Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the behaviour and design of steel structural members. Engineering structures are required to support loads and to resist forces, and to transfer these loads and forces to the foundations of the structures. Structures are usually three-dimensional in their extent, but sometimes they are essentially two-dimensional, or even one-dimensional. Solid steel structures invariably include comparatively high volumes of high cost structural steel which are understressed and are uneconomic, except in very small scale components. Structural members may be connected together in a number of ways, and by using a variety of connectors. The book deals with the structural behaviour of steel structures, and the relationships between their behaviour and the methods of proportioning them, particularly in relation to the structural requirements of the Australian Steel Structures Code AS4100.