Invention: Seismic Retrofitting by Exterior Steel Brace Structural Building Jacketing System

Structural Building Jacketing System is a new technique for the retrofitting of reinforced concrete structures. It involves the application of jacketing to the whole structure exterior using steel braces connected to the RC frame by anchorages. This invention is especially used retrofitting of existing important building structures such as hospitals, schools, factories, communication and power buildings. The main advantage is to retrofit the existing buildings without disturbing their serviceability. A new modern architectural appearance will also be provided to existing structure if a cladding is done. Three-dimensional scaled models of RC buildings with and without the jacketing system were tested under static cyclic pushover loading to understand three-dimensional behavior. Experimental and analytical results were compared to verify the models. The results indicate that structures retrofitted with the jacketing system increase seismic capacity by a factor of four. Application of this system to a 10-story housing in Istanbul is discussed.