Economic aspect of square hollow section in the design of multi-storey unbraced steel frame

The use of structural hollow sections as column members exhibits a number of advantages as compared with other open sections in terms of structural efficiency, robustness and aesthetic appeal. In this study, the square hollow section is chosen as column member to design the semi-rigid multi-storey unbraced steel frame. Structural design was conducted by selecting the optimum steel section for the vertical and horizontal members of the steel frames. The selection was carried out in such a way that the behaviour and performance of the structure is within the limitations in accordance with Eurocode 3. This study compares the design in an unbraced plane frame. The steel weight of each plane frame was calculated and the economic aspect by using square hollow section was investigated. The study concluded that steel weight savings can be achieved by using square hollow section with savings ranging from 12 to 34%.