• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.339-352
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• 2015

Ancient masonry towers constitute a relevant part of the cultural heritage of humanity. Their earthquake protection is a topic of great concern among researchers due to the strong damage suffered by these brittle and massive structures through the history. The identification of the seismic behavior and failure of towers under seismic loading is complex. This strongly depends on many factors such as soil characteristics, geometry, mechanical properties of masonry and heavy mass, as well as the earthquake frequency content. A deep understanding of these aspects is the key for the correct seismic vulnerability evaluation of towers and to design the most suitable retrofitting measure. Recent tendencies on the seismic retrofitting of historical structures by means of prestressing are related to the use of smart materials. The most famous cases of application of prestressing in towers were discussed. Compared to horizontal prestressing, vertical post-tensioning is aimed at improving the seismic behavior of towers by reducing damage with the application of an overall distribution of compressive stresses at key locations.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.125-139
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• 2016

For seismic retrofitting of masonry walls, the use of fibre reinforced cement-based mortar for bonding the fibre grids can eliminate some of the shortcomings related to the use of resin as bonding material. The results of an experimental testing program on masonry walls retrofitted with fibre reinforced mortar and fibre grids are presented in this paper. Seven squat masonry walls were tested under unidirectional lateral displacement reversals and constant axial load. Steel anchors were used to increase the effectiveness of the bond between the fibre grids and the masonry walls. Application of fibre grids on both lateral faces of the walls effectively improved the hysteretic behaviour and specimens could be loaded until slip occurred in the horizontal joint between the masonry and the bottom concrete stub. Application of the fibre grids on a single face did not effectively improve the hysteretic behaviour. Retrofitting with fibre reinforced mortar only prevented the early damage but did not effectively increase deformation capacity. When the boundaries of the cross sections were not properly confined, midplane splitting of the masonry walls occurred. Steel anchors embedded in the walls in the corners area effectively prevented this type of failure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.645-667
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• 2016

The 750 m long "De Bosset" bridge in the Cephalonia Island of Western Greece, being the area with the highest seismicity in Europe, was constructed in 1830 by successive stone arches and stiff block-type piers. The bridge suffered extensive damages during past earthquakes, such as the strong M7.2 earthquake of 1953, followed by poorly-designed reconstruction schemes with reinforced concrete. In 2005, a multidisciplinary project for the seismic assessment and restoration of the "De Bosset" bridge was undertaken under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The proposed retrofitting scheme combining soil improvement, structural strengthening and reconstruction of the deteriorated masonry sections was recently applied on site. Design of the rehabilitation measures and assessment of the pre- and post-interventions seismic response of the bridge were based on detailed in-situ and laboratory tests, providing foundation soil and structural material properties. In-situ inspection of the rehabilitated bridge following the strong M6.1 and M6.0 Cephalonia earthquakes of January 26th and February 3rd 2014, respectively, revealed no damages or visible defects. The efficiency of the bridge retrofitting is also proved by a preliminary performance analysis of the bridge under the recorded ground motion induced by the above earthquakes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.231-251
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• 2019

In the present study, a numerical and experimental investigation has been carried out on the seismic behavior of RC columns of a bridge which damaged under corrosive environments and retrofitted by various techniques including combined application of CFRP sheets and steel profiles. A novel hybrid retrofitting procedure, including the application of inner steel profiles and outer peripheral CFRP sheets, has been proposed for strengthening purpose. Seven large-scale RC columns of a Girder Bridge have been tested in the laboratory under the influence of simultaneous application of constant axial load and the lateral cyclic displacements. Having verified the finite element modeling, using ABAQUS software, the effects of important parameters such as the corrosion percentage of steel rebars and the number of CFRP layers have been evaluated. Based on the results, retrofitting of RC columns of the bridge with the proposed technique was effective in improving some measures of structural performance such as lateral strength degradation and higher energy absorption capability. However, the displacement ductility was not considerably improved whereas the elastic stiffness of the specimens has been increased.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.37-49
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• 2019

In this study, the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams that were retrofitted using precast panels of ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is presented. The precast UHPFRC panels were glued to the side surfaces of RC beams using epoxy adhesive in two different configurations: (i) retrofitting two sides, and (ii) retrofitting three sides. Experimental tests on the adhesive bond were conducted to estimate the bond capacity between the UHPFRC and normal concrete. All the specimens were tested in shear under varying levels of shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d=1.0; 1.5). For both types of configuration, the retrofitted specimens exhibited a significant improvement in terms of stiffness, load carrying capacity and failure mode. In addition, the UHPFRC retrofitting panels glued in three-sides shifted the failure from brittle shear to a more ductile flexural failure with enhancing the shear capacity up to 70%. This was more noticeable in beams that were tested with a/d=1.5. An approach for the approximation of the failure capacity of the retrofitted RC beams was evolved using a multi-level regression of the data obtained from the experimental work. The predicted values of strength have been validated by comparing them with the available test data. In addition, a 3-D finite element model (FEM) was developed to estimate the failure load and overall behaviour of the retrofitted beams. The FEM of the retrofitted beams was conducted using the non-linear finite element software ABAQUS.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.339-347
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• 2022

Retrofitting in reinforced concrete structures has been one of the most important research topics in recent years. There are several methods for retrofitting RC moment-resisting frames. the most important of which is the use of steel bracing systems with yielding dampers. With a proper design of yielding dampers, the stiffness of RC frame systems can be increased to the required extent so that the ductility of the structure is not significantly reduced. In the present study, two experimental samples of a one-third scale RC moment-resisting frame were loaded in the laboratory. In these experiments, the retrofitting effect of RC frames was investigated using Non-uniform Slit Dampers (NSDs). Based on the experimental results of the samples, seismic parameters, i.e., stiffness, ductility, ultimate strength, strength reduction coefficient, and energy dissipation capacity, were compared. The results demonstrated that the retrofitted frame had very significant growth in terms of stiffness, ultimate strength, and energy dissipation capacity. Although the strength reduction factor and ductility decreased in the retrofitted sample. In general, the behavior of the frame with NSDs was evaluated better than the bare frame.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.319-330
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• 2022

Retrofit of soft-story buildings due to seismic loads using Gap-Inclined-Brace (GIB) system is considered a new retrofit technique that aims to maintain both strength and stiffness of structure. In addition, it provides more ductility and less P-delta effect, and subsequently better performance is observed. In this paper, the effect of the eccentricity between GIB and the retrofitted column due to installation on the efficiency of the retrofitting system is studied. In addition, a modification in the determination method of GIB properties is introduced to reduce the eccentricity effect. Also, the effect of GIB system on the seismic response of mid-rise buildings with different heights considering soft-story at various heights has been studied. A numerical model is developed to study the impact of such system on the response of retrofitted soft-story buildings under the action of seismic loads. To achieve that goal, this model is used to perform a numerical investigation, by considering five case study scenarios represent several locations of soft-story of two mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings. At first, Non-linear static pushover analysis was carried out to develop the capacity curves for case studies. Then, Non-linear time history analyses using ten earthquake records with five peak ground accelerations is performed for each case study scenario before and after retrofitting with GIB. The results show that large GIB eccentricity reduce the ultimate lateral resistance and deformation capacity of the retrofitting system. Moreover, the higher the retrofitted building, the more deformation capacity is observed but without significant increase in ultimate lateral resistance.

• 한국공간구조학회논문집
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 2024

The paper presents the experimental investigation of RC beams retrofitted with Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM), featuring enhanced bond capacity. Anchoring systems, including an extension of retrofitting length and the use of chemical anchors, are newly employed to improve the structural performance of the RC beam retrofitted with TRM. For the experimental investigation, a total of seven shear-critical RC beams, with and without stirrups, were designed and constructed. The structural behaviors of specimens retrofitted with the proposed TRM methods were compared to those of non-retrofitted specimens or specimens strengthened with conventional TRM methods. Crack pattern, force-displacement relationship, and absorbed energy were evaluated for each specimen. The experimental results indicate a significant improvement in the shear capacity of the RC beam with the proposed retrofitting method. Therefore, it is concluded that the application of an extended retrofitting length and chemical anchors to the TRM retrofitting method can effectively enhance the bond capacity of TRM, thereby improving the shear performance of RC beams.

• 콘크리트학회논문집
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.78-86
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• 2003

섬유보강재를 사용한 철근콘크리트 부재의 보강공법은 재료의 내부식성 및 시공의 편리성 등 여러 가지 장점으로 인하여 최근 그 사용이 현저하게 증가하고 있는 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 여러 가지 종류의 섬유보강재를 사용하여 휨보강된 철근콘크리트 보의 휨성능을 비교하고, 그 특성을 고려한 보강설계식을 제안하였다. 섬유보강재의 종류(아라미드, 유리, 탄소섬유) 및 보강비에 따른 철근콘크리트 보의 휨성능을 검토하기 위하여 3.2m 스팬의 단순보에 대한 실험을 실시하였으며, 실험의 결과를 최대내력, 강성 및 연성도의 관점에서 분석하였다. 본 연구의 실험결과, 부재의 휨보강내력은 보강재의 종류에 따른 인장강도보다는 강성에 주로 관계하는 것으로 나타났으며, 연성도는 강성이 증가할수록 감소하는 경향을 나타내었다. 본 연구에서는 이와 같은 실험결과를 기반으로 휨보강설계식을 제안하였으며, 이를 신뢰성있는 선행 연구자들의 연구결과와 비교하여 그 타당성을 검증하였다.

• 콘크리트학회논문집
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.385-392
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• 2011

이 연구에서는 기존 철근콘크리트 건물의 보-기둥 접합부 및 내진 성능의 개선을 위해 보-기둥 접합부 영역을 기존의 강판 및 FRP보강재(탄소섬유 쉬트, 매입형 탄소섬유봉)를 사용하여 보강한 후 내진 성능을 평가 하였다. 총 6개의 실험체를 제작하고 실험을 수행하여 내진 성능을 평가하였으며, 이 연구의 실험 결과를 근거로 다음과 같은 결론을 얻었다. 기존 철근콘크리트 보-기둥 접합부의 접합부 영역(LBCJ 시리즈)를 보강한 결과 초기 재하시 접합부 영역의 균열 억제 효과와 재하 전 과정을 통하여 보강재의 구속 효과로 인하여 균열 억제 효과가 커서 안정적인 파괴 형태 및 내력 향상 효과를 나타내었다. 기존 철근콘크리트 보-기둥 접합부의 내진 성능을 개선하기 위하여 철근콘크리트 보-기둥 접합부 FRP보강 기술 적용 실험체 LBCJ 시리즈는 표준실험체 LBCJC와 비교하여 최대 내력은 26~50% 증가하였다. 그리고 에너지 소산 능력은 변위 연성 4에서 13.0~14.4% 증가하였다.