The objective of this work is the study and the evaluation of the overstrength of short links in Eccentrically Braced Frames (EBFs) to be considered in the application of local hierarchy criteria. Starting from the results of experimental tests devoted to short links, linear multivariate regression is provided to evaluate the overstrength of links. The obtained mathematical relation accounts for the following geometrical and mechanical properties: the web slenderness of the link, the slenderness of the stiffening plates, the non-dimensional distance between the stiffening plates, the steel hardening, the non-dimensional length of the link and its ultimate rotation. Moreover, to account for the uncertainty of the regression model and the material variability, the first-order reliability method (FORM) is applied to the limit state function, which is used to describe the local hierarchy criterion for short links based on the rigid-plastic analysis. So, the authors defined an overstrength factor accounting for the geometrical and mechanical properties of links and including a safety factor to account for uncertainties.
