Abstract
Frangible structural elements intended to fail in the same direction as that of service load paths pose peculiar difficulties in that the frangibility must be higher than the service loads. Ideally the frangible point would be a small margin of confidence above the maximum service load in such situations. However, there are a number of factors in a bending frangible element that prevent achievement of this ideal. The paper identifies what these factors are and discusses their influence on the relationship between service limits and frangibility.