Experimental Investigation of Inelastic Cyclic Buckling and Fracture of Steel Braces
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 1
Abstract
Results from 18 large-scale tests of steel bracing members are presented to examine their inelastic buckling and fracture behavior as related to the seismic design of concentrically braced frames. The brace specimens include square hollow structural shapes (HSS), pipe, and wide-flange sections. The effect of various parameters, including width–thickness and slenderness ratios, cross-section shape, loading history, loading rate, and grout fill on the performance of these braces is investigated. Among these parameters, loading history, width–thickness ratio and slenderness ratio are shown to have the largest influence on brace ductility. The test data suggest that for some HSS and pipe specimens, current seismic design provision limits on maximum width–thickness ratios may not provide sufficient ductility for seismic design. Effects of loading rate are found to be insignificant, and the grout fill is shown to provide a modest improvement in cyclic ductility. Measurements of brace stiffness, tensile strength and compressive strength compare well with design formulas. Future analytical studies to simulate brace buckling and fracture are outlined as a way to generalize the findings of the physical tests.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant NSFCMS 0421492), the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), and the Structural Steel Educational Council (SSEC). The advice and guidance of Helmut Krawinkler (Stanford University), Charles Roeder (University of Washington), Walterio López, and Mark Saunders (Rutherford and Chekene) is greatly appreciated. In addition, the knowledgeable support of the UC Berkeley NEES lab personnel including Shakhzod Takhirov, Donald Patterson, Donald Clyde, David MacLam, and Jose Robles was extremely important in the experimental aspect of this study. The writers also acknowledge support from the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University and the University of California, Davis.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 1 • January 2009
Pages: 19 - 32
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 9, 2007
Accepted: Jul 9, 2008
Published online: Jan 1, 2009
Published in print: Jan 2009
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: James S. Davidson
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