Design standards provide little information for the design of I-shaped steel beams not loaded through the shear centre and therefore subjected to combined flexure and torsion. In particular, methods for determining the ultimate capacity, as is required in limit states design standards, are not presented. The literature on elastic analysis is extensive, but only limited experimental and analytical work has been conducted in the inelastic region. No comprehensive design procedures, applicable to limit states design standards, have been developed.From four tests conducted on cantilever beams, with varying moment–torque ratios, it is established that the torsional behaviour has two distinct phases, with the second dominated by second-order geometric effects. This second phase is nonutilizable because the added torsional restraint developed is path dependent and, if deflections had been restricted, would not have been significant. Based on the first-phase behaviour, a normal and shearing stress distribution on the cross section is proposed. From this, a moment–torque ultimate strength interaction diagram is developed, applicable to a number of different end and loading conditions. This ultimate limit state interaction diagram and serviceability limit states, based on first yield and on distortion limitations, provide a comprehensive design approach for these members. Key words: beams, bending moment, flexure, inelastic, interaction diagram, I-shaped, limit states, serviceability, steel, torsion, torque, ultimate.
Generic design standards processing in an expert system environment