Full-scale hybrid test for realistic verification of a seismic upgrading technique of RC frames by BRBs

Scientific research proposing any type of device/technique for seismic protection of buildings is generally based on numerical models that adopt simplifications to make possible extensive analyses. This means that important details of the inelastic response could be neglected. Following this consideration, regardless of the device/technique invented, before it could be put into practice, an experimental verification of the actual structural performance should be conducted by full-scale tests at building level. This issue is investigated in the paper considering seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures by buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) as technique to be validated, while hybrid test is selected as tool for experimental validation at building level. The analysed seismic upgrading technique consists in the insertion of BRBs into the RC frame. The upgrading intervention is designed by a method developed in previous studies. This technique responds to an important need of the society. Indeed, existing RC frames showed high vulnerability in occurrence of past earthquakes when they were not originally conceived to sustain horizontal forces. The hybrid test is selected among the available experimental techniques because it allows the experimentation on full-scale specimens with reasonable cost. In this study, a substructure hybrid test was conducted and the results are here presented to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of the design method of BRBs for seismic upgrading, (b) investigate the integration of BRBs in existing RC frame, and (c) show the potentiality of the substructure hybrid test for the experimental verification of innovative techniques for seismic protection of buildings.