Seismic Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings with Tension Only Braces

Abstract

Reinforced concrete buildings built prior to the enactment of modern seismic codes are often seismically deficient. These buildings may have inadequate strength and ductility to withstand strong earthquakes. Conventional retrofit techniques for such frame buildings involve adding reinforced concrete shear walls or structural bracing systems to the existing bays. These techniques can be intrusive and result in lengthy down times and expensive structural interventions. An alternative to conventional techniques is the use of high-strength prestressing strands or cables, diagonally placed as tension elements. This technique was researched and used in a limited manner after the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake. It has since been further investigated at the University of Ottawa through experimental and analytical research (Shalouf and Saatcioglu (2006), Carrière (2008), Molaei (2014)). While the use of steel strands as tension bracing elements proves to be an effective technique, the resulting stiffening effects on the frames lead to increased seismic force demands and higher based shear, as well as increased axial forces on the attached columns, potentially generating net tension, foundation uplift and excessive compression. Relatively low elongation characteristics of high-strength cables and slack caused by yielding strands and associated pinching of hysteresis curves reduce potential energy dissipation capacity. The current research aims to improve the previously observed deficiencies of the system. One of the improvements involve the use of shape memory alloys (SMA) in the middle of the cables, which reduce/eliminate residual deformations upon yielding and associated pinching of the hysteresis curves. SMA allows energy dissipation in the system while forcing the structure to recover from its inelastic deformations because of the flag-shape hysteretic characteristics of the material. The feasibility of the cable-SMA assembly as tension brace elements is illustrated through dynamic analyses of selected prototype buildings. The other improvement is the development of progressively engaging, initially loose multiple strands as tension cables. These cables are placed loosely to engage in seismic resistance at pre-determined drift levels, thereby eliminating premature increase in seismic force demands until their participation is required as the frame capacity is reached. Tests of a large-scale reinforced concrete frame, designed following the requirements of the 1965 National Building Code of Canada NRC (1965) as representative of existing older frame buildings in Canada, are conducted under simulated seismic loading to assess the effectiveness of the proposed system. The verification of the concept is extended analytically to prototype buildings and the effectiveness of the system is demonstrated for mid-rise and low-rise frame buildings.