Steel rings as seismic fuses for enhancing ductility of cross braced frames

A new remedy is proposed in this study to increase the ductility of cross-braced frames to a level comparable with ductile moment frames. The suggested system consists of one or two concentric steel rings installed in the cross-braced bay vertically. The steel rings are designed such that they fail in bending sooner than failure of the braces in compression. Then the rings act as seismic fuses with multiple bending plastic hinges. Using nonlinear static analysis, it is shown that the proposed system can be designed to behave like cross-braced frames with regard to stiffness and strength, and like special moment frames with regard to ductility. Seismic design factors for the proposed system are recommended based on nonlinear pushover and cyclic analysis studies.