Seismic behavior of repaired reinforced concrete walls

Abstract

The experimental program described in this study focuses on the performance of two reinforced concrete walls that were repaired following severe damaged sustained through simulated earthquake loading. The damage prior to repair included buckling and fracture of longitudinal reinforcement, crushing and spalling of concrete, and, in some instances, out-of-plane instability of the gross section. Repair consisted of removal of damaged concrete and reinforcement followed by reinstatement of new reinforcement and repair mortar. The load-deformation responses of the repaired walls were similar to that of the originally-tested specimens through to the first loading cycle at 2.0% drift, beyond which strength degradation was more pronounced for the repaired specimens. The overall performance of the repaired walls relative to the original components indicates that it is feasible to achieve acceptable performance of severely-damaged reinforced concrete components through a basic repair approach in which damaged concrete and reinforcement are replaced.