Importance of link models in the assessment of the seismic response of multi-storey EBFs designed by EC8.

The nonlinear seismic response of eccentrically braced frames is strongly correlated to the cyclic response of links, i.e. the dissipative members of this structural type. In this paper, a simple but refined link model recently proposed by the authors is used to assess the effectiveness of some common and simpler models in which the effect of the isotropic hardening is not taken into account explicitly. The comparison is carried out by comparing the dynamic response of 12 multi-storey eccentrically braced frames designed as per Eurocode 8. The structures are characterised by different number of storeys and link lengths. The investigation considers both global and local response parameters. The results show which model gives the best estimate of the ultimate response of the frames. It is also shown that the major differences between the responses predicted by the models are recorded for systems with long links.