Investigating the seismic response of chevron braced frame equipped with a replaceable sandwiched fused damper

Abstract

This paper proposes a new replaceable metallic damper called a Sandwiched Fuse Damper (SFD) to enhance the seismic performance of chevron braced frame. The proposed damper decreases the damage level and increases the deformation capacity of braced frames. To investigate the cyclic behavior of the proposed damping system, experimental tests were carried out on two 1/2-scaled chevron-braced frames equipped with the SFD and a conventional chevron-braced frame for comparison. Test specimens were one-bay single-story chevron braced frames execrated from the bottom story of a prototype three-story building. The experimental results showed that the SFD-braced frames possessed stable hysteresis loops, a large deformation and excellent energy dissipation capacities. The results also indicated that the ductile flexural-yielding of fuses governed the failure of SFD-braced frames. Besides, it was found that the ductility, energy dissipation, and deformation capacity of SFD-braced frames were 2, 4.73, and 4.59 times larger than that of the conventional chevron-braced frame.