Cite this article Research Article Keywords: buildings, structures &

Lian M, Su M, Zhang H and Cheng Q (2021) Paper 1700002 design/seismic engineering/

Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically braced frames fabricated with high-strength steel. Received 03/01/2017; steel structures
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Structures and Buildings 174(1): 55–74, Accepted 15/03/2019;
https://doi.org/10.1680/jstbu.17.00002 Published online 22/05/2019

ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Structures and Buildings

Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically braced

frames fabricated with high-strength steel
Ming Lian PhD Hao Zhang BEng
Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an PhD student, School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture
University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, P. R. China and Technology, Xi’an, P. R. China
(corresponding author: lianming0821@163.com) Qianqian Cheng BEng
Mingzhou Su PhD PhD student, School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and and Technology, Xi’an, P. R. China
Technology, Xi’an, P. R. China

This paper reports on a study performed on cyclic testing of two half-scale, one-bay, one-storey, Y-shaped,
eccentrically braced frames fabricated with high-strength steel to investigate their hysteretic behaviour and
performance, including the failure mode and load-bearing, ductility and energy-dissipation capacities. A comparison
between experimental and finite-element model results was performed. In addition, non-linear analyses of the
numerical models were carried out to investigate the effects of shear-link length on hysteretic behaviour. The test
results indicated that the specimens had a good deformation capacity. The hysteretic curves were very full, implying
the frames had significant energy-dissipation capacity. The frames are a safe dual system with useful hysteretic
behaviour and seismic performance. The designed shear links dissipated the energy by way of shear deformation
during cyclic loading. The numerical analysis indicated that shear-link length could influence the cyclic behaviour.

Notation seismic loading. Previous studies on EBFs focused on their

bf flange width of H-shaped section seismic performance and design methods (Bosco and Rossi,
E elastic modulus 2009; Bosco et al., 2017; Ioan et al., 2016; Lin et al., 2010;
e link length Montuori et al., 2014; Najafi and Tehranizadeh, 2017; Ohsaki
fu ultimate strength and Nakajima, 2012; Speicher and Harris, 2016; Wang et al.,
fy yield strength 2016) and demonstrated that EBFs were reliable structural
h section depth of H-shaped section systems exhibiting a satisfactory seismic performance.
Mp plastic moment capacity of link
P base shear force The improvements in the mechanical properties and weldability
t thickness of high-strength steel (HSS), over time, along with the avail-
tf flange thickness of H-shaped section ability of improved welding consumables and processes, made
tw web thickness of H-shaped section HSS an economical alternative to conventional steel in steel
Vmax maximum load construction. Moreover, HSS has higher strength than conven-
Vp iplastic shear capacity of link tional steel, which provides HSS structural members with
Vy yielding load smaller sections than those of conventional steel ones under
γmax maximum link rotation angle the same design conditions. The higher strength also reduces
Δ displacement the weight of the structure and improves the economy through
Δmax maximum displacement reducing material costs. A previous study (Shi et al., 2012,
Δy yield displacement 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) indicated that HSS showed good per-
ε peak strain formance and offered useful energy dissipation capability and
εy yield strain ductility. Furthermore, HSS is widely used in bridge structures
μ ductility coefficient (Azizinamini et al., 2004; Miki et al., 2002; Shim, 2011;
Wasserman, 2002) and is beginning to appear in building
structure designs (Aslani et al., 2015; Ataei et al., 2016;
1. Introduction Gresnight and Steenhuis, 1997; Tokgoz et al., 2012; Wang
Eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) evolved from moment- et al., 2014; Yang and Hancock, 2004).
resisting frames (MRFs) and concentrically braced frames
(CBFs). MRFs offer high ductility and energy dissipation Eccentrically braced frames fabricated with high-strength steel
capabilities, but have low stiffness. Comparatively, CBFs have (HSS-EBFs) combine the advantages of HSS and the EBF.
high stiffness, but lower energy dissipation capabilities. EBFs The links in HSS-EBFs use conventional steel. Braces use con-
were developed by incorporating the best features offered by ventional steel or HSS. Columns and beams use HSS. As a
MRFs and CBFs. EBFs, which relied on yielding of a link, point of reference, conventional steel is defined as steel with a
were shown to provide ductility and energy dissipation under specified nominal yield stress of up to 345 MPa. On the

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

contrary, HSS is defined as steel with a specified nominal
yield stress above 345 MPa. HSS-EBFs are designed such that
the columns and beams remain in the elastic stage or experi-
ence only a slight plastification, while the links fully enter a
plastic stage during rare earthquake motions (2% probability
of exceedance in a 50 year period). Therefore, using HSS in
columns and beams in HSS-EBFs can satisfy seismic design
requirements because there will little plastic deformation in
the columns and beams. Moreover, if HSS-EBFs and conven-
tional EBFs are designed to have the same member section
strength, considering the properties of HSS, HSS-EBFs can
have smaller member sections than those of conventional
EBFs, which can effectively reduce the overall steel weight
and the damage to structures from earthquakes (Pocock,
2006). It also can improve economy through reduced material
costs. In addition, columns fabricated from HSS have a higher
strength than that of columns of the same length and
cross-section fabricated from conventional steel, when com-
pared on a non-dimensional basis (Rasmussen and Hancock,
1992, 1995).
Cyclic loading tests for two 1 : 2 length scaled one-bay and
one-storey Y-shaped HSS-EBF (Y-HSS-EBF) specimens
were conducted to study their experimental performance and
hysteretic behaviour. These behaviours include the failure
modes, the load-bearing capacity, lateral stiffness, ductility and
energy dissipation capacities. The finite-element (FE) models
of the test specimens were also established using the Abaqus
software and a comparison between the experimental and
numerical results is performed. Moreover, FE models of the
full-scale structures of specimens were established by Abaqus.
Based on these, different shear link lengths were considered
to study the effects of the shear link length on the cyclic
behaviour of Y-HSS-EBF.

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF
3 @7·2 m
HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

HSS-EBF

5 @7·2 m

All storey heights are 3·6 m

Figure 1. The prototype structure

650
650

300

500
1800

1800

3600 3600
(a) (b)

Figure 2. Specimens for cyclic loading test: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

Beam 10 205 10
1

10 205 10

130 10 130 10
225
10

2
6 35°
40° 2
8 Column Brace
2
10 140 10 140

6
2
2 40° 1 Beam
Link 85
300

2 40°
2
137 2
2 35°

10
2 2
Brace

240
225

205
225
6
2
2 40°

82
20
10 10
30 205 30

10
285 6
60 120 150 210 60
150

6 35°
2
125
60 6 60
600
30 125 30
10

Column
185
205

225

6 30 225 30
150
285
10

2–2
1–1
(a)

Beam 10 205 10
1
10

130 10 130 10
205
225

10

6 35°
2

40° 2 Column Brace

10

Beam
10 155 10 160 10 155

2 8
6 2
2 40°
1
85 2 40°
10

2
165
Link
500

240
225

205
225

2 35°
2 6

2 2

65
Brace
20
10

6
150

2
6 35°
60 120 150 230 40
125
600
60 6 60
Column
10

30

150
125
185
205

225

30

30 225 30
10

285
1–1 2–2
(b)

Figure 3. Details of specimens: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

Table 1. Member sections of the test specimens 2. Test outline

Members Sections Material 2.1 Test specimens
Beam H225  125  6  10 Q460 A ten-storey Y-HSS-EBF was considered as a prototype
Column H150  150  6  10 Q460 structure, which is shown in Figure 1. The prototype structure
Braces H125  120  6  10 Q460 was designed according to GB50011-2010 (MCPRC, 2010)
Link H225  125  6  10 Q345
and JGJ99-2015 (CBCS, 2015) codes. The prototype was
characterised using the peak ground acceleration for a prob-
Note: ‘H’ refers to the welded H-shaped section; the following numbers are the
section depth (h), flange width (bf ), web thickness (tw) and flange thickness (tf ), ability of exceedance of 10%, equal to 0·2g, with a 10% prob-
with unit of mm ability of exceedance in a 50 year period and moderately firm

Table 2. Mechanical properties of steel

Thickness, t: Yield strength, fy: Ultimate strength, fu: Elastic modulus, E Elongation
Steel mm MPa MPa (105 MPa) ratio: %

Q345 6 427·40 571·10 2·01 26·53

Q345 10 383·33 554·40 2·00 31·01
Q460 6 496·90 658·57 2·08 29·73
Q460 10 468·77 627·97 2·02 35·88

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

Load Beam
Actuator

Load cell

Reinforced concrete Specimen

reaction wall
Base platform
Strong floor

(a) (b)

4
6
5 7
4
3

8
2

(c)

Figure 4. Test set-up (1, base platform; 2, test specimen; 3, actuator; 4, oil jack; 5, lateral plate; 6, load beam; 7, lateral supports; 8,
strong floor)

ground conditions. One Y-HSS-EBF with a shear link in the P Δ

+5Δy
eighth storey of the prototype structure was selected (refer
+4Δy
to Figure 1) and its 1 : 2 scaled specimen was manufactured
+3Δy
for the experimental study of the hysteretic behaviour and
+2Δy
performance. +1Δy

Two 1 : 2 one-storey and one-bay scaled specimens with

different link lengths were manufactured for the cyclic loading –1Δy
–2Δy
test, which was performed to study their hysteretic behaviour
–3Δy
and performance. The storey height and span of the two speci-
mens were 1·8 m and 3·6 m, respectively. The shear link length –4Δy
–5Δy
for the two specimens was 300 mm (eVp/Mp = 0·65, where,
e, Vp and Mp are the link length, plastic shear capacity and
Load control Displacement control
plastic moment capacity, respectively) and 500 mm
(eVp/Mp = 1·08), respectively. Figure 2 shows the specimens, Figure 5. Loading history
while Figure 3 presents the specimen details. The link in the

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

test specimens used Q345 steel with nominal yield strength of details of the member sections. Table 2 presents the mechanical
345 MPa and the other structural members used Q460 steel properties of the steel used in the specimens.
with nominal yield strength of 460 MPa. Welded connections
were used in the link–beam, link–braces and beam–column 2.2 Test set-up and loading history
joints in the test specimens. The two specimens had the same Figure 4 shows the test set-up. In this test set-up, the load
member sections, except for the link length. Table 1 shows the beam had a much higher stiffness than the beam. The lateral

DL1 DL1

DL4 DL4
DL2 DL2
DL3 DL3

DL5 DL5

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Displacement meters distribution: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

C17 C18 C19 C20 C20 C21 C22 C23

C7 C8 C21 C1 C22 C9 C10 C10 C11 C24 C1 C25 C12 C13

C3 C2 C4 C4 C5
C2
C5 C6 C6 C7
C3 C9
C8

C23 C25
C26 C28
C24 C26
C27 C29
C12 C15 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19
C11 C13 C14 C16

(a) (b)

Figure 7. Strain gauge and rosette distribution: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

Table 3. Test phenomena of specimen Y-1

Force provided by the Horizontal displacement
actuator: kN of specimen: mm Description of test phenomena Loading level

+291·9 +3·9 No obvious phenomenon in the elastic region Load control stage
–408·0 –9·3 The web and flange of the link yield Δy (the 2nd cycle)
–524·4 –18·1 The link and column inclined 2Δy (the 3rd cycle)
+627·1 +27·1 Local buckling occurred at the web of the link (Figure 8(a)) 3Δy (the 3rd cycle)
+630·0 +35·9 The web of the link was torn (Figure 8(b)) 4Δy (the 1st cycle)
–418·1 –45·0 The weld was torn at the end of the link flange 5Δy (the 1st cycle)
+328·0 +43·0 Local buckling occurred at the flange of the column base 5Δy (the 3rd cycle)
and web of the beam end (Figures 8(c) and 8(d))
+344·3 +54·0 The link could not continue resisting loads (Figure 8(e)) 6Δy (the 1st cycle)

Note: ‘+’ and ‘−’ are the push and pull direction of the actuator, respectively

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

load of the actuator was applied to the load beam to obtain
two identical lateral loads in both sides of the specimen.
In addition, an axial compression deformation at the beam,
which would affect the specimen performance, may occur if
the lateral loads are applied to the beam end instead of
the load beam. Thus, using the load beam could avoid the
occurrence of axial compression deformation at the beam.
Considering the two specimens are all planar structures, a
lateral support device was used to avoid the lateral buckling of
the specimens (as seen in Figure 4). A constant axial load
of 400 kN was applied by an oil jack pushing against the top
of the column, considering the influence of the vertical load
transferred from the upper layers and the P–delta effects on
the specimen performance. The cyclic loading condition was
generated using an actuator connected to the specimen.
Figure 5 shows the loading history of the test. In the loading

Table 4. Test phenomena of specimen Y-2

Force provided by Horizontal displacement of
actuator: kN specimen: mm Description of test phenomena Loading level

−266·0 −6·7 No obvious phenomenon in the elastic region Load control stage
−366·0 −8·1 The web and flange of the link yield Δy (the 1st cycle)
+482·0 +16·0 Rust dropped off at the welds of the link 2Δy (the 2nd cycle)
+564·0 +24·1 Rust drop-off was more obvious at the welds of the link 3Δy (the 2nd cycle)
−630·0 −32·1 Local buckling occurred at the beam end (Figure 9(a)) 4Δy (the 1st cycle)
+585·2 +37·5 Local buckling occurred at the web of link (Figure 9(b)) 4·5Δy (the 1st cycle)
+501·2 +36·1 Flange fractured at the beam end (Figure 9(c)) 5·5Δy (the 1st cycle)
Local buckling occurred at the column base (Figure 9(d))
Flange fractured at link–beam joint (Figure 9(e))

Note: ‘+’ and ‘−’ are the push and pull direction of the actuator, respectively

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

Figure 8. Test phenomena of specimen Y-1: (a) buckling occurred at the link web; (b) link web was torn; (c) buckling occurred at the
column base; (d) buckling occurred at the beam end; (e) link failure

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 Structures and Buildings
Volume 174 Issue 1
history, the test loads began with a load-controlled stage.
In this stage, the cyclic loads began with +100 kN in the push
direction of the actuator, then using −200 kN in the pull direc-
tion of the actuator, then using +300 kN in the push direction
of the actuator; the cyclic loads were exerted on the specimens
in this way until the specimen yielded (obvious stiffness degra-
dation could be observed in the hysteretic curves of the
specimen). When the specimen yielded, the loading history
changed to the displacement-controlled stage. In this stage,
the specimen was tested under displacement control for
three cycles with a magnitude of ± Δy, ± 2Δy, ± 3Δy, ± 4Δy,…
where Δy is the yield displacement of the specimen. It should
be noted that ‘+’ and ‘−’ are the push and pull directions of
the actuator, respectively. Figure 6 shows the displacement
meters’ distributions on the specimens. Figure 7 shows the
strain gauge and rosette distributions.
3. Test results and discussion
3.1 Test phenomena
The two specimens had a similar deformation process.
The shear links were first in an inelastic condition during
(a)
(d)
Figure 9. Test phenomena of specimen Y-2: (a) buckling occurred at the beam end; (b) buckling occurred at the link web; (c) flange
fractured at the beam end; (d) buckling occurred at the column base; (e) flange fractured at the link–beam joint
Downloaded by [ Indian Institute Of Technology Guwahati] on [20/08/21]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng
the test. The main inelastic deformation occurred at the link,
and local buckling occurred at the link, beam end and
column base. The test continued until the link could no longer
resist the loads. Tables 3 and 4 (and see Figures 8 and 9) show
the test phenomena observed at different loading levels of
specimens Y-1 and Y-2, respectively. Accordingly, P is the
force provided by the actuator, which is equal to the specimen’s
base shear force, and Δ is the horizontal displacement of the
specimen.
3.2 Hysteretic curves
Figure 10 shows the hysteretic curves of specimens Y-1 and
Y-2. This figure presents the two curves with a similar
changing trend. The curves show that both specimens Y-1 and
Y-2 had good inelastic deformation capacities. During the load
control stage, both curves covered a small area, which indi-
cated that the specimens were in an elastic form at this loading
stage. Meanwhile, during the displacement control stage, the
hysteretic loops were large and did not have obvious degra-
dation in the stiffness and load-carrying capacity within the
three cycles of the same displacement level. These results
(b) (c)
(e) (f)
61
 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

indicate that the two specimens had significant energy dissipa- 800
tion capacities. Moreover, the hysteretic loops of specimen Y-1
600
were larger than those of specimen Y-2 at the same
400

Base shear force: kN

800 200

600 0

400 –200
Base shear force: kN

200 –400
Specimen Y-1
0 –600 Specimen Y-2

–200 –800
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50
–400 Displacement: mm

–600 Figure 11. Skeleton curves of the specimens

–800
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement: mm
(a)
800 0·12

600 0·10
400
Base shear force: kN

Rotation angle: rad

0·08
200

0 0·06

–200 0·04
–400
0·02 Specimen Y-1
–600
Specimen Y-2
–800 0
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 0·5 1·0 1·5 2·0 2·5
Displacement: mm Storey drift: %
(b) (a)

800 0·12

600
0·10
Plastic rotation angle: rad

400
Base shear force: kN

0·08
200

0 0·06

–200
0·04
–400
Specimen Y-1 0·02 Specimen Y-1
–600
Specimen Y-2 Specimen Y-2
–800 0
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 0·5 1·0 1·5 2·0 2·5
Displacement: mm Storey drift: %
(c) (b)

Figure 10. Hysteretic curves of the specimens: (a) specimen Y-1; Figure 12. Link rotation capacity: (a) link rotation angles; (b) link
(b) specimen Y-2; (c) hysteretic curves comparison plastic rotation angles

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

displacement levels, which indicated that the energy dissipation
capacity of specimen Y-1 was better than that of specimen
Y-2. Figure 11 shows the skeleton curves of specimens Y-1 and
Y-2. The two curves had a similar changing trend, in which
the base shear force increased before the specimens fractured.
This indicated that the specimens had good load-bearing
capacities. Moreover, at the pull directions of the actuator,
the skeleton curves demonstrated that the elastic stiffness of
specimen Y-1 was higher than that of specimen Y-2, which
indicated that the structure will have a higher elastic stiffness
with the shorter link.
3.3 Link rotation capacity
Figure 12 shows the link rotation and the plastic rotation
angles of specimens Y-1 and Y-2. The two curves show that
the link rotation angles increased with the storey drift incre-
ment. Furthermore, the maximum link rotation angle of
specimen Y-1 was 73% higher than that of specimen Y-2.
Figure 11 illustrates that the maximum link plastic rotation
angle of specimen Y-1 was higher than that of specimen Y-2.
The maximum link plastic rotation angle reached 0·10 rad,
which was 25% higher than the 0·08 rad of the shear link in
AISC341-10 (AISC, 2010), when the specimen Y-1 fractured.
Furthermore, specimen Y-1 had a more useful link rotation
capacity than specimen Y-2 (Figure 12). This result indicated
V specimens had useful ductility capacities. Furthermore, the
B
F
A O C E
SABC + SABC
E=
SOBE + SODF
D
Figure 13. Calculation of the energy dissipation coefficient
that the structure had a better link rotation capacity with the
shorter shear link.
3.4 Load-bearing, ductility and energy
dissipation capacities
The hysteretic behaviour of the specimens herein can be evalu-
ated using the load-bearing, ductility and energy dissipation
capabilities. The ductility coefficient μ was used to judge the
specimen’s ductility and is defined as μ = Δmax/Δy, where Δy
and Δmax are the yield and maximum displacements, respect-
ively. The he coefficient could be judged depending on the area
of the hysteretic loops and was calculated as he = (SABC +
SCDA)/(SOBE + SODF). Figure 13 shows SABC, SCDA, SOBE
and SODF.
Table 5 lists the load-bearing and ductility capacities of the
specimens, where Vy and Δy are the yield load and displace-
ment, respectively; and Vmax and Δmax are the maximum load
and displacement, respectively. The ratios of the maximum and
yield loads of specimen Y-1 were 1·66 and 1·76 in the positive
and negative directions, respectively. The corresponding values
of specimen Y-2 were 1·54 and 1·58. This indicated that the
specimens had increasing load-bearing capacities after yield-
ing. The ratios of the maximum and yield displacements of
specimen Y-1 were 4·27 and 4·44 at the positive and negative
directions, respectively. The corresponding values of specimen
Y-2 were 3·99 and 2·96, respectively. This shows that the
values Vmax and μ of specimen Y-1 were slightly higher than
those of specimen Y-2, which indicated that the structure
with a shorter shear link will have better load-bearing and
ductility capacities than those of the structure with a longer
shear link.
Δ
Table 6 shows the energy dissipation capacity of the specimens.
The dissipated energy and he increased during the test,
which indicated that the energy dissipated by the inelastic
deformation of the specimens increased with the increasing
horizontal displacements. The maximum he was 2·75 and 3·75
times higher than the corresponding minimum he for speci-
mens Y-1 and Y-2, respectively. This result indicated that the
specimen had steady and increasing energy dissipation
capacities with the increment of inelastic development in the
specimens.

Table 5. Load-bearing and ductility capacities of the specimens

Specimen Load direction Vy: kN Δy: mm Vmax: kN Δmax: mm Vmax/Vy Ductility coefficient, μ

Y-1 Positive 401·6 8·51 664·9 36·34 1·66 4·27

Negative 377·2 8·16 664·8 36·2 1·76 4·44
Y-2 Positive 398·8 11·09 612·3 44·24 1·54 3·99
Negative 412·9 12·66 652·6 37·42 1·58 2·96

Note: ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ are the push and pull direction of the actuator, respectively

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
Volume 174 Issue 1 braced frames fabricated with
high-strength steel
Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

Table 6. Energy dissipation capacity of the specimens 3.5 Failure mechanism

Loading Storey Energy: Figures 14 and 15 show the strain curve at each point (as seen
Specimen stage drift: % kJ he in Figures 7(a) and 7(b)) of specimen Y-1 and Y-2, respectively.
The ratio, ε/εy, characterises the relative strain, where ε and εy
Load control
are the peak strain value and yield strain, respectively. The
Y-1 100 kN 0·06 0·03 —
200 kN 0·14 0·12 — strain values at the link web were higher than those at the link
300 kN 0·22 0·84 0·12 flange with the increasing interstorey displacement, which
Displacement control indicated that the links exhibited shear deformation. During
Δy 0·50 5·14 0·22 the test, the strain values at the link web were higher than
2Δy 0·99 16·81 0·27
those at the link flange; in addition, the strain values at the
3Δy 1·50 31·86 0·30
4Δy 2·01 50·37 0·33 links were much higher than the yield values and only few
Load control flanges of the column bases entered the inelastic stage slightly,
Y-2 100 kN 0·10 0·06 — while other structural members were still in the elastic stage.
200 kN 0·20 0·21 — This indicated that Y-HSS-EBF links entered an inelastic stage
300 kN 0·31 0·87 0·08
and dissipated the energy by way of shear deformation, while
Displacement control
Δy 0·46 2·12 0·11 the other structural members remained in an elastic stage
2Δy 0·90 9·94 0·21 during the seismic loads. Furthermore, when the specimens
3Δy 1·35 20·43 0·24 reached the ultimate state, the links entered the plastic stage
4Δy 1·79 34·22 0·28 completely and were damaged, but the columns and beams
4·5Δy 2·10 43·91 0·30
could continue to be resistant to the seismic loads, which

16 4
C1 C7
C2 C8
C9
12 C3 3 C10
C4
C11
C5 C12
C6
ε /εy

ε /εy

8 2 C13
C14
C15
C16
4 1

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm
(a) (b)
1·0 1·0
C17 C23
C18 C24
0·8 C19 0·8
C25
C20 C26
0·6 C21 0·6
C22
ε /εy

ε /εy

0·4 0·4

0·2 0·2

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm
(c) (d)

Figure 14. Strain curve at each point of specimen Y-1: (a) link; (b) columns; (c) beam; (d) braces

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
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Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

12 4
C1 C10
C2 C11
C3 C12
9 C4 3 C13
C5 C14
C6 C15

ε/ε y
6 C7 2 C16
ε/ε y

C8 C17
C9 C18
C19
3 1

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Displcement: mm Displcement: mm
(a) (b)

1·0 1·0
C20 C26
C21 C27
0·8 C22 0·8 C28
C23 C29
0·6 C24 0·6
ε/ε y

C25
ε/ε y

0·4 0·4

0·2 0·2

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Displcement: mm Displcement: mm
(c) (d)

Figure 15. The strain curve at each point of specimen Y-2: (a) link; (b) columns; (c) beam; (d) braces

shows that the Y-HSS-EBFs form a reliable dual resistance
system.
4. Numerical simulation of the
experimental results
4.1 Finite-element model of the test specimens
The FE models of the test specimens were established using
Abaqus. In the FE model, shell elements were used for all the
structural members meshed by using the software’s ‘Structure’
mesh type. Figure 16 shows the FE model and the meshing
densities of specimens Y-1 and Y-2. The boundary conditions
were completely similar to the actual boundary conditions
of the test specimen. The out-of-plane translational degree of
freedom (DOF) of the beam was constrained, considering the
lateral supports in the test, as seen in Figure 17. Furthermore,
all the DOFs of the column base bottom were constrained to
consider the rigid connection between the column base and
the base platform in the test, as seen in Figure 17. The multi-
linear kinematic hardening rule with the von Mises yielding
criterion form of the stress–strain relationship was used as the
stress–strain response in the FE model analysis, as seen in
Figure 18. In the FE model, the properties of the
kinematic hardening model were defined through the steel
properties in the specimens, which are shown in Table 2.
Figure 5 presents the loading history for the FE model analysis
used in the test.
4.2 Comparison of the FE model analysis
and test results
Figure 19 shows a comparison of the hysteretic curves for the
FE models obtained numerically and the test curve. As seen
in this figure, the FE model analysis hysteretic curves were
fully spindle-shaped and in good agreement compared with the
test curves. Figure 20 shows a comparison of the skeleton
curves between the FE model analysis and test results. The
FE model skeleton curves show a good agreement in the

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(a) (b)

Figure 16. FE model and meshing densities: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

Lateral support (fixed Y ) σ

σy

0 εy ε

Z
Y
X Bottom pin (fixed X, Y, Z )

Bottom pin (fixed X, Y, Z )

Figure 18. Simplified stress–strain relation of steel in the FE
Figure 17. FE model boundary conditions model analysis

elastic stage compared with the test curves. The numerical
ultimate bearing and deformation capacities were similar to
the test results. Furthermore, the hysteresis and skeleton curves
in the FE model agreed well with the test results to some
extent.
Figure 21 shows the phenomena for the FE model obtained
numerically and the test results. Inelastic deformations and
local buckling occurred on the specimens during the test.
Figure 21 illustrates that the accumulated plastic deformation
and the local buckling were well simulated. The experimental

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Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

800 800

600 600

400 400
Base shear force: kN

Base shear force: kN

200 200

0 0

–200 –200

–400 –400
Test Test
–600 –600
FE model FE model
–800 –800
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Displcement: mm Displcement: mm
(a) (b)

Figure 19. Comparison of the test and FE model analysis hysteretic curves: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

800 800

600 600

400 400
Base shear force: kN

Base shear force: kN

200 200

0 0

–200 –200

–400 –400
Test Test
–600 –600
FE model FE model
–800 –800
–50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm
(a) (b)

Figure 20. Comparison of the test and FE model analysis skeleton curves: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2

phenomena in the cyclic loading test were generally in agree-
ment with the FE simulation results (Figure 21). Therefore,
the proposed FE model in Abaqus could provide a quite
accurate prediction of the behaviour of the Y-HSS-EBF
structure during the cyclic loading.
5. Efficient shear link length
5.1 Finite-element models
The FE models of the full-scale structures of specimens Y-1
and Y-2 were established by Abaqus. Based on these, different
shear link lengths were considered to study the effects of shear
link length on the cyclic behaviour of Y-HSS-EBF. Thus, five
full-scale one-bay and one-storey Y-HSS-EBF structures with
different shear link lengths were considered in this study,
including the full-scale structures of specimens Y-1 and Y-2.
The member sections and material of these five structures are
shown in Table 7. The properties of the shear links in these
Y-HSS-EBF structures are summarised in Table 8. The FE
models of these five full-scale Y-HSS-EBF structures were
established by Abaqus. In these FE models, shell elements
were used for all the structural members. Also, all FE models
were meshed using the software’s ‘Structure’ mesh type. The
boundary conditions for these FE models were similar to those
of FE models of the test specimens Y-1 and Y-2, which were
shown in Section 4.1 in this paper.
In these non-linear analyses, the multi-linear kinematic
hardening rule with the von Mises yield criterion form of the
stress–strain relationship was used as the stress–strain response

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S, Mises
SNEG, (fraction = –1·0)
(Avg: 75%)
+5·176 × 102
+4·745 × 102
+4·315 × 102
+3·884 × 1022
+3·454 × 102
+3·023 × 10
+2·593 × 102
+2·163 × 102
+1·732 × 102
+1·302 × 102
+8·714 × 101
+4·410 × 101
+1·054 × 100

(a)

S, Mises
SNEG, (fraction = –1·0)
(Avg: 75%)
+5·888 × 102
+5·398 × 102
+4·909 × 102
+4·419 × 102
+3·930 × 102
+3·440 × 102
+2·951 × 102
+2·461 × 102
+1·972 × 102
+1·482 × 102
+9·930 × 101
+5·035 × 101
+1·403 × 100

(b)

Figure 21. Comparison of the analysis and the test phenomena: (a) specimen Y-1; (b) specimen Y-2. A full-colour version of this figure
can be found on the ICE Virtual Library (www.icevirtuallibrary.com) (continued on next page)

(refer to Figure 18). Nominal yield strength ( fy = 345 MPa for
Q345 steel and fy = 460 MPa for Q460 steel) was adopted for
steel materials in these FE models. The elastic modulus E and
Poisson ratio ν are assumed to be 206 000 MPa and 0·3,
respectively. The tangent modulus Et is equal to 0·01E based
on the properties of Q345 steel and Q460 steel shown in
Table 2. The influence of initial imperfections and residual
stress is not considered and P–delta effects were included in
the non-linear analyses.
5.2 Loading history
The loading history for the non-linear analysis is shown in
Figure 22, in which Δ and Δy are horizontal displacement and
yield displacement, respectively. The FE models were analysed
under displacement control for one cycle with a magnitude of
±0·25Δy, ±0·50Δy, ±0·75Δy before yielding and three cycles
with a magnitude of ±Δy, ±2Δy, ±3Δy, ±4Δy,…, ±4Δtarget after
yielding. Considering the interstorey limitation of 2% for the
structural performance level of collapse prevention (CP) for an

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S, Mises
SNEG, (fraction = –1·0)
(Avg: 75%)
+5·301 × 102
+4·860 × 102
+4·419 × 102
+3·978 × 102
+3·538 × 102
+3·097 × 102
+2·656 × 102
+2·215 × 102
+1·775 × 102
+1·334 × 102
+8·932 × 101
+4·525 × 101
+1·174 × 100

(c)

S, Mises
SNEG, (fraction = –1·0)
(Avg: 75%)
+5·535 × 102
+5·075 × 102
+4·614 × 102
+4·154 × 102
+3·694 × 102
+3·234 × 102
+2·773 × 102
+2·313 × 102
+1·853 × 102
+1·393 × 102
+9·324 × 101
+4·722 × 101
+1·192 × 100

(d)

Figure 21. Continued

EBF system in FEMA 356, 72 mm (2% of the storey height)

was used as the target displacement Δtarget for all FE models in
the non-linear numerical analysis.
Table 7. Member sections and material of Y-HSS-EBF structures
Designation 5.3 Hysteretic curves
Member SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5 Material
The hysteretic curves of all FE models from the numerical
analysis are illustrated in Figure 23. This figure indicates that
Beam H450  250  12  20 Q460 all the FE models possessed stable and expanding hysteretic
Column H300  300  12  20 Q460
loops, with no deterioration in stiffness and load-carrying
Brace H250  240  12  20 Q460
Shear link H450  250  12  20 Q345 capacity. The hysteretic loops of each FE model were very
plump, which inferred that the energy dissipation capacities of

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Table 8. Properties of shear links in Y-HSS-EBF structures the larger loading cycles. Thus, the performance of Y-HSS-
Designation SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5 EBF with a short shear link was influenced more obviously
than that of Y-HSS-EBF with a long shear link by cumulative
Shear link length, e: mm 600 800 1000 1200 1400 damage.
eVp/Mp 0·65 0·86 1·08 1·29 1·51

5.5 Load-bearing capacity

Table 10 shows the load-bearing capacities of FE models at
6
yield and ultimate stages, in which Vy and Vmax are the yield
5
and maximum base shear force of the FE model, respectively.
4
3
When the FE models yielded, the Vy of SY-3 was higher
2
than those of other FE models, which indicated that the Vy
1 increased with the increasing shear link length, but decreased
Δ/Δ y

0 when the shear link length reached a certain length. However,

–1
–2
–3
–4
–5
–6
Cycle number
Figure 22. Loading history for numerical analysis
all FE models were very significant. Furthermore, the FE
models SY-1 and SY-2 had more hysteretic loops than those of
other FE models before reaching Δtarget.
5.4 Lateral stiffness
Figure 24 shows the skeleton curves of all FE models. All
curves indicated that the base shear force of the FE models
increased before reaching Δtarget. There was no degradation of
the load-bearing capacities of any of the FE models. Table 9
presents the elastic lateral stiffness Ke of each FE model,
which was calculated from the skeleton curves. This shows that
the Ke of the FE model with a short shear link was higher
than that of the FE model with a long shear link. The Ke of
SY-1 was twice as high as that of SY-5 in the positive
and negative directions, which indicated that the elastic lateral
stiffness of Y-HSS-EBF decreased with the increasing shear
link length.
The lateral stiffness degradation curves of all FE models are
presented in Figure 25, in which K is the lateral stiffness at
different displacement stages of the FE models. These curves
show the lateral stiffness of the FE models at each of the
displacement stages. The lateral stiffness of the FE models
decreased with the increasing displacement level. The lateral
stiffness of the FE models had little degradation before the
shear link yielding. However, the stiffness of FE models had a
noticeable decrease after yielding. When the FE models reached
the Δtarget, the K/Ke values were 0·22 and 0·41 for SY-1 and
SY-5, respectively. This indicated that the stiffness degradation
of the FE model with a short shear link is more evident than
that of the FE model with a long shear link during
the Vmax of SY-1 was higher than those of other FE models
and the Vmax decreased with the increasing link length. The
Vmax of SY-1 was 23% higher than that of SY-5. Furthermore,
for SY-1, the Vmax was 1·5 times higher than the Vy, which
was higher than the equivalent values for other FE models.
This indicates that the Y-HSS-EBF with a short shear link
will have a higher maximum load-bearing capacity than
Y-HSS-EBF with a long shear link.
5.6 Ductility and link rotation capacities
Table 11 lists the yield displacement Δy, maximum displace-
ment Δmax and ductility coefficient μ of the FE models,
respectively. Considering the Δy and Δmax (equal to the Δtarget)
in the positive and negative directions were the same for the
FE model, thus Table 10 only presents the Δy, Δmax and μ of
FE models in the positive direction. It shows that the Δy
increased with the increasing shear link length. However, the
Δmax, which equalled the Δtarget, were the same for all FE
models. Thus, the ductility coefficient μ decreased with the
increasing shear link length. Table 12 shows the maximum link
rotation angles γmax of all FE models. The γmax decreased with
the increasing shear link length and the γmax of SY-1 was
2·4 times higher than that of SY-5. This indicated that the
Y-HSS-EBF with a short shear link will have better ductility
and link rotation capacities.
5.7 Energy dissipation capacity
Table 13 presents the energy dissipation capacities of all FE
models. The he coefficient and dissipative energy of the FE
models increased with the increasing loading level. The he coef-
ficient at the last loading level decreased with the increasing
shear link length. The he coefficients of SY-1 and SY-2 were
both 0·38 at the last loading level, which were 27% higher than
that of SY-5. Furthermore, the total dissipative energy by the
inelastic deformation of the FE models was decreased with the
increasing shear link length and the energy dissipated by SY-1
was 2·3 times higher than that of SY-5. Thus, the result
indicated that the Y-HSS-EBF with a shorter shear link will
have a better energy dissipation capacity.
The above non-linear analysis results indicated that the elastic
lateral stiffness, load-bearing, ductility and energy dissipation

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
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4000 4000

3000 3000

2000 2000
Base shear force: kN

Base shear force: kN

1000 1000

0 0

–1000 –1000

–2000 –2000

–3000 –3000

–4000 –4000
–100 –75 –50 –25 0 25 50 75 100 –100 –75 –50 –25 0 25 50 75 100
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm
(a) (b)

4000 4000

3000 3000

2000 2000
Base shear force: kN

Base shear force: kN

1000 1000

0 0

–1000 –1000

–2000 –2000

–3000 –3000

–4000 –4000
–100 –75 –50 –25 0 25 50 75 100 –100 –75 –50 –25 0 25 50 75 100
Displacement: mm Displacement: mm
(c) (d)

4000

3000

2000
Base shear force: kN

1000

–1000

–2000

–3000

–4000
–100 –75 –50 –25 0 25 50 75 100
Displacement: mm
(e)

Figure 23. Hysteretic curves of FE models: (a) SY-1; (b) SY-2; (c) SY-3; (d) SY-4; (e) SY-5

capacities of Y-HSS-EBF with a short shear link will be better Y-HSS-EBF can have better cyclic behaviour if the shear link
than those of Y-HSS-EBF with a long shear link during length e is within the scope of (0·861·29)Mp/Vp.
cyclic loads. However, the lateral stiffness degradation of
Y-HSS-EBF with a short shear link will be more evident than 6. Conclusions
that of Y-HSS-EBF with a long shear link in the inelastic This study proposed a cyclic test to study the hysteretic behav-
state. Thus, based on the above analysis results, the iour and performance of one-bay and one-storey Y-HSS-EBF

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 Structures and Buildings Cyclic behaviour of eccentrically
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Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

4000 specimens, including their failure mode and load-bearing,

ductility and energy dissipation capacities. A numerical
3000
simulation of the test results was also conducted using the
2000 Abaqus software and a comparison between the experimental
Base shear force: kN

1000 and numerical results was performed. Several full-scale FE

models of Y-HSS-EBF were established to study the effects
0
of shear link length on their cyclic behaviour. The following
SY-1
–1000 conclusions can be drawn within the limitation of the research
SY-2
–2000 SY-3 based on the test reported herein.
SY-4
–3000 SY-5 (a) The link in the Y-HSS-EBF made of Q345 steel with
–4000 nominal yield strength of 345 MPa entered a plastic stage
–80 –60 –40 –20 0 20 40 60 80
during the cyclic loading, whereas the other structural
Displacement: mm
members fabricated of Q460 steel with nominal yield
Figure 24. Skeleton curves of FE models strength of 460 MPa mostly remained in an elastic stage.
Hence, the Y-HSS-EBF is a reliable dual system.
(b) The hysteretic curves showed the good plastic
deformation capacity of the Y-HSS-EBF. The
Table 9. Elastic lateral stiffness of FE models Y-HSS-EBF possessed stable and expanding hysteretic
Elastic FE models loops with no deterioration in the stiffness and
lateral Load load-bearing capacity. The hysteretic loops were very
stiffness direction SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5 plump, and the Y-HSS-EBF could be inferred to have
Ke: kN/mm Positive 134·73 114·05 89·66 76·88 65·71 a significant energy dissipation capacity.
Negative 134·93 114·20 89·85 77·13 65·98 (c) The designed shear link dissipated the energy by way of
shear deformation during the cyclic loading. The link
Note: ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ are the pull and push direction, respectively rotation angle of the Y-HSS-EBF increased with the
storey drift increase. The maximum link plastic rotation
angle was higher than 0·08 rad for the shear link in AISC
1·2
341-10 (AISC, 2010) when the structure was fractured.
(d) Reasonably good agreement between the numerical
1·0
SY-1 analysis and experimental results was observed for the
0·8 SY-2 cyclic behaviour of the Y-HSS-EBF. The FE model in
SY-3 Abaqus provided a quite accurate prediction of the
K/Ke

SY-4 Y-HSS-EBF structure behaviour during the cyclic

0·6
SY-5
loading.
0·4 (e) The non-linear numerical analysis results indicated that
the shear link length was an important design parameter,
0·2 which will obviously influence the lateral stiffness,
Negative Positive
load-bearing capacity, ductility and energy dissipation
0
–100 –80 –60 –40 –20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 capacities of Y-HSS-EBF. The Y-HSS-EBF can have
Displacement: mm better cyclic behaviour if the shear link length e is within
the scope of (0·861·29)Mp/Vp based on the numerical
Figure 25. Stiffness degradation curves of FE models analysis results.

Table 10. Load-bearing capacities of FE models

FE models

Load direction Load-bearing capacity: kN SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5

Positive Vy 2014 2080 2144 2054 1879

Vmax 3013 2880 2739 2642 2451
Vmax/Vy 1·50 1·38 1·28 1·29 1·30
Negative Vy 2017 2083 2149 2061 1887
Vmax 3019 2888 2750 2653 2459
Vmax/Vy 1·50 1·39 1·28 1·29 1·30

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Lian, Su, Zhang and Cheng

Table 11. Ductility capacities of FE models

FE models

Load direction Displacement: mm SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5

Positive Δy 14·95 18·24 23·91 26·72 28·60

Δmax 72·00 72·00 72·00 72·00 72·00
μ 4·82 3·95 3·01 2·69 2·52

Table 12. Maximum link rotations of FE models

FE models
Maximum link rotation angle
SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5

γ max: rad 0·12 0·09 0·07 0·06 0·05

Table 13. Energy dissipation capacities of the FE models

Loading stage SY-1 SY-2 SY-3 SY-4 SY-5

he
Δy 0·17 0·14 0·13 0·10 0·10
2Δy 0·27 0·26 0·27 0·25 0·24
3Δy 0·31 0·33 0·36 0·33 0·30
4Δy 0·35 0·38 — — —
5Δy 0·38 — — — —
Energy: kJ
Δy 95·83 101·05 128·10 102·31 100·75
2Δy 379·01 462·57 624·35 638·21 621·81
3Δy 729·70 934·72 1331·87 1172·22 1001·34
4Δy 1165·78 1514·23 — — —
5Δy 1551·21 — — — —
Total 3921·52 3012·57 2084·31 1912·74 1723·91

Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful for the partial financial support from
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no.
51708444).
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