Seismic Assessment for Reinforced Concrete School Building

The problem of seismic assessment and retrofitting design of low-rise school buildings is significant in Taiwan after the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999. The technology of seismic assessment and retrofitting design of low-rise school buildings has already developed in NCREE handbook. However, in design practice, there are still numerous problems that need to be considered. In the study, two pushover tests of school building are compared with the analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the NCREE method. In addition, three problems related to retrofitting design, which are encountered in practice, are considered. These problems are the removal of short columns in structure, the optimal selection of RC jacket’s position, and the waterproofing problem of RC jacket method. Based on the obtained base shear – roof displacement curve, peak ground acceleration, and failure mechanism that are determined from each analysis, this study proposes some recommendations for retrofitting design analysis of school buildings