ABSTRACT
The deflection shape of the shear walls and cores is of “pure” bending. The floor slabs of the building, being stiff in their horizontal plane, make the bracing units assume the same deflection shape. The floor slabs of the building, being stiff in their horizontal plane, make the bracing units assume the same deflection shape. Multi-storey buildings subjected to horizontal load respond to the load by utilizing their bracing system. The external load is first transmitted from the façade to the floor slabs and through the floor slabs to the units of the bracing system before it is passed on to the foundation. The amount of load a bracing unit takes of the total load depends on several factors: the stiffness of the bracing unit, the stiffness of the whole bracing system, the location of the bracing unit and the plan arrangement of the whole bracing system.
