Wesley and Jim,
Thanks for the AISC link but I have always been curious about this force. The AISC design force (or the 2%, etc force) is in pounds but say, for a simple beam with only the bottom flange continuously braced, how often should the top flange be braced? At the Lu points? Lc distance? An arbitrary distance? If say I picked 2 ft. increments then is that same force required at each one? Or if I doubled that length then is it still the same force but only every 4ft.? This has always puzzled me since the force is in pounds but the application distance is in feet.
I also noticed in Appendix 6 that the force is based on Mr, not the capacity of the beam. Most of my beam selections are based on deflection not stress so it stands to reason that the brace force should be based on the required stress in the beam not the capacity of the beam.
One more comment. Appendix 6 requires a brace on the tension flange at the end of a cantilever beam. This seems reasonable for a beam loaded on the top flange but what if the load to the end of the cantilever is applied at the bottom flange? It seems to me that this is a condition where it would be difficult or impossible for the end of the beam to rotate. Any comments?
Jim Persing
On 10/3/07, Bill Allen <T.W.Allen@cox.net> wrote:
In bracing the top and bottom flange of a steel beam, what force do I use to design the brace connection?
TIA,
T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E.
Consulting Structural Engineers
V (949) 248-8588 • F(949) 209-2509