Improving the seismic performance of an 8-storey RC frame using GFRP

A numerical investigation was conducted on the efficiency of glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) in improving the seismic performance of RC frames. For this purpose, an 8-storey frame is considered with different levels of transverse reinforcement representing well-confined and poorly-confined conditions. Despite GFRP wrapping of columns at the critical regions considered as the main retrofitting technique in this paper, effect of increasing the beam ductility in seismic performance of the structure is also evaluated for the code-compliant frame. The aim of retrofitting is to provide both columns and beams with more ductility. The pushover results are then implemented in the seismic analysis using the capacity spectrum method. The results show the efficiency of FRP wraps in improving the seismic performance and ductility of the poorly-confined frame, while for the code-compliant buildings, increasing the lateral load carrying capacity or beam ductility could be considered as more efficient techniques.