Primary - everything without which the building won't stand up. Typically this means columns, braces and beams in steel construction. In concrete add shear walls and slabs. In some super tall or non standards geometry buildings floor slabs are also "activated" meaning they provide diaphragm action, whereas in much other construction they merely rest on primary elements.
Secondary - everything that holds something up (provides "structure") but isn't crucial to the buildings structural integrity. Example of this is facade steel like mullions and transoms or other arrangements to hold cladding, or various structural elements that hold up secondary elements like canopies, ceilings and decorative screens etc.
Tertiary systems come in to play sometimes, especially in large projects, for instance where the module of primary structure is vastly different in pure size from the module of for instance a cladding panel that attaches to it. Think a long span roof with parallel trusses every 30' and a 3x10' roof cladding element: then the secondary grid might create spans of say 10x10' bays and then there's the tertiary following the cladding module.
Hth
David Bruce Lee
Feb 13, 19 12:18 pm
bingo
Peter Normand
Feb 13, 19 1:39 pm
Other examples of secondary structure would be the lintels in masonry walls, the shelf angles that support finishes when they span over a window or other opening and there are other odd and ends that provide support or stabilization such as cross bracing in steel bar joist or structural elements used during the construction of the building.
joseffischer
Feb 13, 19 11:34 am
I know this is necrothreading a bit, but I thought it important for future people who may find this... Primary structure vs Secondary structure is defined as terms in IBC. Read them. They have fireproofing implications.
Bench
Feb 13, 19 2:00 pm
Interesting - mind telling the section? (I'm reviewing for exams currently)
poop876
Feb 13, 19 2:20 pm
704, but again it depends on your construction type.
joseffischer
Feb 13, 19 4:20 pm
Well, as mentioned, this conversation is based on construction type, and other things, but all the definitions for elements of your building can be found in Chapter 2 of the corresponding code. They're in alphabetical order.
empea
Feb 13, 19 2:24 pm
necrothreading..:D
wangfengqi
Sep 11, 20 10:07 pm
The secondary structure is used to stabilize the building, not the main structure for load-bearing
awaiting_deletion
Sep 11, 20 10:52 pm
'sup bot?
BulgarBlogger
Sep 12, 20 6:39 am
look up the definition of secondary members in the building code.
ryandamon
Aug 4, 21 4:16 am
Would a CONCRETE staircase within a concrete structure be a primary, secondary or tertiary component?
I just started in architecture school and I am trying to understand the difference between Primary vs Secondary structure in a structural system.
As far as I can tell, primary probably means all loadbearing elements but what is secondary? Also, is there tertiary structure?
Structure is structure.
I've never heard of 1st vs 2nd.
You should be able to find what you're looking for here:
http://www.wermac.org/pdf/steel2.pdf
https://www.apeg.bc.ca/getmedia/0ac482f7-3b91-46e8-9610-557403934f6b/APEGBC-Guidelines-Professional-Structural-Engineering-Services-for-Part-3-Building-Projects.pdf.aspx
Primary - everything without which the building won't stand up. Typically this means columns, braces and beams in steel construction. In concrete add shear walls and slabs. In some super tall or non standards geometry buildings floor slabs are also "activated" meaning they provide diaphragm action, whereas in much other construction they merely rest on primary elements.
Secondary - everything that holds something up (provides "structure") but isn't crucial to the buildings structural integrity. Example of this is facade steel like mullions and transoms or other arrangements to hold cladding, or various structural elements that hold up secondary elements like canopies, ceilings and decorative screens etc.
Tertiary systems come in to play sometimes, especially in large projects, for instance where the module of primary structure is vastly different in pure size from the module of for instance a cladding panel that attaches to it. Think a long span roof with parallel trusses every 30' and a 3x10' roof cladding element: then the secondary grid might create spans of say 10x10' bays and then there's the tertiary following the cladding module.
Hth
bingo
Other examples of secondary structure would be the lintels in masonry walls, the shelf angles that support finishes when they span over a window or other opening and there are other odd and ends that provide support or stabilization such as cross bracing in steel bar joist or structural elements used during the construction of the building.
I know this is necrothreading a bit, but I thought it important for future people who may find this... Primary structure vs Secondary structure is defined as terms in IBC. Read them. They have fireproofing implications.
Interesting - mind telling the section? (I'm reviewing for exams currently)
704, but again it depends on your construction type.
Well, as mentioned, this conversation is based on construction type, and other things, but all the definitions for elements of your building can be found in Chapter 2 of the corresponding code. They're in alphabetical order.
necrothreading..:D
The secondary structure is used to stabilize the building, not the main structure for load-bearing
'sup bot?
look up the definition of secondary members in the building code.
Would a CONCRETE staircase within a concrete structure be a primary, secondary or tertiary component?