ABSTRACT
As a result of the new development of modern standards and codes - especially with regard to the harmonised chapters of the Eurocode - buildings can be designed and constructed more and more safely, but at the same time more economically.
Unfortunately, earthquakes repeatedly show that existing, older buildings are not sufficiently safe. Damage to façade structures is particularly noticeable, as falling components can cause personal injury and block important traffic and escape routes.
The recent earthquakes in Croatia - for example - caused serious damage to thousands of buildings, especially in the historical centre of Zagreb. People were injured and escape routes were blocked by falling facades or parts of buildings. Significantly a high proportion of the damaged buildings were either old or poorly preserved, whereas buildings built after 1964, which had to meet the requirements of the regulations for earthquake protection in the former Yugoslavia, showed minor damage.
Especially in earthquake zones, country's cultural identity in the form of historic buildings needs to be preserved, and accordingly it is precisely these buildings that need to be surveyed and assessed in terms of their performance in the event of an earthquake. Any previous damage should be repaired immediately so that in the event of a recurrent earthquake, the danger to human life is not increased further.
There is a need for repair methods that minimally disturb the building appearance in order to restore or improve the structural load-bearing capacity of existing buildings. The load-bearing capacity of a suitably strengthened façade and its fixings can be verified by tests.
This paper presents a method for post-repairing of façades on existing buildings to restore their structural load-bearing capacity. This method can be used to preserve historical building material on one hand, but also to upgrade the façade construction with the aim to meet requirements of earthquake design like protection of life and enabling rescue work after an earthquake. So called Meso-scale tests to check the load-bearing capacity are described as alternative to large shake table tests. The technical background is explained and the experimental results are illustrated.
