• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.1581-1598
• /
• 2015

A concentric braced steel frame is a very efficient structural system because it requires relatively smaller amount of materials to resist lateral forces. However, primarily developed as a structural system to resist wind loads based on an assumption that the structure behaves elastically, a concentric braced frame possibly experiences the deterioration in energy dissipation after brace buckling and the brittle failure of braces and connections when earthquake loads cause inelastic behavior. Consequently, plastic deformation is concentrated in the floor where brace buckling occurs first, which can lead to the rupture of the structure. This study suggests reinforcing H-shaped braces with non-welded cold-formed stiffeners to restrain flexure and buckling and resist tensile force and compressive force equally. Weak-axis reinforcing members (2 pieces) developed from those suggested in previous studies (4 pieces) were used to reinforce the H-shaped braces in an inverted V-type braced frame. Monotonic loading tests, finite element analysis and cyclic loading tests were carried out to evaluate the structural performance of the reinforced braces and frames. The reinforced braces satisfied the AISC requirement. The reinforcement suggested in this study is expected to prevent the rupture of beams caused by the unbalanced resistance of the braces.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.487-498
• /
• 2018

Buckling-restrained braces are passive control devices with high level of energy dissipation ability. However, they suffer from low post-yield stiffness which makes them vulnerable to severe ground motions, especially near-field earthquakes. Among the several methods proposed to improve resistance of BRB frames, mega-brace configuration can be a solution to increase frame lateral strength and stiffness and improve distribution of forces to prevent large displacement in braces. Due to the limited number of research regarding the performance of such systems, the current paper aims to assess seismic performance of BRB frames with mega-bracing arrangement under near-field earthquakes via a detailed probabilistic framework. For this purpose, a group of multi-story mega-BRB frames were modelled by OpenSEES software platform. In the first part of the paper, simplified procedures including nonlinear pushover and Incremental Dynamic Analysis were conducted for performance evaluation. Two groups of near-fault seismic ground motions (Non-pulse and Pulse-like records) were considered for analyses to take into account the effects of record-to-record uncertainties, as well as forward directivity on the results. In the second part, seismic reliability analyses are conducted in the context of performance based earthquake engineering. Two widely-known EDP-based and IM-based probabilistic frameworks are employed to estimate collapse potential of the structures. Results show that all the structures can successfully tolerate near-field earthquakes with a high level of confidence level. Therefore, mega-bracing configuration can be an effective alternative to conventional BRB bracing to withstand near-field earthquakes.

• Advances in Computational Design
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.17-34
• /
• 2018

Tall buildings are categorized as important structures because of the large number of occupants and high construction costs. The choice of competent lateral load resisting systems in tall buildings is of crucial importance. Bracing systems have long been an economic and effective method for resisting lateral loads in steel structures. However, there are some potential adverse aspects to bracing systems such as the limitations they inflict on architectural plans, uplift forces and poor performances in compression. in order to eliminate the mentioned problems and for cost optimization, in this paper, six 20-story steel buildings and frames with different types of bracing, i.e., conventional, mega-scale and buckling-restrained bracing (BRB) were analyzed. Linear and modal push-over analyses were carried out. The results pointed out that Mega-Scale Bracing (MSB) system has significant superiority over the conventional bracing type. The MSB system is 25% more economic. Some other advantages of MSB include: up to 63% less drift ratio, up to 38% better performance in lateral displacement, up to 100% stiffer stories, and about 50% smaller uplift forces. Moreover, MSB equipped with BRB attests even a better seismic behavior in the aforementioned parameters.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.65 no.4
• /
• pp.401-408
• /
• 2018

Concentric braced frames are commonly used in steel structures to withstand lateral forces. One of the drawbacks of these systems is the possibility that the braces are buckled under compressive loads, which leads to sudden reduction of the bearing capacity of the structure. To overcome this deficiency, the idea of the Buckling Restrained Brace (BRB) has been proposed in recent years. The length of a BRB steel core can have a significant effect on its overall behavior, since it directly influences the energy dissipation capability of the member. In this study, numerical methods have been utilized for investigation of the optimum length of BRB steel cores. For this purpose, BRBs with different lengths placed into several two-dimensional framing systems with various heights were considered. Then, the Response History Analysis (RHA) was performed, and finally, the optimum steel core length of BRBs and its effect on the responses of the overall system were investigated. The results show that the shortest length where failure does not occur is the best length that can be proposed as the optimum steel core length of BRBs. This length can be obtained through a formula which has been derived and verified in this study by both analytical and numerical methods.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.417-433
• /
• 2023

The maximum ductility and cumulative ductility of connection joints of Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames (BRBF) are critical to the structural overall performance, which should be matched with the BRB ductility. The two-story and one-span BRBF with a one-third scale was tested under cyclic quasi-static loading, and the top-flange beam splice (TFBS) rotational connections were proposed and adopted in BRBF. The deformation capacity of TFBS connections was observed during the test, and the relationship between structural global ductility and local connection ductility was studied. The rotational capacity of the beam-column connections and the stability performance of the BRBs are highly relevant to the structural overall performance. The hysteretic curves of BRBF are stable and full under large displacement demand imposed up to 2% story drift, and energy is dissipated as the large plastic deformation developed in the structural components. The BRBs acted as fuses and yielded first, and the cumulative plastic ductility (CPD) of BRBs is 972.6 of the second floor and 439.7 of the first floor, indicating the excellent energy dissipation capacity of BRBs. Structural members with good local ductility ensure the large global ductility of BRBF. The ductile capacity and hysteretic behavior of BRBF with TFBS connections were compared with those of BRBF with Reduced Beam Section (RBS) connections in terms of the experimental results.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.71-79
• /
• 2023

In this study, a prefabricated buckling brace (PF-BRB) was proposed, and a test specimen was manufactured based on the design formula for the initial shape and structural performance tests were performed. As a result of the experiment, all standard performance requirements presented by KDS 41 17 00 and MOE 2021 were satisfied before and after replacement of the reinforcement module, and no fracture of the joint module occurred. As a result of the incremental load test, the physical properties showed a significant difference in the stiffness ratio after yielding under the compressive load of the envelope according to the experimental results. It is judged necessary to further analyze the physical properties according to the experimental results through finite element analysis in the future.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.139-150
• /
• 2018

In this paper, two kinds of buckling restrained braces (BRBs) are designed to improve the mechanical properties and fatigue life, the reserved gap and viscoelastic filler with high energy dissipation capacity are employed as the sliding element, respectively. The fatigue life of BRBs considering the effect of sliding element is predicted based on Manson-Coffin model. The property tests under different displacement amplitudes are carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties and fatigue life of BRBs. At last, the finite element analysis is performed to study the effects of the gap and viscoelastic filler on mechanical properties BRBs. Experimental and simulation results indicate that BRB employed with viscoelastic filler has a higher fatigue life and more stable mechanical property compared to BRB employed with gap, and the smaller reserved gap can more effectively improve the energy dissipation capacity of BRB.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.549-558
• /
• 2014

Buckling restrained braces(BRBs) developed as a seismic protection element, hysteretic damper, have been investigated in America and Japan mainly. BRBs are composed of a steel core and concrete-filled steel casing. It is one of the major causes of drop in productivity to fill the steel casing with concrete. To improve this problem, the BRB is introduced in which the steel core is restrained with a pair of semicircular springs. In this paper, the numerical and analytical investigation about the desirable configuration for a semicircular spring is presented. Firstly, the stiffness and strength of semicircular spring is determined theoretically to buckle into a very high-order modes. Then, the required stiffness and strength are calculated under the practical design conditions and considered as reference values to find a proper configuration. The material strength and thickness of semicircular spring are chose from the finite element analysis for 5 semicircular springs with varying height. Finally, the nonlinear buckling analysis of BRB with proper semicircular springs shows that the bucking strength of the whole BRB is very similar to the strength of steel core with length between semicircular springs.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.323-333
• /
• 2020

In recent years, there has been an upsurge for the usage of buckling restrained braces (BRB) rather than ordinary braces, as they have evidently performed better. If the overall brace buckling is ignored, BRBs are proven to have higher energy absorption capacity and flexibility. This article aims to deliberate an economically efficient yet adequate type of all-steel BRB, comprised of the main components as in traditional ones, such as : (1) a steel core that holds all axial forces and (2) a steel restrainer tube that hinders buckling to occurr in the core; there is a more practical detailing in the BRB system due to the elimination of a filling mortar. An investigation has been conducted for the proposed rectangular-tube core BRB and it is hysteric behavioral results have been compared to previous researches conducted on a structure containing a similar plate core profile that has the same cross-sectional area in its core. A loss of strength is known to occur in the BRB when the limiting condition of local buckling is not satisfied, thus causing instability. This typically occurs when the thickness of the restrainer tube's wall is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the core plate or its width. In this study, a parametric investigation for BRBs with different formations has been performed to verify the effect of the design parameters such as different core section profiles, restraining member width to thickness ratio and relative cross-sectional area of the core to restrainer, on buckling load evaluation. The proposed BRB investigation results have also been presented and compared to past BRB researches with a plate profile as the core section, and the advantages and disadvantages of this configuration have been discussed, and it is concluded that BRBs with tubular core section exhibit a better seismic performance than the ones with a plate core profile.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.83-91
• /
• 2009

Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) show good seismic behavior. They do not dissipate energy, however, when they are subjected to minor earthquakes or wind. Hybrid Buckling Restrained Braces (H-BRBs), which can improve the wind performance of the BRB system, are a kind of hybrid damper system composed of a viscoelastic damper and BRBs. In this paper, two H-BRB specimens with different cores were experimentally investigated to ensure the structural behavior of the H-BRB system in an elastic range. The axial deformation of the primary resisting system was compared with that of the secondary resisting system, and the equivalent damping ratio of the H-BRBs was estimated. It was concluded that H-BRBs with double shear dampers show good structural behavior and are applicable to tall buildings, to improve the building performance at a comfortable level.