Design of SMA-Brace Devices for the Seismic Retrofit of Steel CBF

Received: November 02, 2017 Revised: January 12, 2018 Accepted: January 17, 2018 Abstract: Introduction: Retrofit interventions are often performed by introducing in structures dissipative devices able to improve the global seismic response particularly in terms of energy dissipation capacity. In the case of Concentric Braced Steel Frames (CBF), these devices are generally introduced in the form of brace elements made of different materials and based on different dissipation mechanisms. Their design is strictly related to both the characteristics of the selected device and, also, to the own peculiarities of the structural system involved in the retrofit intervention.