2005 AISC Manual of Steel Construction and Seismic Manual

Abstract

The steel industry works hard to improve and maintain the art and science of steel design and construction for the structural engineering profession. This is accomplished through the support and tracking of research in steel design, committee deliberations based on design practice and performance, and the ongoing development of design aids and design procedures that appropriately predict the strength and serviceability of modern steel construction. However, since 1989, many designers have been resistant to the idea of giving up their green, 9th edition ASD Manual of Steel Construction. This has been done for a variety of reasons: a perception that little has changed in steel design, a desire to consider steel design in the context of stress rather than strength, or a general comfort level with the book that has been so familiar for so long. While the 9th edition ASD Manual has had a successful life, there are practical and logistical concerns to continuing its use. The shapes listing in the Manual is out of date and does not accurately reflect the dimensional properties of the steel available today. Also, while research findings and safety concerns in the AISC Specification were issued in a supplement to the 1989 ASD Specification, there has been no update to the Manual itself to reflect safety concerns in the Specification. Additionally, AISC’s efforts in the last 15 years have been focused on the production and maintenance of Manuals and design aids using the LRFD method. There has been significant resistance from the industry to move to this more precise method of steel design, despite significant improvement and expansion upon the technology available in them, including more appropriate design procedures for the design of composite beams, beam-column procedures, and a number of other design elements that were not available in the 9th Edition ASD Manual. After decades of running their separate course, ASD and LRFD have been brought together – and made better than ever. The 2005 Manual of Steel Construction is due for release in December 2005, and will be the first unified Manual of Steel Construction since 1978. The 2005 AISC Manual will replace the 9th Edition ASD Manual of Steel Construction, the 3rd Edition LRFD Manual of Steel Construction, and the HSS Connections Manual.