Comparison of strengthening cost of reinforced concrete structures strengthened with different techniques

In this study, three different residential buildings having the same architecture but different heights, which have been designed according to the conditions of Turkish Earthquake Code-1975 (TEC-1975) were taken into account. Performance analyses of the buildings were performed using the linear and nonlinear analysis methods defined in Turkish Earthquake Code-2007 (TEC-2007). In order to overcome performance deficiencies identified in the buildings, different strengthening techniques such as jacketing or shear wall addition into the RC frames were applied and cost calculations of the works were carried out using the 2015 unit price analysis of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning. Cost comparisons between the different strengthening techniques and reconstruction costs of the buildings have been discussed separately. Analysis of consequences has revealed that strengthening of reinforced concrete load bearing frames with shear walls gives more appropriate results in the context of rigidity and cost prices than concrete jacketing technique. Moreover, it has been observed that linear analysis methods give more conservative results for earthquake resistant design than the nonlinear analysis methods.