Seismic performance evaluation and design of resilient knee braced frames equipped with shape memory alloy knee braces and replaceable energy-dissipating connections

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel seismic resilient knee braced frame (KBF) and focuses on seismic performance evaluation and design. In this novel system, the shape memory alloy (SMA) knee braces (KBs) and replaceable energy-dissipating (RED) connections are the key components. The SMA KBs mainly provide self-centering capacity, and the RED connections mainly offer energy-dissipating capacity. To reveal the seismic performance characteristics, the 3- and 6- story KBFs are selected as the example structures. The proposed systems are designed by a modified performance-based plastic design method, which distributes the seismic energy to the SMA KBs and the RED connections by defining an energy distribution factor p. In what followed, nonlinear static and nonlinear time history analysis are conducted. It indicates that these systems could well meet the prescribed performance targets, although they are designed using different p values. In current work, the potentially optimal p value is found to be 0.1, which represents the case where 10% of seismic energy is allocated to the SMA KBs. The advantages of the novel KBF are twofold: 1) the consumption of SMA material is significantly reduced, because the RED connections are the major damping source; 2) the damaged RED connections can be conveniently repaired or replaced, because the frames could nearly return to original position, owing to the SMA KBs.