Bracing plans determine where to place the components of a bracing system to withstand wind loads and seismic pressure. Qualified, experienced and accurate partners are needed to provide architectural design drafting, with high quality and more detailed architectural CAD services, to ensure that bracing plans are beyond reproach.

To facilitate a robust seismic performance, certain precautions in developing bracing plans must be considered:

There are two bracing systems that resist horizontal forces acting against the structure of the building: vertical and horizontal bracing. For both vertical and horizontal bracing, there are different types of bracing that can be used. They can be broadly categorised as follows:

Single diagonals

Diagonal structural elements inserted into rectangular areas of a structural frame is called trussing, or triangulation, which helps stabilise the frame.

Cross-bracing (or X-bracing)

Two diagonal members cross each other in cross-bracing, or X-bracing. They are tension-resistant steel cables, and each brace resists sideways forces.

K-bracing

Typically, K-bracing connects to columns at mid-height and is thus more flexible to working around windows and results in reduced bending in floor beams.

V-bracing

Two diagonal elements are framed in a V-shape stretching down from the top two corners of a horizontal element and join at the centre of a lower horizontal element, or the two elements in the V meet at the centre of an upper horizontal element for an inverted V.

Centric bracing

Centric bracing elements do not join at a centre point. There is a gap between them at the lateral connection, which absorbs energy from seismic activity.

Bracing System Design in a Nutshell