Interior steel stud track spanning horizontally

[hawkaz]

To brace a ten foot tall interior steel stud wall, I am spanning a track horizontally from corner to corner of a room. There is no bracing to the structure above.
I have always treated a track like this as unbraced for flexural bracing.
Another engineer has suggested that the studs themselves will brace the track for the flexural bracing requirements, so the flexural unbraced length could be reduced to 24".

Have I been overly conservative? What have others done?

Thanks in advance

 

[Tomfh]

What are are stud and track fixing details?

If it’s screw fixed like this then it’s braced at the studs:

https://www.gyprocktrade.com.au/Pages/Products/Categories/Product.aspx?productId=159&categoryId=78

It’s like bracing any other beam. If the flanges are prevented from deflecting laterally and/or the cross section is prevented from rotating then the section is braced.

 

[KootK]

I agree with Tom. As long as it's not a slip track setup etc, the studs will brace the track for global LTB.