Dynamic response of a full-scale reinforced concrete building frame retrofitted with FRP column jackets

Many existing reinforced concrete buildings designed in accordance with pre-1971 codes are generally dominated by weak column-strong beam behavior under seismic loading due to inadequate reinforcement detailing. This behavior can lead to premature failure under seismic loads from damage concentrated in the first story of the structure. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the seismic response of a full-scale, two-story non-ductile reinforced concrete frame. The frame was retrofitted with a fiber-reinforced polymer jacketing system on the first story columns to mitigate seismic vulnerability. Shake weight testing was performed to investigate the dynamic performance of the retrofitted building structure in terms of the modal response, inter-story drift, and effectiveness of the fiber-reinforced polymer jacketing system. The results demonstrate that the retrofit scheme helped develop a more uniform story drift distribution, working to counter the soft-story mechanism commonly found in reinforced concrete frames designed during this period.