Do wall braces obviate wind force into column design? 1

[EngineerofSteel]

Designing a simple frame, using RAM Advanse, I put the wind loads onto the walls...

Then, I design wall braces.

I inherited this process from my predecessor.

However, I looked at another engineer's calcs. There are no wall braces.

Looking at PEMB calc reports, I see the forces moved into single "wind" columns and wall braces.

This are basic metal shop buildings, steel construction.

My Question: Can I transfer the wall wind loads into braces, and omit those forces from my software model?

 

[ishvaaag]

I think the answer depends more than anything on how big are the wind forces respect the columns. Staying simple always was nice, and helps one to concentrate on the main things.

However, if one is proceeding automatically without giving thought to the actual possibility of that the wind should truly influence the design of the columns, it is better to model everything.

It is not as costly as it was, and you get better appraisal of what happens following your wanted actual connectivity (restraints at nodes). Also, you will capture the overall effect of all the hypotheses on the weaker wall wind members; more positively, you will be capturing their stiffness contributing to lesser displacements (for in the end the wind structure would be taking enough forces to satisfy overall stability, yet you might still have some problem with the weaker members out of forces passed to them by other in the simpler ways being disregarded).

As well, by not modelling you may end doing much work at hand that is readily well done with the program.

So except for in general sturdier traditional construction, or wanted simple ways to design, is better and safer to model everything.

 

[EngineerofSteel]

Thanks, ishvaaag.

I rarely model an entire building. But this is good advice.

 

[EngineerofSteel]

That is what I did in that project. I was surprised when the column sizes went down two sizes. The braces made a big difference.

 

[StructGen]

Your problem is of deformation compatablity, and for low seismic zone, you dont need to satisfy deformation compatablity for your columns.