Introduction to Lateral Forces

Lateral Forces
Typically considered to be those which
act parallel to the ground plane
May occur at many angles other than
perfectly horizontal
Generally considered to act
transversely to the primary structural
system
What’s the Big Deal?
Essential for a structure to have lateral
resistance
Buildings can’t stand against wind,
seismic or other lateral forces otherwise
More than any other structural
component, the lateral force-resisting
structure has significant impact on space
planning

The Right Way

There’s a right way and a wrong way to
go about it…
The right way is to recognize that it is
critical to consider lateral forces from the
very start, and…
Integrate lateral force-resisting structure
within initial schematic design
The Wrong Way
The wrong way is to leave it until the end
for the structural engineer to work out
You might get lucky and all will be fine,
or
You may perhaps end up with a conflict
of necessary cross bracing that needs to
be in exactly the wrong place.

The Wrong Way

Plan and elevation configuration may even
cause difficulty for an engineer to make a
suitable structural system work properly,
efficiently and economically
In the worst case scenario, there are numerous
structural disasters that have resulted not so
much by poor engineering as simply poorly-
conceived buildings that were essentially forced
to work structurally
Take Note!
The larger the lateral forces are
(whether from wind or seismic forces),
the bigger the structural impact and
the more crucial it becomes for the
architect to consider lateral forces
from the earliest planning time!!

Types of Lateral Forces

Wind and seismic forces are the most
fundamental lateral forces that an architect
must be familiar with
Most architects at some point need to deal
with one or more other types of lateral forces,
so it is important to at least be familiar with
them.
Lateral forces can be internal to a structure or
externally acting outside of it
Internal Lateral Forces
Those which occur
from the nature of
the structure itself,
such as the thrust of
an arch, vault or
shell, or the tension
pull from a cable or
membrane

Other Internal Lateral Forces

Restrained thermal movement
associated with temperature change
„ If prevented from expanding or contracting, a
material will undergo internal forces and stress in
direct proportion to its coefficient of thermal
expansion and the degree of temperature change

Finger plate expansion joint

in bridge deck
Other Internal Lateral Forces
Volumetric changes
„ e.g., control joints are required in concrete
slabs because as concrete cures it looses
moisture and contracts
„ Without enforcing (hence, controlling)
where the crack occurs, it will crack in an
unappealing random pattern that is also
more deleterious to the surface than a
control joint.

External Lateral Forces

Most familiar are wind and seismic
forces, but there are others:
Fluid pressure from water and other
liquids
Soil against a basement or retaining
wall, or perhaps retained materials such
as sand, grain, or even coal or wood
chips in a power plant storage bin
Building Construction
Illustrated, p. 3.10

External Lateral Forces

Flood waters can produce devastatingly
large lateral pressures and scour away
at foundations, potentially undermining
the stability of a building or a bridge
support pier
A "rolling force" is generated on bridge
girders from other large objects like
movable cranes on rails
„ Occurs when a massive object (truck, train
or crane, etc.) is decelerated
 Gantry Crane

Wind and Seismic Loads

Most fundamental lateral forces that an
architect must be familiar with
May be so small as to be unnoticed, or
large enough to level cities
Occur simultaneously with gravity loads
Wind Loads
Wind is really a very complex
phenomena with a complex interaction
on a building structure
It is influenced greatly by local terrain
When contacting a building, it can
produce pressures and suction forces
on any surface of a building, plus
internal pressures that tend to balloon
the building outward

Wind Loads
Can be thought of against a building
like the way an airplane wing behaves
„ As air moves over the curved surface of
the wing, the molecules separate and then
rejoin.
Wind Loads
„ Air over the top of the wing moves faster.
The Bernoulli effect says this creates lower
pressure, which becomes lift that keeps the
plant aloft

Wind Loads
Similarly for a building:
„ Windward face will experience pressure
forces
Wind Loads
„ Leeward face will experience suction

Wind Loads
Roof:
„ Flat roof will experience suction
„ Pitched roof will experience suction if wind
parallel to ridge (similar to a flat roof)
Wind Loads
„ Pitched Roof: Lee side will experience suction
if wind perpendicular to ridge
„ Windward side may experience suction or
pressure, depending on steepness of slope
(pressure only at pitch of about 9:12)

wWind: Effects

wWind: Actual Behavior

wSliding wOverturning

Wind:
Building
Codes

Wind Pressure and Suction

What do you already know
about seismic loads?

Let’s test your intuition …

This building was damaged by an

earthquake.
How did it happen
Take 2 minutes to talk with each other
and make a list
Seismic Loads
Motion originates outside of a building
Effect is internal (c.f., external wind)
Forces generated by inertia of building
mass as ground moves below the
structure Building Motion (Reaction)

Ground Motion (Action)

 Seismic Loads
Generates forces in direct proportion
to the building's mass and stiffness
A massless building would in fact have
no seismic forces with at all!
By altering the building's stiffness, a
substantial change to seismic force is
possible (basis for some design
approaches)

How are Lateral Forces Resisted?

Most of the building components that

comprise the gravity-resisting
structure are also those which
comprise the lateral force-resisting
structure, except that the forces are
moving differently
Easiest to visualize in terms of wind
loads, though seismic is similar:
 Wind
Load

Lateral Load Propagation in a Basic Box Structure

James Ambrose, Building Structures

Principal Vertical-Plane Lateral Framing Structures

In-plane Triangulation Moment Resistant

Diaphragm Action (Vertical Truss) Joints

Edward Allen, Architect’s Studio Companion

 Francis D.K. Ching, Building Construction Illustrated

Lateral Force Transfer

Vertical Support
Structural Patterns

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Placement of Lateral Force Resisting Elements In Plan

Daniel Schodek, Structures

 Concrete Shear Wall

Light Wood-Framed Shear Wall

Daniel Schodek, Structures

Diagonal
Cross
Bracing:

These
slender rod
bracing
members can
take only
tension, while
the heavier
members on
the opposite
corner can
work in both
tension and
compression.
Inverted K-Bracing:

The members in this

arrangement always resist
compression since they provide
a mid-span support for attached
beams. Lateral loads will either
add or subtract from that
compressive force depending
on the direction.

Diagonal Bracing:

This arrangement with heavy

diagonal members is capable of
resisting both tension and
compression.
Steel Rigid Frame