Buckling restrained braces providing stable, symmetrical hysteretic energy dissipation for seismic retrofit and new build.
A buckling restrained brace consists of a steel core restrained against buckling by a mortar-filled steel tube, separated by an unbonding layer. It yields in both tension and compression, giving the full, stable hysteresis loops required for seismic design.
Because the restrainer prevents global buckling, the core can yield in compression as it does in tension. Energy is dissipated through repeated plastic deformation of the core rather than through fracture at connections, which is the usual failure mode of conventional braced frames.