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Hughes Brothers Brace Components

Updated October 22nd, 2019

This library contains many X-braces, as well as crossarm braces, manufactured by Hughes Brothers, Inc. This data was obtained directly from the engineering staff at Hughes Brothers. For reference, consult the Hughes Brothers website and on-line catalog here. For further assistance, consult the Hughes Brothers engineering staff.

Peter Kapinos
Engineer 
Hughes Brothers, Inc.
(402) 643-2991
peter@hughesbros.com

The X-braces are listed first with a prefix of X- in the brace property label and the crossarm braces are found at the bottom with a prefix of BR- in the brace property label. The brace-type can be distinguished by the unbraced length ratios: X-braces have 0.7 and 0.5 for the X and Z ratios, respectively, whereas crossarm braces have ratios of 1 for both the X and Z ratios.

Many of the X-braces have become outmoded. Consult the catalog, or the on-line catalog, to see typical braces that are commonly used.

No steel tube braces appear in the library. The compression capacity calculations have been designed for wood sections and should not be used for steel tubes. For steel tube braces, the user should input nominal capacities. Please contact the engineering department at Hughes Brothers for assistance with these.

The Brace Property Label used in the component file is X-HB or BR-HB, followed by the brace type, followed by the dimensional properties of the wood section. If the word "LAM" appears, the wood section is made of laminate wood, otherwise the wood section is solid sawn.

The Stock Number could be changed to match your internal Stock Numbers to aid in developing your material tables.

The calculated strength check method is used to encompass the different possible lengths of each brace. As the tension capacities of the braces are usually controlled by end fittings and hardware, the net area was back calculated by dividing the published tension capacity (obtained from Hughes Brothers) by the design strength. The result is such that the tension capacity of each brace matches the published tension capacity.

The compression capacities are calculated using the effective un-braced length, modulus of Elasticity and moment of inertia. The Effective unbraced length incorporates the unbraced length ratios. For X-braces, the x-direction ratio is 0.7, which is a common assumption. The z-direction uses a 0.5 ratio. Note that these ratios can be changed to meet your situation.

The weights were calculated using a density of 36 lb/ft^3 (the density of douglas fir wood).

Should you try to verify the compression capacities, be aware that they are very dependant upon the exact length of the braces. A difference of just 3 inches in brace length can make several hundred pounds difference in capacity.

Click on Hughes Brothers Brace Components Library to download the library.

Please note: Power Line Systems cannot provide a copy of Hughes Brothers catalog or any other standards or material for that matter. We suggest that you contact your Hughes Brothers Representative or the various standards organizations for those documents.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: These files are being provided on an "as-is" basis. Power Line Systems, Inc. accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the data herein, and the PLS-CADD end user is responsible for the use and verification of all data obtained in this library.