Increasing Seismic Capacity of Existing Reinforced Concrete Buildings by the Use of FRP and Steel Fuse Elements
Özet
Two of major problems for seismic rehabilitation of existing buildings are the
necessity of evacuation of the occupants from the basis of the construction
works and the limited time frame available for the actual construction site
works. All of these problems often cause delays and cost overruns in the
seismic rehabilitation projects. One possible way to eliminate these problems
to a great extent is the use of FRP (fiber reinforced polymer) and steel fuse
elements to improve seismic capacity. There is a huge stock of seismically
deficient buildings that needs to be upgraded immediately according to the
current Turkish Seismic Code (TSC 2007).
The main aim of the paper is the examination of the possibility of using FRP
and steel fuse elements on existing frame elements for seismic upgrading of
the school and hospital buildings in Turkey. To investigate the possibility and
effectiveness of the use of the hybrid system, a comparative study was
performed. The comparison has made between typical framed RC building
and the same building after retrofitting with FRP confinement and steel fuse
elements around joints. By using nonlinear static (pushover) analysis, the
performance levels of structural members were evaluated for both structures.
This method seems as viable solution for the buildings considered in terms of
safety and time.
