SEISMIC RETROFITTING OF AN EXISTING REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE USING CONCRTE BRACING

Abstract

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes have adverse effects on the civil engineering structures like buildings, bridges and dams etc. This proposal focuses on the techniques of seismic retrofitting i.e. making the buildings safe against shaking and the resultant displacement due to earthquakes. The primary aim behind seismic retrofitting is saving the lives of the occupants of the buildings during an event of an earthquake which are otherwise lost due to collapse of the building. This project aims at seismic evaluation and retrofitting of existing structure in Islamabad in order to make it more effective in an event of earthquake. The structure is evaluated using the latest guidelines provided by American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The building is modelled and its behavior is assessed through the displacements in the structure when seismic loading is applied on it. The software’s used for modelling are SAP 2000 and Perform 3D. Cost-effective retrofitting techniques have been introduced in order to provide maximum protection at minimum cost.