About the author ⁄ James O. Malley, S.E., P.E., SECB

James O. Malley is a Senior Principal at Degenkolb Engineers and NCSEA Past President (malley@degenkolb.com).

Peer Review in SE Practice

Assisting in Innovation, Development, and Progress

Over the last three decades, structural design standards have clearly grown more prescriptive and complex. Some engineers argue that this has stifled structural engineering innovation. While this may be true to some extent, our codes and standards have always left the door open for engineers to design structures that do not fully meet the letter of the prescriptive codes and standards via demonstrating equivalent performance. In fact, ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, and the International Building Code (IBC) both now have specifically recognized performance-based design procedures (see Section 1.3.1.3 of ASCE 7-16, e.g.).

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May, 2022 By James O. Malley, S.E., P.E., SECB In InSights Comments 0

Welded Steel Moment Resisting Frames

The Earthquake-Resisting System that Surprised the Profession

This is one of a series describing surprising lessons engineers have learned from earthquakes and, in particular, the January 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake. Engineers have been learning from earthquakes for more than 100 years by observing the patterns of damage earthquakes have caused in the built environment. Sometimes, things only partly true were part of the lesson, discovering the mistake only after a later earthquake causes unexpected damage. Such was indeed the case with steel moment frame structures and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. …

Feb, 2019 By Ronald O. Hamburger, S.E. SECB and James O. Malley, S.E., P.E., SECB In Northridge – 25 Years Later Comments 0

Unanticipated Stresses and the Welded Flange Plate Moment Connection

(STRUCTURE magazine, August 2018, by Sompandh Wanant)

The August 2018 STRUCTURE article, Unanticipated Stresses and the Welded Flange Plate Moment Connection, presents information and opinions on welded steel moment connections and more specifically on connections in the standard ANSI/AISC 358-16, Prequalified Connections for Special and Intermediate Steel Moment Frames for Seismic Applications. Some of the information in this article may be potentially misleading, particularly regarding statements made on vertical beam shear distribution and weld shrinkage residual stresses. These issues are addressed below. …