Seismic retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, designed in the last decades in seismic areas, is one of the most complex tasks for structural engineers: in fact, it includes several issues, such as quantifying the capacity of existing members, designing the supplemental ones and analysing the whole structure. This paper is intended as a contribution to clarifying some of those issues. First of all, a model based on using 1D finite elements with fiber section discretization is proposed for simulating the behaviour of a cost-competitive steel device that can be employed as a link in Y-shaped eccentric bracings (EB): particularly, the cyclic response and the low-cycle fatigue degradation is modelled, based on the results of obtained in a previous experimental research carried out at the University of Salerno.

Secondly, the global response of an existing RC frame equipped with the aforementioned devices is investigated via Non Linear Time History (NLTH) analyses. Taking into account the low cycle fatigue often leads to significantly more severe seismic displacement demand value on the retrofitted structure: a close correlation is unveiled between some specific features of the seismic signals adopted in the NLTH and the actual influence of low-cycle fatigue. Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures and buildings designed and realised in the past decades in earthquake-prone zones are often characterised by significant levels of vulnerability, as highlighted by the damage and collapses observed in recent seismic events. Therefore, existing RC buildings are generally in need for retrofitting in order to enhance their level of seismic safety according to the design codes currently in force.

In principle, several retrofitting strategies can be pursued. Some of them are based on adding further structural systems, such as bracings, which are often made of steel. Moreover, these structural systems include components that are capable of dissipating the input seismic energy. Although several physical phenomena (such as friction of sliding surfaces, viscosity of fluids, yielding of metals, and so on) are considered for designing and realising these dissipative components, devices based on the hysteretic behaviour induced by the cyclic response of steel elements deformed beyond their yielding limit are the most frequently employed ones.

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ISSN: 2472-0437

Current Issue: Volume 5: Issue 1

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