Cyclic performance of steel and composite bracing members

This paper describes an experimental study on the response of hollow and filled steel members to monotonic and cyclic axial loading. Monotonic tests were first performed on short specimens to establish their compressive and tensile axial resistances and to investigate the effect of infill on local buckling and ductility. These were followed by cyclic tests on longer bracing members with three different cross-section sizes. The presence of concrete infill was observed to influence the mode of failure displayed by the specimens, as well as their compression and tension load responses. The ductility capacities of the individual specimens are compared, and the effects of slenderness, steel strength and infill are quantified. The experimental findings are compared with the recommendations of a number of international codes of practice and previous research studies on the seismic response of steel braces. It is found that the infill contributes to the compression resistance of the brace, even after multiple inelastic load reversals, and that it can improve ductility capacity by preventing or limiting local buckling.