Prediction of the Nonlinear Shear Response of the DBS

The drawer bracing system (dbs) is a ductile bracing system that is developed to enhance the seismic performance of braced frames. the system is composed of three parallel plates that are attached together via transfer plates at right angle. seismic energy is dissipated through the formation of flexural plastic hinges at the two ends of the transfer plates. the parallel plates must have adequate strength and stiffness to prevent global buckling and to remain elastic while transferring forces to transfer plates. height,width,thickness,and the number of the transfer plates may be varied to achieve the desired strength and stiffness of the system. in contrast to common bracing systems,the main advantage of a dbs is the conversion of the axial forces to flexural moments in the dissipating elements. in this paper,the nonlinear shear response of the dbs is predicted via closed-form formulas for calculation of strength,stiffness,and post-yield behavior of the system. these formulations are based on both experimental observations and theoretical analysis. the calculated force–displacement backbone curve is verified to be a very good approximation for predicting the nonlinear shear response of the system. © 2016,iran university of science and technology.