• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.863-882
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• 2016

This study aims to introduce a new bracing system by which even super-wide frames with large openings can be braced. The proposed system, hereafter called Cable-Pulley Brace (CPB), is a tension-only bracing system with a rectilinear configuration. In CPB, a wire rope passes through a rectilinear path around the opening(s) and connects the lower corner of the frame to its opposite upper one. CPB is a secondary load resisting system with a nonlinear-elastic hysteretic behavior due to its initial pre-tension load. As a result, the required energy dissipation would be provided by the MRF itself, and the main intention of using CPB is to contribute to the initial and post-yield stiffness of the whole system. Using a stiffness calibration technique, optimum placement of the CPBs is discussed to yield a uniform displacement demand along the height of the structure. A displacement-based design procedure is proposed by which the MRF with CPB can be designed to achieve a uniform distribution of inter-story drifts with predefined values. Obtained results indicated that CPB leads to significant reductions in maximum and residual deformations of the MRF at the expense of minor increase in the maximum base shear and developed axial force demands in the columns. In the case of a typical 5-story residential building, compared to SMRF system, CPB system reduces maximum amounts of inter-story and residual drifts by 35% and 70%, respectively. Moreover, openings of the frame are not interrupted by the CPB. This is the most appealing feature of the proposed bracing system from architectural point of view.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.541-558
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• 2019

In Special Concentrically Braced Frames (SCBFs), vertical and horizontal components of the brace force must be resisted by column and beam, respectively but normal force component existing at the gusset plate-to-column and beam interfaces, creates out-of-plane action making distortion in column and beam faces adjacent to the gusset plate. It is a main concern in Hollow Structural Section (HSS) columns and beams where their webs and gusset plate are not in the same plane. In this paper, a new gusset plate passing through the HSS columns and beams, named as through gusset plate, is proposed to study the force transfer mechanism in such gusset plates of SCBFs compared to the case with conventional gusset plates. For this purpose, twelve SCBFs with diagonal brace and HSS columns and twelve SCBFs with chevron brace and HSS columns and beams are considered. For each frame, two cases are considered, one with through gusset plates and the other with conventional ones. Based on numerical results, using through gusset plates prevents distortion and out-of-plane deformation at HSS column and beam faces adjacent to the gusset plate helping the entire column and beam cross-sections to resist respectively vertical and horizontal components of the brace force. Moreover, its application increases energy dissipation, lateral stiffness and strength around 28%, 40% and 32%, respectively, improving connection behavior and raising the resistance of the normal force components at the gusset plate-to-HSS column and beam interfaces to approximately 4 and 3.5 times, respectively. Finally, using such through gusset plates leads to better structural performance particularly for HSS columns and beams with larger width-to-thickness ratio elements.

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

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.5 s.66
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• pp.571-578
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• 2003

An effective seismic retrofit scheme for inverted V braced (or chevron type) steel frames was proposed by studying the redistribution of forces in the post-buckling range. The steel frames with chevron bracing are highly prone to soft story response once the compression brace buckles under earthquake loading. This paper shows that the seismic performance of such frames could be significantly improved by supplying tie bars to redistribute the inelastic deformation demand over the height of the building. A practical design method of the retrofit tie bars was also proposed by considering the sequence of buckling occurrence.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2009

Failure modes result in fracture or tearing, which may cause deterioration of resistance and reduction of inelastic deformation capacity. The potential failure modes for Special Concentrically Braced Frames (SCBFs) include fracture or tearing of the brace, net section fracture of the brace or gusset plate, fracture of the gusset plate welds, shear fracture of the bolts, block shear, excessive bolt bearing deformation, and buckling of the gusset plate. HSS tubular braces are commonly used in SCBFs, and net section fracture of the tubular brace may also occur through the brace net section at the end of the slot cut into the tube to slip over the gusset plate. This failure mode is categorized as a tension failure mode, and may cause dramatic loss of resistance and brittle behavior. Net section reinforcement is required according to AISC design specifications (AISC 2001). In this paper, the need to reinforce the net section area was discussed. Initially, the results of the net section fracture tests done by the University of California in Berkeley were presented with the modeling of these tests using FE models. To investigate the possibility of net section fracture in an actual frame, the slot end hole model was adapted to the frame FE model, and alternate near-fault histories were applied with tension-dominated cycles, since previous analyses showed that loading history was the most critical factor in net section fracture. The need for this reinforcement (cover plate) and the tension-dominated near-fault history were investigated.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.667-674
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• 2013

Improving the earthquake resistance of buildings through seismic retrofitting using steel braces can result in brittle failure at the connection between the brace and the building, as well as buckling failure of the braces. This paper proposes a new seismic retrofit methodology combined with glass fiber sheet (GFS) and non-compression X-brace system using carbon fiber (CFXB) for reinforced concrete buildings damaged in earthquakes. The GFS is used to improve the ductility of columns damaged in earthquake. The CFXB consists of carbon fiber bracing and anchors, to replace the conventional steel bracing and bolt connection. This paper reports the seismic resistance of a reinforced concrete frame strengthened using the GFS-CFXB system. Cyclic loading tests were carried out, and the hysteresis of the lateral load-drift relations as well as ductility capacities were investigated. Carbon fiber is less rigid than the conventional materials used for seismic retrofitting, resulting in some significant advantages: the strength of the structure increased markedly with the use of CF X-bracing, and no buckling failure of the bracing was observed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.89 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2024

Using negative Poisson's ratio materials, an innovative metallic-yielding damper is introduced for the first time in this study. Through the use of ABAQUS commercial software, a nonlinear finite element analysis is conducted to determine the performance of the proposed system. Mild steel plates with elliptical holes are used for these types of dampers, which dissipate energy through an inelastic deformation of the constitutive material. To assess the capability of the proposed damper, nonlinear quasi-static finite element analyses have been conducted on the damper with a variety of geometric parameters. According to the results, the proposed system is ductile and has a high capacity to dissipate energy. The proposed auxetic damper has a specific energy absorption of 910.8 J/kg and a ductility of 33.6. Therefore, this damper can dissipate a large amount of earthquake input energy without buckling by increasing the buckling load of the brace with its ductile behavior. In addition, it was found that by incorporating auxetic dampers in the steel frame, the frame was made harder, stronger, and ductile and its energy absorption increased by 300%.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.2 no.3 s.5
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• pp.103-113
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• 2002

This thesis investigates vibration response characteristics of building frames in which dampers are installed. The frames belong to passively vibration-controlled. Structures which utilizes energy dissipation of mechanical dampers provided in the structure. In this thesis, a turbulent flow damper sealed by visco-elastic material was dealt with as the device of passive vibration control. To investigate the resisting force characteristics of the damper, harmonic vibratration tests were carried out. Based on the test results, a theoretical model of the damper resistance was presented and a method of identifying the model parameters was proposed. Shaking table tests of the frame with and without the dampers were carried out and the effectiveness of the damper was examined. The response of the frame with the dampers was reduced to 1/2 or 1/3 of the cases without the damper.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2009

In this study, the seismic performance of the Buckling Restrained Knee Bracing (BRKB) system was evaluated through a pin-connected one-bay, one-story frame. The BRKB system developed in this study was composed of a steel plate as a load-resisting core member and two channel sections to restrain local and global buckling of the core plate. The main purpose of the BRKB system is to restrengthen/rehabilitate old low- and mid-rise RC buildings, which, it is assumed, were designed with non-seismic designs and details. The main variables for the test specimens were the size of the core plates and the stiffeners, and the condition of the end plates. The test results showed that the size of the core plate, which was the main element of the load-resisting member, was the most important parameter in achieving a ductile behavior under tension as well as compression until the maximum displacement exceeds twice the design drift limit.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.106-114
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• 2006

This study proposed the applicability of inverse stiffness method on the seismic design for steel frame with buckling restrained braces and the design results were compared with former research's. The concept of this method is simple and efficient. Furthermore it is able to reflect the high mode's effect and control the ductility factors of each story individually. Design results using the proposed method showed that according to increase of the given target drift, the areas of brace generally decreased but partially increased in some stories of the tall structure with very large ductility. And the post yield stiffness ratio's variation had more effect on the design results in the small post yield stiffness ratio.