The seismic retrofits of existing structures have been focused on the control of structural responses which can be achieved by providing displacement capacity through inelastic ductile action at supplemental devices. Due to their hysteretic characteristics, it is expected to sustain damage through repeated inelastic behaviors including residual deformation which might increase repair costs. To solve such drawbacks of existing yielding devices, this study proposes a self-centering disc spring brace that sustains large axial deformation without structural damage while providing stable energy dissipation capacity. The hysteretic behaviors of suggested brace are first investigated based on the quasi-static cyclic test procedure. Experimental results present the effective self-centering behavior and an analytical model is then suggested in order to reasonably capture the flag-shaped hysteretic behavior of the disc spring brace.

2016 Gyeongju and 2017 Pohang earthquakes led Koreans to acknowledge that the Korean peninsula is not an earthquake-free zone anymore. Among various buildings crucial to after-shock recovery, general hospital buildings, especially existing old ones, are very significant so seismic retrofitting of those must be an important issue. Self-centering energy dissipative(SCED) brace is one of retrofitting methods, which consists of tendon with restoring force and friction device capable of dissipating seismic energy. The strength of the SCED brace is that the tendon forces a structure to go back to the original position, which means residual drift can be negligible. The residual drift is a very important parameter to determine usableness of general hospitals after shock. To the contrary, buckling-restrained braces(BRB) are also a very effective way to retrofit because they can resist both compressive and tensile, but residual drift may exist when the steel core yields. On this background, the seismic retrofitting effect of general hospitals reinforced with SCED braces was investigated and compared to that of the BRD in this study. As a result, although the floor acceleration cannot be reduced, the story drift and residual drift, and the shear demand of walls significantly decreased. Consequently, seismic retrofitting by SCED braces are very effective for domestic low-rise general hospitals.

최근 새로운 지진하중 저항시스템으로 셀프센터링(SCED) 가새 시스템이 개발되었다. 진보된 가새 시스템인 비좌굴 가새(BRB) 시스템과는 달리 큰 지진이 발생한 후 구조물의 잔류 변형을 줄이거나 없앨 수 있는 셀프센터링 능력은 SCED 가새 시스템의 장점이다. 본 논문에서는 SCED 가새와 BRB 가새 시스템의 거동에 비틀림의 영향을 조사하기 위하여 세 가지 다른 편심을 가진 3차원 구조물의 응답을 비선형 동적해석을 수행하여 비교하였다. 해석결과에 따르면 층간변위의 높이방향의 변화는 비정형성에 관계없이 SCED 가새골조의 응답이 BRB 가새골조보다 일정하였으며, 잔류 층간변위와 잔류 회전 응답은 비정형성이 증가함에 따라 감소하였다. 중층 구조물에서 SCED 가새골조의 변형집중계수(DCF)는 BRB 가새골조보다 작은 것으로 나타났다. 이것은 SCED 가새골조가 건물 높이에 따라 보다 일정하게 변형함을 의미한다. DCF의 크기에 대한 비틀림 비정형의 효과는 작았다.