• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.339-352
• /
• 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
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.125-139
• /
• 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
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.645-667
• /
• 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
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.231-251
• /
• 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
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.37-49
• /
• 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
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.339-347
• /
• 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
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.319-330
• /
• 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.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.29-36
• /
• 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.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.78-86
• /
• 2003

Reinforced concrete beams are often retrofitted with various FRP composite sheets. This paper is focused on the comparison of structural performance of various FRP sheets and proposal of the retrofitting design formula. Effects of the FRP kinds(AFRP, GFRP, CFRP) and the reinforcing steel ratio on behavior of the retrofitting beams are tested and analyzed with particular emphasis on the maximum load capacity, stiffness, and ductility. The experimental work included 4 point flexural testing of 3.2m span reinforced concrete beams with bonded external reinforcements. The results show that the difference of FRP kinds is not large and the flexural load capacity is mainly affected by stiffness of the retrofitting materials. This paper also proposes the design formula on the retrofitting reinforced concrete flexural members and checks with this experimantal work and previous research results.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.385-392
• /
• 2011

In this study, experimental research was carried out to evaluate and improve the seismic performance of reinforced concrete beam-column joint regions using strengthening materials (steel plate, carbon fiber sheet, and embedded carbon fiber rod) in existing reinforced concrete buildings. Six specimens of retrofitted beam-column joints are constructed using various retrofitting materials and tested for their retrofit performances. Specimens designed by retrofitting the beam-column joint regions (LBCJ series) of existing reinforced concrete building showed a stable mode of failure and an increase in load-carrying capacity due to the effect of crack control at the time of initial loading and confinement from retrofitting materials during testing. Specimens of LBCJ series, designed by the retrofitting of FRP in reinforecd beam-column joint regions increased its maximum load carrying capacity by 26~50% and its energy dissipation capacity by 13.0~14.4% when compared to standard specimen of LBCJC with a displacement ductility of 4.