The scope of the study is to examine of the possibility of applying steel ties, which can consist of common steel wires, as means to restrain the seismic displacements of buildings structural systems. The method seems to be competitive to the conventional ones, since fewer disturbances are created during the retrofitting works, i.e. the installation of ties as compared to the conventional strengthening methods. The method also proved to be more economic than the conventional method of constructing and infilling concrete walls in the vulnerable structural system. Initially, the efficiency of the ties was studied in multistory building models, such as frame, combined frame-wall and combined frame-wall without beams. Based on the results of the analytical study, the method was applied on a 5 storey existing and seismically deficient building. More specifically, the long side of the building was chosen for the method’s application. The last choice was deemed more preferable due to the fact that it has no openings which allowed the easy application of straight ties. The one end of the ties is anchored in the concrete slab of the upper stories, while the other end on the basement’s upper concrete slab. Although the seismic demand was higher for the implemented solution of the steel wires due to multiple loading, caused by the low value of the seismic performance coefficient equal to 1.5, an adequate level of earthquake resistance was achieved. The results of the case study confirmed the applicability of the proposed method. It should be underlined that the ties method looks promising in the field of structures retrofitting and could be studied analytically in campaigns, either independently or in combination with the conventional in concrete shear wall method.
Effect of spatial variability of soil properties on permanent seismic displacements of slopes with uniform load
