METHODS OF RETROFITTING

3.1: Method stages

There are mainly two stages which are named below
1. Local Retrofit Strategies
2. Global Retrofit Strategies

3.1.1: Local Retrofit Strategies

Local retrofit strategies include local strengthening of beam,
column, slabs, beam-to-column or slab-to-column joints, walls and foundations. A
scheme with such strategies tends to be the economical alternative when only a few
of the building element are deficient. The following local retrofit Strategies are
grouped according to the elements.

A: Column Strengthening
Concrete jacketing
Concrete jacketing
involves addition of a thick layer of
RC in the form of a jacket, using
longitudinal reinforcement & closely
spaced ties with seismic detailing. The
method increases both strength &
durability. BUT the Composite
deformation of the existing and the
new concrete requires adequate
dowelling to the existing column.
Also the additional longitudinal bars
need to be anchored to the foundation
and should be continuous through the slab. The disadvantage is that the size of the
column increases.
Steel jacketing
Steel jacketing refers to
encasing the column with steel plates and
filling the gap with non-shrink grout. The
jacket is effective in passive confinement.
That is, lateral confining stress is induced
in the concrete as it expands laterally. Steel
jacketing is a very effective method to
remedy deficiencies such as inadequate shear strength and inadequate solices of
longitudinal bars at critical locations.

Fiber Reinforced polymer Sheet wrapping

Fibre Reinforced polymer
(FRP) is a composite material and can be
classified based on the material of the fibre
for economic reasons. FRP has desirable
physical properties like corrosion and
fatigue resistance and high tensile strength
to weight ratio. FRP Sheets are thin, light
and flexible enough to be inserted behind service ducts, thus facilitating
installation. In retrofitting of a column there is no significant increase in the size.
The main drawbacks of FRP are the high cost, brittle behavior and fire resistance.
Prestressed wire wrapping
This technique is not suitable for
column of small diameter, like those in the buildings
addressed in the project.

B : Beam strengthening
Addition of concrete
Concrete is
added to increase the strength
or stiffness of a beam. There
are some disadvantages in this
traditional retrofit strategy.
First, addition of concrete
increases the size and weight
of the beam. Second, the new
concrete requires proper bonding to the existing concrete. In beam soffits, the bleed
water from the new concrete creates a weak cement paste at the interface. Third, the
effects of drying shrinkage must be considered as it induces tensile stresses in the
new concrete.

Steel plating
The
technique of gluing
mild steel plates to
beams is often used to
improve their flexural
and shear
performances. The addition of steel plate is simple and rapid to apply, does not
reduce the storey clear height significantly and can be applied while the structure is
in use. Glued plates of course are prone to premature de bonding.

FRP Wrapping
Like steel plates, FRP
laminates are attached to beams to increase
their flexural and shear capacities. The
amount of FRP attached to the soffit should
be limited to retain the ductile flexural
failure mode. Bonacci and maalej (2000)
listed the failure modes of beams. Strengthened with FRP laminates. A hybrid
fabric consisting of two types of carbon fibres and one type of glass fibre was
developed to provide a pseudo-ductile behavior. It was aimed to have yielding
characteristic at a strain close to the yield strain of steel.

Use of FRP Bars

FRP has been used not only as sheets, but also as rebar. FRP bars
can be attached to web of the beam for shear strengthening (lorenzis and
nanni,2001). FRP bars can be used as tendons for external pre-stressing.
 Foundation strengthening
Foundation strengthening is done by strengthening the footing as
well as the soil (FEME 356,2000). The following measures may be effective in the
strengthening of footing.

1) New isolated or spread footing may be added.

2) Existing spread footing may be enlarged or underpinned to increase the capacity.
3) Uplift capacity may be improved by increasing the soil mass above the footing.
4) Differential lateral displacement of the footing can be mitigated by interconnecting
them with graded beams, graded slabs or ties.

3.1.2:
Global retrofit strategies aimed to stiffen the building by providing
additional lateral load resisting elements, so that it has reduced lateral deformation.
In some cases, it may be necessary to combined both local and global retrofit
strategies.
Structural stiffening, Addition of infill walls, Masonry infill wall

The lateral load

resistance and the energy
dissipation capability of a
frame increase with masonry
infill. This is a viable option
for the buildings (with open
ground storeys) addressed.
Infill walls with reinforced
concrete masonry units can act as shear walls.
The use of modular precast panels involves minimal on-site casting
and modest handling equipment. Connects between panels and frame are critical.

Infill steel panels

Use of infill steel
panels is an alternative to bracing
system. The methods of attaching the
steel panels to the existing frame are
similar to those employed for
bracing systems.

Addition of shear walls

The addition of new shear walls has been used to retrofit frame
buildings to control displacements. Critical design issues involved in the addition of
shear walls are as follows.
a) Transfer of floors diaphragm forces
into the new wall through dowels.
b) Adding new collector and drag
members to the diaphragm.
c) Reaction of the new wall on
existing foundations.

A steel bracing system can be designed to provide stiffness, strength,

ductility, energy dissipation, or any combinations of these. Connection between the
braces and existing from is the most important aspect in this strategy. The forces
registered by the braces are transferred back to the concrete beams and columns in
the form of axial forces, both in compression and tension. While the addition of
compressive forces can be tolerated, the resulting tensile forces may be of concern.
The use of prestressed tendons and unbounded braces has been proposed by some
investigators to avoid the problems associated with a failure of connections and
buckling of the brace, respectively.