The Effects of Number and Location of Braced Bays on Redundancy of Eccentrically-Braced Steel Moment Frames

Steel braced frames are among the most effective lateral load resisting systems. The eccentrically braced frame has a higher ductility, less stiffness, and a better serviceability (limited retrofitting needed after the seismic excitations) compared to concentrically braced ones. Static indeterminacy is generally considered as the number of extra constraints or members in a structural system. In other words, redundancy is the ability of a structure to keep its stability after the onset of the failure or removal of its lateral load resisting elements, preventing it from collapse in the initial stages of loading. The redundancy of a system depends on the dynamic characteristics of its structure and properties of the applied earthquake excitations as well as its structural geometric features and details. This indeterminacy is called dynamic redundancy. In this study, the effects of the number and location of braced bays on redundancy were investigated to obtain the best pattern for regular 5 and 8-story buildings using nonlinear analysis. It also develops a relationship for the redundancy factor of the dual structural systems. Results show that position of braced bays is more effective on redundancy than the number of bays. It is also concluded that the buildings height affects the required number of bracing bays. The study also showed that the dynamic redundancy is different from the over-strength. According to the results of this research, for dual structural systems, it is recommended not to arrange the braces only in the perimeter of the plan.