Seismic vulnerability evaluation of axially loaded steel built-up laced members II: evaluations

Abstract

The test results described in Part 1 of this paper (Lee and Bruneau, 2008) on twelve steel built-up laced members (BLMs) subjected to quasi-static loading are analyzed to provide better knowledge on their seismic behavior. Strength capacity of the BLM specimens is correlated with the strength predicted by the AISC LRFD Specifications. Assessments of hysteretic properties such as ductility capacity, energy dissipation capacity, and strength degradation after buckling of the specimen are performed. The compressive strength of BLMs is found to be relatively well predicted by the AISC LRFD Specifications. BLMs with smaller kl/r were ductile but failed to reach the target ductility of 3.0 before starting to fracture, while those with larger kl/r could meet the ductility demand in most cases. The normalized energy dissipation ratio, E _C/E _T and the normalized compressive strength degradation, C _r″/C _r of BLMs typically decrease as normalized displacements δ/δ _b,exp increase, and the ratios for specimens with larger kl/r dropped more rapidly than for specimens with smaller kl/r; similar trends were observed for the monolithic braces. The BLMs with a smaller slenderness ratio, kl/r, and width-to-thickness ratio, b/t, experienced a larger number of inelastic cycles than those with larger ratios.