SEISMIC UPGRADING OF EXISTING REINFORCED CONCRETE

BUILDINGS

ABSTRCT
● Collapses or serious damages of existing buildings during strong earthquakes have resulted in
significant economic losses, severe injuries and loss of human lives. Given the late introduction
of modern seismic standards and the large number of the existing under-designed buildings, the
scientific interest has progressively been focusing on developing techniques for the seismic
upgrading of existing buildings.
● The present paper aims at providing a review of the seismic upgrading techniques, which target
reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, as such buildings constitute a large portion of the existing
building stock.
● The retrofitting methods are divided into two distinct categories: the local measures, which
enhance the behavior of individual elements and the global ones , which operate on the
structure as a whole. Both traditional and novel techniques will be discussed shortly.
SEISMIC UPGRADING OF EXISTING REINFORCED
CONCRETE BUILDINGS USING FRICTION PENDULUM
DEVICES: A PROBABILISTIC EVALUATION

ABSTRACT

● In many countries around the world a huge number of existing reinforced concrete (RC)
structures have been realized without account for seismic detailing, even if they are located in
areas subjected to high seismicity.
● In this context, several passive seismic protection techniques have been developed and applied
to retrofit these structures such as, for an example, seismic isolation. The aim of this work is to
characterize in probabilistic terms the seismic performance of a framed RC building retrofitted by
means of sliding friction pendulum (FPS) devices.
● Specifically, the response of an existing RC building located in a high seismicity area in Italy is
investigated. After the description of the main available information about the structure, a non-
linear numerical model has been defined by means of fiber-elements approach.
● Then, non-linear dynamic analyses considering multiple recorded ground motions with the three
accelerometric components have been carried out to assess the seismic response of the building
with and without the retrofitting intervention composed of FPS isolators.
● Finally, the results are processed to achieve a probabilistic assessment of the seismic
performance of the retrofitting intervention.
 LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE—FROM BASICS TO INNOVATIONS

ABSTRACT

● Lightweight concrete has a history of more than two-thousand years and its technical development is
still proceeding. This review starts with a retrospective that gives an idea of the wide range of
applications covered by lightweight concrete during the last century.
● Although lightweight concrete is well known and has proven its technical potential in a wide range of
applications over the past decades, there are still hesitations and uncertainties in practice.
● For that reason, lightweight aggregate properties and the various types of lightweight concrete are
discussed in detail with a special focus on current standards.
● The review is based on a background of 25 years of practical and theoretical experience in this field. One
of the main challenges in designing lightweight concrete is to adapt most of design, production and
execution rules since they often deviate from normal weight concrete.
● Therefore, aspects are highlighted that often are the cause of misunderstandings, such as nomenclature
or the informational value of certain tests.
● Frequently occurring problems regarding the mix design and production of lightweight concrete are
addressed and the unintended consequences are described. A critical view is provided on some
information given in existing European concrete standards regarding the mechanical properties of
structural lightweight concrete.
● Finally, the latest stage of development of very light lightweight concretes is presented. Infra-
lightweight concrete is introduced as an innovative approach for further extending the range of
applications of lightweight concrete by providing background knowledge and experiences from case
records.