Experimental study on a dry-assembled precast concrete frame with buckling-restrained braces

Abstract

This paper proposes a new dry-assembled precast concrete frame with buckling-restrained braces (BRB-DPCF) to reach the full potential of building industrialization and promote the popularization of precast structures in earthquake-prone zones. A new mechanical coupler and an unbonded posttensioning (PT) technology were adopted for the column-to-column joint and beam-to-column joint, respectively, of the BRB-DPCF. In this paper, the authors designed and tested a monolithic concrete frame with buckling-restrained braces (BRB-MCF) and a BRB-DPCF to investigate the seismic performance of the BRB-DPCF. The two specimens were two-story, single-bay concrete frames with a story height of 1750 mm and a bay of 2500 mm. The test results demonstrated that the BRB-DPCF exhibited stable and fat hysteretic loops and a lateral-resistance capacity comparable to the BRB-MCF. The BRB-DPCF showed a greater initial stiffness and smaller energy dissipation capacity than the BRB-MCF. The column damage of the BRB-DPCF was similar to that of the BRB-MCF, while the girder damage of the BRB-DPCF was negligible compared with that of the BRB-MCF. The BRB-DPCF featured a greater repairable ability after earthquake events than the BRB-MCF.