Optimum buckling-restrained braces application to enhance seismic performance of RC frame with curtailed walls

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) frames are commonly built together with shear walls. In high seismicity regions, constructing shear walls along the frame’s height is proven ineffective. Thus, in numerous studies, using shear walls at a certain height is beneficial, and this kind of structure is popularly known as curtailed shear walls. However, the area above the curtailed walls could suffer significant deformation under high seismic load and upgrading the seismic performance in those upper parts is needed. In this study, the seismic performance of 2-dimension RC frame building with curtailed walls is improved by installing buckling-restrained braces (BRBs). The seismic response is performed through non-linear dynamic analysis using an open-licensed software, STERA_3D. To determine the ideal number and location of the BRBs above the curtailed walls, a classical genetic algorithm is exercised using Python language programming. The parameters involved in optimizations are inter-story drifts, the number of BRBs, and damage indices surround the frames. The result shows that the configuration of BRBs resulted from the optimization could reduce the excessive amount of displacement along the building height. Moreover, the genetic algorithm could give the fittest number and location of BRBs installation to upgrade the seismic response of RC frames with partial shear walls.