Upgrading Seismic Behaviors of R/C Frames with Shaped Memory Alloys Based Braces

Abstract

Intelligent systems in structural engineering are systems that are capable of automatically adapting structural behavior in response to instantaneous loads, thereby ensuring the safety of extended structural life and performance. One of the new technologies that makes it possible to achieve these goals is the production and development of smart materials. Examples of these smart materials used in structural engineering include piezo-ceramics, magnetorheological fluids, electrorheological fluids, and form-memory alloys. Shaped Memory Alloys (SMAs) are new materials that have been used in various fields of science and engineering in recent decades. In recent years, these materials attracted the attention of researchers in the field of building and earthquake engineering due to their properties such as high damping capacity, low permanent displacement and structural fatigue resistance. One of the application areas of these materials is that they are used as a brace in the structures, so the research results have shown the acceptable performance and operability of such structural systems. In this study, shape memory bracelets and steel bracelets installed as structural brackets were used as a lateral load system in the seismic improvement of concrete bending frames and factors such as residual displacement and base shear in these two load-bearing systems are compared.  The model under studying is a 6-story frame that has been subjected to time history analysis. SeismoStruct software was used to analyze the model.