Plastic Design of Multi-Story Buildings—A Progress Report

At the AISC National Engineering Conference held in Omaha, Nebr., in May, 1964, the beginnings of Lehigh Universitys research on plastic design of multi-story frames were reported. This paper is a progress report on work which has continued since that time. The 1963 AISC Specification recommends plastic design for low buildings using ASTM A7 and A36 steels. It also permits the use of plastic design for continuous beams in multi-story buildings which are fully braced against sway. Now research is underway in the Civil Engineering Department at Lehigh University to extend plastic design to buildings using high-strength steels and to all members inmulti-story frames, whether they are braced or without bracing.