Seismic-Isolation Retrofits of School Buildings: Practice in China after Recent Devastating Earthquakes

• Published in: Journal of performance of constructed facilities Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 96 - 107
• Main Authors: Guo, Tong, Xu, Weijie, Song, Lianglong, Wei, Longwu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Society of Civil Engineers 01.02.2014
• Subjects: Bearings; Buildings; Earthquake construction; Earthquake damage; Earthquakes; Retrofitting; School buildings; Seismic engineering; Technical Papers
• ISSN: 0887-3828; 1943-5509
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000411

AbstractRecent large earthquakes in China (e.g., Wenchuan earthquake and Yushu earthquake) resulted in enormous damage to school buildings and took many students’ lives. Recognizing the seismic vulnerability of existing school buildings, the Chinese government started a nationwide mission in 2009, aiming at increasing the seismic capacity of school buildings through inspection and retrofit activities. This paper presents the experiences of the authors in the retrofits of school buildings in which seismic isolation by using rubber and/or sliding bearings was adopted as a new and efficient retrofit technique, as compared with conventional ones. The retrofitted school buildings include masonry buildings, RC frame buildings, and a mixture of both. Design methods and the corresponding requirements in the modified seismic design code are presented, and typical construction procedures of the seismic retrofit are summarized from an engineer’s point of view. Procedures regarding the contract and review of the retrofit projects are also introduced. To this end, a case study is made to demonstrate the proposed design and construction methods. The presented work provides references to the seismic retrofit of existing buildings.