A New Buckling Restrained Frame for Reinforced Concrete Frames

Abstract eng:
This paper highlights research to assess and upgrade seismically deficient reinforced concrete frames using Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs). A new BRB was developed by the authors at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and has been verified experimentally by testing two 2/3rd scale, single-storey reinforced concrete frames that were designed as representatives of frame buildings located in Vancouver, Canada. The first frame served as a control frame, while the second served as a companion-retrofitted frame. The retrofitted frame demonstrated excellent performance, with substantial increases in the lateral load capacity, coupled with drift control and energy dissipation. The research program has been extended to verify numerically the feasibility of the new technique in multi-storey reinforced concrete frame buildings located in western Canada. Inelastic response time history analyses were conducted using models that permit inelasticity in frame elements and the BRBs. Code-compatible earthquake records were selected for the analyses. The results indicate that multiple uses of BRBs improve building performance, reduce seismic shear demands in brittle frame columns while limiting lateral drift to 1%. The numerical results were assessed against performance-based design objectives prescribed in current codes. The paper presents the results of both the experimental and numerical investigations.

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