Seismic Performance Assessment of a Tall RC Building Retrofitted with Shear Walls

Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings are the most commonly constructed structural forms across the world, and equally common is its susceptibility to damage during any seismic activity. Thus, there is especially a need to correctly assess and study the behaviour of RC structures, particularly the tall RC buildings. Tall RC buildings are increasingly becoming popular nowadays because they provide abundant floor area, where the land available for construction is less due to the rapid urbanisation. The understanding of the seismic performance of such buildings makes the seismic retrofitting procedures convenient and optimal to use. Seismic retrofitting measures are present in plenty for RC structures, each of which is used according to the need or the damage level incurred in the structure or its components. The present study thus focusses on a G+14 tall reinforced concrete (RC) building that was severely damaged during the 2015 Nepal Earthquake and was being retrofitted located at the Hattiban area in Nepal. As recommended in the recently developed guidelines for tall RC structures in IS 16700, the use of a 3D computer model is necessary for the seismic analysis and structural safety assessment of tall buildings. Thus, seismic performance is assessed using the structural analysis program SAP2000 for non-linear analysis of the considered structure. Further, seismic fragilities at specific damage levels are also determined.