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Note 12 Level 2
32 TheStructuralEngineer
June 2014
Introduction to
steel portal frames
Introduction
Portal frames are a simple and very
common type of framed (or skeleton)
structure. Steel portal frames, in
particular, are a cost-effective
structural system to support building
envelopes (such as warehouses and
shopping complexes) requiring large
column-free spaces. In general, the
loads and consequent deformations
for these frames are in the plane of
the structure, and hence these are a
2D (or plane) frame structure. Due to
the practical requirement of having
a clear space between the supports
of a portal frame, providing in-plane
bracing is generally not feasible.
Consequently, these frames undergo
larger deflections and are prone to
sway laterally, even under the vertical
loads. The concept of sway frames is
Design principles
Steel portal frames
Steel portal frame structures provide
an efficient and cost effective means of
creating large column-free spaces. As such,
this type of structure is used for depots,
warehouses and out-of-town shopping
complexes. Portal frames are prone to
a significant amount of movement and
therefore second order effects. It follows
that the deflection limits for portal frames
are less onerous than for other structures.
As a result, any cladding system affixed to
them needs to be able to accommodate
more movement than a conventional
building.
Steel portal frames typically span
between 15-50m with a height ranging
between 5-15m. The roof pitch is typically
set to 5-10º with portalised bays at 6-8m
centres longitudinally.
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Technical
Technical Guidance Note
addressed in more detail in Technical
Guidance Note No. 10 (Level 1)
Principles of lateral stability. Thus,
in spite of the inherent simplicity of
portal frames, many aspects of their
analysis, design and detailing require
careful consideration.
Portal frames can be made from
concrete, timber and even glass but
the vast majority, in the UK certainly,
are constructed from steel. This
Technical Guidance Note gives an
introduction to steel portal frames
and their preliminary analysis. Steel
portal frames usually have pinned
bases and moment connections at the
column/rafter interface and mid-span
apex splice in the rafter. Although
there are other forms of portal frame
(described in Elastic Design of Single-
d) Rafter to column
connection/eave joint
Eaves haunch
a) Base
 Figure 1
Typical steel portal frame
Identified in Figure 1, the anatomy of a steel
portal frame can be broken down into four
key in-plane components:
a) Base
b) Columns
c) Rafters
d) Connections between rafter and column
(eave joints) and splice in the rafter at apex
(apex joint)
ICON W Design principles
LEGEND
W Applied practice
W Further reading
W Web resources
Span Steel Portal Frame Buildings to
Eurocode 3), for the sake of brevity
and clarity this note will be dedicated
to this particular form.
c) Rafters
d) Rafter to column
connection/eave joint
Apex joint/splice Eaves haunch
b) Columns
The foundations for steel portal frames
generally comprise of a column-base that
connects the column to a concrete pedestal.
Depending upon the detailing of the column-
base, it can be idealised as either a pinned
or fixed support. In absence of bracings, the
lateral stiffness of the portal frame is largely
dependent upon the height of the columns
and the type of column-base. Typically, steel
portal frames have pinned-base supports.
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33

Rafter

Roof
purlins

Rafter
Cladding
Column
rails

Haunch Haunch
stiffener stiffener

Column

 Figure 2
Typical detail of eave joint haunch
N Figure 3
Cladding rails to steel portal frame
acting as buckling restraints to outer flange

The eave and the apex joints are commonly Roof

designed to carry moments. In order to purlins

increase the stiffness of these joints,

stiffening plates (haunches) are used.
For practical purposes, these joints can
be idealised as rigid joints. While these
rigid joints reduce the deflections in the
portal frame (as opposed to non-moment
carrying pinned joints), due to their large
Rafter
spans the extent of displacements under
the loads is relatively larger for the steel
portal frames. Therefore, the serviceability
Fly bracing
criteria dictating the maximum permissible
deflections are somewhat less onerous than
usual.

Connection stiffening
With connections needing to carry a
significant bending moment, it is often
necessary to provide some form of
stiffening to the elements. This typically
takes the form of haunches, which are either
a cut section from the elements they are
stiffening or fabricated plates. The required
size and extent is dependent on the applied
bending on the portal frame, but in practice
haunches typically take up 10% of the
portal span of the rafter element, which will
optimise the efficiency of the unstiffened
length of the rafter (Figure 2).
Buckling restraints
Steel portal frames made from open
sections are vulnerable to lateral torsional
 Figure 4
Fly bracing restraint to inner
flanges of steel portal frame elements
of the structure owing to the presence of
large door openings in the wall cladding.
In such instances the unrestrained span
of the column is taken from its base to
the connection with the rafter. Thus, the
columns are vulnerable to both lateral
torsional and Euler buckling. Figure 3 is
a section showing the typical layout of
cladding rails in a portal frame structure.
"the highest bending
The rails only provide direct restraint to the
outer compression flanges of the rafter/
column. With the ever-present risk of
bending moment reversal due to negative
wind pressure, there is a requirement
to provide restraint to the inner flange
(especially to the rafters). This restraint,
commonly known as ‘fly bracing’ comes
in the form of two flat plate strips that are
fixed at 45º from the cladding rail to the
inner flange of the primary steel element
(Figure 4).

buckling as they are placed under load.

Cladding rails and roof purlins provide
restraint to these primary elements. They
are typically made from cold formed thin
gauged steel rails and span between
portal frames. It is more often the case
that while the rafter is restrained, the
column is not. This is due to the lack of
continuity of the rails in the external walls
moments in a portal Preliminary analysis
Steel portal frames are statically
frame are generated indeterminate structures. It follows
from applied vertical therefore, that some assumptions on the
relative stiffness of the members within
actions" portal frames are required, in order to
calculate the induced stresses within them.
As a preliminary guide it is reasonable to
assume that the second moment area of

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Note 12 Level 2

34 TheStructuralEngineer Technical
June 2014 Technical Guidance Note

the column is 1.5 times that of the second moment of area of the
rafter element (Fig. 3). Another reasonable assumption is that the
highest bending moments in a portal frame are generated from
applied vertical actions, such as self-weight, wind and snow. During
preliminary design it is generally acceptable to account for second
order effects by increasing the applied bending moment by 15%.
Elastic Design of Single-Span Steel Portal Frame Buildings to
Eurocode 3 provides design formulae for steel portal frames. It
advises that to determine approximate bending stresses in a steel
portal frame, the following formulae can be used:

wL2 (3 + 5m) and wL2

ME = MA = 8 + m # ME
16N
where:

ME is the bending moment in the eve joints of the steel portal frame
MA is the bending moment at the apex joint of the rafter
N = B+mC, where C is 1+2m, B is 2(k+1)+m, m is 1+ϕ, ϕ is f/h

I h
and k = I R $ s
C

For the definitions of w,f,h, IC, IR, L and s see Figure 5.

An alternative preliminary design method is described in Chapter

8 of the Manual for the design of steelwork building structures to
Eurocode 3. It uses a series of design charts from which the initial
sizing of members in a steel portal frame can be derived.
 Figure 5
Approximate
bending moments in
Initial member sizing steel portal frame due to
vertical action
The sizing of the rafter and the column should be based on
the design of steel beams and columns, which are described in
Technical Guidance Notes 1 and 2 (Level 2). The rafters should
be designed assuming that there is a minor axis unrestrained
length between two consecutive cladding rails. Columns should be
designed based on the overall height of the element. The shape of
the bending moment diagram impacts on the design of both the
rafter and column. Elastic Design of Single-Span Steel Portal Frame
Buildings to Eurocode 3 advises that the rafter design should E Figure 6
Bending moment
diagram of portal
assume a value of 1.0 for C1 as defined in BS EN 1993-1-1. With frame using elastic
analysis
respect to columns, the value of C1 should be set at 1.77 due to the
triangular shape of the bending moment diagram (Fig. 5).

Types of analysis
There are two methods of analysing steel portal frames: elastic and
plastic. The elastic method assumes that the structure does not under the loading in reality.
undergo permanent inelastic deformations when placed under load. No more than three plastic hinges with
When subjected to normal gravity loading, the resulting bending pinned baseplates (or four with fixed
moment profile has a hogging bending moment at the eave joint of baseplates) are formed. Otherwise the
the frame and a sagging moment in the rafter apex joint. Subject structure becomes an over-complete
to certain conditions, it is permissible to re-distribute up to 15% of mechanism, as a portal frame has a single
the maximum bending moment within the portal frame when using degree of indeterminacy when it has pinned
elastic analysis according to BS EN 1993-1-1 Clause 5.4.1 (4) B. baseplates. However, the location of the
Figure 6 is the bending moment diagram developed from elastic middle hinge near the apex of the rafter
analysis under symmetric gravity loads. cannot be pre-determined. Therefore, it is
Formation of three plastic hinges converts a steel portal frame assumed that one will form either side of
with pinned supports into a mechanism. The most likely locations the apex for the purposes of analysis. It is
for the plastic hinges to form are close to the eave and apex joints, for this reason that four plastic hinges are
as they involve the highest hogging or sagging moments. However, shown in Fig. 7, with the two closest to the
if the geometry and loading are symmetric for a portal frame, it is apex being possible locations for a plastic
difficult to predict whether the plastic hinge near the apex joint will hinge. More information on this subject can
form either on its left or right side. Therefore, two plastic hinges are be found in the J.M. Davies paper False
shown near the apex joint in Figure 7, of which only one will form mechanisms in elastic-plastic analysis.

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Second order effects
The plastic method certainly presents a
more refined picture of the behaviour of a
steel portal frame compared to the elastic
method, and hence can produce a more
efficient design. However, neither account
for the second order effects concerning the
stability of the steel portal frames:
• Axial compression of the columns can
cause them to bend, which leads to a
reduction in stiffness
• Mid-span of the rafter deflects downwards
under the vertical load
• Eccentricity of the vertical load onto
the columns leads to lateral deflections
over and above those generated by the
horizontally applied forces
These second order effects can be split into
two distinct categories: displacements at
connections/joints (P-Δ) and displacements
along element lengths (P-δ) (Figure 8). BS
EN 1993-1-1 Clause 5.2.2 offers a selection
of methods to account for the second order
 Figure 7
Bending moment diagram of portal
frame using plastic analysis
 Figure 8
Second order effects in portal frames
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E Figure 9
Typical
baseplate detail for
Column
steel portal frame
used in UK
Steel packing
plates
effects while designing steel structures.
Clause 5.2 of BS EN 1993-1-1 describes the
parameters which can be used to determine
the significance of the second order effects
in the analysis of steel structures. The factor
acr is the ratio between the elastic critical
buckling load Fcr of the structure for global
instability and the applied design load FEd.
Second order effects are deemed not to be
significant when a satisfies the following:
cr
www.thestructuralengineer.org
35
Baseplate
Holding
down bolts
F
For elastic analysis: a cr = F cr $ 10
Ed
F
For plastic analysis: a cr = F cr $ 15
Ed
Nominal stiffness of base
Steel portal frames are typically modelled
as having pinned supports at the column
base, but in reality the base has a nominal
stiffness, acting more like semi-rigid
supports than pure pin supports. In the UK,
bases are typically formed of an unstiffened
baseplate that has four holding down
anchors fixed into the foundations
(Figure 9).
It is reasonable and conservative to
consider these semi-rigid supports as
pinned supports at the ultimate limit state
condition. However, this assumption does
not remain valid at the serviceability limit
state condition. Nominally pinned base
connections do provide some additional
resistance to lateral deflection. By taking
into account this additional stiffness, it is
possible to reduce the second order effects
due to deformation of the portal frame as it
deflects under load. It is generally accepted
that 10-15% of the applied moment can be
taken (Fig. 9).
Serviceability deflection limits
BS EN 1993-1-1 does not provide any
guidance on serviceability limits on steel
portal frames. It is up to the design engineer
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Note 12 Level 2

36 TheStructuralEngineer Technical
June 2014 Technical Guidance Note

Table 1 Lateral serviceability deflection limits for steel portal Eurocode 0.

frames Applied practice
Type of cladding Deflection at eaves of steel
portal frame* BS EN 1990-1 Eurocode 0: Basis of Design
Profiled metal sheeting h/100 BS EN 1993-1-1 Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures – Part 1-1:
Fibre reinforced sheeting h/150 General Rules for Buildings

Brickwork masonry h/300

Hollow concrete blockwork masonry Glossary and
h/200
Where h is the height of the eaves from ground level (Fig. 5)
further reading
* All deflection limits are provided as guidance only and are dependent on other factors
not described in this table. Apex – mid-span of portal.

Eaves – top of column/stanchion of portal frame where it connects

Table 2 Vertical serviceability deflection limits for steel portal to the rafter.
frames
Haunch – additional depth into column-to-rafter connection and
Type of cladding Deflection relative to adjacent frames at apex splice connection.
ridge of roof*
Profiled metal sheeting # b/100 # (b 2 + s 2) 0.5 /125 Rafter – primary roof beam to the portal frame.

Fibre reinforced sheeting # b/100 # (b 2 + s 2) 0.5 /165 Stanchion – alternative term attributed to the columns of the portal
frame.
Where b is spacing between steel portal frames and s is the length of rafter (Fig. 5).

* All deflection limits are provided as guidance only and are dependent on other factors Further Reading
not described in this table. The Steel Construction Institute (2012) Elastic Design of Single-Span
Steel Portal Frame Buildings to Eurocode 3 (P397), Ascot, Berkshire:
SCI
to establish a reasonable deflection that
can be safely permitted depending upon The Institution of Structural Engineers (2010) Manual for the
its support conditions. Such limits must be design of steelwork building structures to Eurocode 3, London: The
agreed with the rest of the design team and Institution of Structural Engineers
the client.
As with most serviceability limits, only The Institution of Structural Engineers (2012) Technical Guidance
the unfactored imposed load/characteristic Note 10 (Level 1), The Structural Engineer, 90 (7), pp. 28-31
variable action is considered while
calculating the deflections of a steel portal The Institution of Structural Engineers (2013) Technical Guidance
frame. Note 1 (Level 2), The Structural Engineer, 91 (1), pp. 25-29
The lateral deflection limits are largely
dependent on the cladding materials that The Institution of Structural Engineers (2013) Technical Guidance
make up the walls of the structure. This can Note 2 (Level 2), The Structural Engineer, 91 (2), pp. 40-43
vary from metal sheeting to precast concrete
units. Table 1 is drawn from limits given in The Institution of Structural Engineers (1988) 'False mechanisms in
Elastic Design of Single-Span Steel Portal elastic-plastic analysis', The Structural Engineer, 66 (16), p.268
Frame Buildings to Eurocode 3. It offers
guidance on what limits may be adopted
for the lateral deflection for different types Eurocode 0.
of wall cladding material. It should be noted Web resources
that these are considered to be conservative
in most instances and some engineering The Steel Construction Institute: www.steel-sci.org/
judgement is required before applying them.
For vertical deflections of the rafters, Steel Portal Frames Wiki: www.steelconstruction.info/Portal_frames
Table 2 provides guidance on deflection
limits based on a roof slope that is at least 3º The Institution of Structural Engineers library:
with the horizontal. www.istructe.org/resources-centre/library

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