Seismic strengthening of non-ductile reinforced concrete frames using aluminum shear links as energy-dissipation devices

This paper presents a seismic strengthening technique using aluminum shear links as energy-dissipating devices to enhance the lateral strength, stiffness, and energy-dissipation potential of the existing reinforced concrete (RC) frames. The lateral load on the frame is allowed to transfer to the shear link through a load-transferring system consisting of a shear collector beam and chevron braces so as to cause shear yielding of aluminum plates. No extensive strengthening of the existing RC columns is carried out in the proposed technique. An experimental study is conducted on a reduced-scale non-ductile RC frame to investigate the effectiveness of the strengthening system under constant gravity loading and gradually increasing reversed cyclic lateral displacements. The strengthened specimen exhibited enhanced lateral strength, stiffness and energy-dissipation potential as compared to the RC (bare) frame. The excellent energy-dissipation and damping potential of the shear link significantly reduced the damage levels in the existing RC members of the strengthened specimen up to 3.5% drift level.