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PORTAL FRAME

Rahul Nair 5th yr. B. ARCH.


PORTAL FRAME

The basic structural form of portal frames was developed during the Second World War,
driven by the need to achieve the low - cost building envelope. Now they are the most
commonly used structural forms for single-storey industrial structures. They are
constructed mainly using hot-rolled sections, supporting the roofing and side cladding via
cold-formed purlins and sheeting rails. With a better understanding of the structural
behavior of slender plate elements under combined bending moment, axial load and
shear force, many fabricators now offer a structural frame fabricated from plate
elements.

Because of these very strong and rigid joints some of the bending moment in the rafters
is transferred to the columns. This means that the size of the rafters can be reduced or
the span can be increased for the same size rafters. This makes portal frames a very
efficient construction technique to use for wide span buildings.

Portal frame construction is therefore typically seen in warehouses, barns and


other places where large, open spaces are required at low cost and a pitched roof
is acceptable.

Generally portal frames are used for single story buildings but they can be used for low
rise buildings with several floors where they can be economic if the floors do not span
right across the building (in these circumstances a skeleton frame, with internal
columns, would be a more economic choice). A typical configuration might be where
there is office space built against one wall of a warehouse.

Portal frames can be clad with all sorts of material but the most popular solution, for
reasons of economy and speed, is some form of lightweight insulated metal cladding
with cavity masonry work to the bottom 2m of the wall to provide security and impact
resistance. The lightweight cladding would be carried on sheeting rails spanning between
the columns of the portal frames.

These frames are composed of tapered stanchions and rafters in order to provide an
economic structural solution for single-storey buildings. Portal frames of lattice members
made of angles or tubes are also common, especially in the case of longer spans.
The slopes of rafters in the gable portal frames (Fig.1) vary in the range of 1 in 10 to 1 in
3 depending upon the type of sheeting and its seam impermeability. With the advent of
new cladding systems, it is possible to achieve roof slopes as low as 10. But in such
cases, frame deflections must be carefully controlled and the large horizontal thrusts
that occur at the base should be accounted for.

Generally, the centre-to-centre distance between frames is of the order 6 to 7.5 m, with
eaves height ranging from 6 -15 m.Normally, larger spacing of frames is used in the
case of taller buildings, from the point of economy. Moment-resisting connections are to
be provided at the eaves and crown to resist lateral and gravity loadings. The stanchion
bases may behave as either pinned or fixed, depending upon rotational restraint
provided by the foundation and the connection detail between the stanchion and
foundations. The foundation restraint depends on the type of foundation and modulus of
the sub-grade. Frames with pinned bases are heavier than those having fixity at the
bases. However, frames with fixed base may require a more expensive foundation.

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For the design of portal frames, plastic methods of analysis are mainly used, which
allows the engineer to analyse frames easily and design it economically. The basis of the
plastic analysis method is the need to determine the load that can be applied to the
frame so that the failure of the frame occurs as a mechanism by the formation of a
number of plastic hinges within the frame. The various methods of plastic analysis are
discussed in an earlier chapter. In describing the plastic methods of structural analysis,
certain assumptions were made with regard to the effect of axial force, shear, buckling
etc. Unless attention is given to such factors, the frame may fail prematurely due to local,
or stanchion or rafter buckling, prior to plastic collapse.

Types of portal frame (by shape)

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Types of portal frame (by condition of junction)

Hinges can be introduced into a portal frame design at the base connections and at the
centre or apex of the spanning member, giving three basic forms of portal frame.

1. FIXED OR RIGID PORTAL FRAME


2. TWO PIN PORTAL FRAME
3. THREE PIN PORTAL FRAME

All joints or connections are rigid giving low bending moments than other formats.
It is used for small to medium spanning frames where moments at foundation are not
excessive.

Pin joints or hinge are


used at foundation
connections to
eliminate tendency of
base to rotate on its
axis.
It is used where there
are high base moments
and weak ground are
encountered.

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Pin joints or hinges are
used at foundation
connection and at centre
of beam which reduces
bending moment in beam
but increases deflection.
It is used as an alternative
to 2 pin frame.

Types of portal frame (by material)

TIMBER PORTAL FRAME

STEEL PORTAL FRAME

R.C.C PORTAL FRAME

PRE-CAST PORTAL FRAME

Timber portal frame

Combinations of slender timber sections glued, or glued or nailed together are used in
portal frames for medium and long span roofs for such buildings as churches, assembly
halls, sports halls and other single story structures where the timber portal frames are
exposed for appearance sake. The advantage of timber as a structural material in this
form are its low self weight and the comparatively little maintance required to preserve
and maintain its strength and appearance, particularly where there are levels of high
humidity as in swimming pools.

It is of 2 types

Symmetrical-pitch glued laminated timber portal frame


Flat glued and nailed timber portal

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Steel portal frame
A portal frame is distinguished by the rigid connection of the rafters to the posts of the
frame so that under load moments are distributed through the rafter and the post. For
short- and medium-span frames the apex or ridge, where the rafters connect, is
generally made as an on-site, rigid bolted connection for convenience in transporting
half portal frames. Long-span portal frames may have a pin joint connection at the ridge
to allow some flexure between the rafters of the frame which are pin jointed to
foundation bases to allow flexure of posts due to spread at the knees under load.

For economy in the use of a standard section, short and medium-span steel portal
frames are often fabricated from one mild steel I-section for both rafters and posts, with
the rafters welded to the posts without any increase in depth at the knee.

Short-span portal frames may be fabricated off site as one frame. Medium-span portal
frames are generally fabricated in two halves for ease of transport and are assembled
on site with bolted connections of the rafters at the ridge, with high strength friction grip
bolts.

Many medium- and long-span steel portal frames have the connection of the rafters to the posts
at the knee, hunched to make the connection deeper than the main rafter section for additional
stiffness as illustrated in Fig. 23. In long-span steel portal frames the posts and lowest length of
the rafters, towards the knee, may often be fabricated from cut and welded I section so that the
post section and part of the rafter is wider at the knee than at the base and ridge of the rafter.

Portal frames with a span of up to 15.0 are defined as short span, frames with a span of 16.0
to 35.0 as medium span and frames with a span of 36.0 to 60.0 as long span.

Short-span portal frames are usually spaced at from 3.0 to 5.0 apart and medium-span portal
frames at from 4.0 to 8.0 apart to suit the use of angle or cold formed purlins and sheeting rails.
Long-span steel portal frames are usually spaced at from 8.0 to 12.0 apart to economise in the
number of comparatively expensive frames, with channel, I-section or lattice purlins and
sheeting rail to support roof sheeting or decking and walling.

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Pre cast R.C.C portal frame

Due to shortage of structural steel and its high pricing during second world war, the reinforced
concrete portal frame came into common use for agricultural, storage, factory and other single-
storey buildings.

A limited range of standard, pre-cast reinforced concrete portal frames was supplied for the
economic benefit of repetitive casting in standard moulds and close control of mixing, placing
and compaction of concrete that is possible in factory conditions. The immediate advantage of
these building frames was that there was a ready supply of a limited range of standard frames
that could rapidly be transported, erected and finished at an economic cost so avoiding the
delays consequent on obtaining the necessary license for the use of steel that was required at
the time. The advantages of speed of erection and economy in the use of a limited range of
standard sizes continued for some years after steel became more freely available.

The advantages of reinforced concrete portal frames are that they require no maintenance
during the useful life of the building and the frame has a somewhat better resistance to collapse
during fires than an unprotected steel frame. The principal disadvantage of these frames is that
as they have to be formed in standard size moulds, for the sake of economy, there is only a
limited range of sizes. The comparatively small spans that are practicable and the bulky
somewhat unattractive appearance of the members of the frame have led to the loss of favour of
this building system which is much less in use than it once was.

Due to the non-ductile nature of the principal material of these frames, i.e. concrete, the
advantage of economy of section area gained by the use of the plastic method of design in the
design of steel frames is considerably less with reinforced concrete. Because of the necessary
section area of concrete and the cover of concrete to the steel reinforcement to inhibit rust and
give protection to the steel reinforcement against damage during fires, the sections of the frames
are large compared to steel frames of similar span. Damage to the frames and shrinkage cracks
may rapidly cause rusting of the
reinforcement particularly in wet
and humid conditions. For
convenience in casting, transport
and erection on site, pre-cast
concrete portal frames are
generally cast in two or more
sections which are bolted
together on site either at the
point of contra flexure in rafters
or at the junction of post and
rafter, or both.

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