Introduction - The Behaviour and Design of Steel Structures to EC3 - page 3

(b) Compression
member

(c) Beam

(a) Tension member

(d) Beam-column (e) Torsion member (f) Plate

Figure 1.3 Load transmission by structural members.

This topic dealschieflywithsteelframestructurescomposedofone-dimensional
members, but much of the information given is also relevant to plate structures.
Themembersaregenerallyassumedtobehot-rolledorfabricatedfromhot-rolled
elements,whiletheframesconsideredarethoseusedinbuildings.However,much
ofthematerialpresentedisalsorelevanttobridgestructures[2,3],andtostructural
members cold-formed from light-gauge steel plates [4-7].
Thepurposesofthischapterarefirst,toconsiderthecompletedesignprocessand
the relationships between the behaviour and analysis of steel structures and their
structuraldesign,andsecond,topresentinformationofageneralnature(including
information on material properties and structural loads) which is required for use
in the later chapters. The nature of the design process is discussed first, and then
brief summaries are made of the relevant material properties of structural steel
and of the structural behaviour of members and frames. The loads acting on the
structures are considered, and the choice of appropriate methods of analysing the
steelstructuresisdiscussed.Finally,theconsiderationsgoverningthesynthesisof
an understanding of the structural behaviour with the results of analysis to form
the design processes of EC3 [8] are treated.

1.2 Design

1.2.1 Design requirements

The principal design requirement of a structure is that it should be effective; that
is,itshouldfulfiltheobjectivesandsatisfytheneedsforwhichitwascreated.The