the linear elastic design is used. The eccentricity e of
loading, which is determined from Equation (9.43), should be used to classify whether
the tension zone occurring on base plate or not. When e is greater than d/6, part of the
area will be in tension and holding down bolts are required to prevent lifting of steel
base plate from concrete foundation. The bearing pressure distribution should be
determined by an alternative approximate method based on the different assumption
and load intensity. There are four different available methods dealing with the design
of base plate under eccentric loading.
The checking of the presence or absence of the tension zone under a base plate
requires the determination of eccentricity. According to the simple combined stress
formula, the condition for no-tension under rectangular base plate of length d and width
b is given by,
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F M F 6 Fe
   0 (9.42)
A Z bd bd 2
M d
e  (9.43)
F 6
When e is not larger than d/6, the base plate is under compression thoroughly
and the design can be as follows.
9.7.2.1 Column base under small eccentricity with e  d/6
This condition applies to the loading case where the base plate on concrete is
under compression only but the pressure is not uniform.
The length of base plate is larger than 6e, where 'e' is the eccentricity given by
Equation (9.43).
According to the linear non-uniform stress distribution under small eccentric

force, the maximum stress is given by,
Fc 6 Fc e
  0.6 f cu (9.44)
bd bd 2
and the minimum width of base plate b is given by,

 1 6e 
Fc   2 
b 
d d  (9.45)
0.6 f cu
The maximum and minimum pressure are then derived by the following equations,
F 6F e
pmax  c  c2 (9.46)
bd bd
F 6F e
pmin  c  c2 (9.47)
bd bd
The bending moment on a 1mm wide strip on the base plate is given by,
p a2 p a2
M  o  max (9.48)
6 3
The maximum moment M should not exceed 1.2 p yp Z x , where the design
strength of base plate p yp  275 N / mm 2 . Compression will be assumed to transmit
direct bearing provided that the bearing contact is tight. Welds or fasteners should be
provided to transmit shear or tension due to the factored loads.
Copyright 204
All rights reserved
9.7.2.2 Column base under large eccentricity with e>d/6
When e is larger than d/6, the following method can be used.
The method assumes that the base plate has a linear strain distribution between
concrete c and steel bolts s as shown in Figure 9.26(a). The modular ratio m equal to
Es/Ec is used in the design method of composite structure. The linear strain distribution
is expressed as Equation (9.49). Layout of the column base is shown in Figure 9.26(b).
In this case, the maximum design strengths in the concrete fc and bolts ft are assumed
to occur simultaneously.
Linear strain distribution relationship,

m 
Es

y ft (9.49)
Ec d e  y f c
 m fc (9.50)
y d
 m fc  ft e
Moment equilibrium about the centre of the tension bolt, see Figure 9.25(c),
M '  M  Fc a (9.51)
Compression force in concrete C is given by,

M'
C (9.52)
z
in which z is the lever arm equal to the distance between the centroid of concrete stress
block and the centre of the tension bolt as z  d e  y 3
Stress in concrete is then determined as,

2F
fc  c (9.53)
b y
in which B is the breadth of the base plate and determined to set the concrete stress
fc not greater than 0.6fcu.
The total force in tension bolts, T, is determined from equilibrium of force as,
T  C  Fc (9.54)
The capacity of tension bolts is required to be not less than the required tension force
and the total area of tension bolts required is then equal to As  T pt .
Copyright 205
All rights reserved
de
b
s
c
b) Plan view of column base
Fc
a) Linear strain distribution a e
fc
Asft byfc/2
c) Actual stress distribution
Figure 9.26 Bearing pressure and layout of column base
Copyright 206
All rights reserved
9.8 Worked Examples
9.8.1 Base plate subjected to eccentric load
A column base plate is under moment of 55kNm and downward compressive force of
780kN. The column size is 25425489 UC. The base plate is made of Grade S275
steel. And the allowable compressive concrete stress fcu is 30N/mm2. Design the
dimension of column base plate under eccentric load case.
Solution
Try 450×350×35
Design strength of base plate, p yp  265N / mm 2 for 16mm  T  40mm (Table 3.2)
Eccentricity of load,
M 55  106 Lp
e   70.5mm   75mm
P 780  10 3
6
 whole base plate is under compression
Maximum and minimum bearing pressure,

780  103 55  106
pmax  
350  450 350  4502 6
 4.95  4.66  9.61N / mm 2  0.6 f cu  18N / mm 2 (OK) (Clause 9.4.1)
pmin  4.95  4.66  0.29N / mm 2
Edge distance from the column face,

450  260.3
a  94.9mm
2
Bearing pressure at the column flange is given by,

9.61  0.29
P  9.61   94.9  7.64N / mm 2
450
Maximum moment due to bearing pressure per unit width is given by,
9.61 94.9 2 7.64  94.9 2
M max    40317Nmm
3 6
Plastic modulus per unit width is given by,

t 2p 35 2
S  1.2    245mm 2
6 5
Therefore, the moment capacity of the base plate per unit width is given by,
M c  265 245  64925Nmm  M max (OK)
Copyright 207
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9.8.2 Column base subjected to different loading conditions
The column shown below is to transmit a factored axial compression and bending
moment about its major axis to column base, which is then subjected to three critical
loading cases. One is concentric load, and the others are respectively eccentric load
with and without tensile bearing stress under base plate. The column base is then
designed to be grouted to the ground by bolted connection as shown. The section of
column is 356368129 UC in grade S275 steel and the base plate is also made of S275
steel. The compressive stress of base concrete is 20N/mm2 for the first two cases and
40N/mm2 for the last case. The bolt size is selected to be M24 in grade 8.8. The size of
the base plate is 600600. Design the thickness of the base plate for the column base
when subjected to concentric loading case by considering compression only and
eccentric loading case comprised of both compression and moment.
Case Axial force (kN) Bending moment (kN-m) Concrete cube strength(N/mm2)
1 1200 0 20
2 1200 100 20
3 1200 400 40
356x368x129UC
50
50
355.6
10.4
368.6
17.5
Solution
Case 1: Try 60060015
Design strength of base plate, p yp  275N / mm 2 for T  16mm (Table 3.2)
Fc 1200  10
3
Required area, Areq    105 mm 2
 12
Effective area, Aeff  22c  T 2c  B   D  2T  2c t  2c 
 22c  17.52c  368.6  320.6  2c 10.4  2c 
  
 2 4c 2  772.2c  6450.5  3334.24  620.4  4c 2 
 4c  2164.8c  16235.24
2
Set effective area equal to required area

105  4c 2  2164.8c  16235.24
4c 2  2164.8c  83764.76  0
 c  36.3mm
Copyright 208
All rights reserved
Length of base plate, L p  D  2c  355.6  2  36.3  428.2mm  600mm (OK)
Width of base plate, B p  B  2c  368.6  2  36.3  441.2  600mm (OK)

3w 3  0.6  20
Plate thickness, t p  c  36.3  13.1mm  15mm (OK) (9.37)
p yp 275
The base plate is subjected to concentric compression and the tension bolts here are nominal or to transmit
shear only
Case 2: Try 600×600×35

M 100  106 Lp
Eccentricity of load, e    83.3mm   100mm
Fc 1200  10 3
6
 whole base plate is under compression and the tension bolts are nominal or to transmit shear only
Maximum bearing pressure,

1200103 100 106  6
pmax  
600  600 600  6002
 3.33  2.78  6.11 N mm 2  0.6 f cu  12 N mm 2 (OK) (Clause 9.4.1)
Minimum bearing pressure,

p min  3.33  2.78  0.55 N mm 2
Edge distance from the column face,

600  355.6
a  122.2mm
2
Bearing pressure at the column flange,

6.11  0.55
p  6.11  122.2  4.98 N mm
2
600
Maximum moment due to bearing pressure per unit width,

6.11 122.2 2 4.98  122.2 2
M max    42807Nmm
3 6
Moment capacity per unit width of base plate,

t 2p 352
M c  p yp   265  64925Nmm  M max (OK)
5 5
Case 3: Try 600×600×55

M 400  106 Lp
Eccentricity of load, e    333.3mm   100mm
Fc 1200  10 3
6
 part of the base is in tension and holding down bolts are required to resist tension caused by uplift
The eccentric effect due to bending is carried by both compression and tension, for which the
compression is taken by bearing pressure of concrete and tension is resisted through holding down
tension bolts. The bearing stress distribution assumes to be linear for the method for elastic behavior.
Copyright 209
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Modular ratio,  m  15
Distance from the centerline of the bolts in tension to the edge of the base plate in compression,
d e  600  50  550mm
Depth of the neutral axis,

 m fc  15  24 
y   d e   550  215.2mm

 m c
f  f t   15  24  560 
Take moments about the centerline of the bolts in tension,

M   400  1200 0.25  700kNm
Lever arm,
y
z  d e   550  215.2 / 3  478.3mm
3
Compressive force in the concrete

M 700  103
C   1463.5kN
z 478.3
Maximum bearing pressure in the concrete,

2C 2  1463.5  103
p max    22.7 N / mm 2  0.6 f cu  24 N / mm 2 (OK) (Clause 9.4.1)
b y 600  215.2
Tensile force for holding down bolts,

T  C  Fc  1463.5  1200  263.5N
Use 2 nos. of M24 bolts, As  358mm 2

263.5
Tension force per bolt, Ft   131.8kN
2
Design tensile strength of bolt, pt  560 N mm 2 (Table 9.8)
Tension capacity of bolt, Pt  As pt  358 560  200.5kN  Ft (OK) (9.25)
Bearing pressure at the column flange,

215.2  122.2
p  22.7   9.81 N mm 2
215.2
Maximum moment due to bearing pressure per unit width,

22.7  122.2 2 9.81 122.2 2
M max    137407Nmm
3 6
Maximum moment due to bolt tension per unit width,

131.8  122.2  50  103
M max   54360Nmm
122.2  50 tan 60  50
Therefore, bending due to bearing pressure is more critical.
Moment capacity of base plate per unit width,

552
M c  255  154275Nmm  M max (OK)
5
Copyright 210
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9.8.3 Connection at base of space frame
The pinned connection shown in figure below is under an axial compression force of
200 kN live load and 150 kN dead load in the H-column inclined 30 to the horizontal
direction.
(a) Determine the size of the pin required.

(b) Check the adequacy of the base plate of width 300mm and depth 400mm
(c) Determine size of bolts required for the base plate and
(d) Determine the thickness of the base plate required.
Use Grade 8.8 for bolts, S355 for pin and pin plates and S275 for base plate. The
concrete grade is C35.
D3
The elastic modulus of pin is Z  .
32 30°
25 THK PL
A A
150
2 NOS 20 THK PL
200
50
200
Unit : mm
50
50 300 50
Solution
DESIGN FORCE OF PIN
Factored compression force, Fc  1.4 150  1.6  200  530kN (Table 4.2)
(a) Determine the size of the pin

SHEAR CAPACITY OF PIN
Assume 40mm  D  63mm
p yp  335 N mm 2 (Table 3.2)
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The pin is in double shear,
530
Fs   265kN
2
Ps  0.6 p yp A (9.31)
D 2
Fs  0.6 p yp
4
4 Fs 4  265103
D   41.0mm
0.6p yp 0.6    335
 try 50 mm pin
BEARING CAPACITY OF PIN

p b  1.5 p y dt  1.5  335  50  25  628.1kN  Fc (OK) (9.33)
MOMENT CAPACITY OF PIN

530  0.045
M  5.96kNm
4
  503
M c  1.5 p yp Z  1.5  335   6.17kNm  M (OK) (9.35)
32
 50 mm pin is adequate
(b) Check the adequacy of the base plate

Design force
FV  530sin 30  265.0kN
FH  530 cos 30  459.0kN
M  459  0.15  68.9kNm
M 68.9  103 L 400
e   260.0mm    66.7mm
P 265 6 6
 the holding-down bolts are in tension
Distance from the centerline of the bolts in tension to the edge of the base plate in compression,
d e  400  50  350mm
Depth to the neutral axis,

f c m 21 15
y de   350  126mm
f c m  f t 21 15  560
Take moments about the centerline of the bolts in tension,

M   68.9  265  0.15  108.7kNm
Lever arm, z  d e  y 3  350  126 3  308mm
Compression force in concrete,

M  108.7  103
C   352.9kN
z 308
Maximum bearing pressure in the concrete,

2C 2  352.9  103
p max    18.7 N / mm 2  0.6 f cu  21N / mm 2 (OK) (Clause 9.4.1)
b y 300  126
 300 mm × 400 mm base plate is adequate.
Copyright 212
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(c) Determine the bolt size
Tensile force per each holding down bolt,
C  FV 352.9  265
Ft    44.0kN
2 2
Shear force per each holding down bolt,

459
Fs   114.8kN
4
Try M24 bolts,

Design tensile strength of bolt, pt  560 N mm 2 (Table 9.8)
Tension capacity of bolt, Pt  As pt  353 560  197.7kN  Ft (OK) (9.26)
Design shear strength of bolt, ps  375 N mm 2
(Table 9.5)
Shear capacity of bolt, Ps  As pt  353 375  132.4kN  Fs (OK) (9.15)
Combined shear and tension,
2 2
 V   Ft   114.8   44 
2 2
           0.8  1 (OK) (9.40)
 Vc   Pt   132.4   197.7 
 Use M24 bolt.
(d) Determine the thickness of the base plate

Edge distance from the pin plate,
400  200
a  100mm
2
Bearing pressure at the edge of pin plate,

126  100
p  18.7   3.86 N mm 2
126
Maximum bending due to bearing pressure per unit width,

18.7  1002 3.86 1002
M max    68767Nmm
3 6
Maximum bending due to bolt tension per unit width,

44 103  50
M max   16105Nmm
50 tan 60  50
Therefore, bending due to bearing pressure is more critical.
Moment capacity of base plate per unit width,

t 2p
M c  p yp 
5
Assume 16mm  t p  40mm ,

Design strength, p yp  265N / mm 2 (Table 3.2)
5M 5  68767
tp    36.0mm
p yp 265
 use 40mm thk base plate
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9.9 Bearing and buckling of webs
When a web in a beam is under a concentrated or point load, the web needs to
be checked against crushing and buckling. The stiff bearing lengths of webs are
indicated in Figure 9.27 below. The stiff bearing length is defined as the length which
does not deform appreciably when under bending. Below is the recommended stiff
bearing length.
t t b1 g
T r T s g b1
s t
b1 b1 r T
t
Dc
b1 = t + 1.6r + 2T b1 = t + 1.6s + 2T b1 = t + T + 0.8r – g b1 = 0.5Dc + t + 0.8s – g
Figure 9.27 Stiff bearing length
9.9.1 Bearing capacity
The bearing capacity of web can be calculated as,

Pbw  (b1  nk )tp yw (9.55)
The value of n is given by:
at the ends of a member:

n  2  0.6be / k but n  5 (9.56)
at other locations
n5 (9.57)
For rolled I- or H-sections: k  T  r (9.58)

For welded I- or H-sections: k  T (9.59)
where
b1 is the stiff bearing length, see Figure 9.27
be is the distance to the nearer end of the member from the end of the stiff
bearing;
p yw is the design strength of the web;
r is the root radius;
T is the flange thickness;
t is the web thickness.
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9.9.2 Buckling resistance
The buckling resistance of web Px should be greater than the external point load
otherwise stiffeners should be added. Px is given by the following.
When the flange through which the load or reaction is applied is effectively
restrained against both:
a) rotation relative to the web;
b) lateral movement relative to the other flange;
then provided that the distance ae from the load or reaction to the nearer end of the
member is at least 0.7d, the buckling resistance of the unstiffened web should be taken
as Px below:
25t
Px  Pbw (9.60)
(b1  nk )d
where
d is the depth of the web;
Pbw is the bearing capacity of the unstiffened web at the web-to-flange connection
from Clause 8.4.10.5.1.
When the distance ae from the load or reaction to the nearer end of the member
is less than 0.7d , the buckling resistance Px of the web should be taken as:
ae  0.7d 25  t
Px  Pbw (9.61)
1.4d (b1  nk )d
When the condition a) or b) is not met, the buckling resistance of the web should
be reduced to Pxr given by:
0 .7 d
Pxr  Px (9.62)
LE
in which LE is the effective length of the web, acting as a compression member or a

part of a compression member.
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Chapter 10 Second-order Direct and Indirect Analysis
10.1 Introduction
The nonlinear analysis, in a more general term to second-order analysis, is a

revolutionary approach to the design of not only steel structures, but also any other type
of structures including steel-concrete composite, reinforced concrete and other
structures including bamboo and pre-tensioned steel truss systems. The basic
underlying principle is very different from the first-order linear analysis using the
effective length. In the new method, the structure is designed by a simulation process,
a truly performance-based approach that the safety is directly checked by the section
capacity along the length of every member. The section capacity check approach is used
for design of steel and concrete members via the elastic modulus with triangular stress
blocks, the plastic modulus with rectangular stress blocks or other functions of modulus
used with other stress block assumptions.
Unlike the conventional design method, the P- and the P- effects are
considered during a second-order direct analysis so there is no need to assume any
effective length to account for the second-order effects. Despite its convenience, many
structural engineers are still reluctant to switch to this new design method. One major
reason is that it requires engineers to learn and get familiar with the new design method.
Another major reason is the convenience of using this method is rarely demonstrated.
The aim of this chapter is to compare the new design method with the conventional
effective length method. Design examples are carried out which include 1) simple
columns to demonstrate the analysis with second-order P- and P- effects taken into
account; 2) two-dimensional frames to illustrate the procedures of conventional design
and design using second-order direct analysis; 3) three-dimensional large-scaled
structures to demonstrate the advantages of design using second-order direct analysis
over conventional analysis and 4) a very slender structure which second-order direct
analysis must be used.
The second-order direct analysis method of design is a unified and an integrated

design and analysis approach that the effect of fire or elevated temperature effects,
seismic, effects of accidental member damage and progress collapse can all be modelled
in the design process which integrates with the analysis process. However, this chapter
is addressed to the conventional and widely exercised design against static loads. While
the concept of the method is essentially the same for all applications under various
scenarios, they may require different parameters which will be statutory in future. These
parameters include member and frame imperfections under these conditions.
10.2 Background
There exists the P- and P- effects in real structures which are due to the global
displacement of the structure and the lateral displacement of the member respectively.
The consequence of these secondary effects is additional stresses in the member are
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induced and thus the structure is weakened. A rational design should consider both the
P- and P- effects. The conventional limit state design method has been used
extensively over the past decades. The philosophy of a limit state design can be
expressed as follows.
 l F  R (10.1)
in which l is the load factor, F is the applied load,  is the resistance factor and R is
the resistance of the structure. Traditionally, F is obtained from the first-order linear
analysis in which both geometrical and material nonlinearities are not taken into
account while R is calculated based on the specifications so that the second-order P-
and P- effects and material yielding are considered. Although the analysis procedure
is speeded up by the recent rapid development of personal computers, there are still
some unavoidable hand calculation processes during the design stage such as
calculating the effective length of a compressive column and the amplifications factors
for the linear moments. The reliability of the conventional design method depends very
much on the accuracy of the assumptions of effective length factors.
In recent years, design method using second-order direct analysis has been
developed in which the second-order effects are considered directly during the analysis.
There are two major types of second-order analysis, namely second-order elastic
analysis and second-order inelastic analysis. The first type does not consider the effect
of material yielding therefore section capacity check per member is required to locate
the load causing the first plastic moment or first yield moment of the structure. The
second type considers the effect of material yielding so the maximum failure load can
be directly located by the load deflection plot. The section capacity check is therefore
used for assessing the condition of plastic hinge formation. A second-order direct
analysis not only facilitates structural design but it also plays a very important role on
structural stability problems.
To date, both conventional design method and second-order direct analysis

design method are allowed in many national design codes such as LRFD (2016),
Eurocode 3 (2005), Code of Practice for Structural Uses of Steel and AS4100(1998).
However, despite the convenience of the latter approach, the majority of structural
engineers are reluctant to step forward to this state-of-the-art approach. One major
reason is most software is programmed for P--only analysis and extensive manual
checking effort is still required. Another major reason is its convenience is rarely
illustrated through practical design examples.
Despite this reluctance, the second-order inelastic analysis, or the advanced

analysis, will be the major trend in structural design in the future while the second-order
elastic analysis can be regarded as a transition from the conventional method to the
advanced analysis method. This chapter has two main objectives. The first one is to
deliver the idea of how a design can be performed without any effective length. The
second objective is to compare the new design method with the conventional method.
Design examples are carried out in the hope that through these design examples,
engineers will find the merits of design using second-order direct analysis without using
effective length and will switch to it.
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10.3 Methods of analysis
In the HK Code, both the first-order linear and second-order non-linear analysis
methods can be used. However, the effects of change of deformed geometry shall be
considered in the design with the elastic critical load factor cr not less than 5 otherwise
the second-order direct analysis must be used.
Load factor  in Figure 10.1 represents a scalar multiplied to the set of design
load in a particular combined load case. To understand the method, one must first
appreciate the behaviour of a structure under an increasing load. Various methods
provide an answer of the collapse load under its assumptions, such as plastic collapse
load which does not consider any buckling effect and P--only second-order indirect
analysis does not consider member imperfection and member buckling.
The results of these methods are compared with the true collapse or ultimate
load of a structure, u in the Figure 10.1 below.
Load factor
λ Elastic Buckling Load=π2EI/L2=λcrP
λcr P
Second-order elastic analysis

First-order linear
analysis
λpP Plastic collapse load=p yA=λpP

Design resistance or collapse load
λUP by Second-order Plastic Analysis
λP λP
λyP
where P=design load
Design resistance by
"First-plastic-hinge"
δ Deflection
Figure 10.1 Design methods
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Some common terms in first-order analysis and second-order analysis are
explained as follows.
Elastic critical load factor cr is a factor multiplied to the design load to cause the
structure to buckle elastically. The deflection before buckling, large deflection and
material yielding effects are not considered here and the factor is an upper bound
solution that cannot be used directly for design. cr can be used to measure the
instability stage of a frame against sway and buckling. See Equation 10.2 for more
explanation.
Plastic collapse load factor p is a load factor multiplied to the design load to cause
the structure to collapse plastically but buckling and second-order effects are not
considered. Because of the ignorance of buckling effects,p cannot be used for direct
design and it is an upper bound solution to the true collapse load of the structure. This
load factor was widely used in the past for plastic design because of its simplicity to
determine.
P-delta effects refer to the second-order effects. There are two types, being P- and P-
 as shown in Figure 10.2.
P- effect is second-order effect due to change of geometry of the structure
P- effect is second-order effect due to member curvature and change of member
stiffness under load. A member under tension is stiffer than under compression.
Second-order direct analysis for design is a better design method than the effective
length method. The method determines the P- effect and the P- effect with initial
imperfections so that effective length need not be assumed.
P P

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Figure 10.2 The P- and P- effects
Linear analysis or first-order linear analysis is an analysis assuming the deflection

and stress are proportional to load. It does not consider buckling nor material yielding
and the effects of change of geometry are not considered here.
Notional horizontal force is a small force applied horizontally to a structure to

simulate lack of verticality and imperfection as illustrated in Figure 10.3. It can also
be used to measure the lateral stiffness so that the elastic critical factor can be
determined. It is sometimes taken as an alternative to imperfection in considering the
imperfect geometry, which may include eqivalent residual stress that geometrical
imperfection is enlarged.
P P P P
P
Figure 10.3 Simulation of out-of-plumbness by the notional force
Second-order P--only indirect analysis for plotting bending moment is an indirect

analysis used to plot the bending moment and force diagrams based on the deformed
nodal coordinates. It does not consider member curvature nor the P- effect. This
method is commonly used in software because of its simplicity in nodel coordinate than
member curvature updates. In fact, most software can only do this P--only analysis
which is not qualified for a full second-order analysis accounting for P- and P-
effects with imperfections at frame and member levels and this is a term first used in
HK Steel Code 2005 version and LRFD code 2010 specifying this type of analysis in
which computer programs only update the nodel coordinates but not member curvature
in their analyses.
Second-order P-- direct analysis with section capacity check is an analysis which
allows for P- effect and the P- effect and stops at first plastic hinge. It need not
assume an effective length for the buckling strength check, but imperfection must be
allowed for.
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The physical meaning of cr, named as elastic critical load factor, can be
illustrated by the buckling load of a simply supported column as shown in Figure 10.4
of Young’s modulus E, second-moment of area I and length L.
Pcr
Figure 10.4 Buckling of a pin-pin column
The Euler buckling load is

 2 EI
Pcr  2 (10.2)
L
If the calculated buckling load from Equation (10.2) is 100kN and the factored
design load from self-weight, live, wind and dead load is 20 kN, cr is then equal to
100/20=5. It should be note that cr is not for direct design since it does not consider
imperfection and material yielding effects. cr is only an indicator of stability stage, for
calculating effective length factor ( LE L ) or used for amplification as discussed in
Chapter 8.
When using NIDA*, one only needs to use the function of Eigen-Buckling
Analysis and select the number of mode as 1 or more but only the first buckling mode
is used in NIDA. For higher accuracy, we can just select all members and divide them
to 2 elements since NIDA uses cubic element to find the buckling load factor. This
division is not needed for second-order analysis in NIDA which use curved element to
cater for the P- effect and imperfections.
* NIDA is a software approved by the Buildings Department for second-order direct analysis to
Code of Practice to Structural Uses of Steel, Hong Kong.
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10.3.1 Types of stability
10.3.1.1 Finite element analysis for structural instability
The principle of minimum potential energy can be used to solve a buckling

problem.
The vanishing of the first variation of the total potential energy functional
implies the satisfaction of the equilibrium condition. The vanishing of the second
variation of the energy functional means the structural system is in the state of neutral
equilibrium. Figure 10.5 illustrates the concept of three different types of equilibrium.
Neutral equilibrium Unstable equilibrium Stable equilibrium
Figure 10.5 Concept of different types of equilibrium
 =0 for equilibrium (10.3)
>0 for stable equilibirum

 
2
=0 for neutal equilibirum (10.4)
<0 for unstable equilibirum
It should be noted that, after minimisation, the solution cannot be obtained

directly. Instead, a set of equations governing the instability condition will be otained
To derive the Euler buckling load of a column, the energy functional of the
column can be written as (Tension +ve),
1 L   d 2v   dv  
2 2
    EI  2   P  dx (10.5)
2 0   dx 
  dx  
In the case of a simply supported column, the assumption of a half sine curve
as in Equation (10.6) will satisfy the deflected shape of the column.
 x 
v =  sin   (10.6)
 L
Thus, Equation (10.6) is put into Equation (10.5) and after differentiation and
integration, the exact value for the Euler buckling load is obtained as in previous case.
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That is,
EI 2 4 P 2 2
  (10.7)
4 L3 4L
EI 2
 2  2  P  0 (10.8)
L
Therefore,
 2 EI
P 2 (Compression) (10.9)
L
The steps to develop a finite element for buckling analysis are as follows:
1. Write down the energy functional for the particular type of member. For
example, for a general beam-column element as shown in Figure 6, the energy
terms corresponding to bending are expressed as,
1   d 2v   dv  
L 2 2
    EI  2   P  dx  M 11  M 2 2  F1v1  F2 v2 (10.10)

2 0   dx 
  dx  

in which  is the total potential energy, F1 and F2 are the conjugate forces, M1
and M2 are nodal moments at ends with 1 and 2 are their conjugate rotations,
P is the axial force, v is the lateral deflection with v1 and v2 as lateral deflections
at ends and vo as the initial curvature, e is the shortening, 0 is the initial
imperfection and L and L0 in figure below are deformed and original
undeformed length.
Deformed curvature Initial curvature
M1 1 M2
2 P x
P
L0 e
L
Figure 10.6 Beam-column element
2. Depending on the nodal degree of freedom for an element, write down a

polynomial for the deflection of the element. If there are 4 degrees of freedom,
a cubic polynomial which has also 4 coefficients is used so that the coefficients
can be solved. Thus,
v  a0  a1 x  a2 x 2  a3 x 3 (10.11)
dv
For x  0 , v  v1 ,  1 (10.12)
dx
Therefore,
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a0  v1 (10.13)
a1  1 (10.14)
dv
For x  L , v  v2 ,  2 (10.15)
dx
Therefore,
3 v1  v2  21   2
a2   (10.16)
L2 L
2v  v    
a3  1 3 2  1 2 2 (10.17)
L L
And, after solving,
 v1 
 
 3 x 2
2x 3
  2x2
x  3
 3x2
2x   x
3
x  
2 3
v  1  2  3   x   2   2  3     2   1 
 L L   L L   L L   L L    v2 
 
 2 
(10.18)
3. Substituting the displacement function, v, in terms of the nodal degree of

freedom into the energy functional, we obtain the functional in terms of the
nodal degree of freedom. After differentiating the functional with respect to the
degree of freedom two by two, we obtain the stiffness matrix as follows,
 12 6 12 6   6L 1 6L 1 
  5 
 L3 L2 L3 L2 
10 5 10 
 6 4 6 2   1 2L 1 L
 2  2     
k L  kG   EI  L12 L6 L L   P  10 15 10 30 
  2
12
 2
6  6 L 
1 6L
 
1
 L3 L L3 L   5 10 5 10 
 6 2 6 4   1 L 1 2L 
 2  2     
 L L L L   10 30 10 15 
(10.19)
Note that the coefficients are given by,

 2
kij  k ji  (10.20)
xi x j
in which xi and x j are the nodal degrees of freedom.
4. The condition for the structural system to become unstable is the vanishing of
the determinant of the matrix. That is,
k L  cr kG  0 (10.21)
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To this, NIDA has been developed to calculate the value of the load factor, cr,
as shown in Figure 10.7, for the semi-indefinite condition of the eigenvalue.
Because the cubic Hermite function for lateral deflection represents the exact
linear solution for the bending for a beam, i.e.
d 2v  x x
EI 2  M 1 1    M 2 (10.22)
dx  L L
some researchers do not consider the beam-column element as a finite element which
implies that the exact expression for the deflection cannot be obtained but approximated
by a series of approximate functions such as cubic polynomial. Moreover, in the
present studies of buckling problems, it can be easily seen that the nonlinear solution,
which is the half sine curve for a simply supported strut, is far from cubic and therefore
the use of several elements per member is needed to obtain an accurate solution.
Figure 10.7 The option of buckling and vibration in NIDA
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Alternatively, cr can be obtained by hand calculation by Equation (10.23),
provided that the structure is regular portal frame of shallow roof or building frame.
For a multi-storey building frame, the formula is applied for each storey and the
minimum cr is taken as the controlling elastic critical load factor.
F h
cr  N (10.23)
FV  N
where FV is the factored dead plus live loads on the floor considered
FN is the notional horizontal force taken typically as 0.5% of FV for
building frames
h is the storey height and
N is the notional horizontal deflection of the upper storey relative to
the lower storey due to the notional horizontal force FN
In design codes including the HK Code, LRFD (2016) and Eurocode-3(2005), there
are in general 3 methods adopted for design, which are listed in the following.
10.3.1.2 First-order linear analysis
The method is a conventional method using effective length in Chapter 6 of the

HK Code. It assumes a linear relationship between force and displacement. It cannot
check buckling or material yielding and therefore the output force and moment must be
checked to ensure the member is safe. However, the stress due to second-order effects
and buckling and stress distribution after yielding are not considered here.
In the first-order linear analysis, the effects of imperfection on member design

(i.e. the P- effect) shall be incorporated by using appropriate buckling formulae.
Curves a0, a, b, c and d represent different values of member imperfections and Table
8.7 of the HK Code classifies various types of sections into one of these a0-d curves.
It can be observed that the linear analysis currently used by most engineers in
Hong Kong has already considered imperfection indirectly via uses of curves a0 to d.
Software claiming to have the ability to do the second order direct analysis without
codified way of considering imperfection is therefore unacceptable and the design
could be dangerous.
The P- sway effect is considered by multiplying the moment from linear
cr
analysis by the amplification factor . However, the P- effect still needs to be
cr  1
considered by assuming the effective length equal to the member length for checking.
This linear analysis method cannot be used when the structural is irregular or
cr is less than 5.
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10.3.1.3 Second-order indirect analysis
(Second-order P--only elastic analysis)
This analysis method considers the changes in nodal coordinate and sway such
that the P-Δ effect is accounted for. The effect of member bowing (P-δ) is not
considered here and should be allowed for separately. Member resistance check for P-
δ effect to Clause 8.7 of the HK Code is required and this P-Δ-only method of analysis
and design is under the same limitations of use as the linear analysis.
10.3.1.4 Second-order direct analysis, or simply “Direct Analysis”

(Second-order P-- elastic analysis)
In this method, both the P-Δ and P-δ and imperfections effects are accounted
for in the computation of bending moment. Checking the buckling resistance of a
structure to Clause 6.8.3 is sufficient and member check to Clause 8.9.2 is not needed.
The direct analysis here allows an accurate determination of structural response under
loads via the inclusion of the effects of geometric imperfections and stiffness changes
directly in the structural analysis and Equations (6.12) to (6.14) of the HK Code for
section capacity check in the structural analysis are sufficient for structural resistance
design. As only this method among the three methods in major international codes
considers P-- effects and qualified as Direct Analysis, this method is commonly
referred as such and in LRFD (2016).
This method considers both the P- and P- effects such that effective length
method for member buckling strength check is not required. This implies significant
saving in time as well as improvement in safety.
When the full second-order or P-- analysis is used, we use the appropriate
imperfections in Table 6.1 in the HK Code. In this method, one need not consider
individual stability check nor effective length at all. Cross section capacity check in
Equation (10.24) below is sufficient in checking the stability strength of members as,
P ( M y  P y  P  y ) ( M z  P  z  P  z )
   1 (10.24)
py A M cy M cz
where
 = nodal displacement due to out-of-plumbness frame imperfections plus
sway induced by loads in the frame
 = displacement due to member curvature / bowing due to initial
imperfection plus load at ends and along member length of a member. This
is calculated using a curved member proposed by Chan and Zhou (1995)
A = cross sectional area
py = design strength
Mcy, Mcz = yield moments about principal y- and z-axes (i.e. Mc=py Z); plastic
moments can be used by replacing Z by plastic modulus, S
My, Mz = external moments about principal y- and z-axes
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 = section capacity factor. If  >1, member fails in section capacity check. In
software NIDA, different values of  are indicated by different colours.
For slender sections, the effective area and moduli should be used in Equation
(10.24). For some members influenced by the beam lateral-torsional buckling, the beam
buckling moment Mb should be used in place of Mcz in Equation (10.24) (see Section
6.5).
Values of global initial imperfection  are taken as 0.5% of height or span.

Values of member initial imperfection should be taken from Table 6.1 of the HK Code
reproduced below.
Buckling curves e0
referenced in to be used in Second-order P-- elastic analysis
Table 8.7 L
a0 1/550
a 1/500
b 1/400
c 1/300
d 1/200
Table 10.1 Values of member initial bow imperfection used in design
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The curve selection should follow Table 8.7 of the HK Code reproduced below.
Table 10.2 Designation of buckling curves for different section types
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For first plastic hinge design, the design capacity is considered to have been
reached when  of any member reaches 1. The design capacity is taken as the load
causing the formation of the first plastic hinge for members with plastic (Class 1) or
compact (Class 2) sections or first yield for member of semi-compact or slender section
which further required reduction of cross-sectional area and moduli. If the sections are
not class 1 or 2, their ductility can be obtained by a nonlinear finite element plastic
analysis and used in a second-order direct analysis. Figure 10.8 shows the option in
NIDA of second-order P-- elastic analysis.
Figure 10.8 The option of second-order P-- elastic analysis

(note the deactivated “Enable Plastic Advanced Analysis” icon)
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10.3.1.5 Second-order direct analysis allowing for beam buckling
For beams, especially open section beams, under moment about major principal
axis, it will have a tendency to buckle laterally as shown in Figure 10.9 below.
Traditioanlly, a reduction in moment resistance is applied for this type of unrestrained
beams or, alternatvely, an increase in Mx moment similar conceptually to P- can be
applied for beam bucking effect. However, for practicality of simple design, the HK
Code does not adopt a Mx analysis for beam buckling check due to simplicity and
necesscity as beam buckling check can be done by simple equations and programmed
in computer without need of sway or no-sway frame classifications. Nevertheless, this
nonlinear beam buckling check could be done easily to date for specific projects using
the finite element method.
The reason why normally a P-delta type of analysis for frames with beam
buckling is not considered is that, unlike column buckling, the effective length for beam
buckling does not rely on the sway sensitivity of the frame and therefore one need not
worry too much about the accuracy of beam effective length which can be directly
determined from the boundary conditions.
In HK Code, the following equation is used for second-order direct analysis

allowing for second-order direct analysis with beam buckling check.
Fc Mx My Fc m LT [ M x  Fc ( x   x )] m y [ M y  Fc ( y   y )]
     1
Ag p y M cx M cy Ag p y Mb M cy
(10.25)
in which Mb is the beam buckling moment determined from Equations (8.20) to (8.24)
of the HK Code as an additional checking equation (see Trahair and Chan, 2005).
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Figure 10.9 Lateral-torsional buckling of beam
(Courtesy to Professor N.S. Trahair of Sydney University)
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10.3.1.6 Advanced analysis, Direct Plastic Analysis
For advanced analysis or second-order direct plastic analysis, one or two

members yield with = 1 do not necessarily indicate structural failure if the structure
does not collapse. In Eurocode 3 (2005), plastic analysis can only be used the members
are of sufficient rotational capacity to enable redistribution of bending moment. Under
Section 5.6(2), this requirement is assumed when plastic (Class 1) section is used and
the shear is not larger than 10% of the shear resistance otherwise web stiffeners should
be added within a distance h/2 from the plastic hinge location where h is the depth of
the cross section. As this method was first coded in AS4100, the name advanced
analysis from this code is retained here.
Plastic strength reserve of steel material is significant as minimum elongation

at breakage of 15% is imposed for qualified steel. Elastic design can be considered as
an over-conservative in some cases, especially for highly redundant structures.
According to the limit state design, the ultimate design load of a structure should
be smaller than the actual load resistance or computed collapse load of the structure
which can allow for plastic yielding in some members. A safe and yet economical
design should allow no yielding under working load in order to prevent accumulation
of strain energy and no collapse at ultimate load using the ultimate load factors.
For collapse load analysis, a plastic hinge will then be inserted into the member
end when Equation (10.24) is satisfied and the analysis continues until a plastic collapse
mechanism is formed (see Figure 10.1). The members possessing the plastic hinge must
have sufficient rotational capacity which can be insured by plastic (Class 1) and doubly
symmetric cross section and all members in the whole frame must be compact (Class
2) or plastic (Class 1). The location behind plastic hinges must be adequately restrained
against lateral buckling after formation of plastic hinges. Figure 10.10 shows the option
in NIDA of Second-order P-- plastic analysis using “plastic hinge” method.
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Figure 10.10 Direct plastic analysis using “plastic hinge” method
(note the activated “Enable Plastic Advanced analysis” icon)
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10.3.2 Formulation for Nonlinear Numerical Methods
Every nonlinear numerical method has its own merits and limitations. None of
them is remarkably superior to others in all cases. Their selection for a particular problem
depends heavily on the type and constraint of the problem and the objective of study. For
example, to determine the displacement of a structure under specified applied loads as
required in most practical design, a load-control scheme should be chosen. If a prescribed
displacement is imposed, a displacement-control scheme should be adopted. However,
these two methods may not achieve convergence in tracing the snap-through curve or the
snap-back curve. To select an appropriate nonlinear numerical method, the user should
therefore have a general understanding on the characteristics of these methods. The
properties and formulations of some commonly used schemes are briefly described in this
section. In Section 10.3.4, a comparison among the schemes is made.
In general, the incremental-iterative equilibrium equation of a system, which is not

necessarily controlled by the load, can be written as,
F   ik  F   K T u  ik u (10.26)
in which F  and u are respectively the out-of-balance forces and the corresponding
displacement increments in the system;  F  and u are respectively the reference
load vector and the resulting displacements; and ik is a control parameter to be
determined according to various imposed constrained conditions. The superscript k refers
to the number of load cycle while the subscript i represents the number of equilibrium
iteration within a load cycle. By selecting a suitable numerical scheme for a particular
problem considered, the above incremental-iterative equation can used to trace the
nonlinear load-deformation curve of the structure. If the selected numerical scheme is
successful, the load limit or load-carrying capacity of the structure can be determined from
the curve. Furthermore, the structural response for the post-buckling range can also be
obtained.
In software NIDA, to use the nonlinear numerical methods, a nonlinear analysis

case must be set up first by clicking the <Analysis> <Set Analysis Cases …> in top tool
bar and the following template is popped,
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To use various numerical methods, click <Add>, followed by <Nonlinear Analysis>
and the following template is popped up.
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The choices of the numerical methods include Newton-Raphson method, single
displacement control method and arc length method + minimum residual displacement
method. To select one of the numerical methods, go to the <Numerical Method> selection.
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10.3.2.1 The Pure Incremental Method
The pure incremental method for nonlinear analysis is simple and is the earliest
nonlinear solution method. Its basic procedure is to divide the total load into a number of
small load increments. In each load step, the stiffness of a structure is determined first
from the last known structure geometry and the loading state. It is then used to predict the
next displacement increment. The sign of the determinant of the updated stiffness matrix
will govern the direction of subsequent load step. The linearized displacement increment
is calculated by solving the tangent stiffness matrix and the load increment. Once the
displacement increment is obtained, the coordinates of structure are updated and then the
process is repeated until the desired load level is reached.
In general, this approach is capable of handling both the snap-through and the
snap-back problems because it does not require any iteration and thus does not have
divergence problem. However, as no equilibrium check or iteration is carried out,
unavoidable drift-off error is accumulated in each increment and the error after a number
of load steps may make the solution greatly deviated from the true equilibrium path. This
drift-off error cannot be estimated and thus the accuracy of the resulting load-deflection
curve cannot be assessed. The method to minimize this error is to employ a smaller load
step of which the magnitude is, unfortunately, quite difficult to assess. Indeed, there is no
guideline suggested for each load step. More importantly, the pure incremental method
usually over-estimates the ultimate capacity or the limit load of a structure. This is unsafe
and undesirable in practical design. Nevertheless, this simple method is still widely used
for nonlinear analysis, especially in commercial packages for nonlinear analyses.
Drift-off Error
Linearized Path
Load, F
in Displacement
F
True Equilibrium Path

Drift-off Error
F
in Force
F
F
Displacement, u
Figure 11 Pure Incremental Method

with Constant Load Increments
Figure 10.11 Pure incremental method with constant load increment
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10.3.2.2 The Newton-Raphson Method
Only the Newton-Raphson method gives the response of a structure at the input
load in terms of buckling strength and therefore it should be use when the engineers want
to check whether or not a structure is adequate when under a set of factored design loads.
In t method, iteration is activated to obtain the equilibrium condition between the applied
forces and the internal structural resistance within a load step. Unlike the pure incremental
method in which no equilibrium check is performed, the unbalanced force is dissipated
via the iterative procedure and can therefore be eliminated by this method. Being free from
the drift-off error, the solution is more accurate but the computational time is increased
when compared with the pure incremental method.
Conventional Newton-Raphson Method
Modified Newton-Raphson Method
Figure 10.12 The Newton Raphson method
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10.3.2.3 The Displacement Control Method
Unlike the load control methods previously described, a constraint equation for
displacement is imposed in this approach. This method simultanesouly possesses the
capacity of traversing the limit point without destroying the symmetrical property of the
tangent stiffness method. A single degree of freedom is chosen to be the steering
displacement degree of freedom for control of the advance of the solution for equilibrium
path, and the magnitude for each increment must be decided.
Figure 10.13 The displacement control method
The constant displacement method does not exhibit any difficulty in passing the
snap-through limit point but fails to converge in snap-back problems. Thus, it is usually
used in conjunction with other solution schemes in order to solve general nonlinear
problems.
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10.3.2.4 The Arc-Length Method
The basic concept of the spherical arc-length method is to constrain the load
increment so that the dot product of displacement along the iteration path remains constant
in the 2-dimensional plane of load versus deformation.
The procedure of the spherical arc-length method is illustrated below. Owing to

its accuracy, reliability and satisfactory rate of convergence, it is probably the most popular
method for nonlinear analysis and it was noted to be robust and stable for pre- and post-
buckling analysis.
Figure 10.14 The arc-length method
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10.3.2.5 The Minimum Residual Displacement Method
The basic idea of this method originally proposed by Chan (1988) is to minimize
the norm of residual displacement in each iteration.
The graphical representation of the procedure is demonstrated below. From Figure

10.15, it can be seen that this constraint condition enforces the iteration path to follow a
path normal to the load-deformation curve. It adopts the shortest path to arrive at the
solution path by error minimization and thus is considered to be an optimum solution. In
addition, the procedure is much simpler to use than the arc-length method. Generally
speaking, owing to its efficiency and effectiveness in tracing the equilibrium path, the
minimum residual displacement method is usually chosen to perform the iterative
procedure and combined with the part for load size determination in the first iteration by
the arc-length method.
Figure 10.15 The minimum residual displacement method
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10.3.3 Convergence criteria
In an effective incremental-iterative method, some criteria should be pre-

determined for termination or continuation of iterations. If a tight tolerance is selected,
excessive computation effort is spent on unnecessary accuracy. If the tolerance is set too
loose, the equilibrium error may be excessive and inaccurate solutions resulted. Further
to this, the question of whether the equilibrium tolerance should be set on the unbalanced
forces or displacements is debatable.
Through a number of nonlinear analyses by the authors, it was found that a slightly
loose tolerance imposed on both the displacement and force error is preferable to a tight
tolerance for either the displacement or the force error norm. To this, 0.1% equilibrium
error is allowed for each of the maximum unbalanced displacement and force norms.
Equilibrium is only assumed when both of the equilibrium checks are satisfied.
Mathematically, the convergence criteria for force and displacement are expressed
respectively as,
F T F   TOL
(10.27a)
F T F 
uT u  TOL
(10.27b)
uT u
in which F  and u are the accumulated force and displacement vectors respectively.
TOL is the tolerance for equilibrium condition and is set to 0.1% for the present study.
10.3.4 Comparison among the numerical algorithms
Although the load control Newton-Raphson method is slower in convergence

when compared to the arc-length or the minimum residual displacement method or even
diverge near the limit point, it is the only solution scheme which allows the analyst to
specify an exact load level at which the stresses and deflections are studied. Consequently
it is particularly suitable for design of a practical structure allowing for various
nonlinearities and under a set of fixed loads, such as the design loads. In addition, since
the exciting dynamic load is prescribed as an input data in a nonlinear dynamic analysis,
the load control Newton-Raphson method is very suitable for analyzing a structure
subjected to cyclic loads.
The displacement control method performs satisfactorily when handling snap-

through problems, but it fails at a snap-back point. Moreover, it may be very difficult, in
some cases, to select a suitable displacement degree of freedom as the control parameter.
Nevertheless, as the user can specify an exact value of displacement in advance, it can be
used in the analysis when a specified displacement is required. One example is a structure
under differential settlements, in which specified displacements at settled supports are
assumed to calculate the settlement effect on the overall structural behaviour.
The arc-length and the minimum residual displacement methods are capable of
tracing the nonlinear load-deformation curve with snap-through and snap-back
phenomena. It has been generally observed that the minimum residual displacement
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method gives the most rapid rate of convergence and the highest reliability among these
three methods. Better performance may be achieved when the minimum residual
displacement iterative scheme is used in conjunction with the arc-length load increment
for nonlinear static analysis.
Combining the element stiffness matrix method and the aforementioned

numerical schemes, a computer program NIDA capable of handling the large deflection
analysis of thin-walled members and frames has been written.
10.4 Imperfections
Unlike the first-order linear analysis, imperfections must be considered in any

second-order direct analysis since no real structure is perfect and possesses no residual
stress and initial crookedness.
In HK Code and Eurocode 3 (2005), a special feature is about the consideration

of frame and member imperfections which are not so explicitly expressed in most other
codes.
The effects of imperfections shall be taken into account for two conditions.
Global analysis: P- effect
Member design: P- effect
10.4.1 Frame imperfections
The effects of imperfections for typical structures shall be incorporated in frame

analysis using an equivalent geometric imperfection in Equation (10.28) based on the
lowest global elastic buckling mode(s) or the notional horizontal force of 0.5% for
permanent structures. While the approach of using lowest global elastic critical mode
as imperfection mode can be applied to all cases, the notional horizontal force should
only be used in rectilinear building frames because of the uncertainty in setting these
notional forces in irregular frames. The load case with least elastic critical load factor
should consider the two modes with lowest elastic critical load factors as two
independent load cases to prevent slender members from under-designing.
h
 (10.28)
200
where
h is the storey height;
is the initial deformation or out-of-plumbness deflection.
The shape of imperfection may be determined using the notional horizontal

force for a regular frame or from the elastic critical mode. For regular multi-floor
building frames, the shape may be simply taken as an inclined straight line.
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10.4.1.1 Elastic critical mode
As an alternative to notional horizontal force in Clause 2.5.8, the elastic

buckling mode can be used to simulate the global imperfections. The amplitude of such
global imperfection can be taken as building height/200 for permanent structures or
height/100 for temporary structures. The lowest elastic buckling global mode should be
used and at least the two lowest elastic buckling global modes should be used as two
load separated load cases for the load case with the lowest elastic critical load factor cr.
Local member buckling mode should not be used in place of the global buckling mode.
10.4.1.2 Method of notional horizontal force
For regular frames where the buckling mode is in a sway mode and obvious to
engineers, a 0.5% of the vertical load should be applied horizontally to a frame which
is basically regular in order to simulate imperfection as demonstrated in Figure 10.16.
For structures used for other functions and durations, a varied value of notional force is
used.
Figure 10.16 Application of horizontal notional forces
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10.4.1.3 Imperfection mode as buckling mode
In many structures, the buckling mode shape is not obvious and we need to use
computer program to determine the buckling mode. We can use the buckling mode as
imperfection mode as the worst scenario as follows. In software, we can specify this
eigen-buckling mode option and a magnitude equal to 0.5% multiplied by the height or
the longest span or an expected value of imperfection for a particular type of structures.
1% imperfection deflection or notional force is needed for temporary structures and 3%
may be needed for structures under demolition.
Figure 10.17 Use of buckling mode as imperfection mode
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These initial sway imperfections should be applied in all unfavourable
horizontal directions, but need only be considered in one direction at a time. For
temporary works such as scaffolding, initial deformation should be taken as   h 100
. For demolition works, initial deformation equivalent to notional force should be used.
The simulation of out-of-plumbness with notional horizontal force is indicated

in Figure 10.18.
P P P P P P
3P
2wL 2wL
P
P
Figure 10.18 Notional horizontal force to simulate out-of-plumbness
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10.4.2 Member imperfections
For practical members, initial bow and residual stress are unavoidable and must
be considered in the buckling strength determination. Table 6.1 in the HK Code shows
the equivalent imperfection for these two sources of imperfections and they are the
equivalent imperfection. The value of these imperfections cannot be measured from the
initial bow or crookedness of the member but it can be determined by a curve-fitting
procedure against the buckling strength vs. slenderness curve. In other words, we can
try different values of imperfections to obtain a curve giving a 5% lower bound curve
to the experimental curve. Alternatively or more directly, we can calculate the
imperfection using the available Perry Robertson constants (Cho and Chan, 2002). For
a compression member, the equivalent initial bow imperfection specified in Table 6.1
of the HK Code may be used in a second order analysis of the member.
Figure 10.19 Input of member initial imperfections in NIDA
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Important Note
The directions of imperfections should be the same as eigen-buckling mode which
depends on the loads and thus it varies with different load cases. Thus, it is practically
not feasible to use an approach of modelling a member by several elements to simulate
imperfect geometry even for a moderate structure for a hundred load cases, because we
will then need a hundred data files containing different initial geometries.
The effects of imperfections can be considered in member design when using the
effective length method and the moment amplification method. This is the reason we
have different buckling curves in the HK Code.
Instead of using different curves, the second-order direct analysis uses different
imperfections in Table 6.1 of the HK Code (2011) or Table 5.1 of Eurocode 3 (2005).
For P--only analysis, member bucking check based on curves a0 to d is still necessary.
Note that these imperfections cannot be measured directly since they are “equivalent”
imperfections considering geometrical initial curvature and residual stress. The
geometrical initial curvature is measured to be around L/1000 to L/1500 which is much
less than the equivalent initial imperfection allowing for residual stress and geometrical
crookedness.
1.20
Reduction Factor pc/py
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
0 100 200 300
Slenderness Ratio 
curve a0 curve a curve b curve c curve d
Figure 10.20 Simulation of member imperfection by specifying or using coded

values
As can be seen above, a curved member is needed for the simulation. Although the
Eurocode 3 (2005) suggests to use equivalent load along a member to simulate the
effect, there will be an additional stress induced by this fictitious load which should not
exist and it is therefore not allowed in the HK Code which uses the direct method of
curved member.
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10.5 The effective length method for indirect analysis
In the first-order linear analysis, the analysis finds the load in the columns and
the buckling strength is unknown. Unlike the second-order P-- analysis which
considers the increase in stress due to the second-order and buckling effect, the first-
order linear analysis needs to reduce the resistance of the columns when taking the load
without considering second-order moment. To calculate the effective length other than
making an assumption, we have the following method.
Calculate cr by one of the following methods

1. Apply notional horizontal force. cr can be determined by Equation (10.23)
2. Use computer programme to find cr
For multi-storey frames, the maximum cr among all stories should be used to
obtain the minimum elastic critical load factor.
cr is defined as the factor multiplied to the design load causing the frame to
buckle elastically.
Notional force is (1) to simulate lack of verticality of frames and taken as 0.5%
of the factored dead and imposed loads applied horizontally to the structure; (2) to
calculate the elastic critical load factor cr to Equation (10.23). This percentage of
notional force may vary for other types of structures like scaffolding where
imperfections are expected to be more serious and (3) to classify the frame as non-sway,
sway and sway-ultra sensitive frames.
The following section describes the method of using chart to determine the
effective length of a member in a regular frame.
10.5.1 Non-sway frame
When cr 10, the frame is considered as non-sway. P- effect can be ignored
here and only P- effect is needed to be considered. The effective length of members
in frames can be designed by chart in Figure 6.5b of HK Code or conservatively taken
as member length here.
For a sub-frame in a multi-storey frame in Figure 10.21, the distribution factors,

k1 and k2, are required to be determined as,
Total stiffness of the columns at the joint

k
Total stiffness of all the members at the joint
K c  K1
k1  (10.29)
K c  K1  K11  K12
Kc  K2
k2  (10.30)
K c  K 2  K 21  K 22
and the stiffness coefficients for beams should follow Table 6.2 of Hong Kong Code.
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To calculate the load resistance of the column Pc  Ag pc , its effective length is
needed to be determined from k1 and k2 above with the chart in Figure 10.22.
K1
K11 k1 K12
column-length being designed Kc

K21 K22
k2
K2
Figure 10.21 Restraint coefficients in a sub-frame
Pinned
1
0.9
k1
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Fixed 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
k2
Fixed Pinned
Figure 10.22 Effective length chart for non-sway frame
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10.5.2 Sway-sensitive frames
When 10 > cr  5, it is a sway frame.

The following chart is used to find the effective length factor. k1 and k2 are calculated
similarly to the above.
Pinned
1
0.9
k1
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Fixed 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
k2
Fixed Pinned
Figure 10.23 Effective length chart for sway frame
Member buckling check to Equation (8.79) in HK Code

Using effective length greater than member length to find the Pc is first carried out and
the moment is not required to be amplified here because only member buckling check
is considered.
Fc mx M x my M y
  1 (10.31)
Pc M cx M cy
Amplification moment check to Equation (8.80) in HK Code

Additionally, moment amplification factor should be used to enlarge the moment due
to sway effect as the second checking as
Fc mx M x my M y
  1 (10.32)
Pc M cx M cy
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Here the buckling resistance P c (note the bar at top while Equation (8.79) has no bar
at Pc) is determined using effective length equal to member length (i.e. LE L  1 ), but
Mx and My are needed to be amplified as follows.
cr
M M (10.33)
cr  1
Also, the amplified moment should be used for connection design.
As the above considers the P- effect such that the effective length of the column is
then taken as its member length or from Figure 10.23.
When the beam may experience beam lateral-torsional buckling, Equation (8.81)
should also be checked.
10.5.3 Sway ultra-sensitive frames
When cr < 5, only second-order direct analysis method can be used.
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10.6 Examples
10.6.1 Simple benchmark example for testing of software
A column of CHS 88.93.2, grade S275 steel and length 5m, has a boundary condition
of one end pinned and one end fixed (i.e. a propped cantilever) as shown in the figure
below. The analytical elastic critical load Pcr and the compression resistance Pc to the
HK Code can be calculated by taking the effective length of this propped cantilever as
0.7 of its true length. When using NIDA, the design load is indicated by the load causing
the section capacity factor equal to 1.0 while the elastic critical load is the load when
the load vs deflection curve becomes flat. In NIDA, no effective length assumption is
required as the P- effect is automatically taken into account during the analysis.
However, an initial member imperfection of L/500 is imposed as given in Table 6.1 of
the HK Code.
Compare the analytical elastic critical load and the design load to the HK Code with
results given by NIDA. Also repeat the example with a boundary condition of one end
free and one end fixed (i.e. cantilever) and the effective length factor equal to 2.
F
One end pinned and one end fixed
CHS 88.9x3.2 grade 275, Length =5m
5m
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SECTION PROPERTIES
D  88.9mm , t  3.2mm , I  79.2cm 4 , r  3.03cm , Z  17.8cm 3 , A  8.62cm 2
Case 1: Propped cantilever

Effective length, LE  0.7 L  3.5m
 2 EI  2  205000 79.2  104
Elastic critical load, Pcr  2

35002
 130.8kN
LE
L 3500
r 30.3
Compressive strength for hot-rolled hollow section bending about both axes should be obtained from
buckling curve a (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, p c  126.0 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(a))

Compression resistance, Pc  pc Ag  126  862  108.6kN (8.73)
The elastic critical load and design load found by NIDA are 98.7kN and 131.4kN respectively.
The table below compares the elastic critical loads and compression resistance between different methods.
Methods Elastic critical load (kN) Compression Resistance (kN)
NIDA 131.4 98.7
Analytical 130.8 -
HK Code - 108.6
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Case 2: Cantilever
Effective length, LE  2L  10m
 2 EI  2  205000 79.2  104
Elastic critical load, Pcr  2

100002
 16.0kN
LE
LE 10000
r 30.3
Compressive strength for hot-rolled hollow section bending about both axes should be obtained from
buckling curve a (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, pc  18 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(a))

Compression resistance, Pc  pc Ag  18  862  15.5kN (8.73)
The elastic critical load and design load found by NIDA are 15.6kN and 16.8kN respectively.
The table below compares the elastic critical loads and compression resistance between different methods.
Methods Elastic critical load (kN) Compression Resistance (kN)
NIDA 16.8 15.6
Analytical 16 -
HK Code - 15.5
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These two simple examples show clearly the reliability and capability of NIDA in predicting a single
column with resistance dominated by P- and P- effects. Imperfection to code value of L/500 for hot-
rolled tubular sections has been allowed for. While the single column can be verified directly by code
assuming an appropriate effective length, the computer method NIDA can be applied to design of
complex frames composing of thousands of members by repeating the calculation whereas the HK Code
approach can hardly be extended as every member has its own buckling length and some load cases are
sway and others are non-sway.
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10.6.2 Structural analysis of the portal frame
Check the structural adequacy of the following portal. The section is 686254140 UB
of grade S355 steel. The frame is rigid-jointed and pin-supported with dimensions
shown in the figure below.
1000kN
100kN
k1 k1
10m
k2 k2
30m
DESIGN LOAD
Axial force, Fc  1000  100  10 30  1033.3kN
Base shear, V y  100 2  50kN
Top moment, M x  50  10  500kNm
SECTION PROPERTIES
rx  27.6cm , Z x  3990cm 3 , S x  4560cm 3 , A  178cm 2
275
  0.89 (Table 7.1 Note b)
345

b 253.7
  6.68  9  0.89  8.01 (Table 7.1)
T 2  19
Plastic limiting value of d t for web of an I-section under both axial compression and bending is
80 1  r1 
Fc 1033.3  103
Stress ratio, r1    0.393  1 (7.1)
dtpyw 615.1  12.4  345
d 615.1 80  0.89
  49.6   51.1 (Table 7.1)
t 12.4 1  0.393
web is plastic
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Deflection due to horizontal force =149.7 mm
(Note that it is unnecessary to use 0.5% for notional force as the same elastic critical load factor cr will
be obtained because the deflection N below will be changed proportionally and the final answer will be
the same.)
F h 100 10
Elastic critical load factor, cr  N   6.68 (6.1)
FV  N 1000 0.1497
10  cr  5 (6.4)
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 265  8475
Shear capacity, Vc    1296.7 kN  V (OK) (8.1)
3 3
MOMENT CAPACITY
V  0.6Vc  778.0kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 345 456010  1.2  345 399010
3 3
 1573.2kNm  1651.9kNm
 M x (OK)
I
L
K c  K1 I / 10  0
k1    0.67 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K1  K11  K12 I / 10  0  1.5  I / 30  0
Effective length, LE  2.9L  2.9  10  29m (Figure 6.5a)
Slenderness ratio,   LE  29000  105.1 (Clause 8.7.4)
rx 276
Compressive strength for rolled I-section with maximum thickness less than 40mm bending about
x-x axis should be obtained from buckling curve a (Table 8.7)
Compressive strength, pc  156.3 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(a))

Fc M M y 1033.3  103 500
 x     0.49  1 (OK) (8.78)
Ag p y M cx M cy 17800 345 1573.2

Buckling check using effective length under sway mode to Equation (8.79)
Equivalent moment factor, mx  0.6 (Table 8.9)
F c mx M x m y M y 1033.3 0.6  500
     0.59  1 (OK) (8.79)
Pc M cx M cy 2782.1 345  399010 3
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Buckling check to non-sway mode effective length under amplified moment to Equation (8.80)
rx 276
Compressive strength, pc  327.8 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(a))

Compression resistance, Pc  p c Ag  327.8  17800  5834.8kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
The moment amplification factor is given by the larger of (8.82)
 cr 6.68
  1.20
 cr  1 6.68  1
1 1
and   1.46
Fc L2E 1033.3  29 2
1 1 2
 2 EI x   2.05 136000
 The P-- amplification factor is taken as 1.46
Fc mx M x m y M y 1033.3 0.6  1.46  500

     0.50  1 (OK) (8.80)
Pc M cx M cy 5834.8 345  3990 103
Note: Pc can be calculated by using the effective length found from Figure 6.5b for greater accuracy and
assuming effective length factor = 1 is only for conservative design. P c can be used for sway frames
with amplified moments Mx and My because the effect of moment increase has been considered in the
moments so economical design can be achieved when compared with use of Pc which is obtained by
using effective length factor greater than 1. However, additional check is needed for the case when the
frame sways with an effective length factor greater than 1 (i.e. use of Pc in sway frame) but the bending
moment is too small to amplify, such as the case when the dominant axial load is concentric to the column
being designed.
No beam buckling check to Equation (8.81) is needed here as the out-of-plane deflection is restrained.
DESIGN BY SECOND-ORDER DIRECT ANALYSIS
When using second-order direct analysis for design in NIDA, the section capacity factor
is 0.60. This is close to the most critical value above.
Comments on second-order direct analysis applied to sway and non-sway frames
The reason for classifying a frame to sway and non-sway is to determine the
effect of sway moment. When cr is greater than or equal to 10, the sway moment is
negligible and when cr is less than 10, it is important and the effect need to be and can
be considered by the use of second order direct analysis program or sway amplification
factor.
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10.6.3 Sway and non-sway frame
This example is to demonstrate the design procedures to the HK Code using the
conventional approach as well as using second-order P-- elastic analysis. Three
simple frames subject to same loading condition but three different boundary conditions
are shown in the figure below. The columns are 25425473 UC and the beams are
40617874 UB of S275 steel. Subject to the same notional horizontal forces as
required according to Clause 2.5.8, the respective internal forces determined from the
first-order elastic analysis are also shown in the figure.
SECTION PROPERTIES
For 25425473 UC
rx  11.1cm , Z x  898cm 3 , S x  992cm 3 , A  93.1cm 2
For 40617874 UB
rx  17.0cm , Z x  1320cm 3 , S x  1500cm 3 , A  94.5cm 2
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275
275

b 254.6
  8.96  9 1  9 (Table 7.1)
T 2 14.2
80 1  r1 
Fc 604 10 3
Stress ratio, r1    1.275  1 (7.1)
dtp yw 200.3  8.6  275
 r1  1
d 200.3 80 1
  23.3   40 (Table 7.1)
t 8.6 11
web is plastic
The notional horizontal deflections of the three frames found from linear first-order elastic analysis and
the corresponding elastic critical load factor are summarized below.
Boundary condition Notional horizontal deflection, N (m) Elastic critical load factor, cr
Supports fixed 1 4
Member joints rigid 8.85710-4   22.6
200 8.857 10  4
Supports pinned 1 4
Member joints rigid 3.61210-3   5.54
200 3.612  10 3
Supports pinned 1 4
One member joint 8.91910-3   2.24
pinned 200 8.919 10 3
Therefore, the frames can be classified into non-sway, sway and sway ultra-sensitive respectively
according to Clause 6.3
It should be noted that for sway ultra-sensitive frames, where the elastic critical load factor is less than
5, only second-order direct P-- elastic analysis or advanced analysis can be used. In this example, self-
weight of the material and lateral-torsional buckling are neglected. For simplicity, this example only
shows the design of the column member which involves the following steps.
SHEAR CAPACITY
p y Av 275  2185
Shear capacity, Vc    346.9kN  V (OK) (8.1)
3 3
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MOMENT CAPACITY
V  0.6Vc  208.1kN (Clause 8.2.2.1)
 it is low shear condition
Moment
M cx  p y S x  1.2 p y Z x (8.2)
capacity,
 275 992103  1.2  275 898103
 272.8kNm  296.3kNm
 M x (OK)
According to Clause 6.6.3,
Kc
k1  (Figure 6.4)
K c  K 11
where
I c 11400
Kc    28.5cm 3
Lc 400
I b 27300
K11    45.5cm 3
Lb 600
According to Clause 8.7.5, the compression resistance should be obtained from

Pc  Ag p c (8.73)
Non-sway frame Sway frame

I I
Beam stiffness  0.75 Beam stiffness  1.0 (Table 6.2)
L L
28.5 28.5
k1   0.46 k1   0.39 (Figure 6.4)
28.5  0.75  45.5 28.5  1.0  45.5
k 2  0 for fixed end k 2  1 for pinned end

LE  0.59L  0.59  4  2.36m LE  2.3L  2.3  4  9.2m (Figure 6.5)
2360 9200
  21.3   82.9 (Clause 8.7.4)
111 111
p c  270.7 N mm 2 p c  175.2 N mm 2 (Tables 8.7,

8.8b)
Pc  9310  270.7  2520.2kN Pc  9310175.2  1631.1kN (8.73)
The cross section capacity check can be carried out as
Fc M
 x 1 (8.78)
Ag p y M cx

602  103 172 604 10 3 157
  0.87 (OK)   0.81 (OK) (8.78)
9310  275 272.8 9310 275 272.8
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The resistance of the member can be checked using
Fc m x M x
 1 (8.79)
Pc M cx
Fc mx M x
 1 (8.80)
Pc M cx
in which m x is the equivalent moment factor as given in Table 8.9 and M x is the design moment
amplified from the first-order moment M x .
For finding P c ,
rx 111
Compressive strength, p c  254.8 N mm 2 (Table 8.8(b))

Compression resistance, Pc  p c Ag  254.8  9310  2372.2kN (8.73)
For non-sway frame, the P- can be neglected and the P- amplification factor is given by:
1 1
  1.01
2
Fc LE 602  2.36 2 (8.83)
1 2 1 
 EI  2  2.05  11400
For sway frame, the P-- amplification factor is given by the larger of: (8.82)
 cr 5.54
  1.22
 cr  1 5.54  1
1 1
and   1.28
FL 2
604  9.2 2
1  c2 E 1 2
 EI   2.05  11400

89.4
   0.52  0
172
 m x  0.50  m x  0.60 (Table 8.9)
604 0.60 157

  0.75 (OK) (8.79)
1631.1 8.98  2.75 10
602 0.50  1.01172 604 0.60 1.28 157
  0.59 (OK)   0.74 (OK) (8.80)
2520.2 275  898 10 3 2372.2 8.98  2.75 10
These factors are smaller than the cross section capacity factor and this shows the
column is strength controlled partly because of use of low grade steel of S275.
By performing second-order P-- elastic analysis, the section capacity factors of the
columns of the non-sway, sway and sway ultra-sensitive calculated by Equation (10.24)
are respectively 0.85, 0.80 and 0.91*.
*0.91 is calculated using the result of the column opposite to the loaded column. Also,
the beam fails with a section capacity factor of 1.34 because the bending moment has
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been much enlarged by the sway displacement. This shows that the use of linear
analysis without amplifying the moment is dangerous.
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10.6.4 Leaning column portal
This example is to demonstrate the concept of an effective length paradox for the
effective length factor, or the K-factor, of a lean column, which is widely taken as 1.0,
but it may be larger or smaller than 1.0 depending on the frame instability. The figure
below shows a two-bay frame using the same sections as those in Example 10.6.3. After
performing a first-order elastic analysis, the frame is classified as sway frames.
Traditionally there are three methods determining the effective length factor.
600kN
200kN 200kN
100kN/m 100kN/m
11kN
4m
sway
6m 6m
Method 1: Chart method

k1  1 for pinned end
k2  1 for pinned end
From Figure 6.5a, the effective length factor is infinity.
Method 2: Idealized column method

Idealizing the two ends of the column is rotation free and transition fixed, the effective
length factor can be taken as 1.00 as recommended in Table 8.6.
Method 3: Elastic critical load factor method

The effective length can be calculated by the following equation,
 2 EI
LE 
Fc cr
The elastic critical load factor can be calculated by either the deflection method or the
Eigen-buckling analysis.
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Deflection Method Eigen-Buckling Analysis
cr  6.36 cr  6.16
 2  2.05  11400  2  2.05  11400

LE   5.30m LE   5.38m
1293  6.36 1293  6.16
5.30 5.38
Effective length factor   1.33 Effective length factor   1.35
4 4
The effective length factor found by Method 1 is totally unacceptable for design. Most
engineers adopt Method 2 for simplicity and take the effective length factor as 1.0.
However, since the lean column is part of the sway frame, its actual effective length
factor must be greater than 1.0. It appears that only Method 3 provides reasonable
estimates of the effective length factor. However, Method 3 is not recommended in the
HK Steel Code because the effective length found from this method is only true for the
most critical column but not for other columns. For other non-critical columns, this
method is inappropriate. The effective length factor can also be traced back from a
second-order P-- elastic analysis. It is found that the failure load of the lean column
is 2308kN. Therefore the compressive strength of the column is 248N/mm2. From Table
8.8(b), the equivalent slenderness ratio is roughly 42.0 meaning an effective length
factor of 1.17. It should be noted that the effective length factor found here is
meaningless to a second-order direct analysis but it is used to support the result found
from Method 3 and for comparison only. To avoid this effective length paradox, the
best way is to adopt second-order direct analysis which avoids the use of effective
length factor in column design.
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10.6.5 Braced and unbraced frames
The 4-storey frame shown below is designed. All members are 20320360 UC. The
structure is under a pair of factored vertical point loads of 500kN at top, with a notional
force of 0.5% applied horizontally at the same level. The design strength is 275 N/mm2.
In the original study, all members are loaded about their principal minor axes.
44m
4m
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SECTION PROPERTIES
I y  2060cm 4 , rx  8.96cm , r y  5.20cm , Z x  584cm 3 , Z y  201cm 3 , S x  656cm 3 ,
S y  305cm 3 , A  76.4cm 2
The structure is under a pair of factored vertical point loads of 500kN at top, with a
notional force of 0.5% applied horizontally at the same level. In the first study, the
members are loaded about their principal minor axes, the second and third studies
change the orientation and bracing conditions as shown in Table below.
Using the method of sway index, the elastic buckling load factor, cr, is calculated in
Case 1 as follows.
Deflections (mm) / sway indices s

Storey Case 1 (Bent about Case 2 (Bent about Case 3 (Bent about
minor axis, unbraced) major axis, unbraced) minor axis, fully braced
-3
1 5.923 / 1.48110 2.027 / 5.18010-4 0.063 / 1.57510-5
2 14.99 / 2.26710-3 5.164 / 7.84310-4 0.202 / 3.47510-5
3 24.33 / 2.33510-3 8.425 / 8.15310-4 0.392 / 4.75010-5
-3
4 32.39 / 2.01510 11.28 / 7.13810-4 0.611 / 5.47510-5
Note: The sway index is given by:

 
s  i i1
h
Case 1 Bent about minor axis, unbraced

The maximum s is 2.33510-3 and the cr is given by
1 1 1 1
cr      2.141
200 s 200 2.335 10-3
 cr  5 (6.6)
 it is a sway ultra-sensitive frame (Clause 6.3.5)
Since cr is less than 5 here, the effective length method cannot be used in the HK Code. There are two
methods to solve this problem. The first is to use the major principal axis of members to resist loads,
which is considered as Case 2. The other option is to add bracings members which is designated as Case
3.
Case 2 Bent about major axis, unbraced

Referring to the table above, the critical s is 8.15310-4 and the coressponding cr is given by
1 1 1 1
cr      6.133
200 s 200 8.153 10 4
10  cr  5 (6.4)
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I
L
I I

Kc  K1 L L
k1    2 / 3.5  0.57 (Figure 6.4)
Kc  K1  K11 I I
  1.5
I
L L L
I I

Kc  K2 L L
k2    2 / 3.5  0.57
K c  K 2  K 21 I I I
  1.5
L L L
Effective length, LE  1.6L  1.6  4  6.4m (Figure 6.5a)

rx 89.6
x-x axis should be obtained from buckling curve b (Table 8.7)

Compression resistance, Pc  p c Ag  199.2  7640  1521.9kN  Fc (OK) (8.73)
Case 3 Bent about minor axis, fully braced

Referring to the table above, the critical s is 5.47510-5 and the coressponding cr is given by
1 1 1 1
cr      91.3
200  s 200 5.475  10 5
 cr  10 (6.2)
 it is a non-sway frame
(Clause 6.3.3)
I
L
I I

K c  K1 L L 2
k1     0.8 (Figure 6.4)
K c  K1  K11 I I I 2.5
  0.5
L L L
I I

Kc  K2 L L 2
k2     0.8
K c  K 2  K 21 I I I 2.5
  0.5
L L L
Effective length, LE  0.86L  0.86  4  3.44m (Figure 6.5b)

Slenderness ratio,   L E  3440  66.2 (Clause 8.7.4)
ry 52
y-y axis should be obtained from buckling curve c (Table 8.7)

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10.6.6 3-Dimensional steel building
This example is for the extension to a three-dimensional structure and to demonstrate

the application of a second-order direct analysis dealing on a three-dimensional
problem. The figure below shows a three-dimensional four-storey frame with steel
grade S355. The loadings on the floors and the roof are 24kN/m2 and 8kN/m2
respectively plus the self-weight of the material. The sections used are shown in the
figure. In this example, Column “C1” of 20320346 UC is to be designed. The frame
is 4-storey high of dimensions 12m(H)12m(L)8m(W) with story height of 3m. All
base connections are assumed pinned and beam to column connections are assumed
rigid. Concrete floor is assumed as rigid diaphragm and the stiffness in the Z-axis is
strengthened by cross bracings at the two end bays while the sway stiffness in the X-
axis is provided by moment frame action. The major axis of the columns is located
about the Z-axis in order to provide a larger resistance against sway in the X-axis for
which bracings are not provided.
Column “C1” is selected for demonstration. Other members follow the same procedural
check.
“C1”
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DESIGN LOAD
From linear analysis, the internal forces of “C1” are:
Fc  824.1kN , M x1  3.9kNm , M x 2  4.1kNm , M y1  12.1kNm , M y 2  12.2kNm
SECTION PROPERTIES
D  203.2mm , B  203.6mm , t  7.2mm , T  11.0mm , d  160.8mm , I x  4570cm 4 , I y  1550cm 4 ,
rx  8.82cm , ry  5.13cm , Z x  450cm 3 , Z y  152cm 3 , S x  497cm 3 , S y  231cm 3 , u  0.847 ,
x  17.7 , A  58.7cm 2
275
  0.88 (Table 7.1 Note b)
355
Semi-compact limiting value of b T for outstand flange of an H-section is 15

b 203.6
  9.25  15  0.88  13.2 (Table 7.1)
T 2 11
flange is semi-compact
80 1  r1 
Fc 824.1  103
Stress ratio, r1    2.01  1 (7.1)
dtp yw 160.8  7.2  355
 r1  1
d 160.8 80  0.88
  22.33   35.2 (Table 7.1)
t 7.2 11
web is plastic
The elastic buckling load factor for the unbraced plane is 7.20 and for the braced plane is greater than 10
so that bucking about member major x-axis is classified as sway and about member minor y-axis as non-
sway.
MOMENT CAPACITY
Moment  pyZx
M cx (8.3)
capacity,
 355 450103
 159.8kNm
M cy  py Z y (8.3)
 35515210 3
 54.0kNm
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For bending about major x-axis For bending about minor y-axis
(Designed as sway-frame) (Designed as non-sway frame)
I I
Beam stiffness  1.0 Beam stiffness  1.0 (Table 6.2)
L L
I 4570 I 1550
K C  K1    15.23 K C  K1    5.17
L 300 L 300
I 41000 I 19500
K11  K12    68.33 K11    48.75
L 600 L 400
15.23  15.23 5.17  5.17
k1   0.18 k1   0.17 (Figure 6.4)
15.23  15.23  68.33  68.33 5.17  5.17  48.75
I 11400 I 3910
K2    38.0 K2    13.03
L 300 L 300
I 41000 I 19500
K 21  K 22    68.33 K 21    48.75
L 600 L 400
15.23  38 5.17  13.03

k2   0.28 k2   0.27 (Figure 6.4)
15.23  38  68.33  68.33 5.17  13.03  48.75
LE  1.15L  1.15 3  3.45m LE  0.57L  0.57  3  1.71m (Figure 6.5)
3450 1710
x   39.1 y   33.3 (Clause 8.7.4)
88.2 51.3
p cx  319.6 N mm 2 p cy  316.7 N mm 2 (Tables 8.7,

8.8)
Pcx  5870  319.6  1876.1kN Pcy  5870  316.7  1859.0kN (8.73)
The cross section capacity check can be carried out as
Fc M My
 x  1 (8.78)
Ag p y M cx M cy
824.1  103 4.1 12.2
   0.65  1 (OK)
355  5870 159.8 54

For bending about major z-axis For bending about minor y-axis
3.9 12.1
   0.95    0.99
4.1 12.2
 m x  0.41  m y  0.40 (Table 8.9)
Buckling check using effective length under sway mode to Equation (8.79)
F c m x M x m y M y 824.1 0.41  4.1 0.40  12.2
      0.54  1 (OK) (8.79)
Pc M cx M cy 1859 159.8 54
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All rights reserved
Buckling check to non-sway mode effective length under amplified moment to Equation (8.80)
Slenderness ratio, x  LE  3000  34.0 (Clause 8.7.4)
rx 88.2
Compressive strength, p c  328.6 N mm 2  p cy (Table 8.8(b))

Compression resistance, Pc  Pcy  1859kN
For sway frame, the P-- amplification factor is given by the larger of:
 cr 7.2
  1.16
 cr  1 7.2  1
1 1
and   1.12
FL 2
824.1  3.452
1  c2 E 1 2
 EI   2.05  4570
For non-sway frame, the P- can be neglected and the P- amplification factor is given by:
1 1
  1.08
2
Fc L E 824.1  1.712 (8.83)
1 2 1 
 EI  2  2.05  1550
Fc mx M x m y M y 824.1 0.41  1.16  4.1 0.40  1.08  12.2

      0.55  1 (OK) (8.80)
Pc M cx M cy 1859 159.8 54
Buckling check to lateral-torsional buckling mode to Equation (8.81)

3.9
   0.95
4.1
 mLT  0.44 (Table 8.4a)
For finding M b ,
Assumed effective length, LE  0.5L  0.5  3  1.5m
Slenderness ratio,   LE  1500  29.2 (8.26)
ry 51.3
1 1
v   0.969
1  0.05 x 
2 0.25
1  0.0529.2 17.7 2 0.25 (8.27)
Z x 450
w    0.905 (8.28)
S x 497
LT  uv w  0.847  0.969  29.2  0.905  22.8 (8.25)
pb  355 N mm 2
(Table 8.3a)
M b  pb Z x  159.8kNm (8.21)
Fc m M my M y 824.1 0.44  1.16  4.1 0.40  12.2

 LT LT      0.55  1
Pcy Mb M cy 1859 159.8 54 (8.81)
(OK)
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All rights reserved
We follow a logic of using either the sway effective length (which is greater than
member length) OR the amplified moment in a single equation check, but not both at a
time.
Using Second-order direct analysis, the section capacity factor is 0.76 with
Fc  820.0kN , M x,max  4.4kNm , M y ,max  18.2kNm
It can be seen that the first-order analysis method has underestimated the amplified
moment about the minor axis by 27.6%. Therefore design using first-order analysis can
lead to an unconservative result.
Copyright 275
All rights reserved
10.6.7 Some selected structures designed by Direct Analysis in practice
The example below demonstrates the design of a space frame without assuming any
effective length. The space frame shown in below has been designed without assuming
any effective length. All expected loadings have been allowed for in the analysis and
design. The figure shows the structure near completion and the computer model.
A slender skeleton supporting membrane designed by second-order direct analysis

without assumption of effective length (courtesy to HK Science and Technology
Parks Corporation)
Copyright 276
All rights reserved
A heavy platform with mobile crane loads
designed by second-order direct analysis w/o effective length
(courtesy to Sun Hung Kai Development Limited)
Copyright 277
All rights reserved
World’s longest single layer roof at MGM, Macau, designed by direct analysis
(courtesy to MGM China Holding Ltd., Siu Yin Wai and Associates Ltd. and
China Steel Construction Ltd.)
Copyright 278
All rights reserved
Chapter 11 References
AISC-LRFD, Specification for Structural Steel Buildings. AISC, Inc., One East Wacker
Driver, Suite 700, Chicago, Illinois 60601-1802, 2016.
BSEN 10034, Structural steel I and H sections – tolerances on shape and dimensions,
BSI, London, 1993.
BSI. Structural Use of Steelwork in Building – Part 1: Code of Practice for Design –
Rolled and Welded Sections, BS5950-1, BSI, London, 2000.
CEN, Eurocode 3, Part 1-1: General Rules and Rules for Building, EN 1993-1-1, British
Standards Institute, London, 2005.
Chan, S.L. and Cho, S.H., “Design of steel frames using calibrated design curves for
buckling strength of hot-rolled members”, Proceedings, “Advances in Steel Structures”,
edited by Chan, Teng and Chung, Elsevier, 2002, Elsevier Science, pp.1193-1199.
Chan, S.L. and Chui, P.P.T. (1997), A generalized design-based elasto-plastic analysis
of steel frames by section assemblage concept, Journal of Engineering Structures,
vol.19, no.8, pp. 628-636.
Chan, S.L. and Zhou, Z.H., Second order analysis of frame using a single imperfect
element per member, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, vol. 121, No. 6, June,
1995, pp.939-945.
Chan, J. L.Y. and Lo., S.H. (2019), “Direct analysis of steel frames with asymmetrical
semi-rigid joints”, Steel and Composite Structures, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2019) 99-112
Chen, W.F. and Chan, S.L., Second Order Inelastic Analysis of Steel Frames using
Element with Mid-span and End Springs, March, Vol.121, No.3, Journal of Structural
Engineering, ASCE, 1995, pp. 530-541.
Code of practice for the structural use of steel, Buildings Department, Hong Kong,
2011. (http://www.bd.gov.hk/english/documents/index_crlist.html)
International Standard ISO 2631-2, Mechanical vibration and shock – Evaluation of
human exposure to whole-body vibration – Part 2, Vibration in buildings (1 Hz to 80
Hz) , 2003.
Li, T.J., Liu, S.W. and Chan, S.L. “Direct analysis for high strength steel frames with
explicit-model of residual stresses”, Engineering Structures, vol. 100, October 2015,
pp.342-355.
NIDA-9, Software for nonlinear analysis and design of frames and shells, version 8,
user’s manual, 2015.
SAI, Steel Structures, AS 4100: 1998 Standards Australia International Ltd. North
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1998.
Trahair, N.S. and Chan, S.L., “Out-of-plane advanced analysis of steel structures”, 25,
Engineering Structures, 2003, pp.1627-1637.
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Handbook for

Code of practice for structural

S.L. Chan, S.S.H. Cho, Y.P. Liu and S.W. Liu

On behalf of the Structural Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, I

Ir Edward CHAN Sai Cheong

In modern steel structural design, computer software is commonly used even

1.2 Scope of this book

Structural elements in a steel structure refer to members designed and

The aim of structural design is to produce a structure of adequate level of safety

As stated in Clause 1.2.1 of HK Code, the explicit aims of structural design

a) Overall Stability against overturning, sliding or global buckling under the

It may be useful to make a reference to the older design philosophy. In contrast

Load and material properties variation

1.4.1 Ultimate limit state

1.4.2 Serviceability limit state

1.4.2.1 Deflection limit state

1.4.2.2 Vibration limit state

1.4.2.3 Human-induced vibration

1.4.2.4 Corrosion and durability

1.4.2.5 Brittle fracture

1.6 Structural integrity and robustness

1.7 Progressive and disproportionate collapse

Progressive collapse refers to failure leading to a sequence of element collapse

Material constitutes a very important component of a steel structure. The HK

Strain at ultimate tensile strength

general necking ductile

Figure 2.1 Stress vs. Strain Relationship for ductile steel

Irrespective of the grade of steel, the Young’s modulus of elasticity, Poisson

E = 205 kN/mm2 (Young’s modulus)

2.2 Grades of steel

2.3 Designation system

New Yield Tensile Charpy V-notch in Old

rc = 0.3py Web

Figure 2.2 Residual stress in a rolled I-section

Figure 2.3 Residual stresses in a welded I-section

Figure 2.4 Idealised residual stress for box sections

Cold straightening is a process of meeting the straightness requirement in codes,

2.5 Chemistry of steel

Carbon (or carbon-manganese) steel is normally referred to as mild steel. Its

In control of weldability of steel in HK Code, the content of chemicals, carbon,

2.7 Resistance to brittle fracture

Steel grade Thickness less than or equal Design strength

2.10 Used steels

3.2 Common types of steel frames

3.3 Typical lateral force resisting systems

A structure can be designed and constructed by using different lateral force

The concept of “simple construction” is to design the structure to be composed

3.3.2 Continuous construction

In continuous construction, the frame is to resist lateral force by moment joints.

3.3.3 Braced frames

3.4 Load sharing

An important process for structural analysis and design is the assumption of

Loads acting on the structural members in a building should be estimated at the

simply supported simply supported

simply supported simply supported

Figure 3.3 Pattern of yield lines of general cases

a) Load path on one-way slab b) Load path on two-way slab

Figure 3.4 Load paths in one-way slab and two-way slab

Figure 3.5 Square floor slab