DISSIPATIVE STEEL EXOSKELETONS FOR SEISMIC RETROFIT OF RC BUILDINGS

In recent years, alternative retrofit strategies were developed based on rapid, low-impact, and reversible interventions using external additive structures commonly called exoskeletons, which can be installed without disrupting the facility’s operation. Combining exoskeletons with steel strip dampers (SSDs) offers a sustainable approach, as the SSDs can be replaced after a seismic event. This work presents the design and evaluation of dissipative exoskeletons with SSD-type fuses for the seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, using a school building as a case study. The dissipative exoskeletons were designed using a displace-ment-based approach. The effectiveness of the retrofit strategy was demonstrated through nonlinear time-history analyses under different sets of strong earthquake ground motions.