Alternative Approaches for Elastic Analysis and Design of Steel Frames. II: Verification Studies

Two methods for elastic analysis and design of steel framing systems, an American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) load and resistance factor design (LRFD) based notional load approach and a modified elastic approach, are outlined in Part I. These approaches capture the physical behavior of sway frames more faithfully than present AISC methods and eliminate the need to calculate column buckling loads or effective length factors. In this paper, the results from a comprehensive set of benchmark studies are summarized to establish the accuracy and validity of these two approaches for evaluation of the maximum strength of steel framing members and systems. Comparisons are made to results from rigorous distributed plasticity analyses.