The Direct Method in Steel

Marvin Liebler, PE

Course Outline

1.        Introduction
2.        Selection of Loads to  International Building Code
3.        Load and Resistance Factors Design
4.        1st Order Elastic Analysis

4.1       2D Beam Stiffness Matrix
4.2       Shear Displacements
4.3       Semi-Rigid Connections
4.4       Fixed End Forces – Loads within Nodes
4.5       Fixed End Forces – Temperature Change
4.6       Frame Analysis
4.7       Support Displacements
4.8       Resulting Internal Forces

5.        2nd Order Elastic Analysis

5.1       Introduction
5.2       General Beam-Column Analysis
5.2.1     No Axial Load
5.2.2     Axial Compressive Load Included
5.3       Cantilever Beam-Column
5.4       Solution by Repeated Approximations
5.5       Frame Analysis

6.        Further Considerations

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will learn:

• Overview of direct design procedure;
• Determination of structure loads;
• Load and resistance factor design to AISC code;
• Description of basic 2d beam stiffness matrix;
• Calculation of matrix entries;
• Find shear matrix coefficients;
• Explanation of semi-rigis end connections;
• Overview of fixed end forces (f.e.f.);
• Uniform load f.e.f.;
• Point load f.e.f.;
• Temperature change f.e.f;
• 1st order frame analysis;
• Support displacements;
• Developed force internal to beam;
• P-Δ and P-δ effects;
• General beam-column 2nd order analysis;
• Cantillever beam 2nd order analysis;
• Solution by repeated approximations;
• 2nd order frame analysis;
• Modeling geometric imperfections; and
• Seventeen (17) illustrative examples.

Intended Audience

Structural engineers
Structural designers
Architects
Code review officers

Benefit to Attendees

The student will have a working knowledge of the direct method, the analysis tool of the future.

Course Introduction

The new direct method of stability analysis is presented in detail and in the order an engineer uses after selection of the
Frame under investigation, namely :

(1)  Selection of loads
(2)  Load factor design
(3)  2nd order analysis

Course Content

In this lesson, you are required to download and study the following course content in PDF format:

The Direct Method in Steel

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

The course provides sufficient explanations and procedures to enable the student to use the direct method in steel to address the design of steel structures for stability.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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