Seismic Retrofit of Shear Wall Medium-Rise RC Building with Buckling-Restrained Braces

Thailand was impacted by the earthquake both directly and indirectly. Many structures in Chiang Rai were damaged by the large Mae Lao earthquake in 2014. This makes the government recognize how crucial it is to develop earthquake-resistant structures for public safety. Structures in many locations are required to consider designing more earthquake-resistant structures due to calculations made regarding the building structure’s ability to ensure the earthquake’s vibration. Several medium-rise buildings in Bangkok have been required to improve their seismic performance to fulfill the new standard and to protect them from future earthquakes. Therefore, this study investigates the validation of updated design code and efficiency of retrofitting an existing shear wall medium-rise RC building that was planned with seismic concern but not in accordance with more modern code regulations using buckling restrained braces (BRBs). In addition, the possible locations of retrofitting BRBs are investigated. A typical 36-story RC shear wall residential building in Bangkok is used as the target building. An equivalent linear static analysis is performed to investigate the seismic performance of the target building. The results indicate that the seismic performance of the retrofitted building with BRB is improved when compared to the non-retrofitted building, and the retrofitted shear wall medium-rise RC building with the damper location close to the shear wall is the most efficient when compared to other locations.