Compactness and Bracing Recommendations for Equal Leg Single Angle Beams

Currently, the design of single angle members is governed by the Load and Resistance Factor Design Specification for Single Angle Members (AISC, 2000). The provisions in this document are meant to augment the more general design provisions contained in the Load and Resistance Factor Design Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (AISC, 1999). The design provisions contained in the LRFD Specification for Design of Single Angle Members are the result of the best information available at the time of the preparation of the document in the early, to mid, 1990s. In the intervening years, new information about single angle flexural response has accumulated from research efforts aimed at quantifying structural ductility associated with equal leg single angle beams. This new information will be summarized herein and recommendations made for rational enhancements to the LRFD Specification for Design of Single Angle Members.