The EC3 approach to the design of columns, beams and beam-columns

Procedures given in Eurocode 3 Part 1.1 (EN 1993-1-1) for design of the main types of structural member under given systems of loading are presented and described. Whereas some of these e.g. the procedure for axially loaded columns, are little changed from the early concept that appeared more than 25 years ago in the European Recommendations and have subsequently been adopted in many other steel codes of the world, others such as the interaction formulae for beam-columns are new, with aspects of the provisions still under development. For each type of member the basis of the procedure is described and some comparative comments made.