Seismic Performance of Shaped Steel Tubes

Seismic Performance of Shaped Steel Tubes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Seismic Performance of Shaped Steel Tubes Chengcheng Bao, Yueqiao Piao, Chengyou Ji, Yilin Liu, Liangzhuo Li, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7704658/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) have seen rapid adoption in structural engineering due to their superior seismic energy dissipation. These assemblies typically consist of a core brace, confinement elements, and an unbonded interface layer. Among these, the confinement elements play a critical role; their design dictates the overall seismic resilience of the brace and the connected structure. Conventional BRBs using rectangular steel tubes often suffer from pronounced stress concentration and inefficient material usage. To overcome these drawbacks, we introduce a non-rectangular steel tube concrete-confinement buckling-restraint brace—a novel structural system that enhances confinement effectiveness through geometric innovation. This study systematically evaluates the performance of this new system by first building a library of special-shaped steel cross-sections, including elliptical and corrugated profiles. We then employ ABAQUS finite element simulations complemented by physical testing to analyze how key parameters—such as cross-sectional shape factor and wall thickness—govern the hysteretic behavior of the components. These findings will inform standardized design guidelines for non-rectangular confinement members. Compared with conventional BRB designs, our approach offers two principal advantages. The optimized geometry of non-rectangular sections promotes more favourable stress redistribution, improving minor-axis bending resistance. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Anti-Buckling Supports Non-standard tubular steel hysteretic behavior numerical simulation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7704658","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":583384289,"identity":"f3a969b3-2e7e-4ec8-adc1-733d1836c21c","order_by":0,"name":"Chengcheng Bao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvb2A8Y/KhgY2BuAPB5itPDxnEkoZjgDVH2AWC1yEgkGnxnbSNHCxpCQuLlw3h05HokExgdv2xjkzQlrOXjYeOa2Z8ZALcyGc9sYDHc2ENLC2JBmwLvtcOJ+iQQ2ad42hgSDA4S0MDOY/+Cdc7i+RyKB/TdxWtgYDIx5Gw4nAB3GxkycFh6eBMMZxw4b9vA8bJacc07CcAMhLfLznx8w+FBzWJ6HPfnghzdlNvIEbUECjA1AQoJ49aNgFIyCUTAKcAMA0Do8fq0AkhoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chengcheng","middleName":"","lastName":"Bao","suffix":""},{"id":583384291,"identity":"c80e151e-a3c9-4bb1-827d-0ec54f16e759","order_by":1,"name":"Yueqiao Piao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yueqiao","middleName":"","lastName":"Piao","suffix":""},{"id":583384292,"identity":"b3fde33a-db97-4251-87bd-cc7c5f9c9fe2","order_by":2,"name":"Chengyou Ji","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chengyou","middleName":"","lastName":"Ji","suffix":""},{"id":583384293,"identity":"91b39e9e-e558-4d4a-ba44-2d65f143f710","order_by":3,"name":"Yilin Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yilin","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":583384294,"identity":"6a5f956d-b317-41ff-85bf-6069587badea","order_by":4,"name":"Liangzhuo Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liangzhuo","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":583384295,"identity":"b3f86295-0e70-4262-b8e5-ba4f44ade63f","order_by":5,"name":"Junkai Lu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junkai","middleName":"","lastName":"Lu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-24 14:23:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7704658/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7704658/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104397633,"identity":"14e59649-fca5-41a4-8273-482dd0eedf50","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 11:53:29","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1359697,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SeismicPerformanceofShapedSteelTubes.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7704658/v1_covered_c106a7ec-b75c-4d62-b437-dd7bc76deba7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Seismic Performance of Shaped Steel Tubes","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Anti-Buckling Supports, Non-standard tubular steel, hysteretic behavior, numerical simulation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7704658/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7704658/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBuckling-restrained braces (BRBs) have seen rapid adoption in structural engineering due to their superior seismic energy dissipation. These assemblies typically consist of a core brace, confinement elements, and an unbonded interface layer. Among these, the confinement elements play a critical role; their design dictates the overall seismic resilience of the brace and the connected structure. Conventional BRBs using rectangular steel tubes often suffer from pronounced stress concentration and inefficient material usage. To overcome these drawbacks, we introduce a non-rectangular steel tube concrete-confinement buckling-restraint brace\u0026mdash;a novel structural system that enhances confinement effectiveness through geometric innovation. This study systematically evaluates the performance of this new system by first building a library of special-shaped steel cross-sections, including elliptical and corrugated profiles. We then employ ABAQUS finite element simulations complemented by physical testing to analyze how key parameters\u0026mdash;such as cross-sectional shape factor and wall thickness\u0026mdash;govern the hysteretic behavior of the components. These findings will inform standardized design guidelines for non-rectangular confinement members. Compared with conventional BRB designs, our approach offers two principal advantages. 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