Comparison of Chinese and American Design Codes for Steel Frame-Braced Tube Structures

To study the differences between Chinese and American codes in the design of steel frame-braced tube structures， a practical engineering project—a 160.8 m steel frame-braced tube structure in Beijing—was taken as an example. The structural design was carried out according to Chinese and American codes and their corresponding design habits. The differences in overall structural indicators， material consumption， and seismic collapse resistance performance were then compared between the models designed under the two codes. The results showed that， under the same calculation parameters， the structural stiffness and overall structural indicators of the models designed according to Chinese and American codes， respectively， were relatively close. There were significant differences in the internal force adjustment and implementation methods for the seismic second line of defense design of steel frame-braced tube structures between China and the United States， resulting in differences in component section design. Additionally， the distribution of material usage between the models designed by Chinese and American codes differed. In the model designed according to the Chinese code， the beam and brace material usage was higher， while the column material usage was lower， with the overall material usage being 4% higher. Furthermore， the collapse margin ratio of the model designed by the Chinese code was approximately 7.5% lower than that of the model designed by the American code.