Brace

brace: see drill.

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brace

1. a hand tool for drilling holes, with a socket to hold the drill at one end and a cranked handle by which the tool can be turned

2. a sliding loop, usually of leather, attached to the cords of a drum: used to change its tension

3. a line or bracket connecting two or more staves of music

4. an appliance of metal bands and wires that can be tightened to maintain steady pressure on the teeth for correcting uneven alignment

5. Med any of various appliances for supporting the trunk, a limb, or teeth

6. another word for bracer

7. (in square-rigged sailing ships) a rope that controls the movement of a yard and thus the position of a sail

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brace [brās]

(design engineering)

A cranklike device used for turning a bit.

(engineering)

A diagonally placed structural member that withstands tension and compression, and often stiffens a structure against wind.

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brace

brace, 3

1. A metal or wood member which is used to stiffen or support a structure; a strut which supports or fixes another member in position or a tie used for the same purpose.

2. An angle brace.

3. A tool having a handle, crank, and chuck; used for holding a bit or auger and rotating it to drill a hole by hand; also called a bit stock.

4. A raker, 2.

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(character)

brace - left brace or right brace.

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Brace 

(in structural engineering), a connecting element that ensures the stability of a main (supporting) member of the frame and contributes to the three-dimensional rigidity of the structure as a whole. Loads applied to one or more structural members are redistributed by means of braces to the adjacent members and the whole structure. A bracing system usually consists of rod systems—such as trusses and portals—and individual rods—for example, angle braces and cross braces. Braces are used most often in steel and wood structures.

A system of horizontal (in the top and bottom chords of the truss) and vertical bracing is used in the roofs of industrial and public buildings whose supporting members are in the form of plane trusses or latticed collar beams, which can bend out of the plane of the supporting members. Such a system of braces is usually used to tie together two supporting roof members: a three-dimensional assembly is formed that has sufficient rigidity with respect to bending in the horizontal plane and with respect to twisting. The other supporting members of the roof are connected to this assembly by means of purlins, cross braces, or ties. Vertical bracing is also installed along columns (usually in the form of latticed portals and spreaders) to prevent the cross frame of a building from bending out of its plane and to guard against the absorption of the longitudinal loads that arise from wind action or the braking of bridge cranes—for example, in one-story industrial buildings with steel or reinforced-concrete frames. In multistory frame buildings, continuous reinforced concrete cores are often used instead of vertical braces along columns (seeFRAME-PANEL MEMBERS).

The principle of forming a rigid three-dimensional assembly from plane supporting members by means of appropriate bracing systems is also made use of in bridges and tower-type structures.

G. SH. PODOL’SKII