Evaluation of web compactness limits for singly and doubly symmetric steel I-girders

The origins of the AASHTO [AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 3rd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 2003 [in press]; AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): AASHTO; 1998 [with 2001 interims]] web compactness limits are presented along with a performance evaluation of these equations. Specifically, resulting moment capacities from a comprehensive suite of finite element analyses are compared to the capacities that the respective limits are intended to provide. Results indicate the AASHTO (2003) web compactness provisions provide a more accurate representation of girder strength than those in the AASHTO (2001) and AISC (1999) Specifications.