September 16, 2025

What’s New in ANSI/AISC 360-22?

The ANSI/AISC 360 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings is the cornerstone reference for structural steel design in the U.S. The transition from the 2016 edition (ANSI/AISC 360-16) to the 2022 edition (ANSI/AISC 360-22) reflects both advances in research and the need for closer alignment with current building codes, including ASCE 7-22. Below is a comparison of some of the most impactful updates.

Why This Matters for Engineers?

The 2022 edition provides a stronger foundation for design by incorporating modern materials, research findings, and analysis methods. Updating your workflows to ANSI/AISC 360-22 ensures designs are consistent with today’s best practices and building code requirements.

Download the latest versions of RISA that supports AISC 360-22 below.

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1. Material Properties and Standards

Area	360-16	360-22	Why It Matters	Design in RISA
ASTM References	Based on 2016 ASTM standards	Incorporates updated ASTM specs, including new steel grades	Aligns designs with currently available materials	Member design checks updated to align with AISC 360-22 material references

2. Stability Design

Area	360-16	360-22	Why It Matters	Design in RISA
Notional Loads	Less explicit guidance	Clearer requirements for direct analysis	Reduces misinterpretation	Engineers can use updated member design aligned with 360-22 stability requirements
Stiffness Reduction (τb)	General provisions	More specific factors	More consistent application of second-order effects	Reflected in new member design calculations
Advanced Analysis	Mentioned but limited	Expanded to include nonlinear/system approaches	Broader use of advanced methods	Member design provisions updated; analysis guidance outside scope of RISA

3. Seismic Provisions

Area	360-16	360-22	Why It Matters	Design in RISA
Braced Frames	Based on ASCE 7-10/16	Updated to align with ASCE 7-22	Consistency with hazard maps	Member checks updated to align with 360-22 seismic design
Moment Frames	Older detailing rules	Revised provisions	Safer and more economical designs	Member design updated, but detailing remains outside RISA scope

Tags: Featured, RISA-3D, New

August 31, 2016 | RISA-3D, New, Steel

Why Do My Wide Flange Members Fail in the AISC 14th Edition Code?

In RISA-3D’s addition of the AISC 14th Edition code we added Section E4 checks to wide flange members. Section E4 is Torsional and Flexural-Torsional Buckling of Members Without Slender Elements and is for compression capacity. Specific to wide flanges is the Fe equation E4-4. In that equation is a reference to L, which is referring to the torsional unbraced length. In RISA-3D this is defined in the Members spreadsheet – Hot Rolled tab and defaults to the full length of member, similar to other unbraced lengths. This can cause a reduced compression capacity compared to what is found in Section E3. If you notice a wide flange member that passed in the AISC 13th Edition and is now failing in the AISC 14th Edition, this may be the cause. A quick way to confirm this is to update the L-torque value to 0 and see if you now getting a passing check…

September 6, 2013 | RISA-3D, New, Analysis, Deflection

Why Are The Steel Beam Deflections So Large?

When solving a RISA-3D model with hot rolled steel members under the AISC 360-05 (13th Edition), AISC 360-10 (14th Edition) or AISC 360-16 (15th Edition) codes you may find that your member deflections are roughly 20% larger than you would expect. To understand why see the AISC 360-10 Specification, Section C2.3.1: “A factor of 0.80 shall be applied to all stiffnesses that are considered to contribute to the stability of the structure” By applying this 0.80 factor to the axial and flexural stiffnesses of the members (EA and EI respectively) the deflections for those members increase by approximately 20%. This code provision is only intended to be applied to members that contribute to the stability of the structure though, such as moment frames and braced frames. Since RISA-3D does not inherently know which members in a model are contributing to stability (i.e. moment frames) versus which members are simply present to carry gravity loads (i.e. floor joists) the program conservatively defaults to applying this stiffness adjustment to all hot rolled steel members when using the AISC 360-05 (13th Edition), AISC 360-10 (14th Edition) or AISC 360-16 (15th Edition) codes. This occurs because those members are assigned the Lateral Function when…

March 26, 2010 | RISA-3D, RISA-2D, New, Physical Member

What Are Physical Members?

Members (beams, columns, braces, etc.) are defined in RISA by an I-Node and a J-Node. While you and I see a beam occupying physical space between two columns, most programs see a line between Point I and Point J. This is known as a non-physical member. See the image below: In this model the red side of the beam is the I-End (Node N1) and the blue side of the beam is the J-End (Node N2). There is clearly a midspan support, but this member is only defined with two joints, and it is not defined as “physical”, so the program is unaware that Node N3 is connected to the member. As a result, when the model is solved we get this deflection: This has always been an issue for Finite Element Analysis programs which don’t support Physical Members. These programs recommend that you model the beam shown above as two beams: While splitting the beam into two will give you correct analytical results, it also means that you have twice as many results to sift through for one continuous member. Instead, RISA offers the ability to define the member as Physical, which means that it will recognize and automatically…