Seismic response of steel braced frames with shape memory alloy braces

In this paper, the seismic performance of steel frames equipped with superelastic SMA braces was investigated. To do so, buildings with various stories and different bracing configurations including diagonal, split X, chevron (V and inverted V) bracings were considered. Nonlinear time history analyses of steel braced frames equipped with SMA subjected to three ground motion records have been performed using OpenSees software. To evaluate the possibility of adopting this innovative bracing system and its efficiency, the dynamic responses of frames with SMA braces were compared to the ones with buckling restrained braces. After comparing the results, one can conclude that using an SMA element is an effective way to improve the dynamic response of structures subjected to earthquake excitations. Implementing the SMA braces can lead to a reduction in residual roof displacement and peak inter-story drift compare to the buckling restrained braced frames.