ABSTRACT
Traditionally, steel bracing systems have been used to increase the lateral load stiffness/resistance of steel structures. In the past two decades, a number of reports have also indicated the effective use of steel bracing in RC frames (e.g., Youssef et al., 2007, Badoux & Jirsa 1990). Steel bracing of RC buildings started as a retrofitting measure to strengthen earthquake damaged buildings or to increase the load resisting capacity of existing buildings (Maheri et al., 2003).
