• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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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.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1139-1155
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• 2015

In this study, a new retrofitting method for improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete column was presented, in which prestressed steel strips were utilized as retrofitting stuff to confine the reinforced concrete column transversely. In order to figure out the seismic performance of concrete column specimen retrofitted by such prestressed steel strips methods, a series of quasi-static tests of five retrofitted specimens and two unconfined column specimen which acted as control specimens were conducted. Based on the test results, the seismic performance including the failure modes, hysteresis performance, ductility performance, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation of all these specimens were fully investigated and analyzed. And furthermore the influences of some key parameters such as the axial force ratios, shear span ratios and steel strips spacing on seismic performance of those retrofitted reinforced concrete column specimens were also studied. It was shown that the prestressed steel strips provided large transverse confining effect on reinforced concrete column specimens, which resulted in improving the shearing bearing capacity, ductility performance, deformation capacity and energy dissipation performance of retrofitted specimens effectively. In comparison to the specimen which was retrofitted by the carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) strips method, the seismic performance of the specimens retrofitted by the prestressed steel strips was a bit better, and with much less cost both in material and labor. From this research results, it can be concluded that this new retrofitting method is really useful and has significant advantages both in saving money and time over some other retrofitting methods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.57-60
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• 2001

In order to extend the life time of building and civil infra-structure, nowadays, patch type fibrous composite materials are widely used. Retrofitted concrete columns and beams gain the stiffness and strength, but they lose toughness and show brittle failure. Usually, the cracks of concrete structures are visible with naked eyes and the status of the structure in the life cycle is estimated with visible inspection. After retrofitting of the structure, crack visibility is blocked by retrofitted composite materials. Therefore, structural monitoring after retrofitting is indispensible and self diagnosis method with optical fiber sensor is very useful. In this paper, We try to detect peel out effect and find the strain difference between main structure and retrofitting patch material when they separate each other.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.541-561
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• 2011

The Finite Element Method (FEM) was employed to demonstrate that accurate simulations of seismically repaired and retrofitted reinforced concrete shear walls can be achieved provided a good analysis program with comprehensive models for material and structural behaviour is used. Furthermore, the analysis tool should have the capability to retain residual damage experienced by the original structure and carry it forward in the repaired and retrofitted structure. The focus herein is to provide quick, simple, but reliable modelling procedures for repair and retrofitting strategies such as concrete replacement, addition of diagonal reinforcing bars, bolting of external steel plates, and bonding of external steel plates and fibre reinforced polymer sheets, thus illustrating versatility in the modelling. Slender, squat, and slender-squat shear walls were investigated. The modelling utilized simple rectangular membrane elements for the concrete, truss bar elements for the steel and FRP retrofitting materials, and bond-link elements for the bonding interface between steel or FRP to concrete. The analyses satisfactorily simulated seismic behaviour, including lateral load capacity, displacement capacity, energy dissipation, hysteretic response, and failure mode.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.591-601
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• 2017

To prevent or limit the damage caused by earthquakes on existing buildings, several retrofitting techniques are possible. In this work, an ultra high performance concrete based on sand dune has been formulated for use in the reinforcement of a multifunctional tower in the city of Skikda in Algeria. Tests on the formulated ultra high performance concrete are performed to determine its characteristics. A nonlinear dynamic analysis, based on the "Pushover" method was conducted. The analysis allowed an optimization of the width of reinforced concrete walls used in seismic strengthening. Two types of concrete are studied, the ordinary concrete and the ultra high performance concrete. Both alternatives are compared with the reinforcement with carbon fibers and by base isolation retrofit design.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.717-726
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• 2006

Traditional external post-tensioning method using either steel bars or tendons is commonly used as a retrofitting method for steel composite bridges. However, the method has some disadvantages such as stress concentration at anchorages and inefficient load-carrying capability of live loads. Multi-stepwise prestressing method using thermal expanded coverplate is a newly proposed prestressing method, which was originally developed for prestressing steel structures. A new retrofitting method for steel girder bridges founded on a simple concept of thermal expansion and contraction of cover plate, the method is a hybrid of and combines the advantages of external post-tensioning and thermal prestressing. In this paper, basic concepts of the method are presented and an illustrative experiment is introduced. From actual experimental data, the thermal prestressing effect was substantiated and the FEM approach for its analysis was verified. The retrofitting effects ofa single-span bridge were analyzed and the feasibility of the developed method was examined.

• Architectural research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Structural ageing influences the structural performance in a negative way by reducing the seismic resilience of the structure which makes it a major concern around the world. Retrofitting is considered to be a pragmatic and feasible solution to address this issue. Numerous retrofitting techniques are devised by researchers over the years. The viability of using steel bracings as retrofitting component is evaluated on a G+30 storied building model designed according to ACI318-14 and ASCE 7-16. Four different types of steel bracing arrangements (V, Inverted V/ Chevron, Cross/ X, Diagonal) are assessed in the model developed in commercial nu-merical analysis software while considering both material and geometric nonlinearities. Reducing displacement and cost in the structures indicates that the design is safe and economical. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to find the best bracing system that causes minimum displacement, which indicates maximum lateral stiffness. To evaluate the seismic vulnerability of each system, incremental dynamic analysis was conducted to develop fragility curves, followed by the formation of collapse margin ratio (CMR) as stipulated in FEMA P695 and finally, a cost estimation was made for each system. The outcomes revealed that the effects of ge-ometric nonlinearity tend to evoke hazardous consequences if not considered in the structural design. Probabilistic seismic and economic probes indicated the superior performance of V braced frame system and its competency to be a germane technique for retrofitting.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.451-466
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• 2020

In this paper, the effect of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) on the lateral strength of a bearing unreinforced Masonry (URM) wall, was experimentally and numerically investigated. Two half scale solid walls were constructed and were tested under quasi-static lateral loading. The first specimen was an un-retrofitted masonry wall (reference wall) while the second one was retrofitted by ECC mortar connected to the wall foundation via steel rebar dowels. The effect of pre-compression level, ECC layer thickness and one or double-side retrofitting on the URM wall lateral strength was numerically investigated. The validation of the numerical model was carried out from the experimental results. The results indicated that the application of ECC layer increases the wall lateral strength and the level of increment depends on the above mentioned parameters. Increasing pre-compression levels and the lack of connection between the ECC layer and the wall foundation reduces the influence of the ECC mortar on the wall lateral strength. In addition, the wall failure mode changes from flexure to the toe-crashing behavior. Furthermore, in the case of ECC layer connected to the wall foundation, the ECC layer thickness and double-side retrofitting showed a significant effect on the wall lateral strength. Finally, a simple method for estimating the lateral strength of retrofitted masonry walls is presented. The results of this method is in good agreement with the numerical results.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.23-37
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• 2018

In recent years, it is very difficult to construct and expand new infrastructures in a city center because of long-term low growth and lack of space due to urban overcrowding. So, there is a need to study a variety of Retrofitting techniques and urban applications that can lead to sustainable development while efficiently utilizing existing facilities. 'Retrofit' means a sustainable urban retrofitting as a directed alteration of the structures, formations and systems of existing facilities to improve energy, water and waste efficiencies. In this study, we applied a hierarchical network design technique that can reflect the structural hierarchy of a city to study how to retrofit public transportation routes in Seoul. The hierarchical network design means dividing the hierarchy according to the functions of hubs and connecting different hierarchies to form a hierarchical network. As a result of comparing the application results of various retrofitting scenarios of public transport, the differences of daily PKT and PHT by about 2.6~3.2% less than before the improvement address that the convenience of passengers is increased. Therefore, it is expected that if the route planning is established according to the proposed method, it will increase the number of passengers and the operational efficiency by the improved convenience of public transit passengers.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

Seismic retrofitting of existing buildings and design of earth-quake resistant buildings are important issues associated with earthquake-prone zones. Use of metallic-yielding dampers as an energy dissipation system is an acceptable method for controlling damages in structures and improving their seismic performance. In this study, the optimal distribution of dampers for reducing the seismic response of steel frames with multi-degrees freedom is presented utilizing the uniform distribution of deformations. This has been done in a way that, the final configuration of dampers in the frames lead to minimum weight while satisfying the performance criteria. It is shown that such a structure has an optimum seismic performance, in which the maximum structure capacity is used. Then the genetic algorithm which is an evolutionary optimization method is used for optimal arrangement of the steel dampers in the structure. In continuation for specifying the optimal accurate response, the local search algorithm based on the gradient concept has been selected. In this research the introduced optimization methods are used for optimal retrofitting in the moment-resisting frame with inelastic behavior and initial weakness in design. Ultimately the optimal configuration of dampers over the height of building specified and by comparing the results of the uniform deformation method with those of the genetic algorithm, the validity of the uniform deformation method in terms of accuracy, Time Speed Optimization and the simplicity of the theory have been proven.