A.L. Zhang

Study on failure mechanism and end construction influences of double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace

The double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace is a new type of buckling energy consumption buckling-restrained brace. Because of its external restraining members, which are bound by high-strength bolts, its mechanical mechanism is more complicated and its failure modes are more varied. In this study, the double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace composition and three types of end constructions are introduced in detail. The influences of different design parameters on the performance of double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace are studied by numerical analysis methods; the possible failure modes and the influence of the end strengthening construction of double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace are also investigated, and a number of suggestions are proposed to improve this design. This study shows that the pinned double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace has four types of typical failure modes, namely, overall buckling failure, external end local pressure-bearing failure, bending failure of the extended strengthened core region and bolt threading failure. Rational design can prevent a buckling-restrained brace from losing its load-bearing capacity. In addition, compared with the end strengthening scheme with an external hoop, the end strengthening scheme with a strengthened bench can improve the load-bearing capacity of the double rectangular tube assembled buckling-restrained brace more effectively, and a reasonable design can also save materials.