The thesis, conducted by the student Ahmed Hussein Ali at the College of Engineering at the University of Basrah, discussed the seismic strengthening of reinforced concrete buildings using different techniques.
The study highlighted that many buildings worldwide were not initially designed to withstand seismic forces, and existing structures require seismic retrofitting. The research practically explored various strengthening techniques and assessed their effectiveness during earthquakes. The current study employed nonlinear time history analysis to compare the seismic response of the structural system before and after strengthening the columns.
The main objective of this study was to determine the optimal number and location of columns to be strengthened to ensure that the retrofitted building meets its specific performance criteria. The original, unretrofitted structural system was examined, alongside thirteen different types of retrofitted structures in a total of thirteen structural cases.
The findings concluded that all the techniques used achieved full composite action between the strengthening material and the pre-existing concrete columns. The structural analysis was performed using SAP2000 software, adhering strictly to the Federal Emergency Management Agency standards for bridge joints and columns.
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