An efficient and direct method for out-of-plane buckling analysis of Y-braced steel frames

Dimensionless design-oriented charts are introduced for customising a new and efficient method of computing the out-of-plane critical buckling load of Y-braced steel frame systems. These charts are derived from extensive parametric studies on the basis of an “exact solution”, within the limits of the Eulerian theory, stability analysis, using a wide array of geometric characteristics of practical interest. Demonstrated with numerical examples, these calculations are shown to yield, in a very efficient way, accurate critical load values of these systems. The charts can be used for practical design of Y-brace elements.