Comparing Hysteretic Energy and inter-story drift in steel frames with V-shaped brace under near and far fault earthquakes

Different researches have shown that during destructive earthquakes, most structures enter non-reactionary range. Hysteretic Energy, which is wasted after the yield within its hysteresis rings, is very influential on generating structural damage of the system, being the most important component in the equation of the energy, inflicted on the structures. Therefore, controlling this amount of energy leads to controlling the structure behavior. The amount of Hysteretic Energy in a structure could be an index of its damage level or its malleability. The current paper carries out a nonlinear dynamic analysis on steel buildings with a V-shaped (Chevron) brace, hence surveying Hysteretic Energy distribution as well as maximum inter-story drift in the stories of these buildings, under the influence of equalized near and far fault records. Results show that the inter-story drift need for equalized near fault records is more than the far fault ones. Also the results show Hysteretic Energy caused by near fault records that are more than the far fault ones. What is more, as the building height rises, the share of building’s higher stories from the Hysteretic Energy increases.