STRUCTURAL

STEEL
DESIGNER’S
HANDBOOK

Roger L. Brockenbrough Editor

R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Frederick S. Merritt Editor

Late Consulting Engineer, West Palm Beach, Florida

Third Edition

McGRAW-HILL, INC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Structural steel designer’s handbook / Roger L. Brockenbrough, editor,

Frederick S. Merritt, editor.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-07-008782-2
1. Building, Iron and steel. 2. Steel, Structural.
I. Brockenbrough, R. L. II. Merritt, Frederick S.
TA684.S79 1994
624.1⬘821—dc20 93-38088
CIP

Copyright  1999, 1994, 1972 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United
States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced
or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or
retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC / DOC 9 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

ISBN 0-07-008782-2

The sponsoring editor for this book was Larry S. Hager, the editing
supervisor was Steven Melvin, and the production supervisor was Sherri
Souffrance. It was set in Times Roman by Pro-Image Corporation.

Printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Information contained in this work has been obtained by Mc-

Graw-Hill, Inc. from sources believed to be reliable. However,
neither McGraw-Hill nor its authors guarantees the accuracy or
completeness of any information published herein and neither Mc-
Graw-Hill nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors,
omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This
work is published with the understanding that McGraw-Hill and
its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to
render engineering or other professional services. If such services
are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should
be sought.
Other McGraw-Hill Book Edited by Roger L. Brockenbrough

Brockenbrough & Boedecker • HIGHWAY ENGINEERING HANDBOOK

Other McGraw-Hill Books Edited by Frederick S. Merritt

Merritt • STANDARD HANDBOOK FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS

Merritt & Ricketts • BUILDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK

Other McGraw-Hill Books of Interest

Beall • MASONRY DESIGN AND DETAILING

Breyer • DESIGN OF WOOD STRUCTURES
Brown • FOUNDATION BEHAVIOR AND REPAIR
Faherty & Williamson • WOOD ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK
Gaylord & Gaylord • STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING HANDBOOK
Harris • NOISE CONTROL IN BUILDINGS
Kubal • WATERPROOFING THE BUILDING ENVELOPE
Newman • STANDARD HANDBOOK OF STRUCTURAL DETAILS FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Sharp • BEHAVIOR AND DESIGN OF ALUMINUM STRUCTURES
Waddell & Dobrowolski • CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK
 CONTRIBUTORS

Boring, Delbert F., P.E. Senior Director, Construction Market, American Iron and Steel
Institute, Washington, D.C. (SECTION 6 BUILDING DESIGN CRITERIA)
Brockenbrough, Roger L., P.E. R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania (SECTION 1 PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEELS AND EFFECTS OF STEELMAKING AND
FABRICATION; SECTION 10 COLD-FORMED STEEL DESIGN)

Cuoco, Daniel A., P.E. Principal, LZA Technology/Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers, New York,
New York (SECTION 8 FLOOR AND ROOF SYSTEMS)
Cundiff, Harry B., P.E. HBC Consulting Service Corp., Atlanta, Georgia (SECTION 11 DESIGN
CRITERIA FOR BRIDGES)

Geschwindner, Louis F., P.E. Professor of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State

University, University Park, Pennsylvania (SECTION 4 ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL STRUCTURES)
Haris, Ali A. K., P.E. President, Haris Enggineering, Inc., Overland Park, Kansas (SECTION
7 DESIGN OF BUILDING MEMBERS)

Hedgren, Arthur W. Jr., P.E. Senior Vice President, HDR Engineering, Inc., Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania (SECTION 14 ARCH BRIDGES)
Hedefine, Alfred, P.E. Former President, Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Inc.,
New York, New York (SECTION 12 BEAM AND GIRDER BRIDGES)
Kane, T., P.E. Cives Steel Company, Roswell, Georgia (SECTION 5 CONNECTIONS)
Kulicki, John M., P.E. President and Chief Engineer, Modjeski and Masters, Inc., Harris-
burg, Pennsylvania (SECTION 13 TRUSS BRIDGES)
LaBoube, R. A., P.E. Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Missouri-Rolla,
Rolla, Missouri (SECTION 6 BUILDING DESIGN CRITERIA)
LeRoy, David H., P.E. Vice President, Modjeski and Masters, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
(SECTION 13 TRUSS BRIDGES)
Mertz, Dennis, P.E. Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Delaware, New-
ark, Delaware (SECTION 11 DESIGN CRITERIA FOR BRIDGES)
Nickerson, Robert L., P.E. Consultant-NBE, Ltd., Hempstead, Maryland (SECTION 11 DESIGN
CRITERIA FOR BRIDGES)

Podolny, Walter, Jr., P.E. Senior Structural Engineer Bridge Division, Office of Bridge
Technology, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washing-
ton, D. C. (SECTION 15 CABLE-SUSPENDED BRIDGES)
Prickett, Joseph E., P.E. Senior Associate, Modjeski and Masters, Inc., Harrisburg, Penn-
sylvania (SECTION 13 TRUSS BRIDGES)

xv
xvi CONTRIBUTORS

Roeder, Charles W., P.E. Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington (SECTION 9 LATERAL-FORCE DESIGN)
Schflaly, Thomas, Director, Fabricating & Standards, American Institute of Steel Construc-
tion, Inc., Chicago, Illinois (SECTION 2 FABRICATION AND ERECTION)
Sen, Mahir, P.E. Professional Associate, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey
(SECTION 12 BEAM AND GIRDER BRIDGES)
Swindlehurst, John, P.E. Former Senior Professional Associate, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.,
West Trenton, New Jersey (SECTION 12 BEAM AND GIRDER BRIDGES)
Thornton, William A., P.E. Chief Engineer, Cives Steel Company, Roswell, Georgia (SEC-
TION 5 CONNECTIONS)

Ziemian, Ronald D., Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Bucknell University, Lew-
isburg, Pennsylvania (SECTION 3 GENERAL STRUCTURAL THEORY)
 FACTORS FOR
CONVERSION TO
SI UNITS OF
MEASUREMENT

TO CONVERT FROM TO
QUANTITY MULTIPLY BY
CUSTOMARY U.S. UNIT METRIC UNIT

Length inch mm 25.4

foot mm 304.8

Mass lb kg 0.45359

Mass/unit length plf kg/m 1.488 16

Mass/unit area psf kg/m2 4.882 43

Mass density pcf kg/m3 16.018 5

Force pound N 4.448 22

kip N 4448.22
kip kN 4.448 22

Force/unit length klf N/mm 14.593 9

klf kN/m 14.593 9

Stress ksi MPa 6.894 76

psi kPa 6.894 76

Bending Moment foot-kips N-mm 1 355 817

foot-kips kN-m 1.355 817

Moment of inertia in4 mm4 416 231

Section modulus in3 mm3 16 387.064

xxi