[axiomata]

BRBs aren't used to minimize material usage, rather they are engineered for good cyclic seismic performance. They really are designed not to buckle and the specs take into account the important characteristic by making the engineer check that they don't buckle even after a story drift 2 times the design story drift. For the design loads they deal with they the steel core always yields in tension or compression before any buckling occurs. Because BRBs yield in both tension and compression they can develop great ductility and energy dissipation in cyclic loadings. They try to combine the stiffness of a normal braced framed with the ductility of a moment frame.