Seismic Assessment & Retrofitting of Existing RC Structures using SeismoBuild and SeismoStruct – Light

Introduction

Earthquake engineering has advanced sufficiently in recent years, resulting in well-detailed, newly designed structures usually exhibiting adequate strength, stiffness and ductility to withstand severe earthquake ground motion. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the existing built infrastructure was constructed many years ago, when engineering expertise was not at today’s level of knowledge, and the safety regulations were less stringent. Consequently, in the structures designed according to older codes the focus had been placed exclusively on the vertical gravity forces, with little or no consideration for the lateral resistance system. Moreover, even if seismic loads have been explicitly considered, it is most likely that these structures do no longer meet the constantly updated regulations, since the rapid progress in the field of earthquake engineering during the last two or three decades has radically altered the design philosophy and standards worldwide.

As a result, the vast majority of the existing buildings exhibit significant deficiencies (reduced resistance to seismic loads, relatively small stiffness or ductility, soft storeys – short columns) that render them vulnerable in seismic events of high intensity, and require structural upgrading and retrofit.

Course Objectives

The purpose of the course is to introduce the students to the practical aspects of seismic assessment and retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete buildings, while also providing them with the opportunity to work on projects using some of the most advanced software available in this field. Upon completion, the participants will have gained significant knowledge on all the different methods for strengthening a structure that will allow them to evaluate and understand the available alternative solutions in different strengthening projects. The course will provide in-depth insight both:

• on the construction level; all the basic interventions techniques will be presented and different construction aspects will be explained, and
• on the design level; guidelines in the strategy of interventions and the selection of the appropriate interventions’ method will be provided

Within this context many real case studies will be presented, and it will be explained why in each case a specific retrofit scheme was preferred over other alternatives. Furthermore, with the use of SeismoStruct and SeismoBuild, two software packages specialised in the analysis, assessment and strengthening of existing structures, the students will learn how to carry out the full assessment and strengthening procedures of existing structures, from the structural modelling, through to the analysis and the checks according to the selected Codes (ASCE 41-23 and Eurocode 8 Part-3).