Effects of Strain Rate on the Hysteretic Behavior of Buckling-Restrained Braces

Abstract

Two groups of geometrically identical buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) were subjected to either dynamic or quasi-static uniaxial loading until the cores fractured to investigate the effect of the strain rate on the hysteretic behavior of BRBs. The test results show that the compression overstrength of the BRBs is significantly greater in dynamic loading than in quasi-static loading. This finding indicates that neglecting the strain-rate effect on BRBs is nonconservative. No obvious effect of the strain rate on the cumulative deformation capacity of BRBs was observed during testing. The results thus support a previously proposed empirical model for estimating the cumulative deformation capacity of BRBs.