Seismic Collapse Prevention Performance of Low-Ductility CBFs

Low-ductility steel concentrically braced frame (CBF) buildings are considered to have reserve capacity after brace failure. This study proposes a series of shake table tests of a scaled two-bay, three-story, moment-resisting frame model with a pair of square hollow section braces placed in a chevron arrangement to examine its dynamic behavior. The model structure was repeatedly subjected to two earthquake records with successively increasing magnitudes. The failure mechanisms, reserve capacity, and overall collapse performance were investigated. The results show that the reserve system is sensitive to spectral characteristics of ground motions, especially for soft soil site ground motions.