Structural safety of historical buildings made of reinforced concrete, from Banat region – Romania

At the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, in western part of Romania important buildings of reinforced concrete were built such as: water towers, bridges, industrial buildings. There are some buildings that used only reinforced concrete elements such as slabs, beams, walls and framing. Currently, these elements have low bearing capacity, putting at risk the security of buildings and their historical value. The main reasons are: low grade concrete, reinforcements without ductility that are highly damaged, low percentages of reinforcement. Different types of reinforcements do not provide the necessary ductility for buildings located in the seismic zone Banat, Romania. The article presents the state of degradation of these constructions and different ways to strengthen these historic buildings with reinforced concrete.