How do I prevent area loads from applying load to bracing?
Answer: Bracing and other frame objects located within an area subjected to area loading may be removed from the effect of loading through the following process:
- Select the bracing members to be removed from load application.
- Move the members away from the area object by a distance slightly greater than the auto-merge tolerance.
- For each new joint created, assign a body constraint between this joint and the joint at its previous location.
This will remove bracing from the plane of area loading while constraining the objects such that behavior remains consistent.
An alternative approach is to implement a staged-construction analysis in which bracing is omitted from the model until after an analysis stage is complete. Bracing may then be introduced during a stage where it does not conflict with loading configuration. For example, lateral-force-resisting braces located in the horizontal plane may be excluded from gravity-load analysis, then may be modeled for subsequent analysis stages.