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34 CHAPTER THREE

FIGURE 3.8 Purlin strut laterally braced to roof purlin. (Nucor Building Systems.)

FIGURE 3.9 Detail of pipe strut attachment to column or rafter. The manufacturer recommends
using two 1-in-diameter A 325 bolts. (Nucor Building Systems.)

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FIGURE 3.10 Alternate detail of pipe strut attachment to column or rafter. The manufacturer recommends using two
1-in-diameter A 325 bolts for 6-in pipe and three 1-in-diameter A 325 bolts for 8-in pipe. (Nucor Building Systems.)

How many sidewall braced bays are required? In public construction, the contract drawings
showing all the doors and windows are typically produced before the manufacturer is selected, and
the specifier must make an educated guess. Beyond the basic guidance of Fig. 3.11, which suggests
a maximum of five unbraced bays between the braced bays, asking a few manufacturers may help.
One source (Nucor Building Systems7) recommends using Table 3.1, with the following notes:

1. The building should have the minimum total number of bays for the required number of braced
bays in Table 3.1:

Required braced bays Minimum total bays

1 2
2 5
3 7
4 9
5 11

2. The table is based upon Occupancy Category II, as defined in the MBMA Manual. (This category
includes most buildings; it excludes essential facilities and those that represent a substantial haz-
ard to human life in the event of failure.)
3. The letter B or C refers to the wind exposure category. The table should not be used for structures
located within a hurricane coastline.
4. Additional bracing may be needed for relatively long buildings. Also, at least one braced bay must
be provided on each side of expansion joints.
5. Consult the manufacturer for further explanation of the table and for conditions not included.

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 THE BASICS

36 CHAPTER THREE

FIGURE 3.11 Typical bracing locations. (Star Building Systems.)

Building end walls must also be braced, unless a rigid frame is provided there for future expansion or
other reasons. Standard endwall bracing locations are between the first and second interior columns
(Fig. 3.12), although they could be located anywhere along the endwall as allowed by the specifier.7

3.3.5 Common Wall Bracing Details at the Bottom of Columns

The most common details of diagonal rod and cable bracing connection to the column are shown in
Fig. 3.13. Essentially, the concentrated loads from the bracing are transferred via hillside washers
directly into the column webs.
The hillside washer (Fig. 3.14) is a cast circular element with a vertically slotted hole that allows
for variable angles of rod insertion. A matching vertically slotted hole is made in the column web. The
better washer designs have a protrusion on the back that locks into a matching hole in the web and
prevents the washer from sliding upward under load.
Despite their widespread use, these details could use some improvement. The thin unreinforced
frame webs are rarely checked for local bending from the concentrated loads applied by bracing and
may not survive the real load application. The author has seen this happen.

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 TABLE 3.1 Minimum Number of Braced Bays.

Building
width ⱕ80′ ⬎80′ ⱕ160′ ⬎160′ ⱕ200′ ⬎200′ ⱕ240′

Wind speed Eave height ⱕ16′ 20′ 24′ 30′ ⱕ16′ 20′ 24′ 30′ ⱕ16′ 20′ 24′ 30′ ⱕ16′ 20′ 24′ 30′
THE BASICS

70 mph, B or C 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 1 1 3 3 2 3 3 4
80 mph, B
90 mph, B
80 mph, C 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 4 5
100 mph, B
90 mph, C 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 5
100 mph, C 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 5 6
Source: Nucor Building Systems.

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37
 THE BASICS

38 CHAPTER THREE

FIGURE 3.12 Typical endwall bracing locations. Buildings not exceeding 100 ft in width may need only a single set
of bracing; when the width is between 100 and 240 ft, two sets are required, as shown. (Nucor Building Systems.)

FIGURE 3.13 Typical rod and cable brace details. (a) Rod brace to frame detail;
(b) cable brace to frame detail. (Metallic Building Systems.)

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 THE BASICS

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FIGURE 3.14 Hillside washer.

Failures of the hillside washer-to-web connection were reported by Miller,8 who investigated
damage to several metal buildings from the Feb. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake in California. He
reported that five out of six such connections in one building failed. The failure mechanism involved
fracture of the hillside washers (Fig. 3.15) and in some cases subsequent pull-through of the rods.
The missing washer of Fig. 3.15 was located more than 15 ft away from the column.
Surprisingly, the building did not collapse. Why? Miller attributed the positive outcome to its
light weight—so that little seismic load was generated—and to framing redundancy. In this context,
redundancy refers to the beneficial effects not normally considered in design, e.g., partial fixity of
column bases and even some help from sheet metal flashing.
Sinno9 attempted to conduct a definitive study of the ultimate behavior of the connection. His lab-
oratory tests identified five possible failure modes, including a fracture of the rod and four failure
modes in the column material and welds. Surprisingly, fracture of hillside washers documented by
Miller was not among them. In any case, it seems that widespread use of standard hillside washers
attached directly to thin webs should be reevaluated.
Fortunately, the problem has been recognized, and now there is an alternative. The proprietary
line of washers has been developed by Triangle Fastener Corp. of Cleveland, Ohio (reportedly,
inspired by a discussion on this topic in the first edition of the book); one heavy-duty product is
shown in Fig. 3.16. The illustrated washer appears so massive as to preclude its fracture under load.
However, the thin column web can still be damaged, and we recommend that a steel reinforcing plate
be placed under the washer. The plate should be fitted between the column flanges and welded to
them (Fig. 3.17). The plate’s thickness can be determined by calculations.

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