Journal of Steel & Structure

Journal of Steel & Structure

Reduced Length Buckling-Restrained with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Encasing

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract
Buckling restrained braces (BRBs) have gained significant popularity in advanced engineering due to their high ductility and nearly identical behavior under tension and compression. A key advantage of BRBs lies in the flexibility to adjust the length of the brace core, allowing for independent selection of stiffness and strength. In this research, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is employed as an alternative to steel encasing in reduced length buckling restrained braces. The proposed design incorporates the reduced length BRB as a metallic damper at the end of the brace within the frame. The elastic portion is designed to remain elastic under tension with a safety factor and to prevent overall buckling under compression. By reducing the length of the BRB, its stiffness increases, and the post-yield stiffness becomes significantly higher compared to conventional BRBs. To evaluate the performance of this brace, two types of tests were conducted. In the first test, a reduced length BRB specimen with a concrete encasing and CFRP was subjected to a uniaxial load. In the second test, a complete brace specimen with a short buckling restrained portion and the rest of brace was subjected to cyclic loading. The results demonstrate that using CFRP instead of steel encasing facilitates the prefabrication of these braces and leads to desirable seismic behavior and proper energy dissipation.
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  • Receive Date 23 July 2025
  • First Publish Date 23 July 2025
  • Publish Date 22 August 2024