Experimental Validation of the Structural Fuse Concept

 

Authors
Vargas, Ramiro; Bruneau, Michel
Format
Article
Status
publishedVersion
Description

Seismic design relies on inelastic deformations through hysteretic behavior. However, this translates into damage on structural elements, permanent system deformations following an earthquake, and possibly high cost for repairs. An alternative design approach is to concentrate damage on disposable and easy to repair structural elements, while the main structure is designed to remain elastic or with minor inelastic deformations. The implementation of the structural fuse concept into actual buildings would benefit from a systematic and simple design procedure. Such a general procedure is proposed in this paper for designing new or retrofitted structures. The proposed structural fuse design procedure for MDOF structures relies on results of a parametric study, considering the behavior of nonlinear SDOF systems subjected to synthetic ground motions. This procedure is illustrated as an example of application using Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) as metallic structural fuses. To verify and validate the developed design procedure, an experimental project was conducted on the shaking table at University at Buffalo, which consists of a three- story frame designed with BRBs working as metallic structural fuses. This experimental project also assesses the replaceability of BRBs designed as sacrificeable and easy-to-repair members.
Seismic design relies on inelastic deformations through hysteretic behavior. However, this translates into damage on structural elements, permanent system deformations following an earthquake, and possibly high cost for repairs. An alternative design approach is to concentrate damage on disposable and easy to repair structural elements, while the main structure is designed to remain elastic or with minor inelastic deformations. The implementation of the structural fuse concept into actual buildings would benefit from a systematic and simple design procedure. Such a general procedure is proposed in this paper for designing new or retrofitted structures. The proposed structural fuse design procedure for MDOF structures relies on results of a parametric study, considering the behavior of nonlinear SDOF systems subjected to synthetic ground motions. This procedure is illustrated as an example of application using Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) as metallic structural fuses. To verify and validate the developed design procedure, an experimental project was conducted on the shaking table at University at Buffalo, which consists of a three- story frame designed with BRBs working as metallic structural fuses. This experimental project also assesses the replaceability of BRBs designed as sacrificeable and easy-to-repair members.

Publication Year
2008
Language
eng
Topic
Experimental Validation of the Structural Fuse Concept
Experimental Validation of the Structural Fuse Concept
Repository
RI de Documento Digitales de Acceso Abierto de la UTP
Get full text
http://ridda2.utp.ac.pa/handle/123456789/2537
Rights
openAccess
License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/