Experimental and Finite Element Study of Polymer Infilled Tube-in-Tube Buckling Restrained Brace

This study presents a tube-in-tube buckling-restrained brace (BRB) infilled with lightweight and rapid hardening polymer. The proposed BRB consists of a circular or square tube core encased with a tube of similar shape and polymer infill. The tube-in-tube arrangement minimizes the filler material volume and enables the use of rolled steel section as opposed to welded profiles commonly utilized when large BRB axial strength is required, although welded profiles suffer from low assembly accuracy resulting from welding deformation. The infilled polymer has a density of approximately half that of mortar and requires a curing time of 24 h, enabling weight and fabrication time reduction. The stability and inelastic deformation capability of the BRB were investigated through brace and subassembly tests of six circular and four-square full-scale specimens, followed by finite element analysis. The test results show that circular BRB designed with a Pcr/Py ratio of 1.46 exhibited a stable hysteresis up to 1.42% and 1.06% core strain in tension and compression, respectively. Circular and square specimens designed with Pcr/Py ratios ranging from 0.82 to 1.06 exhibited stable hysteresis before failing by global buckling at compressive core stains ranging from 0.86% to 1.09%. The slot weld detail adopted for welding core projection stiffener displayed a stable performance in circular BRB specimens, while it resulted in large plastic strain demand in square BRB specimens, leading to core fracture at tensile core strains ranging from 0.64% to 0.71%.