Reyes Garcia Lopez - Research student
Telephone: 25071
Room: E110A
email : r.garcia@sheffield.ac.uk
Research Group
Research Project
Seismic strengthening of buildings with fibre composite materials
High mortality and extensive damage in recent major earthquakes in developing countries have highlighted the seismic vulnerability of many existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings (Fig. 1). As demolishing the existing structures may prove to be an uneconomic solution, their seismic vulnerability can be mitigated by strengthening and upgrading their structural performance. Among the different retrofitting techniques currently available for strengthening systems, fibre reinforced composites (FRP) have demonstrated to offer effective and attractive solutions. (Fig. 2).
However, FRP materials are relatively new in construction and further research is required to develop their application. For instance, current design provisions for seismic retrofitting with FRP do not address directly the rehabilitation of poorly detailed members as beam-column connections. Moreover, the effectiveness and feasibility of the FRP retrofitting on beam-column joints made of low-strength concrete has not been well investigated.
This research aims to explore the potential and limitations of seismic strengthening of deficient structures with FRP in developing countries, where the low quality of the construction materials and workmanship need to be taken into account.
The main objectives of this research can be summarised as follows:
- To investigate the seismic vulnerability of bare and retrofitted RC buildings.
- To experimentally study the seismic performance of beam-column joint sub-assemblages made of low-strength concrete, retrofitted with FRP.
- To develop a new framework to evaluate the vulnerability of existing deficient structures and address appropriate strengthening techniques based on the desired performance objectives.
This research is sponsored by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT).
