Seismic Behavior of an Inter-story Hinged Lateral Resistance Braced Frame

Based on the deflection behavior of structural components occurring at the lateral deformation of moment frames, a new lateral force-resisting system, the R-BRACE Frame (RBF) system, was proposed. This system is capable of effectively limiting the inter-story drift response of tall buildings. An evaluation was conducted using the finite element method program SAP2000 to simulate the internal force distribution and deformation of the system. The equivalent lateral force procedure (ELFP), the capacity spectrum method (CSM), a linear time-history analysis and the pushover method were applied to assess the yielding mechanism of the structure under different earthquake intensity levels. The findings revealed that the sub-unit, referred to as an R-BRACE, had a major impact on improving a structure's lateral stiffness. The placement of R-BRACE units could guarantee controllable stiffness degradation and enhanced seismic ductility, but would not alter the vertical load transfer path of the initial structure, which makes the RBF system an ideal option for seismic retrofitting. KEYWORDS: Lateral force-resisting system, R-BRACE frame, Enhanced lateral stiffness resistance, Seismic ductility