PORTAL FRAMES

MAIN FRAME

A typical main frame in a portal frame structure should be characterized by the following1:

Span of (15 -50m)

Clear height of (5-12m)
A roof pitch between (5°-10°)
Frame spacing between 6 and 8m
Haunches provided in the ra ers at the eaves and apex
A s ffness ra o between the column and ra er sec on of approx. 1.5
ADVANTAGES :
There are many advantages to using portal frames when building wide-span enclosures. Large spaces can be built and
enclosed with the minimum amount of materials, a huge advantage for builders because it helps them minimise costs.

Advantages include:

Quick and easy to build

Cost-effec ve
Can be used for mul ple purposes
Low maintenance
Portal frames are generally low-rise structures, comprising columns and horizontal or pitched ra ers, connected by moment- Aesthe cally pleasing
resis ng connec ons. Resistance to lateral and ver cal ac ons is provided by the rigidity of the connec ons and the bending Portal frames are lightweight and can easily be fabricated off-site. While they are a simple structure, buckling can be a
s ffness of the members, which is increased by a suitable haunch or deepening of the ra er sec ons. This form of problem if care isn’t taken in the design phase.
con nuous frame structure is stable in its plane and provides a clear span that is unobstructed by bracing. Portal frames are
very common, in fact 50% of construc onal steel used in the UK is in portal frame construc on. They are very efficient for
enclosing large volumes, therefore they are o en used for industrial, storage, retail and commercial applica ons as well as
for agricultural purposes. This ar cle describes the anatomy and various types of portal frame and key design
considera ons.

A portal frame building comprises a series of transverse frames braced longitudinally. The primary steelwork consists of
columns and ra ers, which form portal frames, and bracing. The end frame (gable frame) can be either a portal frame or a
braced arrangement of columns and ra ers.
The light gauge secondary steelwork consists of side rails for walls and purlins for the roof. The secondary steelwork
supports the building envelope, but also plays an important role in restraining the primary steelwork.
The roof and wall cladding separate the enclosed space from the external environment as well as providing thermal and
acous c insula on. The structural role of the cladding is to transfer loads to secondary steelwork and also to restrain the
flange of the purlin or rail to which it is a ached.
PRELIMINARY ASPECTS
The conceptual design stage of any structure must take into cognizance a series of interconnected factors influencing on the overall
design, a portal frame is not different. The frame dimension is cri cal to determining the overall height and width of the frame to
give adequate building space for the internal func ons of the building. The frame designer must decide on the following at the
conceptual design stage.
The main frame consists of steel columns and steel beams which serves as the ra er. The frame is con nuous with moment
resis ng connec ons. By virtue of the con nuity of the frame, resistance to lateral loads and in plane stability is ensured.
This means that the stability and displacement of the frame is largely dependent on the s ffness of the members. The
members are formed from hot rolled steel sec ons, -universal steel columns for the columns and universal beams for the
ra ers. In addi on, to enhance the resistance of the frame to flexure at the eaves and apex where the flexural moments are
greatest, the frame is provided with a “haunch”.
In most instances, the frame is assumed to be nominally pinned at the base, even where the frame may posses appreciable
s ffnesses. This implies that the base plate to the portal frame is designed as a simple connec on

CLEAR SPAN AND HEIGHT

The clear span and height required by the client as evident in the architectural drawings is the key to determining the dimensions to
be considered for use in the analysis and design. The architectural requirement for clear span is o en the dimension between the
internal flanges of the columns, the span used for design is the centre-centre dimension, hence this would be greater than the
architectural clear span by the column sec on depth.
The clear height of the frame is measured from the finished floor level to the underside of the haunch or suspended ceiling. This will
be determined using the specified internal floor height specified in the architectural drawing.
HAUNCHES
As earlier stated, a haunch is commonly provided in the eaves and apex of portal frames, and its provision is to enhance the
flexural resistance of the ra ers where the bending moment appear to be greatest, instead of sizing the ra ers based on the
value of the flexural moment at the eaves. The haunch also doubles as a s ffener to the frames, increasing stability and
reducing deflec ons. The presence of a haunch also facilitates the use of bolted connec ons.

The clear height of the frame is measured from the finished floor level to the underside of the haunch or suspended ceiling. This will
be determined using the specified internal floor height specified in the architectural drawing.

POSITION OF RESTRAINTS
Preliminary sizing of portal frame design is carried out using the resistance of the steel sec ons to their cross-sec on resistance to
flexure, shear and axial forces. At the detail design stage, the resistance of the chosen sec ons to buckling would need to be carried
out, with restraints posi oned at the cri cal areas.

Steel portal frame is the most common, cost-effec ve structural solu ons for single-storey buildings with gable-pitched
roofs. In fact, about 50% of the steelwork in the U.K is used up in the construc on of single-storey buildings, of which
portal frames form the greater part. They are lightweight, efficient, and highly economical for suppor ng buildings
envelopes, o en where it is required to create a large uninterrupted column space. Thus, this type of construc on is
more appropriate and mostly adopted for buildings such as warehouses, shopping complexes, workshops, depots and
generally industrial buildings sustaining rela vely modest loads.
Portal frames are rela vely flexible and highly prone to significant deforma ons, hence less onerous deflec on limits are
generally applied to them than other forms of construc on. Although these deforma ons can be reduced by the use of
larger steel sec ons, the cost benefits become adversa ve. And if deflec ons become so cri cal, for instance, from the
fact that the frames are carrying heavy loads, an alterna ve form of construc on or structural solu on (such as, a girder)
becomes more appropriate.
Buckling is usually less cri cal in the ra ers due to the restraints from purlins, although some mes addi onal restraints might be
required. However, the same cannot be said for the columns, as there is usually more inhibi on to posi oning rails to provide
restraints due to requirement for openings within the eleva ons of the buildings. Where intermediate restraints are impossible, the
buckling resistance of the column will most likely determine the preliminary sizing of the columns. Thus, it is very essen al at this
early stage to understand if provision of con nuous side rails is allowed on the frame eleva ons. Only con nuous side rails can be
guaranteed to effec vely restrain the column. Side rails occasionally interrupted by the requirement for doors and windows cannot
be relied on as providing effec ve restraints.
The Eaves haunches are normally cut from a hot rolled sec on slightly larger or at least the same as the ra er, and welded to
the underside of the ra er. In the design of the frame, it is desired for the flexural hogging moment at the eaves to be
approximately equal to the sagging moment at the apex, to achieve this, the length of the eaves haunches is kept equal to
10% of the frame span. The apex haunch is also cut from a hot rolled sec on, the same size as the ra er or from steel plates,
however in contrast to the eave haunches, they are not provided for enhancing flexural resistance but to facilitate the bolted
connec ons between the ra ers.

SIGN
AIKTC NAME : SHUBHAM S KAKADE

SOA PORTAL_FRAME ROLL NO : 18 AR 20

SUBJECT : TECH STUDIO