• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.269-283
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• 2022

In this paper, a particular type of all-steel HSS brace members with a locally reduced cross-sectional area was experimentally and numerically investigated. The brace member was strengthened against local buckling with inner and outer boxes in the reduced area. Four single-span braced frames were tested under cyclic lateral loadings. Specimens included a simple steel frame with a conventional box-shaped brace and three other all-steel reduced section buckling-restrained braces. After conducting the experimental program, numerical models of the proposed brace were developed and verified with experimental results. Then the length of the proposed fuse was increased and its effect on the cyclic behavior of the brace was investigated numerically. Eventually, the brace was detailed with a fuse-to-brace length of 30%, as well as the cross-sectional area of the fuse-to-brace of 30%, and the cyclic behavior of the system was studied numerically. The study showed that the proposed brace is stable up to a 2% drift ratio, and the plastic cumulative deformation requirement of AISC (2016) is easily achieved. The proposed brace has sufficient ductility and stability and is lighter, as well as easier to be fabricated, compared to the conventional mortar-filled BRB and all-steel BRB.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2023

A novel type of buckling restrained brace with built-up angle steel was developed. The core segment was formed by welding angle steel, and the middle section was reduced by cutting technology to solve the problem that the end of BRB was easy to buckle. The experimental program has been undertaken to study the performance of BRBs with different unbonded materials (silica gel, kraft paper) and different filler materials (ordinary concrete, full light-weight concrete). Four specimens were designed and fabricated for low cycle reciprocating load tests to simulate horizontal seismic action. The failure mode, hysteretic curves, tension-compression unbalance coefficient and other mechanical parameters were compared and analyzed. The finite element software ABAQUS was used to conduct numerical simulation, and the simulation results were compared with the experimental phenomena. The test results indicated that the hysteretic curve of each specimen was plump. Sustaining cumulative strains of each specimen was greater than the minimum value of 200 required by the code, which indicated the ductility of BRB was relatively good. The energy dissipation coefficient of the specimen with silica gel as unbonded material was about 13% higher than that with kraft paper. The experimental results were in good agreement with the simulation results.