Overview of the Seismic Design and Behavior of Steel Braced Frames

This presentation will provide an overview of the design and expected seismic behavior of steel braced frames. Brace frames are a practical and economical system for resisting lateral loads. The provide considerable strength and stiffness with less structural weight and material than other systems. Braced frames initially appear to be a very simple structural system, but their behavior is quite complex and there are many additional design requirements needed to achieve the desired structural performance. The presentation will summarize the many options for braced frame design. The expected behavior of each design option will be presented. An overview of design requirements needed to achieve this target behavior will be presented. The requirements will be based upon ASCE 7-16 and AISC Standards 360-16 and 341-16, but some discussion will be provided for upcoming changes to these provisions. The discussion will include some perspective of the historical development of the various options will be included since this leads to insight of retrofit and rehabilitation requirements for existing systems.