Experimental and numerical study on a novel ribbed bracing system

In this article, the ribbed bracing system is proposed and evaluated through experimental and numerical studies. Ribbed bracing system is composed of a supplemental part with ribbed interfaces that is attached to a brace member and allows for its free length reduction to prevent the development of compressional forces responsible for buckling of the brace. Ribbed bracing system provides two different mechanisms: completely closed ribbed bracing system and improved-centering ribbed bracing system which are validated, in this study, through design, fabrication, and testing of small-scale specimens subjected to cyclic quasi-static loading. As verified by the test results, in improved-centering ribbed bracing system, nearly all compressive deformations are resisted through a self-centering mechanism; thus, smaller residual drift and energy absorption capacity are provided. In contrast, completely closed ribbed bracing system is ideal for maximizing the absorbed energy and minimizing the story drift while it leads to a rather large residual drift. Numerical assessment of an X-configured ribbed bracing system assembly employing the experimentally observed behavior also validates ribbed bracing system potentials for use in frame configurations