Masonry Infill within Braced Frame?

[maxwolf]

Does anyone know if it's feasible to construct a CMU infill wall within a braced steel frame? The CMU is for sound damping, not structure. Obviously, for a chevron braced frame the cmu would be above and below the diagonals.

This is a moderate seismic zone.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[JAE]

I would think that if you could build the masonry around the brace, leave enough room for the max. lateral deflections, and provide for CMU integrity independent of the bracing, you'd be ok.

I'd just worry that if you built the CMU tight to the brace you'd have trouble later on after the building flexes a bit.

 

[Ussuri]

I have done this in the past particularly on portal frame structures. It is quite common in the UK to have a portal framed structure with masonry (CMU) to say half height and cladding from there up.

The bracing was detailed as flat bar bracing and located within the wall cavity. A couple of things we did:

1. Designed the frame with a limit on deflection as per brittle material so the frame was stiffer than normal.

2. A channel section was used to provide wallhead restraint for the infill panels

3. The wall was fixed to the steel frame with spot welded ties to provide edge restraint.

There is a publication by the Steel Construction Institute (I Think) called Masonry Clad Steel Framed Structures or something like that.