The Committee on Design of Steel Building Structures of the Committee
on Metals of the Structural Division of ASCE is engaged in an ongoing
program to study and resolve structural engineering issues faced by th
e designers of steel buildings. The results of this work are being pre
sented to the profession in a series of papers, of which this is the s
econd. The first paper was published in the December 1992 issue of the
Journal of Structural Engineering under the title ''Compendium of Des
ign Office Problems.'' The emphasis is on practical solutions that the
designer can use directly, without further research. Each issue is li
sted separately, with a technical discussion of the problem followed b
y a suggested solution, with references where appropriate. In addition
, topics currently under study are listed, as are subjects identified
by the Committee as needing investigation.