A Study of Two Full-Scale Three-Story Steel Concentrically Braced Steel Frames

A Study of Two Full-Scale Three-Story Steel Concentrically Braced Steel Frames

The“NEES-SR SG International Hybrid Simulation of Tomorrow’s Braced Frames” is an international collaborative research amongNCREE, University of Washington(UW), University of California, Berkeley(UCB) and University of Minnesota(UM). In this project, two large-scale braced frames have been constructed and tested at NCREE. In this paper, the test specimen is a single bay three-storey concentrically braced steel frame(CBF), where braces were arranged in a multi-story cross-brace configuration. A500 steel tubular braces were used for the first 3-story CBF specimen. After the first test, the specimen did not have any significant fracture except those at the six braces. Thus, six new gussets and A36 steel H-shape braces were installed to replace the damaged tubular braces. Large out-of-plane displacement and local buckling of braces were observed in both tests. There were no any severe fracture found on beams and columns of the frame. Further this paper introduces the specimen and elucidates preliminary test results.