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Bracedframes
FromSteelconstruction.info
Bracedframesareaverycommonformofconstruction,beingeconomictoconstructandsimpletoanalyse.
Economycomesfromtheinexpensive,nominallypinnedconnectionsbetweenbeamsandcolumns.
Bracing,whichprovidesstabilityandresistslateralloads,maybefromdiagonalsteelmembersor,froma
concrete'core'.Inbracedconstruction,beamsandcolumnsaredesignedunderverticalloadonly,assuming
thebracingsystemcarriesalllateralloads.

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BracedsteelframeTrinitySquare,Gateshead
(ImagecourtesyofWilliamHareLtd.)

Contents
1Bracingsystems
1.1Locationofplanesofverticalbracing
2Verticalbracing
3Horizontalbracing
3.1Horizontaldiaphragms
3.2Discretetriangulatedbracing
4Theeffectsofimperfections
4.1Imperfectionsforglobalanalysisofbracedframes
4.1.1Equivalenthorizontalforces
5Additionaldesigncasesforbracingsystems
5.1Imperfectionforanalysisofbracingsystems
6Secondordereffects
6.1Determinationofsecondordereffects
6.2Secondorderanalysis
7Summarydesignprocessforbracingsystems
8References
9Furtherreading
10Resources
11Seealso

Bracingsystems
Inamultistoreybuilding,thebeamsandcolumnsaregenerallyarrangedinanorthogonalpatterninboth
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elevationandonplan.Inabracedframebuilding,the
resistancetohorizontalforcesisprovidedbytwo
orthogonalbracingsystems:
Verticalbracing.Bracinginverticalplanes
(betweenlinesofcolumns)providesloadpathsto
transferhorizontalforcestogroundleveland
providelateralstability.
Horizontalbracing.Ateachfloorlevel,bracingin
ahorizontalplane,generallyprovidedbyfloor
plateaction,providesaloadpathtotransferthe
horizontalforces(mainlyfromtheperimeter
columns,duetowind)totheplanesofvertical
bracing.
Bracedsteelframeunderconstruction
AllSaintsAcademy,Cheltenham
(ImagecourtesyofWilliamHaleyEngineering
Ltd.)

Application
Blocked!
Bracingandloadtransferpath
Asaminimum,threeverticalplanesofbracingareneeded,toprovideresistanceinbothdirectionsinplan
andtoprovideresistancetotorsionaboutaverticalaxis.Inpractice,morethanthreeareusuallyprovided,
forexampleinthelocationsshowndiagrammaticallyinthefigurebelow.
Assumingthatthefloorsactasdiaphragmstoprovide
horizontalbracing,theforcescarriedbyeachplaneofvertical
bracingdependonitsrelativestiffnessandlocation,andonthe
locationofthecentreofpressureofthehorizontalforces(see
furtherdiscussiononlocationofverticalbracingplanes,
below).
Verticalbracing,intheformofdiagonalsteelmembers,
providingstabilityinamultistoreybuildingisshowninthe
figurebelow.
Typicalarrangementofverticalbracing

Stabilitytoabuildingcanalsobeprovidedpartiallyorentirely
byoneormorereinforcedconcretecores.

Locationofplanesofverticalbracing
Itispreferabletolocatebracingatorneartheextremitiesofthestructure,inordertoresistanytorsional
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effects.Seefigureontheright.
Wherethesetsofbracingareidenticalorsimilar,itis
sufficienttoassumethatthehorizontalforces(wind
loadsandequivalenthorizontalforces,eachmagnified
forsecondordereffectsifnecessary,seediscussion
below)aresharedequallybetweenthebracingsystems
intheorthogonaldirectionunderconsideration.
Wherethestiffnessesoftheverticalbracingsystems
differorthebracingsystemsarelocatedasymmetrically
onplan,asshowninthefigurebelow,equalsharingof
forcesshouldnotbeassumed.Theforcescarriedby
eachbracingsystemcanbecalculatedbyassumingthe
floorisastiffbeamandthebracingsystemsarespring
supports,asshowninthefigurebelow.

Verticalbracinginamultistoreybuilding

Determinationofbracingforcesforasymmetric
arrangementofbracing

Thestiffnessofeachbracingsystemshouldbecalculatedbyapplyinghorizontalforcestoeachbracing
systemandcalculatingthedeflection.Thespringstiffness(typicallyinmm/kN)canthenbeusedto
calculatethedistributionofforcetoeachbracingsystem.

Verticalbracing
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Inabracedmultistoreybuilding,theplanesofverticalbracingareusuallyprovidedbydiagonalbracing
betweentwolinesofcolumns,asshowninthefigurebelow.Eithersinglediagonalsareprovided,as
shown,inwhichcasetheymustbedesignedforeithertensionorcompression,orcrosseddiagonalsare
provided,inwhichcaseslenderbracingmemberscarryingonlytensionmaybeprovided.
Notethatwhencrosseddiagonalsareusedanditisassumed
thatonlythetensilediagonalsprovideresistance,thefloor
beamsparticipateaspartofthebracingsystem(ineffecta
verticalPratttrussiscreated,withdiagonalsintensionand
posts(thefloorbeams)incompression).
Theverticalbracingmustbedesignedtoresisttheforcesdue
tothefollowing:
Windloads
Equivalenthorizontalforces,representingtheeffectof
initialimperfections
Secondordereffectsduetosway(iftheframeis
sensitivetosecondordereffects).
Guidanceonthedeterminationofequivalenthorizontal
forcesandontheconsiderationofsecondordereffectsin
discussedinthesectionsbelow.
Cantilevertruss

Forcesintheindividualmembersofthebracingsystemmust
bedeterminedfortheappropriatecombinationsofactions.
Forbracingmembers,designforcesatULSduetothecombinationwherewindloadistheleadingaction
arelikelytobethemostonerous.
Wherepossible,bracingmembersinclinedatapproximately45arerecommended.Thisprovidesan
efficientsystemwithrelativelymodestmemberforcescomparedtootherarrangements,andmeansthatthe
connectiondetailswherethebracingmeetsthebeam/columnjunctionsarecompact.Narrowbracing
systemswithsteeplyinclinedinternalmemberswillincreasetheswaysensitivityofthestructure.Wide
bracingsystemswillresultinmorestablestructures.
Thetablebelowgivesanindicationofhowmaximumdeflectionvarieswithbracinglayout,foraconstant
sizeofbracingcrosssection.
Bracingefficiency
Storey
height

Bracing
width

h
h
h
h
h

2h
1.5h
h
0.75h
0.5h

Ratioofmaximum
Anglefrom
deflection(comparedto
horizontal
bracingat34)
26
0.9
34
1.0
45
1.5
53
2.2
63
4.5

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Horizontalbracing
Ahorizontalbracingsystemisneededateachfloor
level,totransferhorizontalforces(chieflythe
forcestransferredfromtheperimetercolumns)to
theplanesofverticalbracingthatprovide
resistancetohorizontalforces.
Therearetwotypesofhorizontalbracingsystem
thatareusedinmultistoreybracedframes:
Diaphragms
Discretetriangulatedbracing.
Usually,thefloorsystemwillbesufficienttoactas
adiaphragmwithouttheneedforadditionalsteel
bracing.Atrooflevel,bracing,oftenknownasa
windgirder,mayberequiredtocarrythehorizontal
forcesatthetopofthecolumns,ifthereisno
diaphragm.Seefigureontheright.

Horizontalbracing(intheroof)inasinglestorey
building

Horizontaldiaphragms
Allfloorsolutionsinvolvingpermanentformworksuchasmetaldeckingfixedbythroughdeckstud
weldingtothebeams,withinsituconcreteinfill,provideanexcellentrigiddiaphragmtocarryhorizontal
forcestothebracingsystem.
Floorsystemsinvolvingprecastconcreteplanksrequireproperconsiderationtoensureadequatetransferof
forcesiftheyaretoactasadiaphragm.Thecoefficientoffrictionbetweenplanksandsteelworkmaybeas
lowas0.1,andevenlowerifthesteelispainted.Thiswillallowtheslabstomoverelativetoeachother,
andtoslideoverthesteelwork.Groutingbetweentheslabswillonlypartiallyovercomethisproblem,and
forlargeshears,amorepositivetyingsystemwillberequiredbetweentheslabsandfromtheslabstothe
steelwork.
Connectionbetweenslabsmaybeachievedbyreinforcementinthetopping.Thismaybemesh,ortiesmay
beplacedalongbothendsofasetofplankstoensurethewholepanelactsasone.Typically,a10mmbar
athalfdepthofthetoppingwillbesatisfactory.
Connectiontothesteelworkmaybeachievedbyoneoftwomethods:
Enclosetheslabsbyasteelframe(onshelfangles,orspeciallyprovidedconstraint)andfillthegap
withconcrete.
Providetiesbetweenthetoppingandaninsitutoppingtothesteelwork(knownasan'edgestrip').
Providethesteelbeamwithsomeformofshearconnectorstotransferforcesbetweentheinsituedge
stripandthesteelwork.

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Ifplandiaphragmforcesaretransferredtothesteelworkviadirectbearing(typicallytheslabmaybearon
thefaceofacolumn),thecapacityoftheconnectionshouldbechecked.Thecapacityisgenerallylimited
bylocalcrushingoftheplank.Ineverycase,thegapbetweentheplankandthesteelshouldbemadegood
withinsituconcrete.
Timberfloorsandfloorsconstructedfromprecastconcretedinvertedteebeamsandinfillblocks(often
knownas'beamandpot'floors)arenotconsideredtoprovideanadequatediaphragmwithoutspecial
measures.

Discretetriangulatedbracing
Wherediaphragmactionfromthefloorcannotbereliedupon,a
horizontalsystemoftriangulatedsteelbracingisrecommended.A
horizontalbracingsystemmayneedtobeprovidedineachorthogonal
direction.
Typically,horizontalbracingsystemsspanbetweenthe'supports',
whicharethelocationsoftheverticalbracing.Thisarrangementoften
leadstoatrussspanningthefullwidthofthebuilding,withadepth
equaltothebaycentres,asshowninthefigureontheleft.
ThefloorbracingisfrequentlyarrangedasaWarrentruss,orasaPratt
truss,orwithcrossedmembers.
Typicalfloorbracing
arrangement

Theeffectsofimperfections
Appropriateallowancesneedtobeincorporatedinthestructuralanalysistocovertheeffectsof
imperfections,includinggeometricalimperfectionssuchaslackofverticality,lackofstraightness,lackof
flatness,lackoffitandanyminoreccentricitiespresentinjointsoftheunloadedstructure.
Thefollowingimperfectionsshouldbetakenintoaccount:
Globalimperfectionsforframesandbracingsystems
Localimperfectionsforindividualmembers.
Globalimperfectionsmaybetakenintoaccountbymodellingtheframeoutofplumb,orbyaseriesof
equivalenthorizontalforcesappliedtoaframemodelledvertically.Thelatterapproachisrecommended.
Inabracedframewithnominallypinnedconnections,noallowanceisneededintheglobalanalysisfor
localimperfectionsinmembersbecausetheydonotinfluencetheglobalbehaviourandaretakeninto
accountinwhenverifyingmemberresistancesinaccordancewiththedesignStandard.Shouldmoment
resistingconnectionsbeassumedintheframedesign,localimperfectionsmayneedtobeallowedfor(BS
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EN199311[1],5.3.2(6)).

Imperfectionsforglobalanalysisofbracedframes
Theeffectofframeimperfectionsis
allowedforbymeansofaninitialsway
imperfection.Seefigureontheright.
Thebasicimperfectionthatisallowed
forisanoutofverticality0of1/200.
Thisallowanceisgreaterthannormally
specifiedtolerancesbecauseitallows
bothforactualvaluesexceeding
specifiedlimitsandforresidualeffects
suchaslackoffit.Thedesignallowance
inBSEN199311[1],5.3.2isgivenby:
=0hm=1/200hm

Equivalentswayimperfections(fromBSEN199311Figure
5.2)

wherehisareductionfactorfortheoverallheightandmisareductionfactorwhichaccordingtothe
Eurocodedependsonthenumberofcolumnsinarow.(Foradetaileddefinition,see5.3.2(3).)This
presumesthateveryrowhasbracing.Moregenerallymshouldbecalculatedaccordingtothenumberof
columnsstabilizedbythebracingsystemgenerallyfromseveralrows.
Forsimplicity,thevalueofmayconservativelybetakenas1/200,irrespectiveoftheheightandnumber
ofcolumns.
Where,foreachstorey,theexternallyappliedhorizontalforceexceeds15%ofthetotalverticalforce,sway
imperfectionsmaybeneglected(becausetheyhavelittleinfluenceonswaydeformation).
Equivalenthorizontalforces

BSEN199311[1],5.3.2(7)statesthatverticalswayimperfectionsmaybereplacedbysystemsof
equivalenthorizontalforces,introducedforeachcolumn.Itismucheasiertouseequivalenthorizontal
forcesthantointroducethegeometricimperfectionintothemodel.Thisisbecause:
Theimperfectionmustbetriedineachdirectiontofindthegreatereffectanditiseasiertoapply
loadsthanmodifygeometry
Applyingforcesgivesnoproblemsofchangesinlengththatwouldoccurwhenincliningthecolumns
ofbuildingsinwhichthecolumnbasesareatdifferentlevels.
Accordingto5.3.2(7)theequivalenthorizontalforceshavethedesignvalueofNEdatthetopandbottom
ofeachcolumn,whereNEdistheforceineachcolumntheforcesateachendareinoppositedirections.
Whendesigningtheframe,andspecificallytheforcesonthebracingsystem,itismucheasiertoconsider
thenetequivalentforceateachfloorlevel.Thusanequivalenthorizontalforceequaltotimesthetotal
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verticaldesignforceappliedatthatfloorlevelshouldbeappliedateachfloorandrooflevel.

Additionaldesigncasesforbracingsystems
Thebracingsystemmustcarrytheexternallyappliedloads,togetherwiththeequivalenthorizontalforces.
Inaddition,thebracingmustbecheckedfortwofurtherdesignsituationswhicharelocaltothefloorlevel:
Horizontalforcestofloordiaphragms
Forcesduetoimperfectionsatsplices.
Inboththesedesignsituations,thebracingsystemischeckedlocally(thestoreysaboveandbelow)forthe
combinationoftheforceduetoexternalloadstogetherwiththeforcesduetoeitheroftheabove
imperfections.Theequivalenthorizontalforcesmodelledtoaccountforframeswayarenotincludedin
eitherofthesecombinations.Onlyoneimperfectionneedstobeconsideredatatime.
Thehorizontalforcestobeconsideredaretheaccumulationofalltheforcesatthelevelbeingconsidered,
dividedamongstthebracingsystems.
ItisnormalpracticeintheUKtochecktheseforceswithoutcoexistentbeamshears.Thejustificationis
thattheprobabilityofmaximumbeamshearplusmaximumimperfectionstogetherwithminimum
connectionresistanceisbeyondthedesignprobabilityofthedesigncode.

Imperfectionforanalysisofbracingsystems
Intheanalysisofbracingsystemswhicharerequiredto
providelateralstabilitywithinthelengthofbeamsor
compressionmembers,theeffectsofimperfections
shouldbeincludedbymeansofanequivalentgeometric
imperfectionofthememberstoberestrained,inthe
formofaninitialbowimperfection:
e0=mL/500
where:
Listhespanofthebracingsystem

inwhichmisthenumberof
memberstoberestrained.

Equivalentstabilizingforce

Forconvenience,theeffectsoftheinitialbowimperfectionsofthememberstoberestrainedbyabracing
systemmaybereplacedbytheequivalentstabilizingforceasshowninthefigureright.

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where
qistheinplanedeflectionofthebracingsystemduetoqplusanyexternalloadscalculatedfromfirst
orderanalysis.
Theuseofequivalentstabilizingforcesisrecommended.

Secondordereffects
Theeffectsofthedeformedgeometryofthestructure(secondordereffects)needtobeconsideredifthe
deformationssignificantlyincreasetheforcesinthestructureorifthedeformationssignificantlymodify
structuralbehaviour.Forelasticglobalanalysis,secondordereffectsaresignificantifcrislessthan10.
Thecriterionshouldbeappliedseparatelyforeachstorey,fortheconditionwherethefullframeisloaded,
asshowninthefigurebelow.Inmostcases,theloweststoreywillgivethelowestvalueofcr.

Horizontalforcesappliedtothebracingsystem

Determinationofsecondordereffects
Wheresecondordereffectsneedtobeevaluated,themostcommonmethodusedisbyamplificationofan
elasticfirstorderanalysisusingtheinitialgeometryofthestructure.Theuseofthismethodissubjecttothe
limitationthatcr>3.Ifcrislessthan3,secondorderanalysismustbeused.
Inabracedframe,wherethebeamtocolumnconnectionsarenominallypinnedandthusdonotcontribute
tolateralstiffness,theonlyeffectstobeamplifiedaretheaxialforcesinthebracingmembersandthe
forcesincolumnsthatareduetotheirfunctionaspartofthebracingsystem
TheamplificationfactorisgiveninBSEN199311[1],5.2.2(5)Bas:

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Onlytheeffectsduetothehorizontalforces(includingtheequivalenthorizontalforces)needtobe
amplified.

Secondorderanalysis
Arangeofsecondorderanalysissoftwareisavailable.Useofanysoftwarewillgiveresultsthatareto
someextentapproximate,dependingonthesolutionmethodemployed,thetypesofsecondordereffects
consideredandthemodellingassumptions.Generally,secondordersoftwarewillautomaticallyallowfor
frameimperfections,sothedesignerwillnotneedtocalculateandapplytheequivalenthorizontalforces.
Theeffectsofdeformedgeometry(secondordereffects)willbeallowedforintheanalysis.

Summarydesignprocessforbracingsystems
Thefollowingsimpledesignprocessisrecommendedforatypicalmediumrisebuildingutilizingbraced
frames.
1. Chooseappropriatesectionsizesforthebeams.
2. Chooseappropriatesectionsizesforthecolumns(whichmaybedesignedinitiallyforaxialforce
alone,leavingsomenominalprovisionforbendingmoments,tobedeterminedatalaterstage).
3. Calculatetheequivalenthorizontalforces(EHF),floorbyfloor,andthewindloads.
4. Calculatethetotalshearatthebaseofthebracing,byaddingthetotalwindloadtothetotalEHF,and
sharingthisappropriatelyamongstthebracingsystems.
5. Sizethebracingmembers.Thelowestbracingmember(withthegreatestdesignforce)canbesized,
basedonthesheardeterminedinStep4.Asmallersectionsizemaybeusedhigherupthestructure
(wherethebracingissubjecttolesserforces)orthesamesizemaybeusedforallmembers.
6. Evaluatetheframestability,intermsoftheparametercr,usingthecombinationoftheEHFand
windloadsasthehorizontalforcesontheframe,inconjunctionwiththeverticalloads.
7. Determineanamplifier,ifrequired(i.e.ifcr<10).Iftheframeissensitivetosecondordereffects,
allthelateralforcesmustbeamplified.Ifthisisthecase,thebracingmembersmayneedtobere
checkedforincreasedforces(step5).
8. Ateachfloorlevel,checkthattheconnectiontothediaphragmcancarry1%oftheaxialforceinthe
columnatthatpoint(clearly,themostonerousdesignforceisatthelowestsuspendedfloor).
9. Verifythatthefloordiaphragmsareeffectiveindistributingallforcestothebracingsystems.
10. Atsplicelevels,determinethetotalforcetoberesistedbythebracinglocally(whichwillusuallybe
thesummationfromseveralcolumns).Verifythatthebracinglocaltothesplicecancarrythese
forcesinadditiontotheforcesduetoexternalloads(EHFarenotincludedwhenmakingthischeck).
11. Verifythatthebracinglocaltoeachfloorcancarrytherestraintforcesfromthatfloor,inadditionto
theforcesduetoexternalloads(EHFarenotincludedwhenmakingthischeck).
Ifdesigningmanually,thedesigndatainSCIP363,maybeusedtochooseappropriatesectionsizes.

References
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1. ^1.01.11.21.3BSEN199311:2005.Eurocode3:DesignofsteelstructuresGeneralrulesandrules
forbuildings,BSI

Furtherreading
SteelDesigners'Manual7thEdition.(http://shop.steelsci.com/products/231steeldesignersmanual
7thedition.aspx)EditorsBDavison&GWOwens.TheSteelConstructionInstitute2012,Chapter5
ArchitecturalDesigninSteel,LawsonM&TrebilcockP,SCIandSpon.Chapter3.

Resources
SCIP365SteelBuildingDesign:MediumRiseBracedFrames,2009
SCIP363SteelBuildingDesign:DesignData,2013.
Aninteractiveonlineversion,oreBlueBook(http://tsbluebook.steelsci.org/),isalsoavailable.
SteelBuildings,2003,(PublicationNo35/03),BCSA,Chapter4

Seealso
Multistoreyofficebuildings
Trusses
Floorsystems
Modellingandanalysis
Allowingfortheeffectsofdeformedframegeometry
Simpleconnections
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