My question is more specifically about bracing. How to know when members used for bracing are in compression or tension. So for what I'm getting from the comments, it would depend of the load path? how it gets transferred to all members? And then, usually for X bracing both members are tension only?
Is there a way of knowing, just by seeing the member on the brace or looking at the steel shape, if the member is in tension or compression? for example, my professor would look at a WT shape in a diagonal horizontal bracing and say: that member is in tension....HELP!
