Steel Design

Eagle Eye apps used in this course

Multiple Steel Beams

Design all steel beams in a project at once, across every load combination.

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Multiple Steel Columns

Design all steel columns in a project at once, across every load combination.

Open

Steel Beam

Check a single steel beam against its governing forces.

Open

Steel Column

Check a single steel column against its governing forces.

Open

Steel Strut

Check steel truss members under axial tension and compression.

Open

Steel Section

Check a single steel cross-section against applied forces.

Open

Truss 2D Analysis

Analyze 2D trusses for axial member forces, stresses, and deflections.

Open

Learning resources in this package

Lecture Slides

The complete set of slides used to teach this course.

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Solved Examples

Step-by-step worked examples from input to final results.

Coming soon

Animations

Concepts explained through clear, visual animations.

Coming soon

Course Tutorial Videos

Video walkthroughs and tutorials for every lesson.

Coming soon

Validation

Validation examples confirming accuracy against benchmarks.

Coming soon

Steel design asks students to hold many limit states in mind at once, and by hand there is rarely time to show how the governing one changes as the member changes. The Eagle Eye apps carry the code checks, so class time can go to the behavior: which limit state governs, when it stops governing, and what the designer can do about it, with every result checkable against a manual solution.

In the classroom

• The unbraced length of one beam can be increased step by step, and the class watches the governing limit state move from yielding to lateral-torsional buckling, with the capacity curve on screen.
• Standard sections and their nomenclature can be compared across codes and standards using real section libraries rather than a single textbook table.
• The effective length of a compression member can be changed during the lecture, connecting the slenderness ratio to the reduction in capacity.
• A complete roof truss can be analyzed and its members then checked as struts under tension and compression, moving from system analysis to member design in one exercise.

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Understand standard steel sections and their nomenclature in the major building codes and steel standards.
2. Visualize how the choice of building code, material and cross-sectional properties, and applied actions affect the integrated design of steel beams under flexural, shear, and torsional actions.
3. Interactively investigate the adequacy of an existing steel design and its variations.
4. Perform quick what-if analysis for the important parameters governing the design of steel beams and columns.
5. Plot trends of design outputs across input ranges to support informed decisions in design and rehabilitation projects.
6. Explore optimization approaches for cost-effective design of steel beams and columns.
7. Effectively communicate design choices and results using design reports.

Topics covered