Abstract

Abstract— Concrete braced and steel braced reinforced concrete frame is one of the structural systems used to resist earthquake loads in multistoried buildings. Many existing reinforced concrete buildings need retrofit to overcome deficiencies to resist seismic loads. The use of concrete and steel bracing systems for strengthening seismically inadequate reinforced concrete frames is a viable solution for enhancing earthquake resistance. Concrete and steel bracing is economical, easy to erect, occupies less space and has flexibility to design for meeting the required strength and stiffness. In this study, the seismic analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with different types of bracing (Diagonal, V type, Inverted V type, Combine V type, K type, X type) is studied. The bracing is provided for peripheral columns and any two parallel sides of building model. A thirteen-storey building is analyzed for seismic zone III as per IS 1893: 2002 using ETAB software. The percentage reduction in storey displacement is found out. It is found that the X type of concrete bracing significantly contributes to the structural stiffness and reduces the maximum storey drift of the frames. The bracing system improves not only the stiffness and strength capacity but also the displacement capacity of the structure.