Evaluation of seismic performance factors for tension-only braced frames

The tension-only braced frames (TOBFs) are widely used as a lateral force resisting system (LFRS) in low-rise steel buildings due to their simplicity and economic advantage. However, the system has poor seismic energy dissipation capacity and pinched hysteresis behavior caused by early buckling of slender bracing members. The main concern in utilizing the TOBF system is the determination of appropriate performance factors for seismic design. A formalized approach to quantify the seismic performance factor (SPF) based on determining an acceptable margin of safety against collapse is introduced by FEMA P695. The methodology is applied in this paper to assess the SPFs of the TOBF systems. For this purpose, a trial value of the R factor was first employed to design and model a set of TOBF archetype structures. Afterwards, the level of safety against collapse provided by the assumed R factor was investigated by using the non-linear analysis procedure of FEMA P695 comprising incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) under a set of prescribed ground motions. It was found that the R factor of 3.0 is appropriate for safe design of TOBFs. Also, the system overstrength factor was estimated as 2.0 by performing non-linear static analyses.