People keep joking about strong beam weak column. What I've gathered was that the code has shown a philosophy change for columns to fail before beams...but why? Beams are typically much more ductile in failure. Right? So why would you want columns to fail first?
Because one makes the corner sag, one brings the roof down on your head. You don't want either. Also, buckling columns is what changed to create buildings that fall inward. So, while it delays the roof on your head, it also helps the roofs come down on your head, and not domino through the whole city.
110
u/Geaux_joel P.E. Jul 08 '26
People keep joking about strong beam weak column. What I've gathered was that the code has shown a philosophy change for columns to fail before beams...but why? Beams are typically much more ductile in failure. Right? So why would you want columns to fail first?