Amir Kari - Assistant Professor, Qom University of Technology

Shape Memory Alloys (known as SMAs) can be utilized in existing steel structures in order to Improve their seismic behavior. This article presents the result of a numerical investigation in which the improvement of steel frames is achieved by implementing SMA braces into the structure in order to enhance their lateral behavior. Super-elastic model of SMAs and plasticity model of Buckling Restrained Braces (known as BRBs) are incorporated into finite element program particularly developed for this research. Nonlinear analyses of steel structures with SMA braces subjected to cyclic loading are performed by the finite element program. Moreover, to show the improvement of the proposed energy dissipative system with respect to other existing systems, the response of the steel frame with shape memory alloy structures is compared with that of the BRBF; which is one of the leading existing energy dissipation lateral systems.

Shape memory alloys, Buckling-restrained braces, Energy dissipation, Super-elastic