Analyzing the Effectiveness of Bracing Patterns in High-Rise Building

Abstract

The design of a multi-storied steel building requires a lateral load resisting system in addition to the gravity load system, as these are the governing factors in the design and affect its service-life performance. This study aims to demonstrate the impact of several bracing systems in multi-storied steel buildings. Since most multistorey structures comprise reinforced concrete (RC) frame construction, ensuring the design is safe against lateral loads is essential. Steel bracing is mainly used to resist these lateral loads in designing a tall building. Due to its high rigidity, strength, and lateral load-resisting capacity, steel bracing is an excellent alternative for providing lateral support in a high-rise building. The bracing element in a structural design offers additional rigidity, which helps the structure resist earthquake forces. Because of its ease of manufacture and low cost, concentric bracing is one of the most used lateral load-resisting measures in building frames. This study presents the analysis results of various types of bracing (X-bracing, V-bracing, K-bracing and Diagonal bracing) in a structural system using STAAD Pro software and a comparison is presented in terms of maximum lateral displacement, shear forces and bending moments observed due to the application of lateral loads. Tall buildings having 34 storeys with different bracing patterns were analyzed. This study concludes that using bracing units in a structural design significantly alters and improves the structural response of a high-rise building under seismic and wind loads.