Passive control systems, such as buckling‐restrained braces (BRBs), have emerged as efficient tools for seismic response control of new and existing structures by imparting strength and stiffness to buildings, while providing additional high and stable energy dissipation capacity. Systems equipped with BRBs have been widely investigated in literature; however, only a deterministic description of the BRBs’ properties is typically considered. These properties are provided by the manufacturer and are successively validated by qualification control tests according to code‐based tolerance limits. Therefore, the device properties introduced within the structure could differ from their nominal design estimates, potentially leading to an undesired seismic performance. This study proposes a probabilistic assessment framework to evaluate the influence of BRBs’ uncertainty on the seismic response of a retrofitted RC frame. For the case study, a benchmark three‐story RC moment‐resisting frame is considered where BRBs’ uncertainty is defined compatible to the standardized tolerance limits of devices’ quality control tests. This uncertainty is implemented through a two‐level factorial design strategy and Latin hypercube sampling technique. Cloud analysis and probabilistic seismic demand models are used to develop fragility functions for the bare and retrofitted frame for four damage states while also accounting for the uncertainty in the property of BRBs. Risk estimates are successively evaluated for three case study regions. The results show that, for the considered case study structure, these uncertainties could lead to an increase of fragility up to 21% and a variation in seismic risk estimates up to 56%.
The use of recycled aggregate improves waste management and is a crucial step toward the sustainable development of the concrete industry. Hence, this paper presents the experimental investigation to determine the mechanical properties of concrete with recycled concrete aggregates as the selective substitution for natural aggregates. The slump was observed to decrease by replacing natural coarse aggregates with recycled concrete aggregates. Compressive strength of about 40 MPa was achieved after 56 days of curing with the utilization of 100% recycled concrete aggregates. Besides, a reduction in the splitting tensile strength of 14% was observed due to the incorporation of recycled concrete aggregates. The statistical techniques use various probability distribution models such as Gamma, Lognormal, Weibull, and Normal distributions. Amongst the considered functions, lognormal and Weibull distributions best represent the experimentally obtained compressive strength of concrete with 100% natural aggregates and 50% recycled concrete aggregates, respectively. However, for concrete with 100% recycled aggregates, Weibull distribution represent compressive strength after 28 days of curing, and lognormal distribution is given the best fit for the compressive after 56 days of curing. In the case of split tensile strength, lognormal distribution provided the best representation after 56 days of curing for all specimens.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.