See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/327830463

Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation

Article · September 2018

CITATIONS READS

0 2,532

1 author:

Wael Abd Elsamee

Beni Suef University
27 PUBLICATIONS   35 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Lecturer of soil mechanics and foundations View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Wael Abd Elsamee on 18 October 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

International Journal of Engineering Studies.
ISSN 0975-6469 Volume 5, Number 1 (2013), pp. 111-128
© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/ijes.htm

Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing

Building Foundation

ELSAMNY M. KASSEM 1 and ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT 2

1
Civil Engineering Dep., Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
2
Civil Engineering Dep. Sinai University, Faculty of Engineering,
North Sinai- El Arish- El Masaid, Egypt

Abstract

Large numbers of existing buildings are made of concrete. It has been

noticed that some of them proved to be inadequate to resist lateral or
vertical loads by current code requirements. This may be due to poorly
designed or damaged elements of buildings. Also, during the life span of
a building, some of its elements may deteriorate damage or simply get
older. Adding shear walls and/or wing walls is one method of
strengthening buildings to resist lateral loads such as earthquake or wind
loads. In the present work, some methods of strengthening existing
foundation concrete buildings to resist lateral and vertical loads are
presented. A study case of an existing sweet factory in Cairo area is
presented. Deterioration of some concrete elements due to old age has
been found. The said condition of the foundation was due to washing
floors with chemicals to remove sticky sweets. However, no adequate
disposal system was found (waste water collection). The analyses of the
structural elements of that existing building showed that it is seismically
unsafe. Retrofitting of existing damage and deteriorated foundation was
done by adding new raft foundation and considering the old foundation as
plain concrete. The addition of new shear and wing walls was
undoubtedly the best method of strengthening the existing structure to
improve seismic performance. The walls were cast-in-site. The shear and
wing walls were connected to the foundation.

Keywords: Retrofitting – Strengthening – Foundation – Shear walls –

Wing walls.
112 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

1. Introduction
The lateral force capacity of an existing building may be increased by adding new
structural elements to resist part or all of the seismic or wind forces of the structure.
The newly added elements may be shear and/or wing walls in a frame or skeleton
structure. The choice of the number and size of the added elements depends on the
particularities of the existing structure and the functional layout of the building.
El Samny,M.K., Abbas, H.& El Sebai, A. (1997) presented an analysis of the location
and detailed design of added shear wall to existing buildings to improve the seismic
performance. In particular, the location of the shear wall in relation to the overall
symmetry of the building is critical because non symmetrical shear wall locations will
tend to increase the torsional response of the building.
Abou- Elfath. H, Ghobarah. and Aziz. T. S (1997) investigated the seismic
response of a 3-story nonductile reinforced concrete building retrofitted using
concentric steel bracing. The reinforced concrete members were modeled using a
beam-column element that is capable of representing the nonductile behavior
characteristics of these members including strength softening after reaching a
specified level of deformation. The state of damage of the building before and after
retrofitting was assessed by calculating the actual deterioration in stiffness and in the
load carrying of the building. Three brace designs were considered. The response of
the building was determined using El Centro earthquake ground motion record. The
results indicate that steel bracing can provide nonductile buildings with improved
seismic performance.
Ghobarah. A, Abbas. H and El Samny. M. K (1997) stated that the evaluation
of the seismic capacity of existing structures and their deficiencies is essential for the
design of an appropriate rehabilitation system. The aim of structural rehabilitation is
their collapse prevention to ensure safety of the occupants or to control the damage to
ensure the continuity of operation after an earthquake. The performance of the
structure is evaluated in terms of its lateral load resistance, maximum base shear; inter
story drift and potential damage. The lateral load resisting capacity of existing
structure can be determined using empirical rules, nonlinear static pushover analysis
or dynamic analysis. The various approaches for the evaluation of the lateral load
resisting capacity of existing structures are reviewed. In terms of damage analysis, the
performance of the structure can be defined in terms of five ranges of damage states.
The defined performance levels and their relationships to drift are correlated with
force-drift relationship form a pushover analysis for use as a performance evolution
procedure. It is concluded that the pushover analysis is promising approach for the
evaluation of the capacity of large class of structures. Damage indices are powerful
indicators of potential damage to the structure.

2. Reasons of Additional of New Structural Elements

In every case, the new structure, composed of the old structure and the additional
members, has to be analyzed and designed as such. The lateral force is taken over
jointly by the old and the new structure depending on their relative rigidity and
location within the structure.
Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 113

Repair of reinforced concrete elements is often required to replace lost strength.

Strengthening of reinforced concrete structure elements is one method to increase the
earthquake resistance of damaged buildings. Thus, the strength of the structures can
be moderately or significantly increased and ductility can be improved. Depending on
the desired level of the damage, the type of the elements and their connections,
members can be repaired and / or strengthened by removal and replacement of
damaged parts or by jacketing.
Establishing sound bond between the old and the new concrete is of great
importance. It can be provided by chipping away the concrete cover of the original
member and roughening its face, by preparing the surfaces with glues (for instance,
with epoxy prior to concreting), by additional welding of bent reinforcement bars or
by formation of reinforced concrete or steel dowels. In the present study of an existing
sweet factory called El Rasheedy, several problems were found as follows:-
i. Deterioration of some concrete elements such as columns and foundations due to
old age of building. The damage condition of the foundation was due to washing
floors with chemicals to remove sticky sweets and no adequate disposal system
was found (waste water collection).
ii. Inadequate design of the building to resist earthquake conditions.

Strengthening of existing foundation was done by considering the old foundation it

as a plain concrete. New raft foundation has been designed and placed on the old one
connected with anchors. In addition, some columns of the existing building were
strengthened. To resist lateral loads some shear and wing walls have been placed. The
added shear and wing walls were monolithic to the existing columns and were along
the periphery of the building.

3. Foundations
Repair and strengthening of foundations is a difficult and expensive construction
procedure. It should be performed in the following cases:
i. Deterioration of concrete elements due to old age of building.
ii. Excessive settlement of the foundations due to poor soil conditions.
iii. Damage in the foundation structure caused by seismic overloading.
iv. Increasing of the dead load as a result of the strengthening operations.
v. Increasing the seismic loading due to changes in code provisions or the
strengthening operations.
vi. Necessity of additional foundation structure for added floors.
Repair and strengthening of foundation structure can be performed by
strengthening the existing foundation structure, adding new foundation structure, or
modifying the soil for improved foundation support. Strengthening of existing footing
necessitates increasing the dimensions of the footing to increase the bearing area of
footing. Fig (1) shows jacketing details for columns and footing connected together.
Special attention should be paid to incorporating the existing footings into the newly
introduced foundation structure in a manner that the parts will function together
properly.
114 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

FIG. 1. JACKETING DETAILS FOR COLUMN WITH FOOTING.

4. SHEAR WALLS
Shear and/or wing walls provide the most significant part of the earthquake resistance
of the building because of their high stiffness and lateral strength. However, a
severely damaged or poorly designed building must be repaired or strengthened by
added shear and/or wing walls in order that the structure's strength for seismic force
can be significantly improved. In such cases, the new shear and/or wing walls should
have sufficient strength and stiffness to provide the entire lateral force resistance.
However, the new structural elements in an existing building will change the dynamic
behavior of the whole space structure considerably during an earthquake. Fig (2)
shows the ways to add strength to an existing concrete building by adding shear wall
connected with foundation. Fig (3) shows the different ways to add strength to an
existing concrete shear walls.

FIG. (2-A). ADDING NEW SHEAR WALL TO EXISITING BUILDING CONNECTED

WITH FOUNDATION
Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 115

(3-A)

(3-B)

(3-C)

(3-D)

FIG. 3. THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO ADD STRENGTH TO AN EXISTING CONCRETE

SHEAR WALLS.
116 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

FIG. (4-A) PROPOSAL (1)

FIG. (4-B) PROPOSAL (2)

FIG (4-A & 4-B). FAVORABLE DISTRIBUTION OF ADDED SHEAR WALLS

Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 117
118 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

1- Existing column 2- Existing Foundation 3- Added infilled shear wall

4- Added reinforcement 5- Added reinforcement 6- shear connector

FIG (6). ADDED NEW SHEAR WALL CONNECTED TO EXISTING FOUNDATIONS

1- Existing column 2- Existing Foundation 3- Added infilled wing wall

4- Added reinforcement 5- Added reinforcement 6- shear connector
FIG.7. ADDED WING WALL CONNECTED TO EXISTING COLUMN AND FOUNDATION
Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 119

Some examples of favorable distribution of added structural shear wall elements are
shown in Fig (4-a, and 4-b). In case of pure skeleton structure with insufficient lateral
resistance, shear and/or wing walls should be added in architecturally convenient
places. The distance between the shear and/or wing walls must be less in the case of
flexible floor structures and may be greater for stiff monolithic reinforced concrete
slabs. However, it is desirable that the shear and/or wing walls be oriented in
transverse direction of the building. In addition, it is necessary to locate the additional
shear and/or wing walls with sufficient strength while reducing unfavorable torsion
effects. However, monolithic reinforced concrete shear walls can be situated either
along the periphery of the building or inside of it. Adding walls along periphery is
often easier as it does not upset the interior function of the interior layout as in Fig (5-
a). Monolithic shear walls placed inside of the building as in Fig (5-b) should be
connected with the floor structure by vertical longitudinal reinforcement passing
through opened holes in the existing slab as in Fig (5-c). However, in all cases added
shear and/or wing walls should be connected to the existing foundation as well as to
the skeleton of the building as shown in Figs (6 and 7).

5. Retrofetting of An Old Foundations in the Existing Sweet Factory

Figs (8-a, 8-b and 8-c) presents the general arrangement of columns for the existing
sweet factory in Cairo area as well as the added shear and wing walls. The analyses of
the structural elements of that existing building showed that it is seismically
inadequate in addition of deterioration of some concrete elements due to old age.
While preparing the columns for strengthening, it was found that the foundation of the
building was completely damaged and deteriorated as shown in Figs (9-a, 9-b & 10).
The said condition of the foundation was due to washing floors with chemicals to
remove sticky sweets. However, no adequate disposal system was found (waste water
collection).

FIG (8-A): GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF COLUMNS SWEET FACTOR AS WELL

AS ADDED REINFORCED CONCRETE SHEAR WALL AND WING WALL.
120 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

FIG. (8-B) DETAILS CONNECTION WETWWEM SHEAR WALL AND COLUMNS.

FIG. (8-C) DETAILS CONNECTION WETWWEM WING WALL AND COLUMNS.

Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 121

FIG. 10. DETERIORTED COLUMNS

6. Strengthening Techniques
Strengthening of the existing foundation was done by considering the old foundation
as plain concrete. By using SAP2000 version 14 (linear and nonlinear static and
dynamic analysis and design of three dimensional structures), the analysis and design
of the structure and foundation has been done. Figs (11) and (12) show the simulation
of old and new foundation. Fig (13) shows details of the new raft foundation placed
on the old one. Figs (14) to (17) show the bending moments for the old and the new
foundation. New raft foundation has been designed and placed on the old one
122 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

connected with anchors as shown in Fig (18-a, 18-b &18-c). In addition, some
columns of the existing building were strengthened by jacketing. To resist lateral
loads some shear and wing walls have been placed. The added shear and wing walls
were monolithic to the existing columns and were along the periphery of the building.
The anchorage of the main vertical shear wall and wing walls end reinforcement into
foundations as shown in Figs (19 & 20-a & 20-b).

FIG. 11. SIMULATION OF OLD RAFT FOUNDATION

FIG. 12. SIMULATION OF NEW RAFT FOUNDATION

Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 123

FIG.13. NEW RAFT FOUNDATION PLACED ON OLD ONE

124 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT
Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 125
126 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT
Retrofitting and strengthening of Existing Building Foundation 127

FIG. (20-B) ADDED SHEAR WALLS CONNECTED TO COLUMN WITH NEW

FOUNDATION

Conclusions
i. Retrofitting of existing damage and deteriorated foundation has been done by
adding new raft foundation and considering the old foundation as plain concrete.
ii. The addition of new shear and wing walls is undoubtedly the best method of
strengthening the existing structure to improve seismic performance. The walls
were cast-in-site. Monolithic reinforced concrete shear and wing walls were
situated along the periphery of the building.
iii. The shear and wing walls were connected to the foundations.

References

[1] Abou- Elfath. H, Ghobarah. and Aziz. T. S. 1997." Damage analysis of concrete
buildings retrofitted using concrete steel bracing". First international Civil
Engineering (Egypt - China - Canada) Dec 18 - 20 Caito -Egypt, pp 103 - 109.
[2] Badoux- Marc and Jirsa. O. 1990."Steel bracing of RC frames for seismic
retrofitting" Journal Of Structural Engineering ASCE Vol. 116, No.1.
[3] El Samny,M.K., Abbas, H.& El Sebai, A. 1996. "Toward cheaper and more
earthquake reinforced concrete frames" Proceedings of the annual conference of
the Canadian society of civil engineering, Vol. llb, pp. B43 - 852, Edmonton,
Alberta.
[4] ElSamny, M.K., Abbas, H. and El Sebai, A. 1997. "Strengthening of existing
building elements" First International civil Engineering (Egypt - China -
Canada) Dec 18 - 20 Cairo -Egypt, pp 111 - 119.
[5] Ghobarah, A., Abbas.H.& El Samny, M.K. 1997 . "Lateral load resistance of
existing structures" First international Civil Engineering (Egypt - China -
Canada) Dec 18 - 20 Caito -Egypt, pp 63 - 7l .
 128 ELSAMNY M. KASSEM & ABD EL SAMEE W. NASHAAT

[6] Glrobarah, A., Aziz, T. & Biddah A. 1997. "Rehabilitation of reinforced

concrete frame connections Lrsing corrugated steel jacketing". ACI Structural
journal, May-June, PP-283-294.
[7] Ghobarah, A., Biddah A., & Mahgoub, M. 1997. " Seismic retrofit of reinforced
concrete columns using steel jackets".The European earthquake engineering
journal, Vol. 11, No. 4.
[8] Reynolds, C. E. & Sleedman, J. C. 1988. "Reinforced Concrete Hand Book",
E&F. N. Spoon.

View publication stats