OPTIMIZED DESIGN OF BRACING SYSTEMS IN STEEL FRAME STRUCTURES FOR IMPROVED STABILITY AND MATERIAL EFFICIENCY

Abstract

Steel is one of the major if not the major materials used in the construction industry today. The steel structures are designed for different life spans according to the stipulated design criteria. It is therefore necessary for these structures to bear with utmost certainty the loads that are applied to them. Efficient design of bracing systems plays a particularly vital role in ensuring such certainties when these loads are applied particularly lateral loads. The aim of this thesis work is to identify the best bracing model that will be incorporated into a frame structure to ensure they work together to withstand the loads applied. In the preliminary stages, I will investigate the existing bracing systems models. A loading force from an arbitrary frame would be calculated. The models would then be subjected to a single directional loading force from the frame. The behavior of these models towards the effect of the force would be studied and compared. The volume of material used in each model would be calculated as well. A geometrically defined and elaborate steel frame structure would then be designed. different loads will be applied; the structural and design parameters would be defined to the whole frame. The chosen bracing system would be added to the frame and edited appropriately. Numerical simulation and analysis would be done using AxisVM software. Finally, the results from the software would be deduced and studied to reach an elaborate conclusion.