An Experimental Study of Buckling Restrained Brace With Inspection Windows

Abstract eng:
The buckling restrained brace (BRB) has been implemented worldwide in structures to prevent them from earthquake damage. However, the steel core of the traditional BRB is enclosed by the buckling-restraining unit, it is therefore impossible to observe the condition of the steel core during manufacturing and after earthquakes. Presented in this paper is an experimental research on a buckling restrained brace with inspection windows that allow direct observation of the condition of the BRB internal components. Experimental study on deciding the sizes and locations of the inspection windows without influencing the functionality of the BRB were conducted to search for a feasible BRB that is economical and convenient for manufacturing and installation as well as meets testing protocols. Test results of the scaled BRBs under cyclic loadings show that the mechanical behavior of the scaled BRB with inspection windows opened on the bucklingrestraining unit is stable and that fracture always occurs at the energy dissipation segments after low cycle fatigue tests. The condition of the steel core can be clearly observed through the inspection windows during the tests. The test results also indicate that the selected inspection windows on the scaled BRB have little influence on the strength of the device. It is concluded that an appropriately designed BRB device with inspection windows can be considered as a stable energy dissipation device.

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