ABSTRACT
Bending members make up the majority of steel elements in a structure. For every column there are numerous beams and girders. A key goal of the structural engineer is to reduce the total weight of steel while providing adequate strength and stiffness. In this chapter, we learn how to do this.
We first look at lateral torsional buckling, where the beam rolls over in the middle, if unbraced. We next look at equations for inelastic yielding, and different ranges of buckling. This takes us to a discussion on deflection calculations and limits. The chapter ends by discussing detailing, and provides a detailed example of a floor beam.
