Buckling-Restrained Brace with Improved On-Site Constructability

Buckling-Restrained Brace with Phase Change Material for Improved On-Site Constructability

This technology is a buckling-restrained brace consisting of a hollow outer tube, an inner core with end plates and hollow holes at both ends, and a PCM layer filled with phase change material between the tube and the core to connect them as a single unit.

Conventional buckling-restrained braces use concrete reinforcement, which makes them heavy and difficult to adjust in length, resulting in poor on-site constructability.

By utilizing phase change material and an adjustable length structure, this technology achieves a lightweight design and improved constructability, allowing for easy installation in steel structure seismic retrofitting and effective energy dissipation.

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Key Features:

• A hollow outer tube with a circular cross-section and a circular core housed within it
• A core featuring end plates at both ends for connection to steel structures and polygonal hollow holes inside
• A PCM layer filled with phase change material in the space between the tube and the core, integrally connecting the inner surface of the tube and the outer surface of the core
• An adjustment structure formed on the end plates that inserts into the core's hollow holes to allow for longitudinal expansion and contraction of the core

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