Experimental study on hysteretic behavior of energy dissipation braces with bending plates and perforated shear plates

Abstract

The shear plates had been adopted in the energy dissipation braces, but the ductility of energy dissipation braces with shear plates was poor. In this paper, a new-type bending plate-strip coupling energy dissipation brace (BSEB) with bending plates and perforated shear plates was proposed, and the strips included non-uniform strips, stiffening non-uniform strips, and T-shaped strips. The hysteretic behavior of five BSEBs was investigated through a quasi-static test. The experimental parameters included boundary condition, arrangement of perforated shear plates, and material. The experimental results indicated that the initial stiffness of BSEBs with pinned connection was significantly lower than that with bolted connection; The influence of arrangement of perforated shear plates on seismic performance of BSEBs could be little; The BSEB with perforated shear plates fabricated by stainless steel had higher initial stiffness and ultimate bearing capacity, and lower energy dissipation capacity and ductility; The fracture occurred in stiffening non-uniform strips, T-shaped strips, non-uniform strips, and bending plates in turn, and plastic strain occurred in stiffening non-uniform strips, non-uniform strips, T-shaped strips, and bending plates in turn. Finally, a few formulas for predicting the yield bearing capacity of a BSEB were developed and verified.