Application of substructure method in nonlinear finite element analysis of eccentrically braced steel frames

Eccentrically braced steel frames are a lateral load-resisting system which apply high intensity area and it can provide the high elastic stiffness that met higher steel building drift requirement. The links of Eccentrically braced steel frames sustain large inelastic deformation without loss of strength under severe earthquake loading which demonstrate excellent energy-dissipation capacity and ductility. A new nonlinear finite element model which apply substructure method that include degenerate shell element apply to link beams with large deformation and plastic deformation and beams element apply to other parts of structure for analyzing eccentrically braced steel structure energy-dissipation behavior is presented in this paper. Computer program is complied. Good agreement is found between the theoretical predications and experiment result.