Buckling-Restrained Brace Flat Fuse Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing buckling-restrained braces face challenges with cumbersome disassembly and replacement, poor reusability, and damage to non-structural members during seismic events, due to brittle energy dissipation elements and complex welding processes.
Innovation Solution
A buckling-restrained brace with a flat energy dissipation element featuring a telescopic inner restrained member, an outer restrained member, and flat fuses connected by bolts, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, with a design that enables the reuse of buckling restraining members by concentrating damage at yielding segments and maintaining the elasticity of inner and outer restrained members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional buckling-restrained braces use mortar or brittle non-metallic filling material, then energy dissipation capability is improved, but ease of repair deteriorates because disassembly is troublesome and replacement is complex
Solution Approach 1:
The energy dissipation element is segmented into multiple replaceable fuse units connected by couplers. Each fuse unit can be independently replaced after damage without disassembling the entire brace structure. The couplers with threading mechanisms allow for tool-free assembly and disassembly, enabling quick replacement of damaged fuse units while maintaining the overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuse units are designed as consumable components that are intentionally damaged during seismic events to dissipate energy. After an earthquake, the damaged fuse units are discarded and replaced with new ones, while the expensive and durable components (outer tube, inner tube, couplers) are recovered and reused. This approach optimizes the balance between energy dissipation performance and repairability.
2Reliability
If buckling restraining members are designed for high strength, then reliability is improved, but reusability deteriorates due to damage accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two functional segments: the buckling restraining members (outer tube and inner tube) which are designed for high strength and elasticity to maintain reliability, and the fuse units which are designed to yield and dissipate energy. This segmentation allows the restraining members to remain elastic and reusable while the fuse units absorb the damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuse units are designed as inexpensive, sacrificial components that are intentionally damaged during seismic events. They are replaced after use, while the expensive buckling restraining members are preserved and reused. This approach maximizes the reusability of critical structural components while maintaining reliable buckling restraint performance.
3Ease of repair
If energy dissipation element is designed to concentrate damage, then ease of repair is improved, but manufacturing precision must be increased to control yielding segments
Solution Approach 1:
The fuse units incorporate localized yielding segments with specific geometric features (reduced thickness, notches, or holes) that concentrate plastic deformation in predetermined locations. These local quality variations ensure that damage occurs in specific, easily detectable regions while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standard fabrication processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A buckling-restrained brace with a flat energy dissipation element, a building with the brace and an assembly method of the brace belongs to the field of force-resisting members of structural engineering. The brace includes a telescopic inner restrained member, an outer restrained member sleeved outside the inner restrained member, and the flat energy dissipation element between the inner and outer restrained members; the inner restrained member includes a first and a second steel square tube which are connected; the flat energy dissipation element includes four flat fuses, and two ends of each fuse are connected to four sides of the first and second steel square tube by bolts; and the inner section of the outer restrained member is square, the outer restrained member covers the flat energy dissipation element, and a certain gap is disposed between the outer restrained member and the flat energy dissipation element.