An index-based method for evaluating seismic retrofitting techniques. Application to a reinforced concrete primary school in Huelva

Abstract

A project named PERSISTAH ( Projetos de Escolas Resilientes aos SISmos no Território do Algarve e de Huelva , in Portuguese) is being developed. It aims to cooperatively assess and improve the seismic vulnerability of primary schools in the Algarve (Portugal) and Huelva (Spain). A large number of schools have to be analysed. In order to determine which seismic retrofitting technique is optimal, an index-based method is presented in this paper. It considers three parameters: first, the efficiency of the seismic retrofitting technique in relation to the structural improvement obtained; second, the cost of the implementation of the retrofitting technique; and third, the architectural impact. It should be mentioned that a specific measurement for each solution according to its geometry has been performed. Also, coefficients to consider the singularities of each analysis and the importance of the parameters (number of buildings, typology, available funds, etc.) in the study are considered. The most representative primary school of Huelva has been chosen to test the index-based method. The most suitable retrofitting techniques for this type of buildings have been tested. The retrofitting technique which most increased the seismic performance has been the addition of X and V bracings within the building’s bays. Furthermore, the analyses have revealed that adding the retrofitting elements in the most vulnerable direction of the building provides a high efficiency. The results have also shown that implementing techniques of lower architectural impact gives acceptable results. The analysis of the mean damage level index has shown that the building would experiment a severe damage. All the retrofitting techniques applied have reduced it, at least, up to moderate damage. Finally, it should be noted that the position of the retrofitting elements is also paramount for providing an optimal retrofitting.

Seismic Performance Comparison Between Structure-Improvement Techniques and Ground-Improvement Techniques: Application to a Reinforced Concrete School Building

“…Consequently, only adding steel jackets will not be enough to reduce the damage. These results are similar to those obtained by Requena-García-Cruz et al [12]. In this work, steel jackets did not enhance the seismic performance of the buildings considerably in spite of not being expensive and having lower architectural impact.…”

“…This is due to the fact that this system's cracks and failure type were much better than other samples. In Requena-García-Cruz et al [12], the authors compared different seismic retrofitting techniques based on the efficiency, the construction costs and the architectural impact. They concluded that the most efficient solution was the addition of X-bracings while adding steel jackets was the least expensive solution and had the least architectural impact.…”

Specific seismic retrofitting of a compact reinforced concrete building with X-bracings and steel jackets. Application to a primary school in Huelva

“…The gravitational loads (GL) have been obtained from the school´s data and the Spanish code CTE [ 8 ], the weight of structural and constructive elements (W) is: bidirectional slabs, thickness <0.30m (4 kN/m 2 ), the ceramic flooring <0.08m (1 kN/m 2 ), the roof of tiles gables over lightened partitions (3 kN/m 2 ), the internal partitions (1 kN/m 2 ), the ceramic flooring (1 kN/m 2 ), the infills (10 kN/m) and the live load (Q) for public spaces with tables and chairs (3 KN/m 2 ). These have been combined according to the combination GL = W+DL+0.3Q established in the seismic code NCSE-02 [ 51 ].…”

“…The works described in this paper are framed under the European project PERSISTAH (Projetos de Escolas Resilientes aos SISmos no Território do Algarve e de Huelva, in Portuguese), cooperatively developed between Spain and Portugal [8,9]. The main goal of the project is to assess the seismic vulnerability of primary schools located in the Algarve (Portugal) and Huelva (Spain).…”

Temperature Effects on Vibration-Based Damage Detection of a Reinforced Concrete Slab

“…Actual civil structures are susceptible to the influence of varying environmental factors and operational conditions such as humidity, wind and moving vehicles, however the most important factor has proven to be temperature [1][2][3]. In recent years, structural health monitoring under environmental variations has become a popular research topic in the field of civil engineering [4][5][6]. Moaveni and Behmanesh [7] investigated the effects of changing ambient temperatures on finite element (FE) model updating of the Dowling Hall Footbridge.…”