The design philosophy and procedural logistics are based on the principles of elastic analysis and ultimate limit state design. Two major failure modes are recognized:

• failure by overstressing
• failure by stability considerations

The following sections describe the salient features of the design approach. Members are proportioned to resist the design loads without exceeding the characteristic stresses or capacities. Member selection is done on the basis of selecting the most economic section on the basis of the least weight criteria. It is generally assumed that you (the engineer) will take care of the detailing requirements, such as the provision of stiffeners, and check the local effects like flange buckling, web crippling, etc.

You are allowed complete control over the design process through the use of the parameters listed in D5.C.6 Design Parameters. Default values of parameters will yield reasonable results in most circumstances. However, you should control the design and verify results through the use of the design parameters.