Self-centering Buckling-restrained Brace Research Articles

Seismic design and performance evaluation of steel braced frames with post-tensioned and disc-spring-based self-centering buckling-restrained braces

In this study, we focus on two types of self-centering buckling-restrained braces (SC-BRBs), which are post-tensioned (PT) SC-BRB and disc-spring-based SC-BRB, and develop a seismic design method for steel braced frames with these braces according to the displacement-based design theory. The whole independent parameters that describe the hysteretic behavior of the SC-BRBs are first determined. Then nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA) is conducted to explore the effects of these hysteretic parameters on the ductility demands of the nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system. Based on the analysis results, a ductility demand spectral model is developed, followed by a nonlinear displacement ratio spectral model. Subsequently, the seismic design procedure for SC-BRB frames is proposed based on the two spectral models. Finally, a total of 24 six-story steel frames with the two types of SC-BRBs, two target inter-story drifts, and different parameter combinations are designed at the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) level. The pushover analysis and NLTHA results indicate that a smaller strength ratio β and a larger initial stiffness ratio αs are beneficial for reducing the base shear and obtain an economical design when the designed frames achieve the same target inter-story drift. Considering the initial stiffness of the SC-BRBs is highly sensitive to machining errors, it is recommended that the value of β be taken within 0.25 to reduce the influence of the initial stiffness uncertainty of the braces on seismic design results. Moreover, controlling β within 0.25 also helps to reduce the higher-mode effect and peak floor acceleration responses of the designed structures effectively.

Study on seismic performance of an innovative single-tube self-centering buckling-restrained brace

To simplify the construction of traditional self-centering buckling-restrained braces (SC-BRBs) and achieve efficient recovery function, an innovative type of single-tube self-centering buckling-restrained braces (ST-SC-BRBs) is proposed. The ST-SC-BRBs only require one outer tube for the prestressed system. The detailed structure and working principle of the ST-SC-BRBs are described, and it is emphasized that the restrained steel tube should be checked as a compression-bending member to ensure its overall stability. Low-cycle fatigue tests are conducted on scaled models of one traditional BRB and two ST-SC-BRBs. The results show that the residual deformation of the ST-SC-BRBs is significantly reduced compared to that of the traditional BRB, with comparable energy dissipation capacity. The ST-SC-BRB works stably with a full hysteresis curve and an obvious “flag-shaped” pattern within the inter-story drift ratio of 2%. The self-centering ratio is the key factor affecting the recovery effect of the ST-SC-BRB. To achieve smaller residual deformation, the self-centering ratio is suggested to be greater than 1. Overall, the ST-SC-BRB presents a more simplified and effective approach to constructing a recoverable functional structure.

Evaluation of rocking seismic isolation performance of railway tall piers with different energy dissipation devices

Conventional pier top isolation measures cannot reduce the inertial force produced by railway gravity tall piers. This may damage the pier column and pile foundation during strong earthquakes. As an effective pier bottom seismic isolation structure, rocking piers have broad application prospects in railway tall pier bridges. This paper considers five energy dissipation devices (EDDs) to constrain the bottom of a free rocking pier (F-RP), namely buckling restrained braces (BRBs), yielding steel cables (YSCs), self-centering buckling restrained braces (SC-BRBs), superelastic shape memory alloy wires (SMAs), and viscous dampers (VDs). In particular, an additional “locking” structure is proposed to prevent excessive rocking of the piers and protect the EDDs. Parameter design methods are proposed for damage control and residual deformation control of piers. Nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are performed. The results show that the fixed base piers based on the ductility design suffered severe damage during strong earthquakes. The longitudinal rebar strain ratio is recommended as the damage index for the rocking pier due to large axial force fluctuations. Based on the design method proposed in this paper, the additional EDD constraints make the pier's expected damage level controllable and improve the post-earthquake predictability of the railway pier. BRBs and VDs are unfavorable to pier bottom shear forces. YSCs may produce irrecoverable residual deformation, while BRBs may have significant residual stresses. SC-BRBs and SMAs require no post-earthquake repair. SC-BRBs have more potential for application in rocking piers in high-intensity earthquake areas.

Hysteretic behavior and resilience analysis of a new self-centering buckling restrained braces

The self-centering buckling restrained braces (SC-BRBs) are capable of dissipating energy through BRBs elements during seismic events and restoring to their initial positions after the earthquake, thus reducing residual deformations in structures. The traditional design of the SC-BRBs has a complex structure with dual/three steel load transfer tubes and prestressed tendons anchored by steel end plates as a prestressing system. The complexity of these structures and the possibility of errors in machining dimensions and interactions between components can result in uncertainties of the mechanical behavior of the traditional SC-BRBs. As a consequence, a new design has been developed that uses the brace component as the inner load transfer tube for improved stability and load transfer capabilities in this paper. The structural features and mechanics of the new SC-BRB are first described. Then, to examine the performance of new SC-BRB, a quasi-static cyclic loading test was conducted on one scaled model specimen. The results showed that the new SC-BRB exhibited a consistent flag-shaped hysteretic response, with maximum residual strain of 0.15% within the target design drift of 2%. Nonlinear finite element analyses using ABAQUS were conducted to examine the influence of initial prestress magnitude and properties of prestressing tendon materials on the performance of the new SC-BRBs. The findings indicate that pretension is crucial for full self-centering capabilities of the new SC-BRB. When pretension exceeds the yield bearing capacity of the BRB core, it results in full self-centering and eliminates residual deformations. Additionally, the elastic elongation of the prestressing tendon material determines the deformation capacity of the new SC-BRB, while the elastic modulus of the material affects its post-yield stiffness.

Experimental and numerical investigations on an assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace with high post-yield stiffness

In order to facilitate the replacement of damaged components and prevent the weak-story mechanism of frame structure after strong earthquakes, a novel assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace (ASC-BRB) is proposed in this paper. The proposed bracing system is comprised of the buckling-restrained brace (BRB) system and the self-centering (SC) system. The SC system consists of two sets of steel strands and one group of disc springs stacked in series to achieve the goal of large deformability and post-hardening behavior. The detailed configuration, fundamental working mechanism, and restoring force model of the ASC-BRB are first presented. Different from SC systems with bilinear elastic behavior of existing SC-BRBs, the SC system of ASC-BRB exhibits trilinear elastic behavior due to its special configuration. Then, quasi-static tests are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed ASC-BRB. The experimental results indicate that the ASC-BRB has a flag-shaped hysteretic response with excellent self-centering capability, stable energy dissipation capability, and appreciable deformation capacity with a maximum ductility coefficient of 25.58. More importantly, the specimen can exhibit the anticipated post-hardening behavior. The refined numerical model of ASC-BRB is established and verified by the experimental results, which can effectively analyze the mechanical behavior of the main components of ASC-BRB, making up for the deficiency of the tests. According to the problems discovered in the tests and numerical analyses, an improved configuration of the ASC-BRB is proposed and validated by the numerical simulation of the BRB system before and after improvement. The numerical results indicate that the improved BRB system exhibits more stable hysteretic behavior, and the stress levels of the inner and outer tubes become much lower after replacing 1-shaped cores with steel angle cores.

Seismic design and performance evaluation of steel braced frames with assembled self-centering buckling-restrained braces

In this study, an assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace (ASC-BRB) is developed for seismic resilience of structures. The self-centering system of the brace mainly consists of a group of disc springs and two sets of steel strands in series to enhance the deformability and achieve the post-hardening behavior for limiting the rapid displacement development of structures under extreme earthquakes. The theoretical restoring force model is first derived according to the working principle of ASC-BRB and successfully validated by experiments. An empirical ductility demand spectral model of ASC-BRB frames is developed according to the parametric analysis on the seismic responses of the corresponding nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system. The spectral model considers the influences of all independent hysteretic parameters of ASC-BRB, and the physical parameters of the brace can be determined directly from the complete hysteretic parameters. Then a displacement-based seismic design procedure for designing ASC-BRB frames is proposed. The design results indicate that the designed frames generally need at most one iterative design to meet the target performance. Although the ASC-BRBs are designed with partial self-centering behavior, the frames can still exhibit approving post-earthquake recoverability with negligible residual displacements under strong earthquakes when the values of brace hysteretic parameters are chosen reasonably. When designing ASC-BRB frames, a strength ratio β of 0.25 and a strength ratio of steel strands η2 of 0.2 is recommended for improving the seismic performance and post-earthquake resilience of structures. Compared with the existing SC-BRBs with much higher initial stiffness, the proposed ASC-BRB can control the structural peak floor acceleration more effectively, which is beneficial for non-structural components.

Influence of design load determination method for SC-BRBs with trilinear flag-shaped hysteresis behaviour on the seismic performance of braces and structures

Self-centering buckling-restrained braces (SC-BRBs) can effectively reduce the residual deformation and seismic damage of the main structure. Because the first loading curve and subsequent loading curve of SC-BRB trilinear flag-shaped hysteresis behaviour do not coincide, there are two ways to determine the design load of a brace, i.e., the design load is taken as either the bearing force Fy1 at the first stiffness change point of the first loading curve or the bearing force Fy2 at the stiffness change point of the subsequent loading curve. In this study, a numerical analysis method is used to study the differences in the hysteresis performance of braces (i.e., SC-BRB-Fy1 and SC-BRB-Fy2) and the seismic performance of structures (i.e., SCBF-Fy1 and SCBF-Fy2) based on different design load determination methods. The results demonstrate that when the strength ratio β and the first stiffness ratio αc are similar, the hysteresis performance of braces and the seismic performance of structures are basically the same regardless of the method of design load determination. Decreasing β or increasing αc significantly increases the maximum axial force of SC-BRB-Fy1 but has little effect on that of SC-BRB-Fy2. Decreasing β can enhance the energy dissipation capacity of braces, reduce the maximum displacement of structures during earthquakes, and reduce the deformation concentration effect of SCBF-Fy2 but has no obvious influence on the deformation mode of SCBF-Fy1. Increasing αc can improve the energy dissipation capacity of SC-BRB-Fy1 but weaken the energy dissipation capacity of SC-BRB-Fy2, which has the opposite effect on the displacement response of SCBF-Fy1 and SCBF-Fy2.

Development and experimental verification for the coaxially formed self-centering buckling-restrained brace

The development for a new construction of self-centering buckling restrained braces (SCBRBs) was made by letting either an assembled steel BRB part or an integrally formed composite BRB part coaxially pass through an outer self-centering (SC) part with steel disc springs, and tests on the SCBRBs were conducted to validate the seismic performance and the configurations, mainly including the pattern of BRBs and that of pull rods in SC parts to keep the initial stiffness under two loading sides as close as possible. Tests show that, contrary to BRBs, the SCBRBs presenting flag-shape hysteretic curves have a significant reduction of residual drifts. Variation laws show that the residual drifts of the SCBRBs at horizontal drift levels of 2% are almost within 0.5% if self-centering ratios exceed 0.66. Besides, when the ratios under drift levels of 2% are close to 1.0, the residual drifts are approximately within the start displacements of the specimen with a SC part only. For the four SCBRBs adopting the same SC part within the drifts from 2% to 3.5%, approximately 56–73% axial strength and about 13–21% energy dissipation are from the SC part. Both types of BRB parts work stably. Except for tension fracture of plate braces, other members remain intact in SCBRBs, facilitating replacement of plate brace and reuse of intact SC part. Moreover, the interaction between two tubes in the SC part provides additional energy dissipation and horizontal resistance. Both tests and theoretical predictions reveal that the adjustment of pull rods in the SC part can adjust its initial stiffness in tension, and the pattern of employing two groups of six rods applying tension forces by two stages is preferred to decrease the difference between the initial stiffness in tension and that in compression.

Seismic performance of an assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace with controllable initial stiffness

An innovative assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace (ASC-BRB) with controllable initial stiffness is introduced. The brace consists of a self-centering system and an energy dissipation system. Unlike existing post-tensioned self-centering energy dissipation braces, whose initial stiffness has high uncertainty and is sensitive to machining errors, the proposed ASC-BRB can obtain highly controllable initial stiffness because of its unique working mechanism. Therefore, structural seismic response uncertainties can be reduced significantly. The configuration, working mechanism, and theoretical restoring force model of the ASC-BRB are first presented. Quasi-static tests are then conducted to examine the feasibility of the brace, and typical flag-shaped hysteretic behavior and stable energy dissipation capability are observed. The main components of the ASC-BRB keep intact after repeated loadings, except for the core plates, which are damaged; however, the core plates can be easily replaced. This observation highlights the superiority of the ASC-BRB in terms of damage concentration and high recoverability. The proposed theoretical restoring force model can accurately predict the hysteretic response of the brace, especially for the initial stiffness, with the predicted value being within 5 % of the experimental value. A simplified numerical model is developed and used in a parametric study conducted to examine the effects of two key design parameters on the brace behavior. Furthermore, the effect of machining errors on the initial stiffness of the ASC-BRB is studied. An analysis of steel frames with ASC-BRBs indicates that the ASC-BRB can effectively reduce the residual inter-story drift and help achieve a peak floor acceleration response comparable to that of the frame with BRBs. However, the peak inter-story drift is amplified owing to the lower initial stiffness of the proposed brace. On the basis of a system-level parametric analysis, recommended optimized design parameters of the ASC-BRB are presented to facilitate efficient control of structural seismic responses.

Hysteretic performance of self-centering buckling-restrained braces with embedded friction spring

This paper proposes an alternative configuration of an all-steel assembly self-centering buckling-restrained brace (FSBRB) fabricated by combining a buckling-restrained brace and friction spring. The hysteretic performance of the FSBRB is investigated using low-cycle fatigue tests, and the accuracy and applicability of the theoretical hysteretic model are verified by comparing the theoretical, test, and simulation results. The test results show that the hysteresis curve of the FSBRB exhibits a symmetric flag shape with stable hysteresis performance under cyclic loading. The recommended minimum pre-pressure of the friction spring is not less than four times the yield force of the buckling-restrained brace to achieve a full self-reset. The friction spring also has non-negligible energy dissipation capacity, which accounts for 60% of the total energy dissipation of the FSBRB under the zero residual displacement condition. The equivalent viscous damping ratio of the brace is approximately 20%. The parameter analysis results obtained by simulation show that the change in taper angle has the greatest influence on peak force and residual displacement. Moreover, the friction coefficient mainly affects energy consumption, and pre-pressure ratio has a strong relationship with the yield force of the brace. Accordingly, to achieve the self-centering capacity, the FSBRB design scheme with small taper angle, friction coefficient, and pre-pressure ratio is selected priority to attain the performance objective and reduce the force requirement of connecting parts.

Design recommendations for self-centering buckling restrained braces

Self-centering buckling-restrained braces (SC-BRBs) have typical flag-shaped hysteresis. Differing from conventional buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) which can result in significant residual drifts, the SC-BRB incorporates additional prestressing elements, so that it can recenter after earthquakes, which is critical for seismic resilience. Current seismic design procedures can be used to calculate the key properties of conventional braces (e.g. BRB), but they cannot be used to determine the additional hysteretic properties of SC-BRB braces. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the performances of SC-BRB systems and develop their design recommendations, this paper conducted a parametric study of two typical SC-BRB systems, using a 12-story steel braced frame office building. Then, the overall behavior of the SC-BRB system was compared with those of a BRB system and two self-centering energy dissipative brace systems. The selection of SC-BRB properties appeared to be a tradeoff between demands on component properties and seismic performances. The criteria for proportioning the system were suggested. Numerical results showed that, although the SC-BRB systems had smaller residual drifts than the BRB system, they generated more significant high-mode effect than the other comparable systems.

Seismic performance of an assembled self-centering buckling-restrained brace and its application in arch bridge structures

Aiming to reduce residual deformation, herein, we propose the design concept of a self-centering buckling-restrained brace (SC-BRB) applied to the structural fuse of arch bridge structures. First, a novel assembled SC-BRB with combined disc springs is proposed. Notably, the hysteretic curve characteristics can be effectively controlled by the ratio of the BRB system load capacity to the SC system preload. The construction and operating mechanism of the novel SC-BRB are described, and a theoretical hysteretic model under cyclic loading is derived. Five SC-BRB specimens with different combinations are designed and fabricated. Through quasi-static tests, the characteristics including residual deformation and hysteretic energy dissipation are analyzed and compared to explore the self-centering effect and damage mode. The test results reveal that the hysteresis curve of the assembled SC-BRB is characterized by an apparent flag-type form and stable hysteretic performance. The combined disc spring significantly reduces the residual deformation of the brace, resulting in an apparent self-centering effect. The theoretical hysteretic model proposed in this paper agrees well with the test results. Finally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the seismic performance of a concrete filled steel-tube (CFST) arch bridge structure with three types of lateral braces: SC-BRB, BRB, and an ordinary brace. The OpenSees analysis results demonstrate that the CFST with the SC-BRB demonstrates better performance in terms of the displacement response and residual deformation compared with the other two CFSTs.

Experimental Hysteretic Behavior and Application of an Assembled Self-Centering Buckling-Restrained Brace

Experimental Hysteretic Behavior and Application of an Assembled Self-Centering Buckling-Restrained Brace

Multi-objective optimal design of SC-BRB for structures subjected to different near-fault earthquake pulses

The purpose of this research is to propose a two-objective optimum design technique of self-centering buckling restrained brace (SC-BRB) characteristics based on a multi-objective cuckoo search (MOCS) optimization algorithm for structures subjected to pulse-like near-field seismic excitations. The optimal geometric specifications of shape memory alloy (SMA) and buckling-restrained brace (BRB), including the length of SMA bars, BRB core, area of SMA, and BRB core, are optimized with the aim of simultaneous reduction of the maximum displacement and acceleration of the floors of structures. The numerical analyses are then performed on 3-story and 6-story frames that have been modeled in OpenSees software under pulse-like near-fault earthquakes. The optimized SC-BRB using MOCS considerably reduces the seismic responses of both structures. The SC-BRB also performs better than BRB in severe earthquakes with a shorter fault distance and a larger moment magnitude. Furthermore, SC-BRB has a steady energy dissipation capacity due to more energy absorption in SMA. In terms of maximum top floor displacement and acceleration, the 3-story SC-BRB frame (SC-BRBF) results are reduced the values of 28.3% and 20.1% than the BRB frame (BRBF) for all considered near-fault earthquake pulses, respectively. Moreover, the optimized SC-BRB is considerably capable of reducing the hazards originating from residual drifts and deformations.

Cyclic behavior of superelastic SMA cable and its application in an innovative self-centering BRB

This paper presents an innovative self-centering buckling-restrained brace (SC-BRB) composed of a shape memory alloy (SMA) cables based self-centering system and an all-steel BRB. This study commences with cyclic tests on individual SMA cable to understand the influence of annealing schemes and pre-tension procedures on their fundamental mechanical properties, such as strength, stiffness, self-centering capability, energy dissipation, as well as their degradation of the properties during cyclic loading. Based on the test results, the desired annealing scheme and training procedure for the SMA cables in the proposed SC-BRB were presented. The configuration and working principle of the proposed SMA-cables-based SC-BRB were subsequently described, followed by theoretical studies on hysteretic models of the proposed brace. Numerical simulations and parametric studies were carried out to investigate the mechanical performance of the proposed SC-BRB. The results show that the investigated SMA cable can reasonably scale up the satisfactory properties of the SMA wire. The initial elastic stiffness and the ‘residual’ self-centering force strength of the SMA cables, which are essential for the proposed SC-BRB application, can be greatly enhanced by inflicting certain pre-stress. The initial strain and area ratio of the pre-tensioned SMA cables are suggested to be designed as about 2.5% and in the range of 60%–71.4%, respectively, to achieve appropriate energy dissipation, residual deformation, and material cost of the proposed SC-BRB.

Reliability and reliability-based sensitivity analysis of self-centering buckling restrained braces using meta-models

This paper aims to carry out sensitivity analyses to study how the effect of each design variable on the performance of self-centering buckling restrained brace (SC-BRB) and the corresponding buckling restrained brace (BRB) without shape memory alloy (SMA) rods. Furthermore, the reliability analyses of BRB and SC-BRB are performed in this study. Considering the high computational cost of the simulation methods, three Meta-models including the Kriging, radial basis function (RBF), and polynomial response surface (PRSM) are utilized to construct the surrogate models. For this aim, the nonlinear dynamic analyses are conducted on both BRB and SC-BRB by using OpenSees software. The results showed that the SMA area, SMA length ratio, and BRB core area have the most effect on the failure probability of SC-BRB. It is concluded that Kriging-based Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) gives the best performance to estimate the limit state function (LSF) of BRB and SC-BRB in the reliability analysis procedures. Considering the effects of changing the maximum cyclic loading on the failure probability computation and comparison of the failure probability for different LSFs, it is also found that the reliability indices of SC-BRB were always higher than the corresponding reliability indices determined for BRB which confirms the performance superiority of SC-BRB than BRB.

Influence of the rubber end plate on the hysteretic performance of SC-BRBs and structural seismic design

Existing self-centering braces are easily affected by machining errors, and the initial stiffness of the braces will obviously be less than the theoretical value, which is unfavourable for the seismic design and dynamic response control of the structure. Based on a theoretical analysis, the idea of using a rubber end plate to reduce the influence of machining errors is proposed in this paper, and the configuration of a self-centering buckling-restrained brace with rubber end plates (SC-BRB-REP) is formed. The quasi-static test shows that the SC-BRB-REP can not only effectively control the residual deformation but also substantially improve the ability to control the initial stiffness of the brace, and the difference between the actual initial stiffness and the theoretical initial stiffness is less than 8%. The seismic design process of the SC-BRB frame is established based on the concept of direct displacement-based design (DDBD). Through the hysteretic behaviour research of the brace and the dynamic time-history analysis of the structure, it is evident that the reduction in the initial stiffness of the brace will lead to the reduction in the bearing capacity, thus increasing the seismic response of the structure and even exceeding the expected design objective. The SC-BRB-REP improves the ability to control the initial stiffness, and its structural design parameters and actual seismic response are basically consistent with the expectations, which effectively improves the structural design accuracy.

Seismic responses of multistory buildings with self-centering buckling-restrained braces: Influence of the pretension force

The post-earthquake repairability of self-centering buckling restrained braced frames (SCBFs) is usually evaluated based on structural performance indexes. From the view of the performance demands for SCBFs, further studies are urgently needed to discuss whether the self-centering brace (SCB) must be completely self-centering for the design of SCBFs. In this paper, 2-, 4-, 8-, 12-, and 16-story steel framed buildings were examined through nonlinear dynamic analyses to summarize the influence of the pretension forces of SCBs on the seismic responses of SCBFs. Numerical results illustrated that at a modest reduction of the pretension force, the SCBF satisfies both the demands on the seismic performance and the post-earthquake repairability of the building structures. The SCBF could more effectively exert the energy dissipation capacity of the self-centering brace and mitigate its floor acceleration response at a smaller pretension force. The self-centering ratio α for the design of the SCBFs is recommended to be between 0.6 and 1.0, where α is defined as the ratio between the pretension force of the self-centering system and the maximum strength of the energy dissipation system. Notably, the SCB with α = 0.6 was a partially self-centering brace, which meant that the self-centering brace was unnecessarily designed to be completely self-centering.

Self-centering BRBs with composite tendons in series:Tests and structural analyses

The self-centering system and yielding energy dissipation system are two main parts of self-centering buckling-restrained braces (SC-BRBs), which have important influences on brace performance. To improve the performance of the two parts, an SC-BRB with composite tendons in series (SC-BRB-CTS) is proposed by introducing a self-centering system in series that can improve the deformation capability of the brace, and the yielding energy dissipation system made of low-yield steel LYP160 with a strong energy dissipation capacity is adopted. The performance of the braces is studied by quasi-static tests, and the influence of the self-centering system in series and low-yield steel on the seismic performance of the structure is determined by nonlinear dynamic analyses and fragility analyses. The results show that the deformation capacity of the SC-BRB-CTS is approximately 44% higher than that of a traditional SC-BRB, and the collapse resistance of the structure is improved by avoiding or delaying tendon fracture. The use of LYP160 steel core plates can substantially improve the energy dissipation capacity and post-yielding bearing capacity of the brace, which is beneficial for reducing the seismic response of the structure.

Development and validation of a versatile hysteretic model for pre-compressed self-centering buckling-restrained brace

Due to the preferable self-centering and energy dissipation capabilities, self-centering energy dissipation (SCED) braces have become an emerging structural component in earthquake engineering. In this paper, an innovative self-centering steel buckling-restrained brace (SC-SBRB) consisting of two independent and complementary systems, i.e., a buckling-restrained energy-dissipation system and a pre-compressed disc spring self-centering system, is proposed. The working mechanism and mechanics of the SC-SBRB are investigated under one cycle of cyclic loading. A versatile self-centering hysteretic model (SCHM) is developed based on the working principle of the SC-SBRB to accurately characterize the energy dissipation and self-centering properties of the SC-SBRB under repeated cyclic loading. The SCHM is a path-dependent model that allows for straightforward parameter interpretation of the mechanics of the SC-SBRB. Numerical simulations are conducted on four SC-SBRBs with different self-centering ratios to validate the prediction results obtained from the SCHM. A good agreement between the simulation results and the prediction results confirm the validity of the proposed SCHM. Simulation results also demonstrate that the SC-SBRB can provide a stable and repeatable flag-shaped hysteretic response, as well as substantial energy dissipation and self-centering ability. Additionally, the SCHM is reasonably extended to other SCED braces with similar hysteretic rules. Further validation of the SCHM is performed by comparing the experimental results of the SCED braces with the SCHM results. It is concluded that the proposed SCHM has excellent applicability and can describe the responses of other SCED braces.