Displacement amplification factors for steel eccentrically braced frames

Inelastic deformation capacity of links is a factor that significantly influences design of steel eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). The link rotation angle is used to describe inelastic link deformation. The link rotation angle is generally calculated by making use of design story drifts that in turn are calculated by modifying the elastic displacements by a displacement amplification factor. This paper presents a numerical study undertaken to evaluate the displacement amplification factor given in ASCE7‐10 for EBFs and the rigid‐plastic mechanism used for calculating link rotation angles. A total of 72 EBFs were designed by considering the number of stories, the bay width, the link length to bay width ratio, and the seismic hazard level as the prime variables. All structures were analyzed using elastic and inelastic time history analyses. The results indicated that the displacement amplification factor given in ASCE7‐10 provides unconservative estimates of the story drifts. On the other hand, the rigid‐plastic mechanism provides conservative estimates of link rotations. Based on the results of the numerical study, a new set of displacement amplification factors that vary along the height of the structure and modifications to the rigid‐plastic mechanism were developed. In light of the proposed modifications, the EBFs were redesigned and analyzed using inelastic time history analysis. The results indicated that the proposed modifications provide improvements for the displacement amplification factor and link rotation angle calculation procedures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.