Field testing of all-steel buckling restrained braces applied to a damaged reinforced concrete building

This paper reports the results of full-scale inelastic cyclic static tests of all-steel dismountable buckling restrained braces (BRBs) applied to an existing damaged reinforced concrete (RC) building. The two concepts set as the design targets for the prototype BRBs were to minimize interference with the functions and aesthetics of the existing building and to use an all-steel dismountable solution to allow for inspection of the yielding core after earthquakes. Two masonry infill panels (typical in RC buildings) were used to hide the braces and satisfy the first objective. Specially designed steel built-up shapes with bolted connections were used to satisfy the second objective. The design criteria and procedure adopted for the retrofitting design are first described, and a description of the BRB specimens and the experimental results follows.