Ayvaz - Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, ۶۱۰۸۰ Trabzon, Turkey
Çavdar - Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, ۲۹۰۰۰ Gümüshane, Turkey

The purpose of this study is to investigate the linear behavior of frame structures stiffened with K and knee type stiffening members subjected to earthquakes and to compare the results of each frame considered. These comparisons are made separately for the displacements, bending moments, axial forces and shear forces for the frames with different storey and bay numbers. The results obtained in this study showed that all stiffening members considered in this study decrease the lateral displacement of the frame and the bending moment of the columns and increase the axial force in the columns, so that yielding of the columns may probably be in compression, and that configuration of the bracing members come out to be an important parameter in braced frames since the frames with the same type of bracing give different results depending on configuration.