Research Projects

Rapid change in climate conditions is affecting civil engineering structures worldwide. Most of the Indian land mass is under moderate to extremely severe atmospheric conditions. This results in rapid deterioration of concrete and corrosion of reinforcing bars in RC buildings. This research work is to check the earthquake safety of existing low to mid-height RC buildings affected by reinforcement corrosions. RC buildings will be modelled numerically including the effect of corrosion in the reinforcing bars. Nonlinear analysis will be performed to asses the residual lateral strength, stiffness, deformability, and energy dissipation capacity of the building. The failure mode and collapse mechanism with and without environmental impacts will be analysed and compared. This study will demonstrate the current state and residual safety margin of RC buildings located in severe environmental conditions. Further, it will include recommendations on retrofitting schemes. The findings of this study will strengthen the Indian standards on concrete structures.