Braced frame

Compared to rigid frames, braced frames provide more lateral rigidity by resisting the applied shears by brace members instead of by columns themselves.

Types of Braced Frames

Braced frames may be grouped into two basic categories depending on their geometric characteristics. In concentric braced frames (CBF), the axes of all members (i.e. columns, beams, and braces) intersect at a common point, such that the member forces are axial. Eccentric braced frames (EBF) utilize axis offset to deliberately introduce flexure and shear into framing beams with the primary goal to increase ductility (Taranth 2004). More refined categorization of braced frames is listed below:

• Ordinary concentric brace frame (OCBF)
• Special concentric brace frame (SCBF) - involve some special connection details to make them more ductile than OCBF
• Eccentrically braced frames (EBF)‎
• Buckling restrained brace frame (BRBF)‎ - utilize steel member encased in concrete to prevent compression buckling failure mode of the brace member

See Also

• Moment frame

References

• Bungale S. Taranath: Wind and earthquake resistant buildings: structural analysis and design, CRC Press, 2004 ISBN 0824759346, ISBN 9780824759346 - chapter 3.2 (Braced Frames), p. 266