Optimum design of BRB frame based on drift uniformity and material weight using nonlinear time history analysis

Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRBs) are one of the new seismic resistant systems. The cross-sectional area and length of the BRB brace is one of the most important characteristics of these braces that directly affects the cost of BRB frames. Since beams, columns, and connections are designed for the maximum forces developed in BRB, the decrease in cross-sectional area of the BRBs decreases the steel consumption in the whole structure.The main purpose of this study is to optimize the weight of the structure, BRBs weight while uniforming the drift profile by changing the cross-sectional area and the length of the BRBs using genetic algorithms and other multi-objective optimization algorithms. Optimization is based on the results of nonlinear time history analysis under seven earthquake records using OpenSEES software. For this purpose, the objective function and constraints were defined in the genetic algorithm NSGA_II, MOPSO, MOEA_D, PESA_II, SPEA_II, and the initial population produced was entered as the initial cross-sectional area and length of the braces in the OpenSEES software. The optimization results show that for all three objective functions, the optimization values with high percentages of structural performance were optimized in such a way that the weight of BRB can be decreased up to about 50%.