• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.143-160
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• 2013

This paper presents the results of an experimental program concerning the efficiency of a specific strengthening technique which utilizes a small steel link element connected to the R/C frame through bracing elements. Brittle types of failure, especially at the connections between steel and concrete elements, can be avoided by appropriate design of the local details. Five single storey one bay R/C frames scaled 1:3 were constructed according to older codes with substandard details. The first one was a typical bare reference frame. The other four were identical to the first one, strengthened by steel bracing elements. The behavior of the strengthened frames is described with respect to the reference bare frame. The concrete frames were constructed according to older code provisions by the use of smooth steel bars, low strength concrete, sparsely spaced stirrups and substandard details. The strengthening scheme aimed to the increase of both strength and deformation capacity of the original R/C frame. The inelastic deformations are purposely concentrated to a short steel link element connecting the steel bracing to the R/C frame. The results show that the steel link element can increase considerably the strength and the energy dissipation capacity of the frame.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.345-358
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• 2005

The response of single story buildings and other case studies are investigated to observe trends in response and to develop a better understanding of the impact of some design parameters on the seismic response of CBF. While it is recognized that many parameters have an influence on the behavior of braced frames, the focus of this study is mostly on quantifying energy dissipation in compression and its effectiveness on seismic performance. Based on dynamic analyses of single story braced frame and case studies, it is found that a bracing member designed with bigger R and larger KL/r results in lower normalized cumulative energy, i.e., cumulative compressive energy normalized by the corresponding tensile energy (${\sum}E_C/E_T$), in both cases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.4 s.65
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• pp.379-388
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• 2003

The response of single story buildings and other case studies were investigated to observe trends and develop a better understanding of the impact of some design parameters on the seismic response of Concentrically Braced Frames (CBF). While many parameters are known to influence the behavior of braced frames, the focus of this study was mostly on quantifying energy dissipation in compression and its effectiveness on seismic performance. Based on dynamic analyses of single story braced frame and case studies, a bracing member designed with bigger R and larger KL/r was found to result in lower normalized cumulative energy ratio in both cases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.4 s.65
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• pp.359-368
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• 2003

Design and detailing requirements of seismic provisions for Concentrically Braced Frames (CBF) were specified based on the premise that bracing members with large KL/r and low b/t have superior seismic performance. However, relatively few tests have been done to investigate the cyclic behavior of CBF. Therefore, the question lies on whether the compression member of CBF plays as significant a role as what has been typically assumed by design providers. In this paper, existing experimental data were reviewed to quantify the extent of hysteretic energy achieved by bracing members in past compression tests as well as the extent of degradation of the compression force given repeated cycling loading.