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info

Bracedframes
FromSteelconstruction.info

Bracedframesareaverycommonformofconstruction,beingeconomictoconstructandsimple
toanalyse.Economycomesfromtheinexpensive,nominallypinnedconnectionsbetween
beamsandcolumns.Bracing,whichprovidesstabilityandresistslateralloads,maybefrom
diagonalsteelmembersor,fromaconcrete'core'.Inbracedconstruction,beamsandcolumns
aredesignedunderverticalloadonly,assumingthebracingsystemcarriesalllateralloads.

BracedsteelframeTrinitySquare,Gateshead
(ImagecourtesyofWilliamHareLtd.)

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Bracingsystems
Inamultistoreybuilding,thebeamsand
columnsaregenerallyarrangedinanorthogonal
patterninbothelevationandonplan.Inabraced
framebuilding,theresistancetohorizontalforces
isprovidedbytwoorthogonalbracingsystems:

Verticalbracing.Bracinginverticalplanes
(betweenlinesofcolumns)providesload
pathstotransferhorizontalforcestoground
levelandprovidelateralstability.
Horizontalbracing.Ateachfloorlevel,
bracinginahorizontalplane,generally
providedbyfloorplateaction,providesa
loadpathtotransferthehorizontalforces
(mainlyfromtheperimetercolumns,dueto
wind)totheplanesofverticalbracing. Bracedsteelframeunderconstruction
AllSaintsAcademy,Cheltenham
(ImagecourtesyofWilliamHaleyEngineering
Ltd.)

Bracingandloadtransferpath

Asaminimum,threeverticalplanesofbracingareneeded,toprovideresistanceinboth
directionsinplanandtoprovideresistancetotorsionaboutaverticalaxis.Inpractice,more
thanthreeareusuallyprovided,forexampleinthelocationsshowndiagrammaticallyinthe
figurebelow.

Assumingthatthefloorsactasdiaphragmstoprovide
horizontalbracing,theforcescarriedbyeachplaneof
verticalbracingdependonitsrelativestiffnessand
location,andonthelocationofthecentreofpressureof
thehorizontalforces(seefurtherdiscussiononlocation
ofverticalbracingplanes,below).

Verticalbracing,intheformofdiagonalsteelmembers,
providingstabilityinamultistoreybuildingisshownin
thefigurebelow.

Stabilitytoabuildingcanalsobeprovidedpartiallyor
Typicalarrangementofvertical entirelybyoneormorereinforcedconcretecores.
bracing

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Locationofplanesofverticalbracing

Itispreferabletolocatebracingatornearthe
extremitiesofthestructure,inordertoresistany
torsionaleffects.Seefigureontheright.

Wherethesetsofbracingareidenticalorsimilar,
itissufficienttoassumethatthehorizontalforces
(windloadsandequivalenthorizontalforces,
eachmagnifiedforsecondordereffectsif
necessary,seediscussionbelow)areshared
equallybetweenthebracingsystemsinthe
orthogonaldirectionunderconsideration.

Wherethestiffnessesoftheverticalbracing
systemsdifferorthebracingsystemsarelocated
asymmetricallyonplan,asshowninthefigure
below,equalsharingofforcesshouldnotbe
assumed.Theforcescarriedbyeachbracing
systemcanbecalculatedbyassumingtheflooris
astiffbeamandthebracingsystemsarespring
supports,asshowninthefigurebelow.

Verticalbracinginamultistoreybuilding

Determinationofbracingforcesforasymmetric
arrangementofbracing

Thestiffnessofeachbracingsystemshouldbecalculatedbyapplyinghorizontalforcestoeach
bracingsystemandcalculatingthedeflection.Thespringstiffness(typicallyinmm/kN)canthen
beusedtocalculatethedistributionofforcetoeachbracingsystem.

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Verticalbracing
Inabracedmultistoreybuilding,theplanesofverticalbracingareusuallyprovidedbydiagonal
bracingbetweentwolinesofcolumns,asshowninthefigurebelow.Eithersinglediagonalsare
provided,asshown,inwhichcasetheymustbedesignedforeithertensionorcompression,or
crosseddiagonalsareprovided,inwhichcaseslenderbracingmemberscarryingonlytension
maybeprovided.

Notethatwhencrosseddiagonalsareusedanditis
assumedthatonlythetensilediagonalsprovide
resistance,thefloorbeamsparticipateaspartofthe
bracingsystem(ineffectaverticalPratttrussis
created,withdiagonalsintensionandpoststhefloor
beamsincompression).

Theverticalbracingmustbedesignedtoresistthe
forcesduetothefollowing:

Windloads
Equivalenthorizontalforces,representingthe
effectofinitialimperfections
Secondordereffectsduetosway(iftheframeis
sensitivetosecondordereffects).

Guidanceonthedeterminationofequivalent
horizontalforcesandontheconsiderationofsecond
ordereffectsindiscussedinthesectionsbelow,anda Cantilevertruss
Framestabilitydesigntoolisalsoavailable.

Forcesintheindividualmembersofthebracingsystemmustbedeterminedfortheappropriate
combinationsofactions.Forbracingmembers,designforcesatULSduetothecombination
wherewindloadistheleadingactionarelikelytobethemostonerous.

Wherepossible,bracingmembersinclinedatapproximately45arerecommended.This
providesanefficientsystemwithrelativelymodestmemberforcescomparedtoother
arrangements,andmeansthattheconnectiondetailswherethebracingmeetsthe
beam/columnjunctionsarecompact.Narrowbracingsystemswithsteeplyinclinedinternal
memberswillincreasetheswaysensitivityofthestructure.Widebracingsystemswillresultin
morestablestructures.

Thetablebelowgivesanindicationofhowmaximumdeflectionvarieswithbracinglayout,fora
constantsizeofbracingcrosssection.

Bracingefficiency
Ratioofmaximum
Storey Bracing Anglefrom
deflection(compared
height width horizontal
tobracingat34)
h 2h 26 0.9
h 1.5h 34 1.0
h h 45 1.5
h 0.75h 53 2.2

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h 0.5h 63 4.5

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Horizontalbracing
Ahorizontalbracingsystemisneededat
eachfloorlevel,totransferhorizontalforces
(chieflytheforcestransferredfromthe
perimetercolumns)totheplanesofvertical
bracingthatprovideresistancetohorizontal
forces.

Therearetwotypesofhorizontalbracing
systemthatareusedinmultistoreybraced
frames:

Diaphragms
Discretetriangulatedbracing.

Usually,thefloorsystemwillbesufficientto
actasadiaphragmwithouttheneedfor Horizontalbracing(intheroof)inasinglestorey
additionalsteelbracing.Atrooflevel,bracing, building
oftenknownasawindgirder,maybe
requiredtocarrythehorizontalforcesatthetopofthecolumns,ifthereisnodiaphragm.See
figureontheright.

Horizontaldiaphragms

Allfloorsolutionsinvolvingpermanentformworksuchasmetaldeckingfixedbythroughdeck
studweldingtothebeams,withinsituconcreteinfill,provideanexcellentrigiddiaphragmto
carryhorizontalforcestothebracingsystem.

Floorsystemsinvolvingprecastconcreteplanksrequireproperconsiderationtoensure
adequatetransferofforcesiftheyaretoactasadiaphragm.Thecoefficientoffrictionbetween
planksandsteelworkmaybeaslowas0.1,andevenlowerifthesteelispainted.Thiswillallow
theslabstomoverelativetoeachother,andtoslideoverthesteelwork.Groutingbetweenthe
slabswillonlypartiallyovercomethisproblem,andforlargeshears,amorepositivetying
systemwillberequiredbetweentheslabsandfromtheslabstothesteelwork.

Connectionbetweenslabsmaybeachievedbyreinforcementinthetopping.Thismaybe
mesh,ortiesmaybeplacedalongbothendsofasetofplankstoensurethewholeflooractsas
asinglediaphragm.Typically,a10mmbarathalfdepthofthetoppingwillbesatisfactory.

Connectiontothesteelworkmaybeachievedbyoneoftwomethods:

Enclosetheslabsbyasteelframe(onshelfangles,orspeciallyprovidedconstraint)and
fillthegapwithconcrete.
Providetiesbetweenthetoppingovertheplanksandaninsitutoppingtothesteelwork
(knownasan'edgestrip').Providethesteelbeamwithsomeformofshearconnectorsto
transferforcesbetweentheinsituedgestripandthesteelwork.

Ifplandiaphragmforcesaretransferredtothesteelworkviadirectbearing(typicallytheslab
maybearonthefaceofacolumn),thecapacityoftheconnectionshouldbechecked.The

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capacityisgenerallylimitedbylocalcrushingoftheplank.Ineverycase,thegapbetweenthe
plankandthesteelshouldbemadegoodwithinsituconcrete.

Timberfloorsandfloorsconstructedfromprecastconcretedinvertedteebeamsandinfillblocks
(oftenknownas'beamandpot'floors)arenotconsideredtoprovideanadequatediaphragm
withoutspecialmeasures.

Discretetriangulatedbracing

Wherediaphragmactionfromthefloorcannotbereliedupon,
ahorizontalsystemoftriangulatedsteelbracingis
recommended.Ahorizontalbracingsystemmayneedtobe
providedineachorthogonaldirection.

Typically,horizontalbracingsystemsspanbetweenthe
'supports',whicharethelocationsoftheverticalbracing.This
arrangementoftenleadstoatrussspanningthefullwidthof
thebuilding,withadepthequaltothebaycentres,asshown
inthefigureontheleft.

ThefloorbracingisfrequentlyarrangedasaWarrentruss,or
asaPratttruss,orwithcrossedmembersactingonlyin
tension.
Typicalfloorbracing
arrangement

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Theeffectsofimperfections
Appropriateallowancesneedtobeincorporatedinthestructuralanalysistocovertheeffectsof
imperfections,includinggeometricalimperfectionssuchaslackofverticality,lackof
straightness,lackofflatness,lackoffitandanyminoreccentricitiespresentinjointsofthe
unloadedstructure.

Thefollowingimperfectionsshouldbetakenintoaccount:

Globalimperfectionsforframesandbracingsystems
Localimperfectionsforindividualmembers.

Globalimperfectionsmaybetakenintoaccountbymodellingtheframeoutofplumb,orbya
seriesofequivalenthorizontalforcesappliedtoaframemodelledvertically.Thelatterapproach
isrecommended.

Inabracedframewithnominallypinnedconnections,noallowanceisneededintheglobal
analysisforlocalimperfectionsinmembersbecausetheydonotinfluencetheglobalbehaviour
andaretakenintoaccountinwhenverifyingmemberresistancesinaccordancewiththedesign
Standard.Shouldmomentresistingconnectionsbeassumedintheframedesign,local
imperfectionsmayneedtobeallowedfor(BSEN199311[1],5.3.2(6)).

Imperfectionsforglobalanalysisofbracedframes

Theeffectofframeimperfectionsis
allowedforbymeansofaninitial
swayimperfection.Seefigureon
theright.

Thebasicimperfectionthatis
allowedforisanoutofverticality
0of1/200.Thisallowanceis
greaterthanthenormallyspecified
tolerancesbecauseitallowsboth
foractualvaluesexceeding
specifiedlimitsandforresidual Equivalentswayimperfections(fromBSEN199311Figure
effectssuchaslackoffit.The 5.2)
designallowanceinBSEN19931
1[1],5.3.2isgivenby:

=0hm=1/200hm

wherehisareductionfactorfortheoverallheightandmisareductionfactorwhichaccording
totheEurocodedependsonthenumberofcolumnsinarow.(Foradetaileddefinition,see
5.3.2(3).)Thispresumesthateveryrowhasbracing.Moregenerallymshouldbecalculated
accordingtothenumberofcolumnsstabilizedbythebracingsystemgenerallyfromseveral
rows.

Forsimplicity,thevalueofmayconservativelybetakenas1/200,irrespectiveoftheheight
andnumberofcolumns.

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Where,foreachstorey,theexternallyappliedhorizontalforceexceeds15%ofthetotalvertical
force,swayimperfectionsmaybeneglected(becausetheyhavelittleinfluenceonsway
deformation).

Equivalenthorizontalforces

BSEN199311[1],5.3.2(7)statesthatverticalswayimperfectionsmaybereplacedbysystems
ofequivalenthorizontalforces,introducedforeachcolumn.Itismucheasiertouseequivalent
horizontalforcesthantointroducethegeometricimperfectionintothemodel.Thisisbecause:

Theimperfectionmustbetriedineachdirectiontofindthegreatereffectanditiseasierto
applyloadsthanmodifygeometry
Modifyingthegeometryofthestructurecanbedifficultifthecolumnbasesareatdifferent
levels,astheswayimperfectionvariesbetweencolumns.

Accordingto5.3.2(7)theequivalenthorizontalforceshavethedesignvalueofNEdatthetop
andbottomofeachcolumn,whereNEdistheforceineachcolumntheforcesateachendare
inoppositedirections.Whendesigningtheframe,andspecificallytheforcesonthebracing
system,itismucheasiertoconsiderthenetequivalentforceateachfloorlevel.Thusan
equivalenthorizontalforceequaltotimesthetotalverticaldesignforceappliedatthatfloor
levelshouldbeappliedateachfloorandrooflevel.

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Additionaldesigncasesforbracingsystems
Thebracingsystemmustcarrytheexternallyappliedloads,togetherwiththeequivalent
horizontalforces.Inaddition,thebracingmustbecheckedfortwofurtherdesignsituations
whicharelocaltothefloorlevel:

Horizontalforcesfromfloordiaphragms
Forcesduetoimperfectionsatsplices.

Inboththesedesignsituations,thebracingsystemischeckedlocally(consideringthestoreys
aboveandbelow)forthecombinationoftheforceduetoexternalloadstogetherwiththeforces
duetoeitheroftheaboveimperfections.Theequivalenthorizontalforcesmodelledtoaccount
forframeswayarenotincludedineitherofthesecombinations.Onlyoneimperfectionneedsto
beconsideredatatime.

Thehorizontalforcestobeconsideredaretheaccumulationofalltheforcesatthelevelbeing
considered,dividedamongstthebracingsystems.

ItisnormalpracticeintheUKtochecktheseforceswithoutcoexistentbeamshears.The
justificationisthattheprobabilityofmaximumbeamshearplusmaximumimperfections
togetherwithminimumconnectionresistanceisbeyondthedesignprobabilityofthedesign
code.

Imperfectionforanalysisofbracingsystems

Intheanalysisofbracingsystemswhichare
requiredtoprovidelateralstabilitywithinthe
lengthofbeamsorcompressionmembers,the
effectsofimperfectionsshouldbeincludedby
meansofanequivalentgeometricimperfectionof
thememberstoberestrained,intheformofan
initialbowimperfection:

e0=mL/500

where:

Listhespanofthebracingsystem

Equivalentstabilizingforce
inwhichmisthenumberof
memberstoberestrained.

Forconvenience,theeffectsoftheinitialbowimperfectionsofthememberstoberestrainedby
abracingsystemmaybereplacedbytheequivalentstabilizingforceasshowninthefigure
right.

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where

qistheinplanedeflectionofthebracingsystemduetoqplusanyexternalloadscalculated
fromfirstorderanalysis.

Theuseofequivalentstabilizingforcesisrecommended.

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Secondordereffects
Theeffectsofthedeformedgeometryofthestructure(secondordereffects)needtobe
consideredifthedeformationssignificantlyincreasetheforcesinthestructureorifthe
deformationssignificantlymodifystructuralbehaviour.Forelasticglobalanalysis,secondorder
effectsaresignificantifcrislessthan10.

Thecriterionshouldbeappliedseparatelyforeachstorey,foreachcombinationofactions
considered.Typically,thiswillincludeverticalandhorizontalloadsandEHF,asshowninthe
diagram.Inbracedframes,lateralstabilityisprovidedonlybythebracingthenominallypinned
jointsmakenocontributiontothestabilityoftheframe.

Inmostcases,theloweststoreywillgivethelowestvalueofcr.

Horizontalforcesappliedtothebracingsystem

Allowanceforsecondordereffects

Wheresecondordereffectsaresignificantandneedtobeincluded,themostcommonmethod
usedisbyamplificationofanelasticfirstorderanalysisusingtheinitialgeometryofthe
structure.Theuseofthismethodissubjecttothelimitationthatcr>3.Ifcrislessthan3,
secondorderanalysismustbeused.

Inabracedframe,wherethebeamtocolumnconnectionsarenominallypinnedandthusdonot
contributetolateralstiffness,theonlyeffectstobeamplifiedaretheaxialforcesinthebracing
membersandtheforcesincolumnsthatareduetotheirfunctionaspartofthebracingsystem

TheamplificationfactorisgiveninBSEN199311[1],5.2.2(5)Bas:

Onlytheeffectsduetothehorizontalforces(includingtheequivalenthorizontalforces)needto
beamplified.

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Secondorderanalysis

Arangeofsecondorderanalysissoftwareisavailable.Useofanysoftwarewillgiveresultsthat
aretosomeextentapproximate,dependingonthesolutionmethodemployed,thetypesof
secondordereffectsconsideredandthemodellingassumptions.Generally,secondorder
softwarewillautomaticallyallowforframeimperfections,sothedesignerwillnotneedto
calculateandapplytheequivalenthorizontalforces.Theeffectsofdeformedgeometry(second
ordereffects)willbeallowedforintheanalysis.

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Summarydesignprocessforbracingsystems
Thefollowingsimpledesignprocessisrecommendedforatypicalmediumrisebuildingutilizing
bracedframes.

1.Chooseappropriatesectionsizesforthebeams.
2.Chooseappropriatesectionsizesforthecolumns(whichmaybedesignedinitiallyforaxial
forcealone,leavingsomeprovisionfornominalbendingmoments,tobedeterminedata
laterstage).
3.Calculatetheequivalenthorizontalforces(EHF),floorbyfloor,andthewindloads.
4.Calculatethetotalshearatthebaseofthebracing,byaddingthetotalwindloadtothe
totalEHF,andsharingthisappropriatelyamongstthebracingsystems.
5.Sizethebracingmembers.Thelowestbracingmember(withthegreatestdesignforce)
canbesized,basedonthesheardeterminedinStep4.Asmallersectionsizemaybe
usedhigherupthestructure(wherethebracingissubjecttolesserforces)orthesame
sizemaybeusedforallmembers.
6.Evaluatetheframestability,intermsoftheparametercr,usingthecombinationofthe
EHFandwindloadsasthehorizontalforcesontheframe,inconjunctionwiththevertical
loads.
7.Determineanamplifier,ifrequired(i.e.ifcr<10).Iftheframeissensitivetosecondorder
effects,allthelateralforcesmustbeamplified.Ifthisisthecase,thebracingmembers
mayneedtoberecheckedforincreasedforces(step5).
8.Ateachfloorlevel,checkthattheconnectiontothediaphragmcancarry1%oftheaxial
forceinthecolumnatthatpoint(clearly,themostonerousdesignforceisatthelowest
supportedfloor).
9.Verifythatthefloordiaphragmsareeffectiveindistributingallforcestothebracing
systems.
10.Atsplicelevels,determinethetotalforcetoberesistedbythebracinglocally(whichwill
usuallybethesummationfromseveralcolumns).Verifythatthebracinglocaltothesplice
cancarrytheseforcesinadditiontotheforcesduetoexternalloads(EHFarenotincluded
whenmakingthischeck).
11.Verifythatthebracinglocaltoeachfloorcancarrytherestraintforcesfromthatfloor,in
additiontotheforcesduetoexternalloads(EHFarenotincludedwhenmakingthis
check).

Ifdesigningmanually,thedesigndatainSCIP363,maybeusedtochooseappropriatesection
sizes.

AFramestabilitytoolisavailabletoassistwiththecalculationofEHFandcr.

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References
1.^1.01.11.21.3BSEN199311:2005+A1:2014,Eurocode3:Designofsteelstructures.
Generalrulesandrulesforbuildings,BSI

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Furtherreading
SteelDesigners'Manual7thEdition.(http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd
1405189401.html)EditorsBDavison&GWOwens.TheSteelConstructionInstitute
2012,Chapter5,MultistoreyBuildings
ArchitecturalDesigninSteel,LawsonM&TrebilcockP,SCIandSpon.Chapter3.

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Resources
SCIP365SteelBuildingDesign:MediumRiseBracedFrames,2009
SCIP363SteelBuildingDesign:DesignData,2013
Awebbasedinteractiveversionofthe'BlueBook',isalsoavailable.
SteelBuildings,2003,(PublicationNo35/03),BCSA,Chapter4
Framestabilitydesigntool

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Seealso
Multistoreyofficebuildings
Trusses
Floorsystems
Modellingandanalysis
Allowingfortheeffectsofdeformedframegeometry
Simpleconnections

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