Cyclic Behavior and Simplified Design Method of Hybrid Rocking Columns with External Energy-Dissipators
In recent years, hybrid rocking columns incorporating post-tensioned (PT) tendons and energy dissipation devices become prevalent on account of the superior self-centering capacity. In this paper, the simplified analysis method based on interface section analysis is employed to conduct parametric analyses on the hybrid rocking columns with external buckling-restrained devices, which are adopted as the external energy-dissipators. The effects of four parameters including the aspect ratio, the initial PT force, the area of PT tendons and the area of energy-dissipators are investigated. Furthermore, a simplified design method for hybrid rocking columns with external energy-dissipators is proposed using the parametric analysis results. In the design procedure, the performance index [Formula: see text] is employed considering the requirement of residual drift. The efficiency of the design method is verified by a numerical design example to show the application. The results show that the design objectives of lateral force and residual drift can be achieved through a small number of iterations.