High-strength steel and dissipative fuse solutions for seismic-resistant building structures

Extended keynote paper of Eurosteel 2021
The robustness of steel structures during severe earthquakes is largely based on the calibration of stiffness, strength and ductility. Such a robust system dissipates the energy by plastic deformations in the plastic members (fuses) made from mild carbon steel (MCS), while the other members remain elastic. In the case of concentrically braced frames (CBF), the fuses can be in the form of buckling-restrained braces (BRB), while for eccentrically braced frames (EBF), the short links could take on this role. In the case of shear walls (SW), slender steel plates can be used. To avoid oversized elastic members, they can be made of high-strength steel (HSS). Structures made from HSS and MCS are called dual steel (DS) structures. In order to ease the post-earthquake intervention, the fuses can be detachable. Furthermore, their replacement is less costly if the structure is re-centred using moment-resisting frames (MRF) connected to the main dissipative system, i.e. a dual frame (DF) structure. This paper presents the concept of DS DF structures and some examples.