RETROFIT TECHNIQUE FOR STEEL STRUCTURAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED BY THE HANSHIN-AWAJI EARTHQUAKE

Abstract

Many steel structural buildings were severely damaged by the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January 17,1995. In order to restore those buildings to normal state, the authors immediately drew up an original recommendation which included techniques for repair and strengthening, and a design concept for retrofitting. According to the recommendation, retrofitting has continued after the earthquake with some buildings being reconstructed nowadays. Some of the practical techniques and design concepts applied to retrofit office buildings are introduced in this report, providing a comparison between the damaged and finished conditions.