Application of Buckling-Restrained Braces in the Seismic Design of a Thermal Power Plant in China

Abstract

This paper presents the use of buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) in the design of the main building of a thermal power plant as an alternative for the construction of such kind of large industrial facilities. The project is located in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, a region of high seismic demand (Intensity 8) in China. The main lateral force resisting system used for the structure of this project is composed of a combination of conventional concentrically braced frames (CBFs) and buckling-restrained braced frames (BRBFs). The paper explores the seismic design and performance assessment of this industrial steel building according to the provisions of the Chinese code. Response spectrum analysis and time-history analysis were conducted under two levels of seismic hazard: minor earthquake (63.2%/50 years) and major earthquake (2%/50 years). Results indicate that BRBs effectively helped to control lateral deformation and dissipated energy in stable manner, making the structure composed of CBFs and BRBFs to show the seismic performance as intended by the code.