Portal frames quiz

Please answer the following 10 multiple choice questions, then click 'submit' to check the result. The pass mark for a CPD certificate is 8 out of 10, and you may retake the quiz as many times as you wish, but the questions will vary! Please note that one, two, three or all of the possible answers presented for each question may be right, and to gain a mark for that question all correct answers must be identified.

Good luck

Portal frames

When should a portal frame be used for the gable frame?

When future extension is anticipated
For aesthetic reasons
To save weight
So that gable columns are not required

What value of base stiffness is recommended when modelling nominally pinned bases?

Zero - it's a pinned base
Zero - at ULS
10% of the column stiffness when calculating frame stability
20% of the column stiffness when considering SLS

How can second-order effects in portal frames be allowed for?

By using a second-order analysis
By amplifying the lateral loads
By using S355 steel
By down-rating member resistance by 10%

What steps are effective in reducing the calculated deflections at SLS?

Modelling the stiffness of nominally pinned bases
Using higher strength steels
Using members with a higher inertia
Adding restraints

When verifying the rafter, which two zones are likely to be critical for lateral-torsional buckling?

Adjacent to the haunch, in the gravity combination of actions
Around the point of contraflexure
At the maximum sagging moment, near the apex
Adjacent to the haunch, in the reversal combination of actions

When should the junction of the inside face of the column and the underside of the haunch be restrained?

Only in the gravity combination of actions
Always
If there is not a side rail and compression stiffener at that level
If a side rail can be provided at that level

What best describes a portal frame structure?

Frames of simple construction
3-d continuous structures
Continuous frames in-plane, braced in the longitudinal direction
Continuous frames, braced in-plane

Which of the following situations should be verified as an accidental combination of actions?

Snow removed from one roof slope
Snow accumulating behind a parapet
Snow on the roof if the altitude is above 150 m
Snow accumulating in a valley

How long should the haunch be?

To the third purlin
Until the hogging bending moment is approximately the same as the sagging moment
Three times as long as its depth
One third of the column height

What is the primary function of an eaves haunch?

To facilitate a bolted connection
To increase the shear resistance at the support
To increase the bending resistance of the rafter section
To reduce deflections