Probabilistic seismic performance assessment of lap-spliced RC columns retrofitted by steel wrapping jackets

In this study, the seismic fragility curves of two reinforced concrete (RC) columns that were lap-spliced at the bottom and retrofitted with steel wrapping jackets were generated. Their seismic performance was probabilistically assessed in comparison to that of lap-spliced or continuous reinforcement RC columns. This study used two types of steel wrapping jackets, a full jacket and a split jacket. Analytical models of the four types of columns were developed based on the experimental results of the columns using OpenSEES, which is effective in conducting nonlinear time history analyses. A suite of ten artificial ground motions, modified from recorded ground motions, was used to perform nonlinear time history analyses of the analytical models with scaling of the peak ground acceleration from 0.1 g to 1.0 g in increments of 0.1 g. The steel wrapping jackets did not increase the medians for yield (slight damage state) of the lap-spiced column and did not exceed the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column. However, the two steel jackets increased the medians for failure by 1.872 and 2.017 times, respectively, and exceeded the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column by 11.8% and 20.5%, respectively.     

Seismic steel jacketing of rectangular RC bridge columns for the mitigation of lap‐splice failures

This paper investigated the use of external steel jacketing for seismic retrofit of non‐ductile reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns to prevent lap‐splice failure. Three 1/2.5‐scale specimens were tested under cyclic loads. The effectiveness of two types of steel jackets for improving the ductility and strength of specimens using inadequate transverse reinforcing and lap‐splice details were examined. An octagonal steel jacketing scheme for the seismic retrofitting of rectangular RC bridge columns was proposed. In addition, the methods for seismic retrofitting rectangular columns using elliptical steel jacketing were also critically tested. The test results indicated that the octagonal steel jackets can effectively provide confinement thereby mitigating failures as a result of inadequate transverse reinforcing and inadequate lap‐splices. Tests also confirmed that the ductility performance and the energy dissipation capacity of the specimens can be significantly improved by the octagonal steel jacket. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RC jacketing parameters to retrofit highway bridges

Highway bridges are essential structures in the transportation system of any country in the world. Many highway bridges are reinforced concrete (RC) bridges that were constructed before the 1980s, prior to current seismic regulation codes. The continuous modification of regulation codes makes it necessary to evaluate structures, and in many cases, existing bridges require interventions to increase their seismic capacity. Among the different techniques used to improve bridge capacity, encasing the columns with RC jackets increases the strength and stiffness of the substructure. RC jacketing increases the column cross sections, improves the seismic capacity and reduces the seismic vulnerability of the bridge substructures. This work presents a parametric study to assess the expected demands of seismically deficient medium length highway bridges retrofitted with RC jacketing aimed at determining the best jacket parameters. A suite of twenty strong ground motions, recorded from a subduction seismic source close to the Pacific Coast in Mexico, was selected to characterize the seismic demand. The bridge superstructures are simply supported with five 30 m long spans for a total length of 150 m. The bridge models have five possible pier heights of 5, 10, 15 20 and 25 m and three different jacket thicknesses and steel ratios. Pushover analyses and capacity spectra of the family of accelerograms allow for the determination of the pier demands by obtaining the performance point as the intersection of the capacity and demand curves. The results allow for the determination of the influence of each parameter on the expected seismic behavior of the bridge models, with the aim of selecting the most suitable jacket characteristics to improve the seismic bridge performance.     

Development and validation of a metallic haunch seismic retrofit solution for existing under‐designed RC frame buildings

The feasibility and efficiency of a seismic retrofit solution for existing reinforced concrete frame systems, designed before the introduction of modern seismic‐oriented design codes in the mid 1970s, is conceptually presented and experimentally investigated. A diagonal metallic haunch system is introduced at the beam–column connections to protect the joint panel zone from extensive damage and brittle shear mechanisms, while inverting the hierarchy of strength within the beam–column subassemblies and forming a plastic hinge in the beam. A complete step‐by‐step design procedure is suggested for the proposed retrofit strategy to achieve the desired reversal of strength hierarchy. Analytical formulations of the internal force flow at the beam–column‐joint level are derived for the retrofitted joints. The study is particularly focused on exterior beam–column joints, since it is recognized that they are the most vulnerable, due to their lack of a reliable joint shear transfer mechanism. Results from an experimental program carried out to validate the concept and the design procedure are also presented. The program consisted of quasi‐static cyclic tests on four exterior, ? scaled, beam–column joint subassemblies, typical of pre‐1970 construction practice using plain round bars with end‐hooks, with limited joint transverse reinforcement and detailed without capacity design considerations. The first (control specimen) emulated the as‐built connection while the three others incorporated the proposed retrofitted configurations. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed solution for upgrading non‐seismically designed RC frames and also confirmed the applicability of the proposed design procedure and of the analytical derivations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic strengthening of existing RC beam‐column joints by wing walls

Numerous non‐ductile reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with little or no shear reinforcement in beam‐column joints can be found in regions of moderate seismicity. To strengthen such substandard beam‐column joints, this study proposes a method in which RC wing walls are installed beside existing columns, which overcomes the lack of realistic strengthening methods for congested connections in RC buildings. The proposed strengthening mechanism improves the joint moment capacity by utilizing tension and compression acting on the beam–wing wall boundaries; thus, brittle joint hinging failure is prevented. Three 3/4‐scale RC exterior beam‐column joint specimens without shear reinforcement, two of which were strengthened by installing wing walls with different strengthening elements, were fabricated and tested. The test results verified the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening method and the applicability of this method to seismically substandard beam‐column joints. © 2017 The Authors. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Rehabilitation of earthquake damaged external RC beam‐column joints by joint enlargement using prestressed steel angles

The effectiveness of a rehabilitation method based on joint enlargement using prestressed steel angles to enhance the seismic behavior of damaged external reinforced concrete beam‐column joints was experimentally investigated. Three half‐scale joints having either non‐seismic or seismic reinforcement details were tested both before and after rehabilitation by applying lateral cyclic loading of increasing amplitudes. Two defects were considered for the two non‐seismic units, being the absence of transverse steel hoops and insufficient bond capacity of beam bottom steel reinforcing bars in the joint panel zone. The damaged specimens were rehabilitated by injecting epoxy grout into existing cracks and installing stiffened steel angles at the re‐entrant corners of the beam‐column joint, both above and below the beam, that were mounted and held in place using prestressed high‐tensile strength bars. The test results indicated that the seismic performance of the rehabilitated specimens in terms of strength, stiffness, and ductility was fully recovered and comparable with the performance of the seismically detailed specimen. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic retrofi tting of RC columns with RC jackets and wing walls with different structural details

An original reinforced concrete(RC) column and four strengthened specimens, two with RC jackets and two with wing walls, were tested in this study. The original column specimen was designed to comply with older(pre-1999) design standards so that the usual detailing defi ciencies in existing school buildings in Taiwan could be simulated. Two different structural details were chosen to fabricate the full-scale specimens for each retrofi tting technique. The study confi rmed that either RC jacketing or the installation of wing walls with two different structural details can effectively improve the stiffness and strength of an existing column. RC jacketing shows a better improvement in energy dissipation and ductility when compared to the columns with wing walls installed. This is because the two RC jacketed columns experienced a fl exural failure, while a shear failure was found in the two columns with the wing walls installed, and thus led to a drastic decrease of the maximum lateral strengths and ductility. Since many factors may affect the installation of a post-installed anchor, it is better to use standard hooks to replace post-installed anchors in some specifi c points when using RC jacketing or installing wing walls.     

Seismic retroftting of RC columns with RC jackets and wing walls with different structural details

An original reinforced concrete(RC) column and four strengthened specimens, two with RC jackets and two with wing walls, were tested in this study. The original column specimen was designed to comply with older(pre-1999) design standards so that the usual detailing defi ciencies in existing school buildings in Taiwan could be simulated. Two different structural details were chosen to fabricate the full-scale specimens for each retrofi tting technique. The study confi rmed that either RC jacketing or the installation of wing walls with two different structural details can effectively improve the stiffness and strength of an existing column. RC jacketing shows a better improvement in energy dissipation and ductility when compared to the columns with wing walls installed. This is because the two RC jacketed columns experienced a fl exural failure, while a shear failure was found in the two columns with the wing walls installed, and thus led to a drastic decrease of the maximum lateral strengths and ductility. Since many factors may affect the installation of a post-installed anchor, it is better to use standard hooks to replace post-installed anchors in some specifi c points when using RC jacketing or installing wing walls.     

Modelling exterior unreinforced beam‐column joints in seismic analysis of non‐ductile RC frames

The seismic response of non‐ductile reinforced concrete (RC) buildings can be affected by the behaviour of beam‐column joints involved in the failure mechanism, especially in typical existing buildings. Conventional modelling approaches consider only beam and column flexibility, although joints can provide a significant contribution also to the overall frame deformability. In this study, the attention is focused on exterior joints without transverse reinforcement, and a possible approach to their modelling in nonlinear seismic analysis of RC frames is proposed. First, experimental tests performed by the authors are briefly presented, and their results are discussed. Second, these tests, together with other tests with similar features from literature, are employed to calibrate the joint panel deformability contribution in order to reproduce numerically the experimental joint shear stress–strain behaviour under cyclic loading. After a validation phase of this proposal, a numerical investigation of the influence of joints on the seismic behaviour of a case study RC frame – designed for gravity loads only – is performed. The preliminary failure mode classification of the joints within the analysed frame is carried out. Structural models that (i) explicitly include nonlinear behaviour of beam‐column joints exhibiting shear or anchorage failure or (ii) model joints as elements with infinite strength and stiffness are built and their seismic performance are assessed and compared. A probabilistic assessment based on nonlinear dynamic simulations is performed by means of a scaling approach to evaluate the seismic response at different damage states accounting for uncertainties in ground‐motion records. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving integrity of RC beam-column joints with deficient beam rebar anchorage

In recent earthquakes in developing countries, severe damage was observed on reinforced concrete buildings. This study focuses on exterior beam-column joints with substandard beam rebar anchorage and seismic strengthening by installing wing walls. First, a series of experiments was conducted to investigate the seismic behavior of exterior joints with substandard beam rebar anchorage representing typical Bangladeshi buildings. Two 0.7-scaled exterior joint specimens were tested, and these specimens showed beam rebar anchorage failure and/or joint shear failure. Prior to strengthening of the joint, a series of pullout tests was conducted on postinstalled bonded anchors in low-strength concrete for strengthening design. Then, an experiment was performed to apply the strengthening method by wing walls to one of the exterior joint specimens to improve the integrity, and this method was intended to prevent the failure of beam rebar anchorage. The strengthening method is proposed to extend the development length of beam longitudinal bars by considering the embedment length along the wing walls. The test results verified the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed strengthening method to upgrade exterior RC beam-column joints with deficient beam rebar anchorage.     

基于OpenSees的CFRP加固RC短柱抗震性能数值模拟

采用地震工程开源模拟软件OpenSees对CFRP加固RC短柱进行了静力Push over分析和低周往复加载分析,并与通用有限元软件ANSYS模拟结果进行对比研究.研究结果表明:利用CFRP进行加固,不仅阻止了RC短柱的脆性剪切破坏,而且使破坏模式转化为延性弯曲破坏,增强了结构延性,进而有效地提高其抗震性能;同ANSYS相比,OpenSees可以宏观的反映CFRP与混凝土共同作用的非线性力学特征,有效地对构件和结构进行加固后的承载力及抗震性能分析.     

Experimental investigation of damage behavior of RC frame members including non-seismically designed columns

Reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures are one of the mostly common used structural systems, and their seismic performance is largely determined by the performance of columns and beams. This paper describes horizontal cyclic loading tests often column and three beam specimens, some of which were designed according to the current seismic design code and others were designed according to the early non-seismic Chinese design code, aiming at reporting the behavior of the damaged or collapsed RC frame strctures observed during the Wenchuan earthquake. The effects of axial load ratio,shear span ratio, and transverse and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on hysteresis behavior, ductility and damage progress were incorporated in the experimental study. Test results indicate that the non-seismically designed columns show premature shear failure, and yield larger maximum residual crack widths and more concrete spalling than the seismically designed columns. In addition, longitudinal steel reinforcement rebars were severely buckled. The axial load ratio and shear span ratio proved to be the most important factors affecting the ductility, crack opening width and closing ability, while the longitudinal reinforcement ratio had only a minor effect on column ductility, but exhibited more influence on beam ductility. Finally, the transverse reinforcement ratio did not influence the maximum residual crack width and closing ability of the seismically designed columns.     

Retrofit of non-seismically designed beam-column joints by post-tensioned superelastic shape memory alloy bars

A series of tests on three full-scale substandard exterior beam-column joints were performed to investigate the efficiency of the proposed retrofit configuration, which is the use of externally applied post-tensioned shape memory alloy (SMA) bars. A major group of structural deficiencies resulting from lack of shear reinforcement in the joint, use of low strength concrete and plain round bars were taken into account in the construction of test specimens. While the reference specimen represents the as-built subassembly, the other two were retrofitted by the post-tensioned SMA and steel bars to compare the contribution of superelastic and conventional material on the response. The specimens were exposed to quasi-static cyclic loading up to 8% drift ratio to simulate an intensive level of seismic hazard. The reference specimen underwent a brittle shear failure as excessive cracks mostly concentrated in the joint panel while there was almost no damage in the rest of the RC components. A joint failure with enhanced response quantities was observed in the specimen retrofitted by post-tensioned steel bars. The specimen incorporating the retrofit solution via post-tensioned SMA bars was capable of performing an adequate performance and promoting minimization of the damage in the joint panel, which results in more ductile behavior. The hysteretic response of the SMA retrofitted specimen was validated with a refined numerical model in ATENA Science software. Experimentally observed response was also verified by an analytical model based on fracture mechanics considering the nonlinear behavior of plain concrete under tension. Due to inherent uncertainties in material constitutive laws, the analytical model was evolved to a stochastic level to propose a more advanced model for estimating the capacity of the reference and retrofitted joint. It is found that the experimental results were within the prominent range of Probability Density Functions (i.e. mean ± 1 SD) of the estimated joint tensile stress especially for the shear damaged specimens.     

Modeling of RC columns strengthened with RC jackets

Constructing concrete jackets is a common technique when strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) columns, particularly in seismic regions. However, there are many uncertainties concerning the behavior of the composite specimen, particularly at the interface between the old and new concrete. In this paper, monotonic finite element (FE) analyses are performed to examine the behavior of strengthened columns under monotonic and cyclic loading. Through investigating two independent series of experimental results, it is demonstrated that monotonic FE analysis with appropriate assumptions can simulate both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions to a reasonable degree of accuracy. According to the results of this study, it is found that a simulation of the interface between the old and the new concrete is vital and cannot be ignored by simply considering a perfect bond at the interface. In the case of strengthened RC columns subjected to cyclic loading, strength degradation at the interface has to be included and can be effectively modeled by reducing the coefficients of friction and adhesion by using a proposed formula. Finally, the effect of jacket concrete shrinkage is simulated that leads to a reduced maximum load and stiffness of strengthened columns. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Models of the flexure-controlled strength,stiffness and cyclic deformation capacity of rectangular RC columns with smooth bars,including lap-splicing and FRP jackets

Cyclic tests of single concrete columns with smooth (plain) bars are not representative of building columns with lap splices at floor levels and story-long starter bars. Column specimens with fixity at top and bottom resemble building columns best, but few of those tested so far had smooth bars and even then without bar lap-splicing at floor level or FRP jackets at column ends. Empirical models based on single-column tests, especially the numerous ones with cantilever-type specimens, cannot be readily extended to columns with smooth bars in real-life buildings. Physical models of the Strut-and-Tie type are developed and are validated or calibrated through comparisons with laboratory tests. Their scope includes anchorage and splicing of bars with either 180° hooks or straight ends. Once validated, they are adapted to real-life multistory rectangular RC columns with smooth bars, in order to obtain the column properties of interest: the chord rotation at yielding and the cyclic ultimate chord rotation, with or without FRP jacketing. Different expressions apply to the top and bottom end of a column in a story, but a single one is used to estimate the column’s effective stiffness. Empirical alternatives fitted to the single-element test results have slightly less scatter than physical models, but caution is needed for their application to columns of real buildings. Simulations of the 3D seismic response of a plan wise asymmetric full size building, tested pseudo-dynamically before or after retrofitting all columns with FRPs or just two of them with RC jackets, provide certain confidence in the extension of the physical models for the estimation of the stiffness and ultimate deformation of columns with smooth bars in real-life buildings.     

AN ANALYSIS OF THE SEISMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STEEL-JACKETED CIRCULAR BRIDGE COLUMNS

The current approach for seismic retrofit of deficient bridge columns in California involves extensive use of steel jacketing. In this paper, the influence of steel jacketing on the lateral response of circular bridge columns is studied; particularly, the enhancement of the ultimate compressive strain of concrete, the increase in curvature ductility capacity and the increase in lateral stiffness are investigated. The current steel jacket thickness used in California is shown to enhance the ultimate compressive strain of concrete by 4–9 times the spalling strain of unconfined concrete. For larger steel jacket thickness, the ultimate limit state of steel-jacketed columns may be governed by the low-cycle fatigue fracture of the longitudinal reinforcement instead of the ultimate compressive strain of concrete. Steel jacketing is also expected to increase significantly the lateral stiffness of columns if full-height steel jackets are used. The increase in lateral stiffness of flexural columns (3⩽L/D⩽9) is estimated to be 35–60 per cent using current jacket thickness. Inelastic dynamic analyses of steel-jacketed columns using ground motions recorded during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake indicated that the current steel jacket thickness provides adequate protection against the damage potential of the ground motions with comparable spectral acceleration as that specified in current design spectra, and the damage sustained by the steel-jacketed column is likely to be repairable.     

Reinforced concrete beam–column joints with crossed inclined bars under cyclic deformations

This experimental study investigates the effectiveness of crossed inclined bars (X‐bars) as joint shear reinforcement in exterior reinforced concrete beam–column connections under cyclic deformations. Test results of 20 joint subassemblages with various reinforcement ratios and arrangements including X‐bars in the joint area are presented. The X‐type, non‐conventional reinforcement is examined as the only joint reinforcement and in combination with common stirrups or vertical bars. The experimental results reported herein include full loading cycle curves, energy dissipation values and a categorization of the observed damage modes. Based on the comparisons between the overall hysteretic responses of the tested specimens, it is deduced that joints with X‐bars exhibited enhanced cyclic performance and improved damage mode since a distinct flexural hinge was developed in the beam–joint interface. Further, the combination of crossed inclined bars and stirrups in joint area resulted in enhanced hysteretic response and excellent performance capabilities of the specimens. However, in some specimens with X‐bars as the only joint shear reinforcement, the deformations of the bent anchorage of the beam's bars caused considerable damages at the back of the joint area. Discussion for a potential replacement of the joint stirrups with X‐type reinforcement in some cases of exterior joints is also included. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study on seismic behavior of circular RC columns strengthened with pre-stressed FRP strips

Bonding fiber reinforced polymer （FRP） has been commonly used to improve the seismic behavior of circular reinforced concrete （RC） columns in engineering practice. However, FRP jackets have a significant stress hysteresis effect in this strengthening method, and pre-tensioning the FRP can overcome this problem. This paper presents test results of 25 circular RC columns strengthened with pre-stressed FRP strips under low cyclic loading. The pre-stressing of the FRP strips, types of FRP strips and longitudinal reinforcement, axial load ratio, pre-damage degree and surface treatments of the specimens are considered as the primary factors in the tests. According to the failure modes and hysteresis curves of the specimens, these factors are analyzed to investigate their effect on bearing capacity, ductility, hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation capacity and other important seismic behaviors. The results show that the initial lateral confined stress provided by pre-stressed FRP strips can effectively inhibit the emergence and development of diagonal shear cracks, and change the failure modes of specimens from brittle shear failure to bending or bending-shear failure with better ductility. As a result, the bearing capacity, ductility, energy dissipation capacity and deformation capacity of the strengthened specimens are all significantly improved.     

Evaluation of performance of non‐invasive upgrade strategy for beam–column sub‐assemblages of poorly designed structures under seismic type loading

Beam–column sub‐assemblages are the one of the most vulnerable structural elements to the seismic loading and may lead to devastating consequences. In order to improve the performance of the poorly/under‐designed building structures to the critical loading scenarios, introduction of steel bracing at the RC beam–column joint is found to be one of the modern and implementable techniques. In the present work, a diagonal metallic single haunch/bracing system is introduced at the beam–column joints to provide an alternate load path and to protect the joint zone from extensive damage because of brittle shear failure. In this paper, an investigation is reported on the evaluation of tae influence of different parameters, such as angle of inclination, location of bracing and axial stiffness of the single steel bracing on improving the performance through altering the force transfer mechanism. Numerical investigations on the performance of the beam–column sub‐assemblages have been carried out under cyclic loading using non‐linear finite element analysis. Experimentally validated numerical models (both GLD and upgraded specimen) have been further used for evaluating the performance of various upgrade schemes. Cyclic behaviour of reinforcement, concrete modelling based on fracture energy, bond‐slip relations between concrete and steel reinforcement have been incorporated. The study also includes the numerical investigation of crack and failure patterns, ultimate load carrying capacity, load displacement hysteresis, energy dissipation and ductility. The findings of the present study would be helpful to the engineers to develop suitable, feasible and efficient upgrade schemes for poorly designed structures under seismic loading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.