Seismic Retrofit for Reinforced Concrete Building Structures
Consequence-Based Engineering (CBE) Institute Final Report, Texas A&M University, (August 2003)Abstract
Many existing structures located in seismic regions are inadequate
based on
current seismic design codes. In addition, a number of major earthquakes
during recent
years have underscored the importance of mitigation to reduce seismic
risk. Seismic
retrofitting of existing structures is one of the most effective methods
of reducing this risk.
In recent years, a significant amount of research has been devoted
to the study of various
strengthening techniques to enhance the seismic performance of RC
structures. However,
the seismic performance of the structure may not be improved by retrofitting
or
rehabilitation unless the engineer selects an appropriate intervention
technique based on
seismic evaluation of the structure. Therefore, the basic requirements
of rehabilitation
and investigations of various retrofit techniques should be considered
before selecting
retrofit schemes. In this report, the characteristics of various intervention
techniques are
discussed and the relationship between retrofit and structural characteristics
is also
described. In addition, several case study structures for which retrofit
techniques have
been applied are presented.