AISC Releases Updated Design Guide for Composite Column Design

August 14, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO -The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) has updated Design Guide 6, the steel industry's cornerstone reference for designing steel-concrete composite columns.

The new edition of Composite Column Design (formerly Load and Resistance Factor Design of W-Shapes Encased in Concrete) adds guidance for square, rectangular, and round filled composite columns, all reflecting the modern requirements from the 2022 AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings. The updates also include the latest guidance for encased composite columns and designing connections to composite columns. A new spreadsheet-based tool can help designers calculate available axial, flexural, and shear strengths of composite members.

"Composite steel-concrete columns remain a fixture of the built environment, and it's very important that designers stay up-to-date on best practices," said AISC Vice President of Engineering and Research Christopher H. Raebel, SE, PE, PhD. "This updated design guide is an easy one-stop shop developed specifically to help engineers do precisely that."

Design Guide 6, 2nd Ed. is now available for download at aisc.org/dg. Like all digital design guides, it is free for AISC members.

AISC would like to thank the experts who collaborated to update this reference for their time and dedication. They include:

• Matthew S. Trammell, SE, PE, founder and principal engineer at Trammell Engineering Group, LLC, Lebanon, Tenn.
• Mark D. Denavit, PE, PhD, associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Tiziano Perea, PhD, professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Azcapotzalco, Mexico City
• Jerome F. Hajjar, PE, PhD, CDM Smith Professor, University Distinguished Professor, and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, Boston
• Roberto T. Leon, PE, PhD, C.E. Via Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

###

For more information contact:

Dani FriedlandDirector of Marketing [email protected]

American Institute of Steel Construction

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), a not-for-profit technical institute supported by the steel industry, partners with the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) community to develop safe and efficient steel specifications and codes while driving innovation to make steel the most sustainable, economic, and resilient structural material. For more than a century, AISC has been a reliable resource for information and advice on the design and construction of domestically fabricated structural steel buildings and bridges.130 E. Randolph St, Suite 2000Chicago IL 60601 312.670.2401 https://www.aisc.org