Alternative retrofitting strategies to prevent the failure of an under-designed reinforced concrete frame

In Southern European countries several existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings were designed before the introduction of modern seismic codes and thus they may be potentially vulnerable to horizontal loads. Recent seismic events have also shown that RC buildings designed without specific seismic provisions can be subjected to meaningful damages or even collapse during moderate-to-strong earthquakes. In this framework, straightforward methodologies for a preliminary and suitable seismic assessment and retrofitting of existing RC buildings are required, along with reliable and effective seismic rehabilitation techniques. In this study, a simplified displacement based procedure using non-linear static analyses is applied to obtain a preliminary estimation of the overall inadequacy of an under-designed four-storey RC frame and to propose suitable retrofitting interventions based on different rehabilitation strategies. To this aim, accurate numerical models are developed to simulate the seismic response of the RC frame in the original and retrofitted configurations. The effectiveness of three different retrofitting solutions countering the main structural deficiencies of the RC frame is evaluated through the displacement based approach. Then, non-linear dynamic analyses are carried out to assess and compare the seismic performance of the RC frame in the original and retrofitted configurations. A combined use of different approaches may represent a valuable tool to accurately address the retrofitting interventions and to assess their effectiveness in order to reduce the seismic vulnerability of poorly designed RC buildings.