2005 Volume 12 Issue 45 Pages 203-216
Steel brace-type dampers, which were connected appropriately with steel structures, have been used to reduce seismic responses of the structures. Arranging braces with proper rigidity and strength for each story made it possible for structural members such as beams and beam-columns to behave elastically during big earthquakes. We made earthquake response analyses to investigate the conditions required of the braces on which drift angles of all stories were nearly equal and on which the structural members remained elastic. The cumulative damages of the steel brace-type dampers, which absorbed a lot of earthquake energy, were also clarified. The following were taken into consideration in carrying out the analyses: 1) effect of the ratio of brace rigidity to frame rigidity and their distribution in height direction of the structures, 2) allocation system of the braces, and 3) difference in the restoring force characteristics of the braces.
