In today’s world, strengthening and structural improvement helps urban and even non-urban communities to have buildings that are more resistant to earthquakes and other natural disasters. Today we want to talk about the reasons for strengthening structures.
Optimization of the structure helps its elements such as beams, columns and slab to bear greater load capacity. It is interesting to know that strengthening a structure is sometimes more complicated than building a new building. Because on the other hand, reaching the areas that need strengthening may not be an easy task. For this reason, careful studies and investigations must be carried out before strengthening.
But in this article, we will talk about the reasons for strengthening and improving the structure. Strengthening is not only performed for old buildings, but it may sometimes be performed to strengthen newly built and even unused structures.
In general, causes of strengthening of buildings and other structures include errors in building design, not up to date regulations, implementation problems, irrelevant materials, corrosion, and other factors such as increased loads, etc. Stay with us for the rest of this article to learn more about each of these reasons.
Errors in building design and strengthening
Many projects were too perfect and flawed in their initial design, but these projects fail even with proper implementation. Factors such as misconceptions about the condition and location of the building, failure to consider important points in the design, failure to pay attention to regulations and such problems are design errors.
For example, consider that only one section of the regulation was not included in the agenda and was forgotten, or the building conditions were not taken into account. In such cases, for example, in a building where the dead loads have not been fully introduced, you may see cracks and severe heaving in the beam and slab. In these cases, even the concrete strength test gave acceptable results, but it is the design error that causes you problems.
The regulations are not up to date
It often happens that the implementing regulations in building construction are not up to date, and this problem causes errors and important points that are not taken into account and implemented during the design. For example, there is a special regulation depending on the geographical location or use of the structure, but even an expert does not know about its existence.
The situation is similar to the time when the principles of seismic improvement of buildings were not taken into account in the construction of structures, because there was no regulation of this matter. So this is why reviewing and strengthening the structure should be on the agenda.
Implementation problems and the need to strengthen the structure
Implementation problems cannot be blamed on construction project managers. Perhaps a building has been built to all standards and the implementers have spent a lot of time on precision and control in all implementation and final stages of the project.
It took a while to make a mistake on the other hand.
But just a small mistake in steps such as transportation, concrete, mixing and curing processes and many of these steps can cause a big problem, which is a kind of construction execution problem. Sometimes, the occurrence of these faults may cause the building to be destroyed, and sometimes the faults can be eliminated by strengthening it.
The specifications of the materials used contradict the assumed values
This error is inevitable and common in concrete and steel structures. But in steel buildings, since the materials used are homogeneous and controllable, if the type of steel produced in the shop is installed with a high degree of control, there will be no appreciable error in the specification values of the materials used with the assumed values.
On the other hand, there are concrete structures, due to their heterogeneity, the difference between the materials used and the values assumed in their formulations has been observed many times. This sometimes creates the need to demolish and rebuild the building or renovate, restore and strengthen the structure.
It should be noted that the occurrence of this error in mixing, concrete, curing and maintenance processes under the influence of various factors usually leads to materials with sparse mechanical properties.
Deterioration and corrosion of materials
It uses materials such as steel and metal materials in almost all structures. Although various technologies and high costs are used to preserve these materials and prevent corrosion, we still do not expect that we will not see corrosion over time. This is why strengthening due to material degradation and corrosion is something that must be taken seriously in every building.
Other factors and reasons for strengthening and improving the structure
In addition to the factors he mentions, there are other factors and reasons for the importance of strengthening and improving the structure, which we discussed below.
Overload on the building: One very common factor is overload on the building, which is usually caused by a change in the use of the building or the installation of equipment.
Change in use of the building: It has happened several times, for example, that an apartment building changed its use and turned into a warehouse or archive. In this case, the building will experience an increase in dead or live load, and the building must be strengthened against the additional load.
Installation of equipment in the building: Installation of mechanical, medical and telecommunications equipment in different parts of the building will require reinforcement to increase the structure. Or, for example, removing a column or wind support makes the building need to be strengthened.
Also, in order to improve the construction of many old structures, instead of replacing the insulation of many roofs, they put a large amount of asphalt on the previous insulation, which increases the dead load on the building.
Unforeseen events: fires, collision of a car or truck with the base of a bridge or building, explosion, terrorist attacks and other such events are the things that made the strengthening of the building inevitable.