Professional AISC 360-16 Analysis
Design your structural steel members with confidence using our AISC 360-16 compliant calculator. This tool evaluates member stability, local buckling, and combined interaction ratios for complex loading scenarios.
Core Design Methodology
Our engine implements the Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (AISC 360-16), covering both LRFD (Load and Resistance Factor Design) and ASD (Allowable Strength Design). ASD is often preferred for foundation design and when coordinating with legacy codes, while LRFD provides more uniform reliability and is the modern standard.
The calculator handles geometric classification of sections into Compact, Noncompact, or Slender categories, which is essential for determining bending and compression capacities. The unbraced length (Lb) - the distance between points braced against lateral displacement or twist - is a key input that directly affects bending capacity through Lateral-Torsional Buckling provisions.
Clause Compliance Coverage:
- Chapter D: Tension member yielding and rupture.
- Chapter E: Flexural and Flexural-Torsional buckling for compression members.
- Chapter F: Lateral-Torsional Buckling (LTB) and Flange/Web local buckling for flexure.
- Chapter G: Shear strength of members.
- Chapter H: Combined force interaction for axial force and biaxial bending.
Supported Section Types
Current Limitations
- Tension rupture uses Ae = U × Ag with shear lag factor U per Table D3.1 (I-shapes: 0.85–0.90, angles: 0.80, HSS: 0.75). Actual bolt hole deductions are not applied.
- Single member analysis only — no automatic frame buckling analysis or system-level effects.
- No connection design, no composite construction, and no seismic provisions (AISC 341).
- Effective length factors (K) must be user-specified (default 1.0). Unbraced length is derived from member length and K factor.
- The calculator assumes the default section orientation shown in the preview. Major and minor axis inputs are relative to that orientation. Rotated or sideways mono-symmetric members, such as channels, tees, and angles, should be checked in the FEA workflow.
- Torsion is not an input in the standalone calculator. In the FEA tool, torsion (H3) is checked for closed hollow sections (HSS/CHS) only — warping torsion for open sections is not performed.