What are Buckling Restrained Braces?

These braces are a structural element that, yield in both tension and in compression along their
central axis (one direction). The principle of work is the same as that of a common diagonal
element, but, in the case of a BRB without buckling in the braces. This quasi-symmetric yielding
is accomplished by creating an element composed of a of steel plate (bar or others depending
on the technology) covered by a mortar or concrete jacket through out its length. Although it
looks like a composite element, an unbonding layer is added to the surface between the steel
and the mortar/concrete allowing for tension forces to be developed only in the steel core, rather
than a composite section. The unbonded layer is am important element of the BRB in order to
prevent the section from acting as a composite element at significantly higher strength (which
would be dangerous). In Compression, the steel core does not develop significant buckling,
rather it deforms fairly uniformly along the covered length and the whole diagonal will be able to
carry out a few cycles at full displacement before failure.

Design Approach for Buckling-Restrained

Braced Frame
Depending on the seismic code philosophy, these elements function as either a sacrificial
element to control damage or as a ductile main structural system (SFRS1). In standards that
favor performance over plainly life safety,: these Buckling Restrained Braces are used in a
“damage control” design philosophy where they are the sacrificial element in a structure with
moment frames. In such cases, the structure is protected by sacrificing the brace and can have a
very decent post-yielding stiffness, leading to a low level of damage. For example, in Japan, the
design methodology uses these diagonal members to protect the primary system, the frames
(Kasai, Fu and Watanabe 1998). Standards and codes of this style tend to use relatively low
values of seismic response modification factors (e.g. R). In contrast, other standards, such as
the American Code and those that draw upon it: apply a philosophy where the Buckling
restrained Braces are the main structural system (SFRS), and thus, higher percentages of lateral
deformation are expected. In these standards, the post-yielding stiffness expected is lower as
the braces are not required to work in parallel with moment frames (Applied Technology Council
2015). Consequently, in these types of codes it is common to find more aggressive seismic
response modification factor values, and the final performance of the structure tends to be as
low as that of the rest of SFRS prescribed by those standards (Moment Frames, Shear walls,
Braced frames etc.). In this second case, the engineer should consider the following minimum
requirements for a safe implementation