REPAIR AND STRENGTHENING OF EARTHQUAKE-DAMAGED CONCRETE AND MASONRY WALLS WITH COMPOSITE FABRICS

A new approach for seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete and unreinforced masonry (URM) structures is presented where a fiber composite fabric is epoxy bonded to the wall. Results indicate that both flexural and shear strength of the wall as well as its ductility are significantly enhanced. Following the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake, this technique was applied to two buildings in southern California. The technique proved to be the most cost-effective to repair both of these damaged buildings. In this paper, some of the laboratory test results are presented and the strengthening of the two buildings is discussed.