O B J E C T I V E

1.) To establish the relationship between applied load and

horizontal reaction at the pinned support.

2.) To observe the effect of the load position on the horizontal reaction.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

P o r t a l f r a m e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s a m e t h o d of b u i l d i n g a n d d e s i g n i n g
s i m p l e s t r u c t ur e s , primarily using steelor s t e e l
r e i n f or c e d p r e c a s t concrete a l t h o u g h they can also
b e constructed using laminated timber such as lulam. The con
n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e columns a n d t h e rafters are designed to
bemoment resistant, i.e. they can carry bending forces.

because of these very strong and rigid "oints some of the bending moment in the
rafters istransferred to the columns. This means that the size of the
rafters can be reduced or thespan can be increased for the same size rafters.
This ma#es portal frames a very efficientconstruction to use for wide span
buildings.P or t a l f r a m e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t h e r e f or e t y p i c a l l y s e e n i n
warehouses, barnsa n d o t h e r places where large, open spaces are re$uired at
low cost and a pitched roof is acceptable.enerally portal frames are used for
single storey buildings but they can be used for lowrise buildings with
several floors where they can be economic if the floors do not
spanright across the building %in these circumstances a s#eleton frame, with
internal columns,would be a more economic choice). & typical configuration
might be where there is officespace 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 withc a v i t y m a s o n r y w o r # t o t h e b o t t o m 2m
o f t h e w a l l t o p r o vi d e s e c u r i t y a n d i m p a c t resistance. The lightweight
cladding would be carried on sheeting rails spanning betweenthe columns of the
portal frames.