Introduction to Lateral Forces

Lateral Forces
Typically considered to be those which act parallel to the ground plane May occur at many angles other than perfectly horizontal Generally considered to act transversely to the primary structural system

Whats the Big Deal?

Essential for a structure to have lateral resistance Buildings cant stand against wind, seismic or other lateral forces otherwise More than any other structural component, the lateral force-resisting structure has significant impact on space planning

The Right Way

Theres a right way and a wrong way to go about it The right way is to recognize that it is critical to consider lateral forces from the very start, and Integrate lateral force-resisting structure within initial schematic design

The Wrong Way

The wrong way is to leave it until the end for the structural engineer to work out You might get lucky and all will be fine, or You may perhaps end up with a conflict of necessary cross bracing that needs to be in exactly the wrong place.

The Wrong Way

Plan and elevation configuration may even cause difficulty for an engineer to make a suitable structural system work properly, efficiently and economically In the worst case scenario, there are numerous structural disasters that have resulted not so much by poor engineering as simply poorlyconceived buildings that were essentially forced to work structurally

Take Note!
The larger the lateral forces are (whether from wind or seismic forces), the bigger the structural impact and the more crucial it becomes for the architect to consider lateral forces from the earliest planning time!!

Types of Lateral Forces

Wind and seismic forces are the most fundamental lateral forces that an architect must be familiar with Most architects at some point need to deal with one or more other types of lateral forces, so it is important to at least be familiar with them. Lateral forces can be internal to a structure or externally acting outside of it

Internal Lateral Forces

Those which occur from the nature of the structure itself, such as the thrust of an arch, vault or shell, or the tension pull from a cable or membrane

Other Internal Lateral Forces

Restrained thermal movement associated with temperature change

If prevented from expanding or contracting, a material will undergo internal forces and stress in direct proportion to its coefficient of thermal expansion and the degree of temperature change

Finger plate expansion joint in bridge deck

Other Internal Lateral Forces

Volumetric changes

e.g., control joints are required in concrete slabs because as concrete cures it looses moisture and contracts Without enforcing (hence, controlling) where the crack occurs, it will crack in an unappealing random pattern that is also more deleterious to the surface than a control joint.

External Lateral Forces

Most familiar are wind and seismic forces, but there are others: Fluid pressure from water and other liquids Soil against a basement or retaining wall, or perhaps retained materials such as sand, grain, or even coal or wood chips in a power plant storage bin

Building Construction Illustrated, p. 3.10

External Lateral Forces

Flood waters can produce devastatingly large lateral pressures and scour away at foundations, potentially undermining the stability of a building or a bridge support pier A "rolling force" is generated on bridge girders from other large objects like movable cranes on rails

Occurs when a massive object (truck, train or crane, etc.) is decelerated

Gantry Crane

Wind and Seismic Loads

Most fundamental lateral forces that an architect must be familiar with May be so small as to be unnoticed, or large enough to level cities Occur simultaneously with gravity loads

Wind Loads
Wind is really a very complex phenomena with a complex interaction on a building structure It is influenced greatly by local terrain When contacting a building, it can produce pressures and suction forces on any surface of a building, plus internal pressures that tend to balloon the building outward

Wind Loads
Can be thought of against a building like the way an airplane wing behaves

As air moves over the curved surface of the wing, the molecules separate and then rejoin.

Wind Loads

Air over the top of the wing moves faster. The Bernoulli effect says this creates lower pressure, which becomes lift that keeps the plant aloft

Wind Loads
Similarly for a building:

Windward face will experience pressure forces

Wind Loads

Leeward face will experience suction

Wind Loads
Roof:

Flat roof will experience suction Pitched roof will experience suction if wind parallel to ridge (similar to a flat roof)

Wind Loads

Pitched Roof: Lee side will experience suction if wind perpendicular to ridge Windward side may experience suction or pressure, depending on steepness of slope (pressure only at pitch of about 9:12)

wWind: Effects

wWind: Actual Behavior

wSliding

wOverturning Wind: Building Codes

Wind Pressure and Suction

What do you already know about seismic loads?

Lets test your intuition This building was damaged by an earthquake. How did it happen Take 2 minutes to talk with each other and make a list

Seismic Loads
Motion originates outside of a building Effect is internal (c.f., external wind) Forces generated by inertia of building mass as ground moves below the structure Building Motion (Reaction)

Ground Motion (Action)

Seismic Loads
Generates forces in direct proportion to the building's mass and stiffness A massless building would in fact have no seismic forces with at all! By altering the building's stiffness, a substantial change to seismic force is possible (basis for some design approaches)

How are Lateral Forces Resisted?

Most of the building components that comprise the gravity-resisting structure are also those which comprise the lateral force-resisting structure, except that the forces are moving differently Easiest to visualize in terms of wind loads, though seismic is similar:

Wind Load

Lateral Load Propagation in a Basic Box Structure

James Ambrose, Building Structures

Principal Vertical-Plane Lateral Framing Structures

In-plane Diaphragm Action

Edward Allen, Architects Studio Companion

Triangulation (Vertical Truss)

Moment Resistant Joints

Francis D.K. Ching, Building Construction Illustrated

Lateral Force Transfer

Vertical Support Structural Patterns

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Placement of Lateral Force Resisting Elements In Plan

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Concrete Shear Wall

Light Wood-Framed Shear Wall

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Diagonal Cross Bracing: These slender rod bracing members can take only tension, while the heavier members on the opposite corner can work in both tension and compression.

Inverted K-Bracing: The members in this arrangement always resist compression since they provide a mid-span support for attached beams. Lateral loads will either add or subtract from that compressive force depending on the direction.

Diagonal Bracing: This arrangement with heavy diagonal members is capable of resisting both tension and compression.

Steel Rigid Frame