Building retrofitting is being defined in the country today as a large number of old buildings have reached the end of their planned lifespan. The problems that have arisen in them manifest themselves in the form of steel corrosion, cracking, and delamination of concrete. In addition, many of these buildings are designed to withstand much smaller loads than current conditions. Because of these issues, structural engineers are faced with the challenge of effective and economical retrofitting. Unfortunately, there is no single and uniform method for carrying out retrofitting projects. In addition, the process of repairing and improving these structures is more difficult, because most of these structures are in operation and most structural engineers are also specialized in building new structures. In any case, if retrofitting can be carried out without causing problems for current performance, it is possible to achieve the goals and the key to success in this matter is a combination of design ability and execution ability required for the project. For this reason, the engineer must use his ability to use mechanical and structural laws to reach a comprehensive solution.
What is retrofitting?
The term retrofitting is usually used for building renovation, although both seem similar, but they have different meanings. Structural repair is the process of rebuilding and renovating a building or its structural elements. This process involves finding the problem, removing the damaged parts, and also selecting and implementing appropriate retrofitting to increase the life of the structure.
On the other hand, retrofitting is the process of improving the structural system of an existing structure to improve its performance under existing loads or to increase the resistance of structural components to carry additional loads. For these projects, designers are faced with structures where each element carries a portion of the current load. The effects of retrofitting or partial or total removal of structural elements must be carefully studied to determine their impact on the overall performance of the structure. If this is not achieved, the existing elements around the defective area may be subjected to additional stress, which will be problematic in itself.
Retrofitting Old Buildings
Retrofitting is not that complicated without considering structural deterioration. Incomplete performance due to design errors, accidents, or changes in loading is easily identified, and when the deterioration of the structure increases, retrofitting becomes more complex. For a new structure, which is in trouble due to design errors or improper construction, the extent of the problem is almost certain and the expected life of the structure is also easy to state. As a result, choosing the appropriate retrofitting method is not so difficult. For older structures that need retrofitting, the situation is more complicated. An important issue is the remaining life of the structure. It is not wise to extend the life of a part of the structure for 50 years, while its foundation will only last 10 more years. For example, consider a road that is to be used for the construction of a project for 5 years. If a bridge on the existing road needs to be repaired to be used for a short period of time, it is not economically viable to demolish it and build a new bridge. Here, the bridge should be retrofitted if possible and the repaired bridge does not need to have a lifespan of more than 5 years. Considering structural deterioration, the retrofitting strategy becomes more complex, as the performance level of the structure slowly decreases but still meets the requirements.