Shaking table tests and numerical analysis on steel frame structure with various brace arrangements

The steel frame-bracing system can increase the overall stiffness and lateral stiffness of the frame, significantly improving the seismic capacity of the structure. In this paper, shaking table tests were conducted on two 1/8 scaled steel frame structures, including a one-way brace arrangement scaled structure and a two-way brace arrangement scaled structure. A finite element (FE) model of the steel frame structure was established in Ansys, and its validity was verified against experimental results. Compared with experiments, an extended parameter analysis of the variable brace arrangement schemes of a multi-story space steel frame structure was conducted using the proposed FE model. The experimental and simulation results showed that the two-way brace arrangement in a steel frame structure significantly enhances the overall stiffness of the structure. The seismic performance of the brace arranged in a steel frame structure in the reverse wave direction is better than that of the brace arranged along the wave direction.