Seismic performance investigation of new lateral bracing system called “OGrid-H”

Abstract

This paper treats a different type of bracing by using circular bracing elements called OGrid-H. The goal of using circular shape is to obtain more ductility, high performance and appropriate stiffness and limit the buckling of braces, and at the same time in order to realize a solution that is interesting from the architectural point of view. In order to study the seismic behavior of OGrid-H members, a numerical finite element analysis of 9 OGrid-H models with different section members is established through ABAQUS finite element software subjected to cyclic loadings, which failure modes, load capacity, nonlinear displacement, ductility factor, vibration period, stiffness and energy absorption of models is obtained, and the comparison between outputs of models leads to obtaining the model with the best sections which have higher performance than the others. In order to investigate the OGrid-H connections, five changes are applied on connections, which the results showed that three changes had the greatest influence, which caused to increase load bearing as the amount of 22.88%.