LRFD Design Office Study

The Proposed Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Criteria were subjected to practical testing in a two-part Design Office Study. Representative steel members were designed using the AISC Specification and using the LRFD Criteria for a range of building types, loads, and spans. The four primary objectives of the Design Office Study were accomplished. For example, some revisions and clarifications were made in the LRFD Criteria. The acceptability of member sizes designed by LRFD was verified. Where differences between AISC and LRFD designs resulted, they could be logically explained. In some cases LRFD Criteria were modified, in others the AISC Specification provisions were in process of revision. Using LRFD in the design office was not a difficult process, even without design aids, which are being developed. Applying LRFD does not require any complicated mathematics. After overcoming the initial hurdle of unfamiliarity, and with the help of design aids, designers will probably soon be using LRFD routinely in their offices.