Cyclic loading in vertical stainless steel links

Abstract

Vertical links are dissipative devices in form of beam-column segments that are included in eccentrically braced frames (EBF). Studies related to different configurations of links have been presented for carbon steel elements. Moreover, stainless steel is a nonlinear metallic material with particular appeal for its structural use due to a considerable amount of capabilities such as corrosion, circular life-cycle, strength, ductility and aesthetics. Despite the increase on the use of stainless steel for structural elements in construction, the behavior of this material for structural purposes is not described as carbon steel in all applications. The elastic stiffness, maximum load, shear deformation capacity as well as the energy dissipation in long links are generally affected by the defined geometrical parameters. Due to the material nonlinearity, this influence may be affected considerably. In this paper, a numerical model aimed at depicting the cyclic behavior of vertical short and long links subjected to seismic lateral loads is presented. The model accounts for the material nonlinearity, the geometrical nonlinearity and the detailed definition of boundary conditions from the link connection to the EBF.