CE 456 

Course Syllabus 

  

 

 

 

 

Fall 2012 

Part I Course Organization

CE 456 Design of Steel Structures

Thursdays | 6:30–9:10 pm

Fall 2012 | Course Syllabus

Prerequisite CE 207 and CE 225 (Corequisite: CE 358)

Professor Mohsen Kargahi, PhD, PE, SECB

Office KAP 203, Office hours 5:30-6:30 pm class days

Telephone (213) 821-2948

E-mail mohsen@usc.edu

► Introduction and Purposes

Structural Steel is one of the most popular materials for construction of buildings, bridges and

other structures. This class is about studying properties of steel, behavior of structural steel

elements, and design procedures for these elements to withstand structural loads. Both

Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) will be introduced to

the students, however LRFD procedures will be used throughout the class. Tension members,

compression members, flexural members, and finally members subject to combined bending and

axial load will be studied. In addition, simple and eccentric steel connections will be discussed.

As a result of taking the course,

a. The students will have an understanding of the behavior of steel elements under

structural loading;

b. Will be familiar with AISC-LRFD steel design procedures;

c. Will be able to design primary steel structural elements of a building and their

connections.

► Textbooks

1. STEEL DESIGN, William T. Segui, Cengage Learning, 5th

Edition, 2013 (ISBN-10: 1-111-57600-9,

ISBN-13: 978-1-111-57600-4)

2. STEEL CONSTRUCTION MANUAL, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), 14th

Edition,

2011 (ISBN 1-56424-060-6)

► Course Requirements and Grades

1. Weekly homework assignments will represent 15% of the grade, one mid-term exam will

represent 25%, and a comprehensive final exam will account for 40% of the grade. The

remaining 20% will be represented by a design project.

2. The subject of homework assignments will be the concepts and procedures introduced in the

preceding class. All homework problems are due one week after they are assigned. Weekly

assignments must be submitted at the beginning of the class in which they are due. Late

assignments will be accepted under special circumstances with prior authorization.

CE 456 | Fall 2012 P a g e | 2

3. The exams will be open book and open text and are intended to test students on the subject

matter in limited time frames.

4. The design project will be an individual one and involves designing steel structural elements

of a small building.

► Class Sessions/Course Readings/Homework

Minor changes may occur due to change in the instruction pace

CE 456 - Fall 2012 Class Date Topic Reading (Text #1) Homework Assigned

(Text #1)

1 30-Aug-12 Introduction, Material Properties,

Design Process

Chapters 1 and 2 1.5-1 1.5-3

2-3 2-5

2 6-Sep-12 Tension Members: Strength, Effective

Area, Staggered Bolts, Block Shear

Chapter 3: 3.1 to 3.5 3.2-3 (a) 3.3-5

3.4-1 3.5-5 (a)

3 13-Sep-12 Tension Members: Design, Misc. Topics

Compression Members: Introduction,

Column Theory

Chapter 3: 3.6 to 3.9

Chapter 4: 4.1 to 4.2

3.6-2 (a) 3.6-6

3.7-5 (a) 3.8-2

4 20-Sep-12 Compression Members: Strength, Local

Stability, Effective Length

Chapter 4: 4.3 to 4.5

and 4.7

4.3-1 4.3-5 (LRFD)

4.7-3 (a) 4.7-11

5 27-Sep-12 Compression Members: Design,

Buckling Modes, Misc. Topics

Chapter 4: 4.6, 4.8, and

4.9

4.6-2 (LRFD) 4.6-7

4.8-1 4.9-5

6 4-Oct-12 Beams: Introduction, Elastic and Plastic

Moments, Strength of Compact

Shapes, Strength of Noncompact

Shapes

Chapter 5: 5.1 to 5.7 5.5-3 (a) 5.5-7

5.5-11 (b) 5.6-1 (a)

7 11-Oct-12 Beams: Shear Strength, Deflections,

Design

Chapter 5: 5.8 to 5.10 5.8-1 5.8-3 (a)

5.10-3 (a) 5.10-6 (a)

8 18-Oct-12 Review, Midterm Exam

9 25-Oct-12 Beam-Columns: Introduction,

Interaction, Moment Amplification,

Members in Braced Frames

Chapter 6: 6.1 to 6.6 6.2-1 (a) 6.6-1 (a)

6.6-5 (a) 6.6-7 (a)

10 1-Oct-12 Beam-Columns: Members in Unbraced

Frames, Design

Simple Connections: Introduction

Chapter 6: 6.7 and 6.8

Chapter 7: 7.1

6.7-1 6.8-2

6.8-5 (a) 6.8-8

11 8-Nov-12 Simple Connections: Bolts, Bolted

Connections, Design

Chapter 7: 7.2 to 7.9 7.4-3 (a) 7.6-1 (a)

7.7-3 (a) 7.9-3 (a)

12 15-Nov-12 Simple Connections: Weld, Welded

Connections, Design

Eccentric Connections: Introduction

Chapter 7: 7.10 and

7.11

Chapter 8: 8.1

7.11-1 (a) 7.11-3 (a)

7.11-6 (a) 7.11-8

22-Nov-12 Thanksgiving Holiday

13 29-Nov-12 Eccentric Connections: Eccentric

Bolted Connections, Eccentric Welded

Connections

Project Discussion

Chapter 8: 8.2 to 8.5 8.2-9 (a) 8.3-3 (a)

8.4-5 (a) 8.5-5 (LRFD)

14 6-Dec-12 Review, Course Evaluation, Project Due

15 13-Dec-12 Final Exam

CE 456 | Fall 2012 P a g e | 3

► Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register

with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved

accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early

in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday

through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

► Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty

include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that

individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations

both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using

another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these

principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code and can be

found at:

http://web-app.usc.edu/scampus/university-student-conduct-code/

Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for

further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be

found at:

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/

Part II Detailed Course Objectives

CE 456  Design of Steel Structures                   USC | SONNY ASTANI DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 

3 Units

Page 1

ABET Course Syllabus Course Information, Textbook, and Supplementary Materials

Course Description: Fundamentals of analysis and design of steel structures; structural elements; simple and eccentric connections; design project.

Required for BSCE General, Structural and Building Science

Prerequisites: CE 207L Introduction to Design of Structural Systems CE 225 Mechanics of Deformable Bodies

Co-Requisite: CE 358 Theory of Structures I

Required Textbook: William T. Segui, “LRFD Steel Design,” 3rd Edition, PWS Publishing

Reference: AISC, “Manual of Steel Construction, LRFD,” Third Edition

Topics Covered Learning Outcomes

Design of tension members for ultimate loads

The student will be able to do the following: 1. Understand the limit states for members subjected to tension loads. 2. Evaluate the effective cross sectional area of a tension member. 3. Understand the concept of block shear failure.

Design of compression members for ultimate loads

4. Understand basic column theory and concept of effective length. 5. Estimate the effective length of columns in frame. 6. Understand the concept of overall buckling and local buckling. 7. Design columns for axial compression.

Design of beams for flexure and shear

8. Understand basic flexural theory, concept of plastic moment capacity.

9. Understand the limit states for flexural members and concept of compact section.

10. Design for flexure including local buckling and lateral torsion buckling.

11. Design beams for shear. 12. Design members for combined axial load and bending.

Design simple connections

13. Understand the mechanical properties of bolts and welding procedures.

14. Design simple bolted and welded connections.

Lecture and Lab Schedule

Lecture Lab

Sessions per Week Duration per Session Sessions per Week Duration per Session

1 3 hours n/a

CE 456  Design of Steel Structures                   USC | SONNY ASTANI DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 

3 Units

Page 2

Contribution of Course to Meeting the Professional Component

Engineering Topics | Design

Students will understand the design process and learn approaches used to solve various engineering problems that are representative of those found in a professional environment. They will practice decision-making skills as they apply their knowledge of basic sciences, mathematics, and the engineering sciences to convert resources optimally to meet the stated needs of a project.

Engineering Topics | Other

Constraints and Considerations. Students will understand the diverse constraints and considerations that are representative of what they will encounter in an engineering practice.

Although this course bridges all of the subjects

Economic | Environmental | Sustainability | Manufacturability1 | Social | Energy

1) Most of the emphasis is on manufacturability.

Relation of Course Objectives to Program Outcomes Course Contribution to Program Outcomes (a-k)

Key

The Civil Engineering program is designed to teach beyond the technical content of the curriculum and prepare the students to utilize what they learn in a professional setting.

This course contributes to the program outcomes as outlined in the adjacent table.

a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.

c. An ability to design a system component or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability.

e. An ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems.

f. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.

g. An ability to communicate effectively

k. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

Prepared by:    Dr. Mohsen Kargahi 

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Date: Fall 2012