Steel Channel Design
Bending, shear and buckling checks for hot-rolled channel (C and MC) sections per AISC 360-16 (LRFD). Pick a channel and grade, set the unbraced length, Cb and factored demands, and read major/minor flexure with the channel c-factor, shear, flexural-torsional compression buckling, deflection and every governing limit state — with the design-moment vs unbraced-length curve. US units (kips, kip·ft, ksi, in).
Classification Table B4.1b
| Flange bf/tf | 5.9 | compact (λp 10.8 · λr 28.4) |
| Web h/tw | 36.3 | compact (λp 106.7 · λr 161.8) |
| Overall | compact | b = full bf (channel) |
Flexure (major) Ch. F2/F3
| Mp = Zx·Fy | 76.8 kip·ft | |
| c (F2-8b) | 1.067 | (ho/2)√(Iy/Cw) |
| Lp · Lr | 3.32 · 12.14 ft | |
| Governing | Inelastic LTB (F2-2) | |
| φMn | 63.7 kip·ft | φb = 0.90 |
| Demand Mu | 50.0 kip·ft |
Shear Ch. G2.1(b)
| Aw = d·tw | 3.38 in² | Cv1 = 1.00, φv = 0.90 (G2.1b) |
| Vn = 0.6FyAwCv1 | 73.1 kips | |
| φVn | 65.8 kips | φv = 0.90 |
| Demand Vu | 20.0 kips |
Compression Ch. E3 / E4
| Fey (weak, E3) | 12.6 ksi | |
| Fe-FTB (E4) | 42.6 ksi | Fex ↔ Fez |
| Fcr · Ae | 11.07 ksi · 6.08 in² | Flexural buckling about y (E3) |
| φPn | 60.6 kips | φc = 0.90 |
| Demand Pu | 0.0 kips |
Flexure (minor) Ch. F6
| φMny | 7.43 kip·ft | Yielding, Mp (F6) |
| Demand Muy | 0.00 kip·ft |
Deflection SLS
| δ (service) | 0.30 in | 5wL⁴/384EI |
| Limit L/ | 360 = 0.50 in | |
| Span / δ | 591 | ≥ 360 |
Design moment vs unbraced length Ch. F2 · LTB (channel c)
AISC 360-16 (LRFD). Hot-rolled C and MC channels — major-axis flexure / lateral-torsional buckling (Ch. F2 with the channel c = (ho/2)√(Iy/Cw)), minor-axis flexure (F6), shear (G2.1(b), φv = 0.90), elastic serviceability deflection, and axial compression with flexural (E3) and flexural-torsional (E4) buckling, with the E7 slender-element reduction and the H1-1 combined axial + flexure interaction. Channel flanges use b = full bf; the AISC-tabulated h/tw, ro and H are used for classification, shear, E4 and E7. Web local yielding/crippling and connection design are not included — verify independently. A licensed P.E. review remains required.