Umm Al-Qura University Journal For Engineering and Architecture

Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame

Buildings via First Order Analysis
Mohamed A. El Zareef1 & Salah E. E. El-Metwally2
1
Structural Engineering Department, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, Egypt
E-mail: [email protected]
2
Civil Engineering Department, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: [email protected]

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© Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, pp.1-20 April 2019

Under Legal Deposit No. p- ISSN: 1658-4635 / e- ISSN: 1658-8150

 ‫‪© Umm Al-Qura University Journal For E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, pp.1-20 April 2019‬‬

‫‪Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame‬‬

‫‪Buildings via First Order Analysis‬‬
‫‪Mohamed A. El Zareef1 & Salah E. E. El-Metwally2‬‬
‫‪1‬‬
‫‪Structural Engineering Department, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, Egypt‬‬
‫‪E-mail: [email protected]‬‬
‫‪2‬‬
‫‪Civil Engineering Department, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia‬‬
‫‪E-mail: [email protected]‬‬

‫تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‪ /‬غير مقيدة‬

‫باستخدام التحليل المرن من الدرجة األولى‬
‫‪2‬‬
‫محمد الظريف‪ ،1‬سالم متولي‬
‫‪1‬قسم الهندسة المعمارية‪ ،‬جامعة المنصورة‪ ،‬المنصورة‪ ،‬جمهورية مصر العربية‬
‫‪2‬قسم الهندسة المدنية‪ ،‬جامعة أم القرى‪ ،‬مكة‪ ،‬المملكة العربية السعوديه‬

‫الملخص‪:‬‬
‫المنش ــآت ذات اإل ازح ــة ه ــي الت ــي تتع ــرض إل ازح ــة جانبي ــة مؤثـ ـرة‪ .‬يت ــم تعري ــف اإل ازح ــة الجانبي ــة المؤثـ ـرة وفًق ــا للك ــود‬
‫األمريكــي ‪ ،ACI 318-14‬علــى أنهــا اإل ازحــة التــي تتســبب فــي زيــادة العــزوم الناتجــة مــن إ ازحــة نهايــات األعمــدة بنســبة ‪%5‬‬
‫أكبــر مــن عــزوم االنحنــاء المقــدرة علــى هــذه األعمــدة فــي حالــة تجاهــل هــذه اإل ازحــة‪ .‬يعتبــر التحليــل المــرن مــن الدرجــة الثانيــة‬
‫هــو األداة الواضحــة المســتخدمة لتحديــد مــا إذا كان المبنــى مقيــداً أو غيــر مقيــد‪ .‬فــي بعــض الحــاالت يمكــن تصنيــف المبنــى‬
‫عل ــى أن ــه مقي ــد أو غي ــر مقي ــد بفح ــص إذا كان هي ــكل المبن ــى ب ــه عناص ــر داعم ــة واضح ــة مث ــل حوائ ــط الق ــص‪ ،‬أو جمالون ــات‬
‫الق ــص‪ ،‬أو أن ـواع أخ ــرى م ــن الدعام ــات الجانبي ــة‪.‬‬
‫ف ــي ه ــذه الورق ــة البحثي ــة ت ــم تطوي ــر إجــراء تقريب ــي موضوع ــي يس ــتخدم تحلي ــل المرون ــة م ــن الدرج ــة األول ــى لتحدي ــد م ــا‬
‫إذا كان الــدور‪ ،‬داخــل مبنــى هيكلــي ذو إطــار‪ ،‬مقيــداً أو غيــر مقيــد‪ .‬تــم تقديــم العديــد مــن األمثلــة للتحقــق مــن النهــج المقتــرح‬
‫وإظه ــار بس ــاطته ف ــي تصني ــف اإلط ــارات ذات اإل ازح ــة كإط ــارات مقي ــدة أو غي ــر مقي ــدة‪ .‬حي ــث بين ــت نتائ ــج البح ــث عل ــى أن‬
‫دائم ــا م ــا يك ــون ف ــي الجان ــب اآلم ــن وف ــي بع ــض الح ــاالت يك ــون متحفظ ـاً‪.‬‬
‫النه ــج المقت ــرح ً‬
‫الكلمــات المفتاحيــة‪ :‬خرســانة مســلحة‪ ،‬منشــآت هيكليــة ذات إطــارات‪ ،‬حوائــط خرســانية‪ ،‬مبانــي مقيــدة وغيــر مقيــدة‪ ،‬تحليــل مــن‬
‫الدرجــة األولــى‪ ،‬تحليــل مــن الدرجــة الثانيــة‪.‬‬

‫‪Abstract:‬‬
‫‪A sway structure is one where side sway is likely to be significant. According to the ACI 318-14, the signifi-‬‬
‫‪cance is defined as a situation where lateral displacement at the ends of the columns increases the critical bending‬‬
‫‪moments by more than 5% above the moment calculated ignoring these displacements. A second order elastic anal-‬‬
‫‪ysis is an obvious tool to determine if a structure is braced or unbraced. In some cases, a structure can be classified‬‬
‫‪as braced/unbraced by inspection if the structure has obvious bracing elements such as shear walls, shear trusses,‬‬
‫‪or other types of lateral bracing.‬‬

‫‪In this paper, an objective approximate procedure utilizing first order elastic analysis has been developed to‬‬
‫‪determine if a story, within a framed structure, is braced or unbraced. Several examples are presented to verify the‬‬
‫‪proposed approach and to show its simplicity in classifying sway frames as braced/unbraced. The results from the‬‬
‫‪proposed approach are always on the safe side.‬‬
‫‪Keywords: Reinforced concrete, Frame buildings, Shear walls, Bracing/unbracing, First order elastic analysis,‬‬
‫‪Second order analysis.‬‬

‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة ‪ -‬المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم ‪1441‬هـ – سبتمبر ‪2019‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

1. INTRODUCTION:
A structure may be considered braced against side sway if the lateral loads in the
direction under consideration are resisted by a lateral load-carrying member or members
(such as shear walls, elevator shafts, or other types of lateral bracing) extending from
the foundation to the upper end of the structure. In such a structure, the lateral drift of
the columns is very small and its effect can be neglected. A frame structure is considered
unbraced if the frame itself resists the lateral load effects (Pillai and Kirk [2]). In reality,
frame structures are seldom fully braced or completely unbraced and, in many applica-
tions, it is impossible to ascertain by inspection whether a story is braced or unbraced.
Basically, whether a structure is braced or unbraced will depend on its stiffness against
lateral deformation. To evaluate lateral drift effects, the ACI 318-14 [1] defines a braced
compression member as a member within a story in which horizontal displacements do
not significantly affect the moments in the structure. Numerically, a column in a story
is considered braced against side sway if the second order moments (P-∆ moments) do
not exceed 5% of the moments obtained from the first-order analysis of that story. The
EC-2 [3] follows the same approach as the ACI 318-14 [1] and considers a column to
be unbraced if the lateral displacement of the column ends increases the critical bending
moments by more than 10% above the moments calculated from first-order analysis.
If the structure is classified as braced against side sway, it is unnecessary to perform
nonlinear analysis that accounts for geometric nonlinearity. In the meantime, the classi-
fication of a structure as braced or unbraced can only be performed through conducting
second order analysis, whereas the objective is to establish when second order analysis
is unnecessary. In this paper, a more objective approach, based on first-order analysis, is
developed to classify a story within a framed structural system into braced or unbraced
without the need to perform a second order analysis.
Dario [4] presented a numerical method to investigate the minimum stiffness of the
lateral bracing system required to achieve a non-sway buckling condition. The modified
stability functions are applied to derive a numerical equation for evaluating the mini-
mum stiffness for the lateral bracing structures and the corresponding buckling load for
columns. The columns’ layout in the plan and the shear deformations along columns
presented by Timoshenko and Gere [5] are considered in his study. Dario [4] concluded
that the minimum stiffness of the lateral bracing system is influenced by the geometric
properties, shear stiffness, flexural stiffness, axial load, sizes, and end conditions of the
columns. The proposed method is verified by numerous examples of framed buildings.
Nauman and Nazrul [6] studied the behavior of multistory reinforced concrete struc-
tures with different types of a bracing system using a software approach. The study
considered the bracing system to be an effective retrofitting technique for multistory
framed structures subjected to severe lateral loads in seismic or windy zones. The study
concludes that compared to other bracing systems, the steel cross-bracing system has
both economic and practical advantages. The overall mass of the building will not in-
crease significantly after applying the steel cross-bracing system. The software analysis

2 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 ...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

of the structure with different sorts of bracing systems shows a significant reduction in
lateral deformations after adding the bracing system. By adding a cross-bracing system,
the shear force and bending moments in columns are reduced along with the lateral load
transferred to the foundation through axial action.
In codes of practice and available methods in literature, the determination of bracing
conditions of RC frame structures essentially relies on performing second order analysis
by considering geometric nonlinearity. The efforts encountered in such analysis or the
availability of suitable software are sometimes beyond the capacity of design engineers.
Therefore, the practical and simplified approach presented in this paper, to investigate if a
story in RC framed structures is braced or unbraced, is significant and of practical use in
design.

2. PROPOSED APPROACH:
2.1 Concepts and Assumptions:
According to the Egyptian Code of Practice for Reinforced Concrete Structures
(ECP 203-17) [7], a building is classified as a braced structure if it has a lateral load-sup-
porting wall distributed symmetrically in the horizontal plan as well as continuous in all
stories of the building. Additionally, the building bracing index (⍺) should satisfy the
following equations.
For buildings with four stories or more,

(1a)

where Hb is the total height of the building, N is the summation of total working loads on all
the vertical members, E is the modulus of elasticity of concrete, and I is the effective moment of
inertia of the wall cross-section resisting the moment for the direction into consideration.
For buildings with several stories (n) less than four stories,

(1b)

The same concept was introduced in DIN 1045-1 [8] for the nearly symmetrical layout of
vertical stiffening elements. These stiffening elements or a building with these bracing elements
must have sufficient stiffness to resist all the horizontal forces acting on the structure and to
transfer them to the foundations.

The basic concept of the proposed approach is based on finding a flexural rigidity of the
framed structural system equivalent to a cantilever shear wall system. This equivalent rigidity
can be utilized in Eq. (1) to determine if the system is braced or not.

The lateral displacement of the equivalent shear wall system is obtained by applying 1.0 kN
as a lateral force in each story. The lateral displacement of the structural frame system against
1.0 kN force at the slab level of each story is obtained from first order elastic analysis using a

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬ 3
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

suitable finite element software. Since the framed system and the equivalent shear wall should
have the same P-∆ effect, the equivalent flexural rigidity for the framed structural system is
obtained by equating the average lateral displacement of both systems.

For simplicity, the following assumptions are proposed.

• All floors are identical in geometry and carry the same lateral load intensity.
• All stories have the same height.
• In frame analysis, the effective moment of inertia is the gross moment of inertia (Ig) multiplied
by 0.35 and 0.7 for beams and columns, respectively.
• The P-∆ effect is a function of gravity loads and lateral displacement.

2.2 Deflected Shape

The equivalent shear wall system and its lateral deflected shape under 1.0 kN lateral
force in each story are shown in Fig. 1a. Since the lateral load can be approximated as
a distributed load of (1.0/h) kN/m, where h is the story height, the deflected shape can
be assumed as a fourth order degree parabola. Then, the average lateral displacement is
developed as follows.

a) Shear wall system and deformation b) Building frame system and deformation
mode (flexural mode) mode (shear mode)
Fig. 1 Shear wall, frame models and their lateral deflected shape.

The maximum lateral displacement at the top of the building (∆w, top), neglecting
second order analysis (P-∆ effect), can be calculated from the following equation.

(2)

The average story displacement (∆w, average) can be obtained by calculating the
area under the curve of deflected shape divided by the total height of the building (Hb).

4 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 ...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

The deflected shape is a fourth-degree parabola; therefore,

(3)

From Eqs. (2) and (3),

(4)

where n is the total number of stories.

The deformation mode of the shear wall is flexural while the deformation mode of the
frame is shear. The software ETABS is used to obtain the story lateral displacement against
1.0 kN lateral force at each story. Upon approximating the deflected shape of the frame as a
piecewise linear function, Fig. 1b, the average story displacement (∆ f, average) can be cal-
culated by dividing the summation of the story lateral displacements by the total
number of stories (n) as follows:

(5)

By equating the average lateral displacement of both the frame and the equivalent
wall system:

(6)

Then, the equivalent flexural rigidity, (EI)eq, of the structural frame system can be
expressed as follows:

(7)

This equivalent flexural rigidity, (EI)eq, can be introduced into Eq. (1).

3. NUMERICAL VERIFICATION:
In order to verify the proposed approach, three different structural frame sys-
tems are analyzed in three-dimensions, 3D, for different heights of 3, 6, 9, 12,
and 15 stories. To cover a wide range of plan variety, three plan options are used
with three different aspect ratios and with optional openings. The plans remain
symmetric around the axis in the direction of consideration. Floors with beams of
different flexural rigidities, ranging from rigid, semi-rigid and flat plate without
beams, are utilized in the study. A total of 144 cases were analyzed in 3D using
ETABS software. The details of the studied frames are shown in Fig. 2 and pre-
sented in tables 1a and 1b. Due to the large number of analyzed cases, a coding

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬ 5
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

system is used to simplify reading the output results. The code of each analyzed
case consists of 10 cells. The first two cells indicate the number of stories. The 3rd
and 4th cells indicate that the plan has rigid beams (RB), semi-rigid beams (SB),
or without beams (NB) for the flat plate option. The 5th, 6th, and 7th cells mean
1st order analysis or 2nd order analysis. The 8th cell indicates the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
plan options with different dimensions of the plan. The 9th and 10th cells mean a
plan with an opening (WO) or without an opening (NO).
Columns› dimensions Columns‫ ׳‬dimensions Columns‫ ׳‬dimensions
No. of Column
[mm] [mm] [mm]
stories position
1st plan option 2nd plan option 3rd plan option
corner 300 x 400 300 x 400 300 x 400
3 edge 300 x 500 300 x 500 300 x 500
interior 300 x 600 300 x 600 300 x 600
corner 300 x 500 300 x 500 300 x 500
6 edge 300 x 600 300 x 600 300 x 600
interior 300 x 950 300 x 1000 300 x 1000
corner 300 x 700 300 x 700 300 x 700
9 edge 300 x 800 300 x 800 300 x 800
interior 300 x 1400 300 x 1450 300 x 1450
corner 300 x 800 300 x 800 ---
12 edge 300 x 900 300 x 900 ---
interior 400 x 1500 400 x 1700 ---
corner --- 300 x 900 ---
15 edge --- 300 x 1200 ---
interior --- 400 x 1900 ---
Table 1a: Concrete dimensions of columns of the frame systems used in the study.

No. of Main beams’ dimensions [mm] Transverse beams’ dimensions [mm]

stories All plans All plans

300x700 (RB) 250x500 (RB)

3, 6, 9 250x300 (SB) 120*300 (SB)
without beams without beams
400x700 (RB) 250x500 (RB)
12, 15 250x300 (SB) 120*300 (SB)
without beams without beams
Note: Slab thickness is 160mm for plans with beams (RB & SB) and 220mm for flat plate option (NB).
Table 1b: Concrete dimensions of beams of frame systems used in the study.

6 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 ‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‪ :‬تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‪ /‬غير مقيدة‪...‬‬

‫‪a) First Plan Option‬‬

‫‪b) Second Plan Option‬‬

‫‪b) Third Plan Option‬‬

‫‪Fig. 2 Layout of plans used in the study.‬‬

‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة ‪ -‬المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم ‪1441‬هـ – سبتمبر ‪2019‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪7‬‬
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

4. BRACED/UNBRACED CONDITION ANALYSIS:

The first order analysis and second order analysis are conducted in
three-dimensions for the studied building frames using The ETABS software
program. The maximum story displacement and total bending moment at the
base level of columns due to 1.0 kN horizontal force at each story level are
presented for all cases in tables 2 to 13. These obtained results are used to
investigate the bracing conditions of the studied buildings according to ECP
203-17 [7], ACI 318-14 [1], and EC2 [9]. The bracing conditions of all stud-
ied cases are summarized in tables 14, 15, and 16 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd plan
options, respectively.

In general, the ECP 203-17 [7] provisions show slightly conservative

results compared with the ACI 318-14 [1] and the EC2 [9] especially for
building frames with number of stories more than 12-story. For instance,
the code provisions for the bracing condition of 2nd plan option are shown
in table 15. The 15-story building frame is classified as an unbraced build-
ing according to the value of the bracing index (a) in ECP 203-17 using
first order analysis. However, the same building is classified as a braced
structure according to the provisions of the ACI 318-14 [1] and the EC2 [9]
using first and second order analysis. From the results, it is also obvious
that the frame action produced by increasing the flexural rigidity of beams
in floor slabs controls the bracing condition of the building frames with
number of stories up to 12-stories.

8 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 Table 2: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 15-story frame for the 2nd plan option.

Table 3: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 12-story frame for the 1st plan option.

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬
...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

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10
Table 4: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 12-story frame for the 2nd plan option.

Table 5: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 9-story frame for the 1st plan option.
El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 Table 6: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 9-story frame for the 2nd plan option.

Table 7: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 9-story frame for the 3rd plan option.

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬
...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

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12
Table 8: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 6-story frame for the 1st plan option.

Table 9: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 6-story frame for the 2nd plan option.
El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 Table 10: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 6-story frame for the 3rd plan option.

Table 11: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 3-story frame for the 1st plan option.

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬
...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

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14
Table 12: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 3-story frame for the 2nd plan option.

Table 13: Story displacement and a base bending moment of the 3-story frame for the 3rd plan option.
El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 ...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

Floor slab with Floor slab with Flat plate

No. of semi-rigid beams
Code Type rigid beams floor slab
stories
NO* WO** NO* WO** NO* WO**
α 0.568 0.548 1.221 1.193 1.412 1.366
ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

12 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0017 0.0018 0.0104 0.0107 0.0136 0.0137

ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced

EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced

α 0.553 0.533 1.055 1.013 1.204 1.164

ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

9 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0013 0.0011 0.0057 0.0057 0.0074 0.0073

ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced

EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced

α 0.535 0.515 0.916 0.908 1.102 1.052

ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

6 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0005 0.0006 0.0029 0.0032 0.0038 0.0036

ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced

EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced

α 0.412 0.396 0.721 0.691 0.753 0.719

ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

3 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0003 0.0003 0.0008 0.0008 0.001 0.001

ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced

EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced

*NO: abbreviation for without openings in floor plans.
**WO: abbreviation for with openings in floor plans.
Table 14: Code provisions for a bracing condition of the 1st plan option.

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬ 15
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

Floor slab with Floor slab with Flat plate

No. of semi-rigid beams
Code Type rigid beams floor slab
stories
NO* WO** NO* WO** NO* WO**
α 0.646 0.704 1.329 1.098 1.432 0.899
ECP 203-17
Condition unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

15 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0013 0.0018 0.0078 0.0058 0.009 0.0033
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.599 0.626 1.196 0.886 1.335 0.337
ECP 203-17
Condition braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced braced

12 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.001 0.0012 0.0048 0.0028 0.0062 0.0001
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.545 0.623 1.059 0.744 1.199 0.532
ECP 203-17
Condition braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced braced

9 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0007 0.0009 0.0028 0.0015 0.004 0.001
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.58 0.562 0.953 0.578 1.072 0.91
ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced braced unbraced unbraced

6 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0002 0.0006 0.0015 0.0003 0.0019 0.0015
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.427 0.282 0.835 0.619 0.872 1.161
ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced

3 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0 0 0.0006 0.0006 0.0005 0.0005

ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
*NO: abbreviation for without openings in floor plans.
**WO: abbreviation for with openings in floor plans.
Table 15: Code provisions for a bracing condition of the 2nd plan option.

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 ...‫ غير مقيدة‬/‫ تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‬:‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‬

Floor slab with Floor slab with Flat plate

No. of
Code Type rigid beams semi-rigid beams floor slab
stories
NO* WO** NO* WO** NO* WO**
α 0.698 0.696 1.643 1.275 1.967 1.678
ECP 203-17
Condition unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced unbraced
9 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0049 0.0058 0.0387 0.0278 0.0595 0.0526
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.459 0.682 0.923 0.382 1.051 0.414
ECP 203-17
Condition braced unbraced unbraced braced unbraced braced
6 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0016 0.0038 0.0066 0.0012 0.0084 0.0007
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
α 0.402 0.283 0.704 0.309 0.733 0.431
ECP 203-17
Condition braced braced unbraced braced unbraced braced
3 MP∆ -effect / M1st order % 0.0006 0.0003 0.0018 0.0005 0.0022 0.0011
ACI 318-14 braced braced braced braced braced braced
EC2 braced braced braced braced braced braced
*NO: abbreviation for without openings in floor plans.
**WO: abbreviation for with openings in floor plans.
Table 16: Code provisions for a bracing condition of the 3rd plan option.

The maximum lateral story displacement of all studied cases is shown in Figs. 3 to
5. In general, using rigid beams (RBs) in floor slabs produces frame action that reduces
the lateral sway displacement. For instance, from the first order analysis of the 15-story
building in 2nd plan option, the top story sway displacement of cases 15SB1st2NO and
15NB1st2NO increased by 4.7 and 5.3 times the top displacement of case 15RB1st2NO,
respectively. This increase in top story sway reaches 6.0 and 7.3 times for the same
cases in second order analysis. Moreover, the reduction in the lateral sway displace-
ment due to the existence of rigid beams (RB) becomes noteworthy by reducing the
height of the frame building. For instance, from the first order analysis of the 12-story
building in 2nd plan option, the top story sway displacement of cases 12SB1st2NO and
12NB1st2NO increased by 5.5 and 6.5 times the top displacement of case 12RB1st2NO,
respectively. This increase in top story sway reaches 6.5 and 8.5 times for the same
cases in second order analysis.

.‫م‬2019 ‫هـ – سبتمبر‬1441 ‫ المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم‬- ‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة‬ 17
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

Fig. 3: Story lateral displacement for the 2nd plan option.

18 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019
 ‫محمد الظريف وآخرون‪ :‬تصنيف المنشآت الخرسانية ذات اإلطارات من حيث مقيدة‪ /‬غير مقيدة‪...‬‬

‫‪Fig. 4: Story lateral displacement for the 1st plan option.‬‬

‫‪Fig. 5: Story lateral displacement for the 3rd plan option.‬‬

‫مجلة جامعة أم القرى للهندسة والعمارة ‪ -‬المجلد العاشر – العدد األول – محرم ‪1441‬هـ – سبتمبر ‪2019‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪19‬‬
 El Zareef Mohamed A., & et al: Bracing/Unbracing Classification of RC Frame...

5. CONCLUSIONS:
A simplified approximate method for classifying columns in sway frames as braced/un-
braced has been developed. The method depends on finding an equivalent wall stiffness that
has the same lateral restraint effect as the frame. The equivalent wall stiffness is used in Eq. (1)
to determine if the building is braced or unbraced. This simplified approach eliminates the
need to perform a second order analysis to determine if a building is braced or unbraced. The
proposed procedure has been verified and it is always on the safe side.

REFERENCES:
- ACI Committee 318. (2014), Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, (ACI 318-14) and Commen-
tary, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, p.519.

- Pillai, S. U. and Kirk, D. W. (1988), Reinforced concrete, McGraw-Hill, Ryerson, p.641.

- Eurocode 2. (1990), Design of Concrete Structures - Part 1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings.

- Dario Aristizabal-Ochoa, J. (2011) , Minimum Bracing Stiffens for Multi-Column Systems: Theory, Dyna, Vol. 78, No.
168, Medellin, ISSN 0012-7353.

- Timoshenko, S. and Gere, J., Theory of Elastic Stability, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, Chapter II.

- Nauman Mohammed and Islam Nazrul, (2013), Behaviour of Multistorey RCC Structure with Different Type of
Bracing System (A Software Approach), IJIRSET, Vol. 2, Issue 12, 2013. ISSN: 2319-8753.

- ECP 203, Egyptian Code for the Design and Construction of Reinforced Concrete Structures, Ministry of
Housing, Cairo, Egypt, 2017.

- DIN 1045-1, Tragwerke aus Beton, Stahlbeton und Spannbeton – Teil 1, Bemessung und Konstruktion, 2001-07. (German)

- Eurocode 2, Design of concrete structures, October 2001.

Received:00/00/00 Accepted:00/00/00

20 Umm Al-Qura University Journal for E & A, Vol.10 Issue No.1, Muharram 1440, September 2019