Ductile knee braced frames with shear yielding knee for seismic resistant structures

Abstract A knee braced frame with shear yielding knee is being investigated for possible applications in earthquake resistant design. The experimental results reveal that when the knee is designed with web stiffener to prevent tearing of the web, it can dissipate a large amount of energy during a severe earthquake. The displacement ductility obtained is higher than that of a knee braced frame with a moment yielding knee. The experimental results are compared with the results obtained from an analytical model using a dynamic analysis software, DRAIN-2D and are found to be in good agreement.