Applied Plastic Design of Unbraced Multistory Frames

Abstract

Many engineers assume that plastic design is too cumbersome when applied to unbraced multistory frames. Actually, a method exists that enables the average structural engineer to perform a plastic design of unbraced multistory frames easily. It is considered sufficiently accurate for the design of frames of limited height. This paper describes this practical procedure. The method is suitable for the design office, since it can be readily adapted to tabular computations or for a computer.