Techno-Economic Study of Seismic Vulnerability in Reinforced Concrete Structures by Composite Materials

Abstract

Currently, the repair and maintenance of concrete structures is a real techno-economic issue since, during the exploitation of the structure, changes in use can lead to changes in the constraints for which the structure was not designed, in addition to other hazards such as earthquakes. Today, even if, earthquakes are better understood both from their origin and their propagation, they remain an unpredictable phenomenon. Human losses during an earthquake are mainly due to the collapse of buildings. The action on the building remains the main axis of the seismic risk prevention policy, and the application of the seismic construction rules does not guarantee the viability of the structures after an earthquake, but it does allow us to avoid their collapse. To extend their life and ensure the safety of the users, the concrete structures can require reinforcement during their service life. Bonded strengthening technology using fiber-reinforced composites is effective. However, the design of reinforced concrete structures strengthened with FRP composites cannot follow the existing methods for conventional reinforced concrete, by simply assimilating FRP to equivalent steel reinforcement. Therefore, these methods need to be modified to take the brittle behavior of FRP into consideration based on extensive research. In this work, the focus of this study is on the application of the non-linear static analysis method to validate the seismic performance evaluation of 2D G+5 reinforced structures. The results of this method are represented in the form of a curve that relates the shear force at the base as a function of the displacement of the top of the structure to predict the locations of weakness and the probable modes of failure that the structures will encounter in the case of their exposure to an earthquake. In addition to that, the control of the distribution of plastic hinges along the elevation of the structures represents a considerable effect on the degree of damage of the structure under seismic excitations. Finally, it should be concluded that composite materials such as carbon, glass, and aramid fibers combined with polymer matrices applied to structural elements by bonding are effective for the protection and strengthening of beams and columns, they are designed to provide not only adequate resistance but also sufficient load capacity to avoid brittle failure under high lateral loads.
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