STEEL INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.

BRACING SYSTEM

STEEL STRUCTURES 3
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BRACING SYSTEMS OF THE INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS
►FUNCTIONS OF BRACING SYSTEMS
►CLASSIFICATION OF BRACING SYSTEMS
►GENERAL ASPECTS FOR DESIGN

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 FUNCTIONS OF BRACING SYSTEMS

 The transversal frames cannot take loads that act perpendicular to this plan.
The stiffness of the whole structure is insured with longitudinal ties between
the plane structural elements.

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 The bracing system insures the spatial character to the structure and a greater
stiffness for the structural elements and to the roof in its plane. Also insure:
 a spatial collaboration between the transversal frames;
 small deformations of the structure under horizontal transversal actions;
 stability during assembling;
 diminish the effective lengths of the structural elements in compression;
 resist to horizontal loads due to wind actions and the surge effects due to
cranes.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF BRACING SYSTEMS

• The following structural elements are usually braced:

• roof trusses;
• skylight (if there are);
• columns;
• crane girders (particular situations).
 In the longitudinal direction of the structure, in the bays situated

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in the middle of the blocks for temperature tolerance
(contraction-expansion) two running transversal frames are
bounded together in a stiffen block.

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 BRACES OF TRUSS

HORIZONTAL LONGITUDINAL BRACING

AT THE BOTTOM FLANGE OF THE TRUSS

•They are placed along the structure

in the external bays, between the
joint in the supports of the trusses
and the next joint by longitudinal
elements (rods);

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Take the horizontal reactions from
the top part of the columns that
carry the longitudinal walls; if the
truss is fixed to the column, the
bottom chord of the truss is in
compression and has to be provided
with bracing in the second panel.

Horizontal bracing system at the bottom chord of the truss

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(the sheeting is light and cannot sustain wind loads in its plane)
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Bracing systems at the bottom chord of the truss in two situations:
- the distance rods are placed in the truss joints;
- the distance rods are placed between the truss joints (smaller loads applied to the bracing system)
Solutions for particular situations:
 Bracing in the case of multi-spans structures for the small or medium heights of the columns
and lift capacities;
 Bracing for big heights and heavy lift capacities

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 STEEL STRUCTURES 3
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Braces at the bottom chord of the truss:
 Rigid connection between column and truss;

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 Multi-span structure, cranes at different levels

Longitudinal braces are used to

limit lateral translations

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 HORIZONTAL TRANSVERSAL BRACING FROM THE
BOTTOM AND THE TOP CHORD OF THE TRUSS

• Placed normal to the longitudinal axis of the structure, in the end bays; also, in the
bay next to the tolerance distance between adjacent blocks and at every 50 m along
the structure. Some of the purlins are part of the system of horizontal bracings
(under the skylight the purlins are missing so rods have to be placed).
• Braces at the bottom chord of the truss are necessary in order to avoid the local
buckling of the elements in the bottom chord of the truss.
• Braces at the top chord take the horizontal reactions coming from the top of the

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intermediate columns of the walls in the gable (reactions coming from the wind
action normal to the wall); they are designed to sustain a horizontal conventional
force:
• P=0.02Nmax
where:
Nmax is the maximum axial stress in the top chord of the truss from the vertical loads
on the roof; P is distributed to the joints of the bracing system as in a lattice girder
after that the final stresses being determined.

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• THE VERTICAL BRACING OF THE
MARGINAL AND CENTRAL
STRUTS OF THE TRUSS
• Are placed in the end bays of the
structure and intermediary at 3-5
bays along the structure (in order to
insure the stability at the assembling

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stage).
• They may also be put under the
supports of the skylight and in the
case of the overhead travelling
cranes at the joints of the bottom
chord of the truss.

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Design of the internal members of
the horizontal transversal bracing
 VERTICAL BRACING
SYSTEM OF THE TRUSS:

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MARGINAL AND CENTRAL
STRUTS BRACED

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 BRACES FOR THE COLUMNS

VERTICAL BRACING OF THE COLUMNS

 Placed in the axis of the columns in the longitudinal direction; in the end bays, because
of the tolerances that are to be taken into account, only a flexible rod is used at the top
part of the column;
 Column braces are placed both at the top and at the bottom part of the column in a bay
situated in the middle of the longitudinal axes, or if the building is long, at L/3, L being

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the longitudinal in plane dimension;
HORIZONTAL BRACING OF THE COLUMNS

 They are used when the bays are very big to reduce the effective length of the
intermediary columns of the longitudinal walls and to help them take the horizontal
forces transmitted by the wind to the walls.
 The design of the cross sections of the braces is based on the slenderness assumption,
because of their small dimension

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 C.Teleman_I.C.E._IV_LECTUR
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Design of the vertical bracing of the columns in the central rigid frame

 F 
H
 0;W  Fp  2D cos  V  W  Fp  
hi
 W  Fp   tg
LT

W  Fp
 M  A
 0; W  Fp  hi  V  LT  0 D
2 cos 
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