Optimized Seismic Retrofit of Steel-Concrete Composite Frames

Abstract eng:
The present paper investigates the optimum way of reinforcing existing composite steel-concrete structures that violate the criteria suggested in Eurocode 4. The motivation to conduct the specific research is the need for existing structures to conform to new regulations without extensive operations. Composite steel-concrete systems are an attractive construction method, since they have been found to be cost-effective, especially for multi-storey buildings, and also successfully take advantage of the high stiffness of steel without its vulnerability to fire. These structural systems are not new and have been used since the beginning of the 20th century, so there is a number of existing structures which have been designed with previous versions of structural codes and have to conform to the modern regulations. It is obvious that each new set of design codes takes into account new dangers that might occur and updates the design methods already used. On the other hand, the economic considerations which have to be taken into account and the high market competition force the engineers to seek solutions that are at the same time easily and rapidly constructed, but also yield the required performance with the minimum cost. The present work presents two retrofit methods for composite steel-concrete frames, which are evaluated in the context of structural optimization. The frames considered fail to satisfy the provisions of Eurocode 4 and are therefore retrofitted with the two aforementioned methods in a way minimizing the total cost of steel and concrete required for the retrofit. This way, the frames are upgraded with minimal cost.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket