ABSTRACT
Owing to the limited ductility and energy dissipation capacity of conventional concentrically braced frame (CBF) systems, significant research efforts (Sabelli 2003, Iwata 2006) have gone towards developing new CBF systems with stable hysteretic behavior, significant ductility and large energy dissipation capacity. Buckling-restrained braced frame (BRBF) is one of new systems with improved seismic behavior, which is composed of a CBF with buckling-restrained braces (BRBs). A BRB has two basic components: a steel core element that carries the entire brace axial force, and a confining or restraining exterior tube that prevents the core from buckling in compression and allows it to yield both in tension and compression.
