Enhancing the Seismic Performance of Multi-storey Buildings with a Modular Tied Braced Frame System with Added Energy Dissipating Devices

The tied braced frame (TBF) system was developed to achieve uniform seismic inelastic demand along the height of multistorey eccentrically braced steel frames. A modular tied braced frame (M-TBF) configuration has been recently proposed to reach the same objective while reducing the large axial force demand imposed on the vertical tie members connecting the link beams together in TBFs. M-TBFs may however experience variations in storey drifts at levels where the ties have been removed to form the modules. In this paper, the possibility of reducing the discontinuity in displacement response of a 16-storey M-TBF structure by introducing energy dissipating (ED) devices between the modules is examined. Two M-TBF configurations are investigated: an M-TBF with two 8-storey modules and an M-TBF with four 4-storey modules. Three types of ED devices are studied: friction dampers (FD), buckling restrained bracing (BRB) members and self-centering energy dissipative (SCED) members. The ED devices were sized such that no additional force demand was imposed on the discontinuous tie members. Nonlinear response history analysis showed that all three ED systems can be used to reduce discontinuities in storey drifts of M-TBFs. The BRB members experienced the smallest peak deformations whereas minimum residual deformations were obtained with the SCED devices.