SMA COMPOSITE BRACES APPLIED IN EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT HYBRID STRUCTURES

Earthquakes are natural seismic events that induce severe damage to engineering structures. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been showing an interesting solution to avoid structural damage due to their high dissipation capacity by phase transformations. This investigation deals with the use of composite smart braces made by SMA, glass fiber, and polymeric matrix. A three-story building subjected to ground acceleration from El Centro earthquake is evaluated. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the influence of SMA volume fractions and the brace’s area. Results indicate a considerable improvement in the structural response, increasing the energy dissipation and decreasing the floor displacements.