Analysis of frame buckling without sidesway classification

Abstract

The effective buckling length of a column in a steel frame depends on the sidesway of the frame. The classification sidesway-no sidesway of a frame depends on all members of the frame and is made on an empirical basis. A change of class leads to large changes in the effective column length, and thus affects the buckling load and the economy of the column design. In order to avoid the uncertainties of the empirical classification, it is proposed to determine the buckling load of the complete frame with a nonlinear analysis. The method is illustrated with an unbraced and a braced frame, which are analyzed for hinged as well as fixed columns at ground floor level. The forces in the columns at buckling of the frames are compared to the buckling loads of the single columns. The design of high-rise steel frames against buckling by sidesway-no sidesway categorization has been compared to the buckling analysis of the frames as a whole with nonlinear models. The results confirm the large differences between the buckling loads of braced and unbraced high-rise frames, which are well known from analytical solutions for simple portal frames.