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In this research, a seismic retrofitting method for chevron-braced frames (CBFs) is proposed. The key idea here is to prevent the buckling of the chevron braces via a conventional construction technique that involves a hysteretic energy-dissipating element installed between the braces and the connected beam. The energy-dissipating element is designed to yield prior to buckling of the braces, thereby preventing the lateral stiffness and strength degradation of the CBF caused by buckling, while effectively dissipating the earthquake input energy. Nonlinear static pushover, time history and damage analyses of the CBF and retrofitted CBF (RCBF) are conducted to assess the performance of the RCBF compared with that of the CBF. The results of the analyses reveal that the proposed retrofitting method can efficiently alleviate the detrimental effects of earthquakes on the CBF. The RCBF has a more stable lateral force–deformation behavior with enhanced energy dissipation capability than the CBF. For small-to-moderate intensity ground motions, the maximum interstory drift of the RCBF is close to that of the CBF. But, for high intensity ground motions, it is considerably smaller than that of the CBF. Compared with the CBF under medium-to-large intensity ground motions, the RCBF experiences significantly less damage due to prevention of buckling of the braces.

This paper presents the results of dynamic responses and fire resistance of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) frame structures in fire conditions by using the nonlinear finite element method. Both strength and stability criteria are considered in the collapse analysis. The frame structures are constructed with circular CFST columns and steel beams of I-sections. In order to validate the finite element solutions, the numerical results are compared with those from a fire resistance test on CFST columns. The finite element model is then adopted to simulate the behavior of frame structures in fire. The structural responses of the frames, including the critical temperature and fire-resisting limit time, are obtained for the ISO-834 standard fire. Parametric studies are carried out to show their influence on the load capacity of the frame structures in fire. Suggestions and recommendations are presented for possible adoption in future construction and design of similar structures.

Low-cost robotic welding and wide availability of high strength steel plates of grades over 500MPa make the use of tapered members an economical alternative to conventional prismatic members for modern steel structures, as experienced by the authors in some practical projects in Hong Kong and Macau. This paper proposes a new and efficient numerical method for modal and elastic time-history analysis of the frames with tapered sections. A series of non-prismatic elements is derived on the basis of analytical expressions, and the exact consistent mass and tangent stiffness matrices are formulated. Five common types of tapered sections for practical applications, namely the circular solid, circular hollow, rectangular solid, rectangular hollow and doubly symmetric-I sections, are studied. Contrary to the conventional method using the approximate assumptions for the section properties along the member length, this research analytically expresses the flexural rigidity and cross-sectional area for the stiffness and mass matrices of an element. Further, the techniques for obtaining the dynamic performances, such as natural vibrations and time-history responses, of non-prismatic members are investigated. Finally, three examples are conducted for validating and verifying the accuracy of the proposed formulations. The present work can be used in the dynamic response analysis of frame structures with tapered sections in seismic zones.

Presented herein is a matrix method for buckling analysis of general frames based on the Hencky bar-chain model comprising of rigid segments connected by hinges with elastic rotational springs. Unlike the conventional matrix method of structural analysis based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, the Hencky bar-chain model (HBM) matrix method allows one to readily handle the localized changes in end restraint conditions or localized structural changes (such as local damage or local stiffening) by simply tweaking the spring stiffnesses. The developed HBM matrix method was applied to solve some illustrative example problems to demonstrate its versatility in solving the buckling problem of beams and frames with various boundary conditions and local changes. It is hoped that this easy-to-code HBM matrix method will be useful to engineers in solving frame buckling problems.

The critical pressure is determined for a trapezoidal vault with rigid members and semi-rigid joints. For maximal volume enclosed per boundary length, it is found that the critical pressure is highest when the vault symmetrical, with top three pieces 39.64% of the base length. The upper two joints should also be heavily strengthened.

Conventional beam elements ignoring distortion may overestimate the lateral resistance of frames and curved beams made of monosymmetric I-sections. This paper introduces two new distortional modes represented by mechanical couples relative to twisting and shearing of the two flanges that are opposite in directions but unequal in magnitudes. A straight beam element with nine degrees of freedom (DOFs) per node, including the conventional three translations, three rotations, warping and the new two distortions, is newly derived. This allows all the DOFs of the connected elements at a common joint to be easily transformed to the global coordinates for stiffness assembly. As a result, the warping–distortion compatibility problem that occurs in frames and curved beams is resolved. In the numerical examples, the results produced by the present beam element is demonstrated to agree excellently with the shell-element solutions for the lateral-distortional deformation of the angled frame and curved beam. It is observed that the cross-sectional distortion effect becomes extremely significant for angled frames of short unbraced length and for curved beams of high curvature.