The lateral buckling of a structural steel member is a complex phenomenon affected by section type, slenderness, bending moment magnitude and distribution, load height, restraints and several other factors. This paper describes progress in the development of LATXPERT, an expert system for the design of structural steel beams against lateral buckling. Through its user-friendly format and various explanation facilities, the expert system is able to build the confidence and lateral buckling expertise of the design engineer.

The heart of the system is a knowledge-based diagnosis tool which enables the user to determine if there is likely to be a buckling problem, if a simple solution is available, if a buckling analysis computer program is required, or if specialist advice should be sought. The diagnosis tool is integrated with a database of commercial beams and their section properties, and with analysis programs for cross-section properties and lateral buckling. The use of these analysis programs in an expert system environment provides a new and useful tool for the lateral buckling designer.

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