Connection Guide : Horizontal Brace Connections

Disclaimer: This guide is not comprehensive. It shows only a few of the many connections that connection design can create when ' Hbrc plate ' is selected as a horizontal brace's " Input connection type ."

Horizontal Brace Connections
HSS end fittings Double angle Single-side intersect plate
Wide flange Double angle, staggered bolts perpendicular to beam
Gusset clips to beam web To two beam flanges Two braces, shared gusset
Gusset welded to beam web To webs of two beams Three braces, shared gusset
Beam web stiffeners Beam-column-beam juncture  
To beam flange Intersection plate  

Also see :

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HSS Horizontal Brace With ' Bolted ' End Fitting
" Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Bolted " to top flange or web ||  perpendicular ||  2- or 3-point ||  intersection ||  corner ||
Comments: An HSS, pipe or tube horizontal brace can be fitted with a ' Bolted ' end fitting. The " Pipe/tube end fitting " option can be found in the " Connection specifications " leaf on the Horizontal Brace Edit window when ' Hbrc plate ' is the " Input connection type ."

HSS Horizontal Brace With ' Paddle Plate ' End Fitting
" Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Paddle " to top flange or web ||  perpendicular ||  2- or 3-point ||  intersection ||  corner ||
Comments: A horizontal brace's " Pipe/tube end fitting " can also be set to ' Paddle plate '. The horizontal brace's " Section size " needs to be an HSS rectangular (tube) or HSS round (pipe) section.

HSS Horizontal Braces With ' Double Paddle Plate ' End Fitting
" Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Paddle " to top flange or web ||  perpendicular ||  2- or 3-point ||  intersection ||  corner ||
Comments: The leaf named " Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Paddle " for a double paddle plate end fitting has an extra set of locks for defining the spacers between the two paddles. Each of the two paddles have the same dimensions and cannot be controlled independently.

HSS Horizontal Braces With ' Welded ' End Fitting
" Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Welded "
Comments: The leaf named " Brace Connection to Gusset HSS Welded " includes options for positioning the erection bolts and specifying the field weld size and length. The number of horizontal brace " HSS erection bolts " can be ' None ' or ' One ' or ' Two '.

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Wide Flange Horizontal Brace
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn2 "
Section size: A wide flange section.
Comments: Connection design creates two gussets that shop weld to the beam web and field bolt to the horizontal brace's top and bottom flanges. Connections can also be designed on wide flange horizontal braces to S shape , channel , welded plate wide flange , and HSS rectangular beams.

Another example of wide flange horizontal brace. A ' Clip angle ' is used for the " Gusset to beam connection ," but connection design adjusts to a welded gusset for the beam's top flange.


Here's a wide flange horizontal brace that welds to the beam's bottom flange. Notice that connection design creates a fill plate that lets the bottom flange of the brace bolt to the bottom gusset.

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Horizontal Brace with Gusset Clips to Beam Web
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " NS/FS Clip Conn2 "
Section size: An angle section (shown) or a tee or wide flange .
Settings: ' Clip angle ' to web. " Gusset to clip " is ' Bolted ' with " Gusset clips on " on ' Both ' sides.

Another horizontal brace with gusset clips to the beam web. The " Gusset to clip connection " is ' Welded '. Connection design expands the bolt spacing since the clip angles (on ' Both ' sides) are sufficient to carry the load.

A wide flange horizontal brace with gusset clips to the beam web. In this example, the " Gusset to clip connection " is ' Bolted '. " Gusset clips on " is set to the ' Near side ' of the gusset plates. 

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Horizontal Brace Welded to a Beam Web
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " NS/FS Clip Conn2 "
Section size: An angle section (shown) or a tee or HSS rectangular or HSS round .
Settings: ' Welded ' to web.
Comments: The gusset plate shop welds to the beam web and field bolts to the brace. This example has only one column of bolts due the angle size used.

HSS horizontal brace to beam web. When the horizontal brace is a HSS rectangular or HSS round, connection design welds the gusset to the web of the beam. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example. For non-HSS braces, the user can optionally bolt the gusset with clip angles as described above .

HSS horizontal brace to beam web. This is similar to the example directly above, but " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Paddle plate ' in this example.

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Horizontal Brace Gusset with Beam Web Stiffeners

Two-point gusset. Two beam stiffeners are designed for this situation because " Check supporting member web stress " is set to ' As required ' in the horizontal brace's " Connection specifications ." The gusset plate must weld directly to the beam's web, with no member framing to the opposite side of the web, for this to apply.

Single brace gusset. As in the example above, the brace gusset plate welds to the beam's web, thus inducing web stress. Since " Check supporting member web stress " is set to ' As required ', a stiffener is designed.

VIDEO

A horizontal brace gusset plate is designed with a beam web stiffener due to " Check supporting member web stress " being turned on. (Recorded in SDS2 Detailing , v2018.)

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Horizontal Brace Gusset Plate Welded to a Beam's Top Flange
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member "
" HB Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn2 "
Section size: An angle is shown. But the connection is similar for a tee or HSS rectangular or HSS round.
Comments: This example has two column of bolts due the size of angle used. Note that the bolts are staggered .

Another example of a horizontal brace to a beam flange. This example shows a HSS rectangular horizontal brace. As with the angle brace, the gusset welds to the beam's top flange. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

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Double Angle Horizontal Brace
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn2 "
Section size: An angle section.
Settings: " Double " material with both angles on the ' Far side ' of the gusset.
Comments: The ' Far side ' of the gusset is the bottom of the gusset. You also have the option to bolt the brace to the ' Near side ' of the gusset. The option to use double material only applies to angle braces.

A double angle horizontal brace on both sides of the gusset. This example shows an angle section with " Double " material with one angle on ' Both sides ' of the gusset. Connection design creates a bolted or welded stitch plate for this connection, depending on the " Type of spacer " selected in Member Detailing Settings .

A double angle horizontal brace with staggered bolts. For this example, the boxes are checked for " Stagger bolts " and " Double material. "

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Horizontal Brace Gusset Plate Field Bolted to Two Beam Flanges
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset To Two Beams "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn1 ," " HB Conn 2 "
Section size: An angle horizontal brace is shown.
Settings: In this example, the bolts are staggered .
Comments: The gusset shop bolts to the brace and field bolts to the beams' flanges. If the brace framed to the web, clip angles would be designed (see the examples below).

An HSS rectangular horizontal brace to two beam flanges. This example shows an HSS rectangular horizontal brace. As is the case with the angle brace shown above , the gusset field bolts to the beams' flanges. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

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Horizontal Brace Gusset Field Bolted to the Webs of Two Beams
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset To Two Beams "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " Clip Angle " " NS/FS Clip Conn2 "
Section size: A W tee horizontal brace is shown.
Comments: The gusset shop bolts to the brace and field bolts to the beam web with clip angles. If the brace were higher (as in the examples above ), the gusset would field bolt to the beam flanges.

Here's an HSS rectangular horizontal brace to the webs of two beams. The " Long side " of the HSS rectangular section is ' Horizontal '. Since " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example, a built-up tee fitting bolts the brace to the gusset. You can tell by the shape of the gusset that the clip angles bolt this brace to the webs of two beams.

Another HSS rectangular horizontal brace to the webs of two beams. The " Gusset to clip connection " is ' Bolted ' to the gusset plate (not welded). " Gusset clips on " is set to the ' Near side ' of the gusset plate (as opposed to ' Far side ' or ' Both ' sides). As in the example above, " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted '.

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VIDEO Prior to v2017, SDS2 connection design required that the beams had to be perpendicular at a beam-column-beam or beam-beam corner in order to get a horizontal brace gusset plate connection . That restriction no longer applies. (Recorded in SDS2 Detailing , v2017.)

Horizontal Brace to a Beam-Column-Beam Juncture
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset To Two Beams "
" Brace Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn1 " " HB Conn2 "
Section size: An tee section (shown) or an angle or HSS rectangular or HSS round.
Settings: A ' Cope ' is the type of gusset cut around the column.
Comments: Clip angles would be designed if this brace were lower and therefore fastened to the beams' webs.

Here's a HSS rectangular brace to two beams with an interposed column. In this screen shot, a ' Clip ' is the type of gusset cut around the column. The gusset shop bolts to the brace and field bolts to the beam flanges.

A tee brace to the webs of two beams with an interposed column. Clip angles bolt the gusset plate to the beam webs. " Gusset clips on " is set to the ' Near side ' of the gusset plate.

A wide brace to two beams with an interposed column. In this case, each gusset fastens to the web of one beam with a clip angle and bolts to either the top or bottom flange of the other beam. connection design detects the framing situation and designs the appropriate connection for it.

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Horizontal Brace Intersection Plate
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset Intersection "
" Brace Connection To Gusset "
Section size: Angle (shown) or tee or HSS round or HSS rectangular. Braces must be the same type.

Comments: The two supported braces must be colinear and go to the center brace's workline. The work lines of all three braces must be in the same plane.


An intersection plate for tee horizontal braces. In this example, connection design uses two columns of bolts. The two smaller tee braces share a work point on the larger vertical brace.

An intersection plate for HSS rectangular horizontal braces. Connection design automatically notches the supporting brace and welds that brace to the intersection plate. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

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Single-Side Horizontal Brace Intersection Plate
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset Intersection " " Brace Connection To Gusset "
Section size: Angle (shown) or tee or HSS (round or rectangular).
Comments: Both braces must be the same material type, but they can be different section sizes. The work lines of both braces must be in the same plane.

An HSS rectangular brace with a single-side intersection plate. Connection design automatically notches the supporting brace and welds that brace to the intersection plate. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

An W tee brace with a single-side intersection plate. Connection design can also create a single-side intersection plate for S tee braces.

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Horizontal Brace perpendicular to Beam
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset One Member Perp " " Brace Connection To Gusset " " HB Conn2 "
Section size: An angle section (shown) or a tee or HSS rectangular or HSS round.
Comments: The gusset shop welds to the beam flange (shown) or can optionally be field bolted with clip angles to the web when the brace frames to the beam web instead of its flange.

Horizontal brace perpendicular to a beam web. In this example, ' Clip angle ' is selected as the " Gusset to beam connection ." The " Gusset to clip connection " are ' Bolted '. " Gusset clips on " is set to the ' Both sides ' of the gusset plates.

HSS horizontal brace perpendicular to a beam flange. The gusset for an HSS rectangular horizontal brace (shown) or HSS round horizontal brace (not shown) has the same cuts as braces of other material types framing perpendicular to a beam. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

Angle horizontal brace perpendicular to the web of a HSS rectangular beam. Note that the clip angle welds to the HSS beam. In this example, ' Clip angle ' is selected as the " Gusset to beam connection ."

Angle horizontal brace perpendicular to the web of a HSS rectangular beam. In this example, ' Welded ' is selected as the " Gusset to beam connection ."

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Horizontal Braces with a Shared Gusset
Connection Design Locks = " Gusset 2 Point " " HB Conn2 "
" Brace Connection To Gusset "
Section size: angle (shown) or tee or HSS rectangular or HSS round or wide flange.
Comments: The braces must be closer together than a setup value .

HSS horizontal braces with a shared gusset. Connection design uses built-up tee fittings to bolt the horizontal braces to the gusset plate. The gusset shop welds to the beam flange. " Pipe/tube end fitting " is set to ' Bolted ' in this example.

Horizontal braces with a shared gusset to the beam web. In this example, a ' Clip angle ' is used for the " Gusset to beam connection ."

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VIDEO Before v2017, SDS2 connection design required that the middle brace of 3-point horizontal bracing needed to be perpendicular to the supporting beam to which the gusset plate attached. That restriction has been lifted (Recorded in SDS2 Detailing , v2017.)

Three Horizontal Braces with Shared Gusset
Section size: Braces may be angle (double are shown) or tee or HSS rectangular or HSS round.
Framing condition: In SDS2 software prior to v2017, you used to get the end connection failure message " Invalid shared brace configuration " when the middle brace was not perpendicular as shown. That restriction no longer applies. The middle brace does not have to be perpendicular.

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