Single Story Steel Frame Stiffness

Description of Software Tool:

The above referenced Excel Software Tool is provided for determination of the in-plane stiffness of individual (single bay) Braced Frames at a particular Floor Level of a Steel building. Braced Frames are defined in this software tool as elements of the Lateral Force Resisting System (LFRS) at a particular Floor Level, in which the connection of Steel elements are braced out of plane to ensure the frames can adequately and reliably resist in-plane lateral loads. Examples include Special Concentric Braced Frames (SCBF’s), Eccentric Braced Frames (EBF’s) and Special Moment Resisting Frames (SMRF’s).

The stiffness of a variety of simple braced frames is provided (each on its own worksheet as shown below) consisting of two Wide Flange (WF) end columns per frame in a single bay and located between Floor Levels in a Steel building. In each case a sketch of the Free Body Diagram (FBD) is provided, showing the elements resisting loads in highlighted black lines, which are then included in the (Determination of Stiffness) Tables showing load distribution to elements resisting the applied lateral loads.

This Software Tool consist of the following Design Worksheets included within:

• Diagonal Frames;

• A Braced Frames;

• V Braced Frames;

• X Braced Frames;

• EBF Frames;

• SMRF Frames;

Users Guide to Software Tool - Page 1 (Brief Description)