Influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings

Abstract

This paper presents influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings. Eight 1/1.5-scale steel eave columns were constructed and tested under low cyclic reversed loading, including 4 specimens with bracket set and 4 specimens without bracket set. Based on the analysis of the strain of the specimens, the failure modes of the specimens were obtained. In addition, the hysteresis loops, skeleton curves, degradations of stiffness and strength, ductility, and dissipation capacities of the specimens were analyzed. Bracket set changed the force transfer mechanisms and failure modes of the specimens and had a significant influence on the seismic performance of the specimens. Compared with the specimens without bracket set, the yielded and ultimate bearing capacities of the specimens with bracket set improved by 30.7% and 24.0%, respectively. And also, the stiffness of the specimens with bracket set at the yielded and ultimate points increased by 52.8% and 135.6%. The dissipation capacities of the specimens with bracket set were 2.12 times those of the specimens without bracket set at yielded load. However, the ductility of the specimens with bracket set slightly decreased by 8.5%. It was shown that the seismic performance of the specimens with bracket set was better than that of the specimens without bracket set. The work in this paper provides a basis for further theoretical study on the seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings. KEYWORDS bracket set, Chinese traditional style building, low cyclic reversed loading, seismic performance, steel eave columns | INTRODUCTIONChinese ancient architecture is the crystallization of eastern culture and Chinese civilization, which records the glorious development course of Chinese nation. [1] Therefore, whether from the perspectives of archeology, history, science, culture, or art, Chinese ancient architecture is the treasure of Chinese culture and the exotic flower of world civilization. However, the well-preserved buildings have been rare through a variety of natural disasters and wars so far.Recently, with the rapid development of tourism and the deepening of cultural globalization, Chinese traditional style buildings emerge in many historic cities. Chinese traditional style buildings are the inheritance and development of Chinese ancient architecture, which make full use of modern materials and show the similar external shapes to Chinese ancient architecture. [2] As the integration of modern technology and ancient culture, Chinese traditional style buildings spread Chinese traditional culture and embody the essence of Chinese ancient architecture. Chinese traditional style buildings are mainly divided into reinforced concrete structure and steel structure, and the latter has been extensively adopted in many historic cities because of light-weight and high-strength, good seismic performance and recyclability.Steel structure has been used in building constructions, and there ...