Tall Building Frames Studied by Means of Mechanical Models

A study of tall building bents under the action of transverse forces, by the use of a mechanical model, is contained in this paper. Information is lacking as to the actual effects produced upon vertical reactions and direct stresses in columns from such transverse forces when the bent is varied by changing the relative width of bays, or the relative size of girders or columns in different parts of the frame. Such information can be obtained mathematically only by the application of laborious theoretical methods; but by the aid of a mechanical model results may be found quickly and with reliable accuracy so far as they concern the trend of reactions for assumed variations in design. The only theoretical consideration utilized is the well-known Maxwell reciprocal theorem.