camber - composite beams
how do you camber a beam? i know what camber is, but do not know when to specify that a beam is to be cambered.
dyork,
cambering is typically performed through a mechanical bending process by the fabricator in the shop.
camber is often specified when the anticipated deflection would present a serviceability issue. typically, camber is considered for the deflection due to the dead load (although dead load and live load could also be considered together).
good luck.
the aisc manual of steel construction has a few pages about standard industry practice, see page 1-147 in the 9th edition, asd.
also visit
www.aisc.org and search on "camber", you will get a list of several documents, some for purchase, a couple are free.