ABSTRACT
Members designed to carry primarily axial forces are found in steel railway bridges as truss members [chords, vertical members (hangers and posts), and diagonal members (webmembers and end posts)], span and tower bracingmembers, steel tower columns, spandrel columns in arches, knee braces, and struts. These members may be in axial tension, compression, or both (due to stress reversal from moving train and wind loads) and must be designed considering yield strength and serviceability criteria. Members in axial tension must also be designed for the fatigue and fracture limit states, and members in compression must also resist instability. Furthermore, some axial tension and compression members are subjected to additional stresses due to flexure∗ and must be designed for these combined stresses (see Chapter 8).
