Experimental and numerical analyses of a new RC-framed skin system for integrated seismic retrofitting intervention on existing buildings

This work presents the results of a research aimed at investigating a new RC-framed skin system for integrated and sustainable retrofitting interventions on existing buildings. The RC-framed skin system is built from the outside of the existing building, so guaranteeing a limited invasiveness and without interruption of the building usage. The first results of some full-scale cyclic experimental tests carried out on a representative element of the RC-framed skin are presented. The test setup, the samples characteristics and the cyclic loading protocol are presented. Then, a numerical model of a Gravity-Load-Designed (GLD) RC frame building with and without retrofitting intervention is presented, developed to perform a parametric study by non linear static analyses, aimed at evaluating the influence of the main geometrical parameters of the proposed RC-framed skin on the structural response.