Failure analysis, repair and rehabilitation of structures-

Case studies

Prof.A.R.Santhakumar

Introduction

The increased frequency of earthquakes around the world has brought home the
urgency for a planned program for ensuring safety in design and construction of
all new buildings and comprehensive need for retrofitting the existing buildings
against collapse during disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones or flooding. The
catastrophic events in Ahamadabad during January 2001disater and resulting
loss of life and property have underscored an urgent need for us in Chennai to
review our buildings and building practices. Both Ahamadabad and Chennai are
in Zone III for earthquake but Chennai is in a higher wind zone requiring higher
level of protection. A large number of buildings in Chennai need retrofitting. While
retrofitting, the building is provided with additional strength, Stiffness and ductility
to ensure acceptable performance during future disasters.

Reasons for deficiency in existing buildings

1. At the time of building construction, there may not have been adequate
concern regarding disasters such as earthquakes or tsunami and hence the
building might have been executed without the required safety measures against
such hazards.

2. Revision of the national code such as Chennai being placed in Zone III as per
earthquake code IS 1893:2002. This makes already existing buildings deficient.

3. In the case of old buildings, deterioration of the materials with age or changes
in the occupancy category may place the building in a vulnerable category
introducing significant structural deficiency.

In all the above cases, the owner has the right to seek acceptable performance in
case of future events through retrofitting.

Generally, there are two ways to enhance the seismic capacity of existing
structures. The first approach is a structure-level retrofit, which involves global
modifications to the structural system (see Figure 2). Common global
modifications include the addition of structural walls, steel braces, or base
isolators. The second approach is a member-level retrofit(Fig.3)

Various methods of retrofit are described in Fig.1

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What is a retrofit?

One of the positive fall-outs of the recent earthquakes is a growing concern for
retrofitting existing buildings not designed for seismic forces currently specified
by the codes. Seismic retrofit is not rocket science, and the basic principles are
easily understood. One can quickly learn all that is needed to be known in order
to make informed decisions regarding the retrofit of one’s own home. Retrofit
work is an investment, and taking a few moments to understand what it is will pay
off in the end. During an event such as an earthquake the ground and the
structure shakes violently. This back-and-forth motion can cause a building to
fall off its foundation, resulting in major damage to the structure and sometimes
even total collapse of the building. Retrofitting focuses on strengthening the
house-to-foundation connections using specially designed hardware and
engineered construction methods. Retrofitting allows a house to withstand much
greater earthquake forces with much less structural damage. Since disasters and
the forces generated by them are unpredictable, retrofitting cannot guarantee a
house will receive no damage at all. However, it has been proven that retrofitting
greatly reduces the amount of damage a house receives and is highly effective in
preventing catastrophic collapse and loss of life during any such disasters.

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Global modification deals with overall change in lateral load mechanism. This
may involve introduction of shear walls which change the overall behaviour.
( Fig.2) Structure-level retrofits are commonly used to enhance the lateral
resistance of existing structures. Such retrofits for RC buildings include steel
braces, post-tensioned cables, infill walls, shear walls, masonry infills, and base
isolators.
Addition of RC structural walls
Adding structural walls is one of the most common structure-level retrofitting
methods to strengthen existing structures. This approach is effective for
controlling global lateral drifts and for reducing damage in frame members.
Generally, repair of an existing shear wall or infilling one of the bays in the frame
structure is used. In order to reduce time and cost, shotcrete or precast panels
can be used (Fig.4 and Fig.5).

Use of steel bracing

The addition of steel bracing can be effective for the global strengthening and
stiffening of existing buildings. Concentric or eccentric bracing schemes can be
used in the selected bays of an RC frame to increase the lateral resistance of the
structure. The advantage of this method is that an intervention of the foundation
may not be required because steel bracings are usually installed between
existing members.

Seismic Isolation
Recently, many researchers have studied seismic isolation as a possible retrofit
method (Gates et al. 1990, Kawamura et al. 2000, Tena-Colunga et al. 1997).
The objective of this type of retrofit is to isolate the structure from the ground
motion during earthquake events. The bearings are installed between the
superstructure and its foundations. Because most bearings have excellent
energy dissipation characteristics, this technique is most effective for relatively
stiff buildings with low-rises and heavy loads

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Member-Level Retrofit
The member-level retrofit approach can provide a more cost-effective strategy
than structure-level retrofit because only those components needed to enhance
the seismic performance of the existing structure are selected and upgraded.

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Fig 5. Introduction of Shear Wall

Column Jacketing
Column retrofitting is often critical to the seismic performance of a structure. To
prevent the story mechanism during earthquakes, columns should never be the
weakest components in the building structure. The response of a column in a
building structure is controlled by its combined axial load, flexure, and shear.
Therefore, column jacketing may be used to increase column shear and flexural
strength so that columns are not damaged (Fig. 7)
Reinforced concrete columns typically contain large diameter vertical rebar
arranged in a ring, surrounded by lighter-gauge hoops of rebar. Upon analysis of
failures due to earthquakes, it has been realized that the weakness was not in
the vertical bars, but rather in inadequate strength and quantity of hoops. Once
the integrity of the hoops are breached, the vertical rebar can flex outward,
stressing the central column of concrete. The concrete then simply crumbles into
small pieces, now unconstrained by the surrounding rebar. In new construction a
greater amount of hoop-like structures are used.
One simple retrofit is to surround the column with a jacket of steel plates formed
and welded into a single cylinder. The space between the jacket and the column
is then filled with concrete, a process called grouting. Where soil or structure
conditions require such additional modification, additional pilings may be driven

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near the column base and concrete pads linking the pilings to the pylon are
fabricated at or below ground level. In the example shown not all columns
needed to be modified to gain sufficient seismic resistance for the conditions
expected.

Typical photographs of repaired columns

How much does a retrofit cost?

Though it can vary greatly, a retrofit generally costs between 5% and 10% of a
home’s value. For many homeowners the one-time cost of a retrofit equals a few
years of earthquake insurance. And insurance won't prevent or reduce damage
to your home, but retrofitting will!

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Do newer homes need seismic reinforcement or retrofit measures?

Modern building codes have been written so that newer homes usually don't
need to be seismically reinforced if they were properly constructed. However,
builders sometimes do not understand provisions of the code that are specific to
detailing reinforcement and neglect to follow these aspects of the building code.
A proper evaluation will reveal if a building needs retrofit, irrespective of whether
it is new or old.

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Older houses are especially susceptible to earthquake/cyclone damages
because they were built before homes were required by code recommendation to
be earthquake-resistant. They are therefore prime candidates for retrofitting. All
retrofit building codes, and most retrofit hardware, have been designed for older
homes.

Who should be contacted for evaluation and retrofitting measures?

Generally, architects do not design retrofits; this is something done by structural

or civil engineers. As in other fields, engineers tend to specialize, so if you
choose to work with an engineer, be sure it is one with special training in retrofit
design. Contractors who have had special training in retrofit engineering
principles can take up retrofit installation. Seismic retrofit technology is
continually evolving, and a retrofit contractor needs to understand and follow the
most current seismic retrofit standards. It is also important that he teams up
having good working relationship with a structural engineer.

Conclusion

Walls and columns are the most critical elements during disasters. A poorly
designed 230mm (9 inch) columns can be disastrous during an earthquake.
The failure of ground story 230 mm width car- park columns resulted in
numerous building collapses and loss of life during the recent Bhuj earthquake.
Thousands of structures in metropolitan areas in India, need assessment and

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retrofitting if loss of life is to be minimized during disasters. The concepts of
assessment and retrofitting are well known and will enable both life safety and
reduction in loss of property damage. The cost of retrofitting will not be
prohibitive, because only existing weaknesses in buildings that are identified
during evaluation are rectified during

References

Pekcan, G., Mander, J.B., and Chen, S.S. (1995), “The Seismic Response of a
1:3 Scale Model R.C. Structure with Elastomeric Spring Dampers,” Earthquake
Spectra, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 249-267.

Pincheira, J.A. and Jirsa, J.O. (1995), “Seismic Response of RC Frames

Retrofitted with Steel Braces or Walls,” Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol.
121, No. 8, pp. 1225-1235.

SEAOC (1995), “Vision 2000 a Framework for Performance-Based Engineering,”

Structural Engineers Association of California, Sacramento, CA.