Add Vertical Bracing

The Add Multi Level Bracing tools allow for the rapid creation of vertical bracing bays to allow the modelling of bracing stability systems in a model. The bracing members material, section size and arrangement can be quickly specified along with various member attributes. As with other tools for adding members to a model, member viewing and design groups can also be created and/or selected when inputting the bracing members. The bracing position is controlled by selecting a start and finish node graphically on screen using the mouse, or by typing in a the required node numbers. This allows braced bays to be created over multiple levels quickly and easily.

Note: Bracing members can be added to a model using the Add Column, Add Members (General) and Add Members in a panel tools, by using the member attribute settings to set members as bracing. The Add vertical Bracing function provides additional tools which can speed up the creation of braced bays. For horizontal bracing, the Add Vertical Bracing doesn't function and so the other tools are required.

To access the Add Vertical Bracing options, from the top menu go to Create>Add Vertical Bracing. The Add Multi Level Bracing pane opens on the right hand side of the screen. The screen layout is shown below.

The Add Multi Level Bracing pane is shown below.

Member Section.

The member section to be added can be controlled by the member section tools. The section material and cross section type is controlled by a combination of the icons and drop downs at the top of the Add Multi Level Bracing window. The icons give the following options:

Add a Steel Section:

To add a steel section, select the  icon. Once selected, the drop downs below the icons allow for the selection of the Section Type, Steel Grade and Section Size. The member beta angle orientation can be input in the text box. The layout of the steel drop downs is shown below.

Add a Concrete Section:-

To add a rectangular, square, round, L or Tee section, select the concrete icon.

Then click on the ‘Edit Concrete Section’ icon to open the area where the shape and size of the section can be defined. Save the section before positioning it in the frame.

The section size can be later amended using the Properties > Member Section Materials menu option.

Add a Timber Section:-

To add a rectangular, square or round section, select the timber icon.

Then click on the ‘Edit Timber Section’ icon to open the are where the shape and size of the section can be defined. The moduli, strength and service classes, etc can also be selected. Save the section before positioning it in the frame.

The section size, etc can be later amended using the Properties > Member Section Materials menu option.

In-Use:-

The In-Use option allows for the quick selection of a column section already in use in the model. Selecting the  icon, the drop down options now allow for the selection of any previously input member section.

The Define Section check box allows the define section options to be deactivated. In this case, a default 356x406 UC 634 S355 section is added.

Once members have been added to a model, they section properties can be edited through either the Properties>View Member Property Editor or the Properties>Member Section Materials functions.

Bracing Arrangement

Standard bracing arrangements can be selected using the layout icons. The arrangement icons are located to the right of the section icons. The icons introduce the following bracing types:

 - Diagonal bracing with each diagonal introduced in the same orientation

 - Reversing diagonal bracing. Each bay reverse orientation from the previous.

 - Cross bracing

 - Inverted V bracing.

Attributes

The attributes of the input bracing section can be controlled through the Attributes section of the Add Multi Level Bracing menu. The available options are as shown below.

Note: The Stiff Deck option applies the old style rigid member style stiff deck. This is based on modifying the member minor axis properties to make the member rigid laterally. This approach is less accurate than the semi-rigid style stiff deck method and is not compatible with the Finite Element module.

Member Group Options

The member viewing a design group options allow a column to be created and automatically added to a viewing group, a design group or to both. The relevant group can be selected form the drop down, if any viewing or design groups have already been created. Additional groups can be added by clicking on the  icon and inputting a group name or title in the text input box.

Adding Multi-Level Bracing

Adding a braced bay is controlled by the input of the first and second node locations. These can be input either by using the mouse pointer to click on the required nodes, or by typing in a node number. The nodes control both the level and position of the bracing introduced and also the orientation of the bracing itself within the created braced bay. The node inputs are shown below.

The braced bay is defined by selecting diagonally opposite corners of the area to which the bracing is to be added. Generally, this means that the selection is bottom left/top right or bottom right/top left. The first node can be at either the top or bottom of the area.

With the Activate On Click option active, the braced bay will be added as soon as the second node number in input. To turn off the Activate on Click option, click on the

The input for a typical braced bay is shown below. The navigation and viewing filter tools can be used to make the task of selecting the required nodes simpler.

For the diagonal bracing, the orientation of the lowest diagonal matches the orientation of a line drawn from the first node to the second node inputs. Thus the orientation of the diagonal bracing can be controlled by selecting bottom left/top right or bottom right/top left when creating a braced bay. It can be helpful to observe the orientation of the view with the Navigation Cube and axes indicator to ensure the bracing being introduced is in the correct orientation.

If a braced bay is added but is not as required, the Undo function can be used to quickly remove the bracing again.

The steps to follow to add a vertical braced bay as as follow:

1.Open the Multi-Level Bracing Editor

2.If desired, set the member section properties

3.Select the type of bracing, you have a choice of:

a)Single leg parallel bracing

b)Single leg reverse bracing

c)Cross bracing

d)Inverted V bracing

e)K bracing

4.Select the start point of the multi-level bracing by clicking on a member end

5.Select the end point of the multi-level bracing by clicking on a member end