A study on the retrofit method of a shear wall by new openings

Abstract

Remodelling is an environmentally friendly approach that reduces the amount of waste on a construction site. Remodelling can sometimes include partial destruction of the structural members of a building. The objective of this paper is to present the test results and structural behaviour of reinforced concrete walls that are perforated and to introduce effective retrofitting methods by evaluating the efficacy of passive and active retrofit, using carbon fibre sheets, steel plates and wire that are widely used for strengthening the main members of existing buildings. A series of five shear wall specimens were tested under constant axial stress and reversed cyclic lateral loading to evaluate the seismic retrofit that had been proposed for the shear wall with the opening. The test results showed that the failed specimens had shear fractures and that two different types of retrofit method had different effects on the strengths of each specimen. © 2012 Thomas Telford Ltd.