This book summarizes the recent progress in practical analysis for semi-rigid frame design in North America. This encompasses codes, databases, modeling, classification, analysis/design, and design tables and aids. Practical design methods include LRFD procedures, approximate procedures, computer-based procedures and the optimization process. The book can be used as a supplementary steel design textbook for graduate students, as a training book for a short course in steel design for practicing engineers, and as a reference book for consulting firms designing building structures.

In our world of seemingly unlimited computing, numerous analytical approaches to the estimation of stress, strain, and displacement-including analytical, numerical, physical, and analog techniques-have greatly advanced the practice of engineering. Combining theory and experimentation, computer simulation has emerged as a third path for engineering

LRFD Steel Design Using Advanced Analysis uses practical advanced analysis to produce almost identical member sizes to those of the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method. The main advantage of the advanced analysis method is that tedious and sometimes confusing separate member capacity checks encompassed by the AISC-LRFD specification equations are not necessary. Advanced analysis can sufficiently capture the limit state strength and stability of a structural system and its individual member directly. While the use of elastic analysis is still the norm in engineering practice, a new generation of codes is expected to adopt the advanced analysis methodology in the near future, leading to significant savings in design effort. In recent years, the continued rapid development in computer hardware and software, coupled with an increased understanding of structural behavior, has made it feasible to adopt the advanced analysis techniques for design office use. Drs. Chen and Kim, both experienced and respected engineers, contribute their expertise to this text, which is intended for both the graduate student and the practicing engineer. Previous knowledge of the subject is not necessary, but familiarity with methods of elastic analysis and conventional LRFD design is expected. The advanced analysis in the book is presented in a practical and simple manner, with attention directed to both analysis and design, emphasizing the direct use of the methods in engineering practice. This is a great introduction to an exciting new trend in structural engineering!

Dr Wai-Fah Chen — a Chinese-born American academic and widely recognized structural engineering specialist in the field of mechanics, materials, and computing — has certainly led a fascinating life. A well-respected leader in the field of plasticity, structural stability, and structural steel design over the past half-century, he has made major contributions to introduce the mathematical theory of plasticity to civil engineering practice, especially in the application of limit analysis methods to the geotechnical engineering field. Having headed the engineering departments at the University of Hawaii and Purdue University, Chen is a widely cited author and the recipient of several national engineering awards, including the 1990 Shortridge Hardesty Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers and the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction.This book traces the life journey and reflections of Dr Chen. It presents a remarkable opportunity to understand his personal history and cultural passions: his struggle to achieve the American dream, his life as an eyewitness to the rise of China, and his career path to establish a solid engineering reputation. Presenting his scientific achievements spanning the last 40 years of his career, readers will thus be privy to his personal thoughts, experiences, and perspectives on these events.

Stability Design of Steel Frames provides a summary of the behavior, analysis and design of structural steel members and frames with flexibly-jointed connections. The book presents the theory and design of structural stability and includes extensions of computer-based analyses for individual members in space with imperfections. It also shows how connection flexibility influences the behavior and design of steel frames and how designers must consider this in a limit-state analysis and design procedure. The clearly written text and extensive bibliography make this a practical book for advanced students, researchers and professionals in civil and structural engineering, as well as a useful supplement to traditional books on the theory and design of structural stability.

This book is a personal anthology of the author's utmost academic works and accomplishments with his former students and colleagues intended as an enduring record for the engineering community for many years to come.The author's forty-year professional career and academic life journey is first briefly sketched in Chapter 1 and more details are elaborated in three chapters that follow: Chapter 2: The first ten years at Lehigh — beginning to show; Chapter 3: Twenty=three years at Purdue — the highly productive years; and Chapter 4: seven years at UH — the pursuit of excellence. The author's specific academic contributions are documented in the following three chapters: Chapter 5: 23 academic bulletins are selected to highlight his 10 major research areas; Chapter 6: 23 Academic masterpiece books are listed along with their respective peer review comments; and Chapter 7: academic publications include journal articles, conference proceedings and symposiums, and lectures and keynotes. The book ends with the listing of all the author's 55 doctoral students' dissertation titles in Chapter 8.In 1975 at Lehigh, the author published a milestone treatise on Limit Analysis and Soil Plasticity. In 1982 at Purdue, he published another pioneering work on Plasticity in Reinforced Concrete.In September 1999, the author was recruited by UH to take the Deanship of the College of Engineering to accomplish the noble mission: to build the College to become one of the top 50 engineering schools by strengthening the faculty, improving the facilities, and increasing the enrollment. Over his seven years at UH, a lot of progress was made in all these three areas — the research program expanded, facilities improved, and enrollment increased.

Semi-rigid steel frames are revolutionizing structural design. This book is a practical professional reference, covering analytical methods for the evaluation of connection flexibility and its influence on the stability of the entire framework. The methods range from a simplified member-by-member design approach to a more sophisticated computer-based advanced analysis and design approach.