• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.217-228
• /
• 2017

Braces are one of the retrofitting systems of structure under earthquake loading. Buckling restrained braces (BRBs) are one of the very efficient braces for lateral loads. One of the key needs for a desirable and acceptable behavior of buckling-restraining brace members under intensive loading is that it prevents total buckling until the bracing member tolerates enough plastic deformation and ductility. This paper presents the results of a set of analysis by finite element method on buckling restrained braces in which the filler materials within the restraining member have been removed. These braces contain core as the conventional BRBs, but they have a different buckling restrained system. The purpose of this analysis is conducting a parametric study on various empty spaces between core and restraining member, the effect of friction between core and restraining member and applying initial deformation to brace system to investigate the global buckling behavior of these braces. The results of analysis indicate that the flexural stiffness of restraining member, regardless of the amount of empty space, can influence the global buckling behavior of brace significantly.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.589-599
• /
• 2019

Conventional buckling restrained braces used in concentrically braced frames are expected to yield in both tension and compression without major degradation of capacity under severe seismic ground motions. One of the weakness points of a standard buckling restrained braced frame is the low post-yield stiffness and thus large residual deformation under moderate to severe ground motions. This phenomenon can be attributed to low post-yield stiffness of core member in a BRB. This paper introduces a multi-core buckling restrained brace. The multi-core term arises from the use of more than one core component with different steel materials, including high-performance steel (HPS-70W) and stainless steel (304L) with high strain hardening properties. Nonlinear dynamic time history analyses were conducted on variety of diagonally braced frames with different heights, in order to compare the seismic performance of regular and multi-core buckling restrained braced frames. The results exhibited that the proposed multi-core buckling restrained braces reduce inter-story and especially residual drift demands in BRBFs. In addition, the results of seismic fragility analysis designated that the probability of exceedance of residual drifts in multi-core buckling restrained braced frames is significantly lower in comparison to standard BRBFs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.561-580
• /
• 2020

Buckling restrained braces (BRBs) were developed as an enhanced alternative to conventional braces by restraining their global buckling, thus allowing development of a stable quasi-symmetric hysteretic response. A wider adoption of buckling restrained braced frames is precluded due to proprietary character of most BRBs and the code requirement for experimental qualification. To overcome these problems, BRBs with capacities corresponding to typical steel multi-storey buildings in Romania were developed and experimentally tested in view of prequalification. In the second part of this paper, a complex nonlinear numerical model for the tested BRBs was developed in the finite element environment Abaqus. The calibration of the numerical model was performed at both component (material models: steel, concrete, unbonding material) and member levels (loading, geometrical imperfections). Geometrically and materially nonlinear analyses including imperfections were performed on buckling restrained braces models under cyclic loading. The calibrated models were further used to perform a parametric study aiming at assessing the influence of the strength of the buckling restraining mechanism, concrete class of the infill material, mechanical properties of steel used for the core, self-weight loading, and frame effect on the cyclic response of buckling restrained braces.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.305-326
• /
• 2005

The inelastic buckling behaviour of continuously restrained two and three-span continuous beams subjected to concentrated loads and uniformly distributed loads are studied in this paper. The restraint type considered in this paper is fully restrained against translation and elastic twist applied at the top flange. These types of restraints are most likely experienced in industrial structures, for example steel-concrete composite beams and half through girders. The buckling analysis of continuous beam consists of two parts, firstly the moment and shear distribution along the member are determined by employing force method and the information is then used for an out-of-plane buckling analysis. The finite element method is incorporated with so-called simplified and the polynomial pattern of residual stress. Owing to the inelastic response of the steel, both the in-plane and out-of-plane analysis, which is treated as being uncoupled, extend into the nonlinear range. This paper presents the results of inelastic lateral-torsional and lateral-distortional buckling load and finally conclusions are drawn regarding the web distortion.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.423-436
• /
• 2012

In this study total of six buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) were manufactured using a square steel rod as a load-resisting core member and a hollow steel tube as restrainer to prevent global buckling of the core. The gap between the core and the tube was filled with steel rods as filler material. The performances of the proposed BRB from uniaxial and subassemblage tests were compared with those of the specimens filled with mortar. The test results showed that the performance of the BRB with discontinuous steel rods as filler material was not satisfactory, whereas the BRBs with continuous steel rods as filler material showed good performance when the external tubes were strong enough against buckling. It was observed that the buckling strength of the external tube of the BRBs filled with steel rods needs to be at least twice as high as that of the BRBs filled with mortar to ensure high cumulative plastic deformation of the BRB.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
• /
• 2003.04a
• /
• pp.147-151
• /
• 2003

In this study, we discussed the local buckling behavior of pultruded structural flexural members. Previous works were briefly reviewed and the local buckling behavior of orthotropic box-shape flexural members was discussed. The simplified form of equation for finding the width ratio of plate element of box-shape flexural members in which all plate components buckle simultaneously was proposed and the macro flow-chart for finding local buckling strength of pultruded flexural members was also suggested. To establish the design guide line for the local buckling of pultruded flexural members, further studies need to be performed as follows; the simplified form of solutions for finding the minimum buckling coefficient of orthotropic plate with various loading and boundary conditions including rotationally restrained boundary conditions, the simplified form of equation for calculating the coefficient of restraint provided by the adjacent plate elements.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.899-912
• /
• 2022

To study the seismic performance of the all-steel buckling-restrained brace (BRB) using the novel soft steel LY315 for core member, a total of three identical BRBs were designed and a series of experimental and numerical studies were conducted. First, monotonic and cyclic loading tests were carried out to obtain the mechanical properties of LY315 steel. In addition, the parameters of the Chaboche model were calibrated based on the test results and then verified using ABAQUS. Second, three BRB specimens were tested under cyclic loads to investigate the seismic performance. The failure modes of all the specimens were identified and discussed. The test results indicate that the BRBs exhibit excellent energy dissipation capacity, good ductility, and excellent low-cycle fatigue performance. Then, a finite element (FE) model was established and verified with the test results. Furthermore, a parametric study was performed to further investigate the effects of gap size, restraining ratio, slenderness ratio of the yielding segment, and material properties of the core member on the load capacity and energy dissipation capacity of BRBs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.687-699
• /
• 2020

This paper focus on the buckling restrained braces (BRBs) with new casing members (CMs). Seven BRBs with CMs consisting of precast concrete modules (PCMs) were tested to investigate the effects of CMs on the cyclic performance of BRBs. The PCMs consisted of plain and reinforced concrete casted into wooden or steel molds than they were located on the core plate (CP) via bolts. There were 14 or 18 PCMs on the CP for each BRBs. The technique of the PCMs for the CM provides that the BRBs can be constructed inside the steel or reinforced concrete (RC) structures. In this way, their applications may be rapid and practical during the application of the retrofitting. The test results indicated that the cyclic performance of the BRBs was dominated by the connection strength and confinement of the PCMs. The BRBs with PCMs wrapped with fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) sustained stable hysteretic performance up to a CP strain of 2.0 %. This indicates that the new designed BRBs with PCMs were found to be acceptable in terms of cyclic performance. Furthermore, the connection details, isolation materials and their application techniques have been also investigated for the improved BRB design in this study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.297-314
• /
• 2002

An energy method of analysis is presented which can be used to study the inelastic lateral-distortional buckling of hot-rolled I-sections continuously restrained at the level of the tension flange. The numerical modelling leads to the incremental and iterative solution of a fourth-order eigenproblem, with very rapid solutions being obtainable, so as to enable a study of the factors that influence the strength of continuously restained I-beams to be made. Although hot-rolled I-sections generally have stocky webs and are not susceptible to reductions in their overall buckling loads as a result of cross-sectional distortion, the effect of elastic restraints, particularly against twist rotation, can lead to buckling modes in which the effect of distortion is quite severe. While the phenomenon has been studied previously for elastic lateral-distortional buckling, it is extended in this paper to include the constitutive relationship characteristics of mild steel, and incorporates both the so-called 'polynomial' and 'simplified' models of residual stresses. The method is validated against inelastic lateral-torsional buckling solutions reported in previous studies, and is applied to illustrate some inelastic buckling problems. It is noted that over a certain range of member slenderness the provisions of the Australian AS4100 steel standard are unconservative.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.72-84
• /
• 2016

The conventional brace system is generally accepted as the lateral load resisting system for steel structures due to efficient story drift control and economic feasibility. But lateral stiffness of the structure decreases when buckling happens to the brace in compression, so that it results in unstable structure with unstable hysteresis behavior through strength deterioration. Buckling restrained brace(BRB) system, in which steel core is confined by mortar/concrete-filled tube, represents stable behavior in the post-yield range because the core's buckling is restrained. So, seismic performance of BRB is much better than that of conventional brace system in point of energy absorption capacity, and it is applied the most in high seismicity regions as damper element. BRBs with various shaped-sections have been developed across the globe, but the shapes experimented in Korea are now quite limited. In this study, we considered built-up type of restraining member made up of precast reinforcement concrete and the steel core. we experimented the BRB according to AISC(2005) and evaluated seismic performances and hysteresis characteristics.