Evaluating the displacement amplification factors of concentrically braced steel frames

Abstract

According to seismic design codes, nonlinear performance of structures is considered during strong earthquakes. Seismic design provisions estimate the maximum roof and story drifts occurring during major earthquakes by amplifying the drifts computed from elastic analysis at the prescribed seismic force level with a displacement amplification factor. The present study tries to evaluate the displacement amplification factors of conventional concentric braced frames (CBFs) and buckling restrained braced frames (BRBFs). As such, static nonlinear (pushover) analysis and nonlinear dynamic time history analysis have been performed on the model buildings with single and double bracing bays, and different stories and brace configurations (chevron V, invert V, and X bracing). It is observed that the displacement amplification factors for BRBFs are higher than that of CBFs. Also, the number of bracing bays and height of buildings have a profound effect on the displacement amplification factors. The evaluated ratios between displacement amplification factors and response modification factors are from 1 to 1.12 for CBFs and from 1 to 1.4 for BRBFs.