STABILITY CONDITIONS OF BUCKLING RESTRAINED BRACES WITH SERIALLY CONNECTED TUBULAR MEMBERS

Abstract

A Buckling Restrained Brace (BRB) with serially connected tubular members is one of the solutions for composing BRB over 10m length economically for the seismic design of truss structures or large-span structures. Their overall buckling condition is considered to be sensitive for imperfections or eccentricities comparing to ordinary BRBs; however, their effects are not confirmed by experiments yet. In this paper, the overall buckling conditions for BRBs with serially connected tubular members are discussed as the functions of imperfections or eccentricities. Their effects on the stability are confirmed by cyclic loading experiments until member fractures, and design criteria are proposed.