Cumulative Ductility and Hysteretic Behavior of Small Buckling-Restrained Braces

Cumulative ductility is defined as a ratio of total energy to elastic energy which is dissipated by an element of the structural system during cyclic loading. An element of the structural system is categorized hysteretic if the cumulative ductility factor fulfills certain criteria. This study investigated both analytically and experimentally Small Buckling-Restrained Braces (SBRBs). The core of bracings was modeled using Menegotto-Pinto and bilinear functions. The restrained bracing members were in the shape of square hollow steel section. They were made of the assembly of two L-shaped steel sections. From the experimental study on four SBRB specimens, it was proven that the proposed SBRBs have performed relatively stable hysteretic curves up to two percent of strain and the cumulative ductility factor of 199–450. This value is sufficient for the Buckling-Restrained Brace (BRB) elements as elastoplastic structural components. The comparisons of the hysteretic behaviors resulted by SBRB specimens using the Menegotto-Pinto functions and experiments exhibited good agreements, while the amount of energy dissipated by the SBRB specimens using the bilinear model agreed well with the experimental results. Based on the behavior of the experimental hysteretic, implementing the proposed SBRBs as components in ductile truss system is recommended.

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