In order to evaluate and improve seismic capacity of existing buildings ‘seismic safety evaluation’ and ‘retrofitting’ are very important tasks. The presented method combines experiments and engineering knowledge for evaluation of the seismic safety and expected structural performance under strong events. It distinguishes between the structures with problems and those without problems and is a quick way to check the behavior of structures against expected seismic demands. The method is further used for choice of the optimal strengthening method and for verification of the quality of performed strengthening works. Proposed methodology is explained on an example of a building with the explanation of the strengthening methods. The cost of strengthening is compared to the cost of destructing the building and building a similar one at the same place.

Građevinarstvo