The proposed method, called the Taiwan Earthquake Assessment for Structures by Pushover Analysis (TEASPA), is a modified capacity spectrum method developed in the NCREE handbook after the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. In this study, the evaluation of TEASPA is carried out using results from an experimental campaign comprised of two pushover tests inlow-rise reinforced concrete (RC) school buildings and the ASCE 41 capacity spectrum method. In addition, three problems related to retrofitting design are also discussed. Those are the removal of short columns in the structure, the optimal selection of the RC jacketing's position, and waterproofing problems in the RC jacketing method. The base shear-roof displacement curve, peak ground acceleration, and failure mechanism are calculated from each analysis. The results show that TEASPA is capable of providing accurate results for assessing a low-rise RC building's capacity and is more appropriate to pushover tests. Moreover, the solutions related to retrofitting problems are provided.

In this work, the piezoceramic-based transducers are used to perform the structural health monitoring (SHM) and interface damage detecting of non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frames retrofitted by post-installed RC walls. In order to develop the post-embedded piezoceramic-based transducers that can be used to identify interface failure or cracks between two structural members in retrofit construction, this work adopts the cyclic loading to test two specimens with post-embedded piezoceramic-based transducers (PPT). Since the failure of an interface between the post-installed wall and beam occurs, one of the specimens has damage in the foundation and existing boundary column and the other has damage in the top ends of column and wall. During the cyclic loading test, one transducer was used as an actuator to generate the stress waves and the other transducers were used as the sensors to detect the waves. In damaged specimens, the existence and locations of cracks and the interface damage can be detected by analyzing the wave response. Moreover, the severity of damage to the specimens can also be estimated. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the piezoceramic-based approach in the SHM and locating damage in shear-critical RC structural members under the seismic loading.

Prestressed concrete structures, designed to enhance the compressive strength of concrete through internal pretension, are increasingly susceptible to serviceability issues caused by rising live loads, material degradation, and environmental impacts. Strengthening or retrofitting offers a practical and cost-effective alternative to full replacement. This study investigated the flexural strengthening of prestressed concrete T-beams in the negative moment region using near-surface mounted (NSM) carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods. Validation against experimental results from the literature demonstrated high accuracy, with an average numerical-to-experimental ultimate load ratio of 0.97 for reinforced concrete T-beams strengthened with NSM-CFRP rods, a negligible difference of 0.49% for prestressed concrete I-beams, and a minimal error of 1.30% for prestressed concrete slabs strengthened with CFRP laminates. Parametric studies examined the effects of CFRP rod embedment depths and initial prestressing levels. In certain cases, achieving the minimum embedment depth is not feasible due to design or construction constraints. The results showed that fully embedded CFRP rods increased the ultimate load by up to 14.02% for low prestressing levels and 16.36% for high levels, while half-embedded rods provided comparable improvements of 11.20% and 15.76%, respectively. These findings confirm the effectiveness of NSM-CFRP systems and highlight the potential of partial embedment as a practical solution in design-constrained scenarios.

This study experimentally and numerically investigated the effectiveness of fiber-core steel wire ropes (FC-SWRs) in enhancing the flexural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams using a bonding technique. The investigation focused on deflection, flexural load-carrying capacity, and failure modes, along with key behaviors such as ductility, stiffness, energy absorption, and steel strain response. Two beams were tested under four-point bending until failure—one serving as the control specimen and the other strengthened with bonded FC-SWRs to improve its flexural behavior. Additionally, an analytical study was conducted using a computer program based on the Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT), and the results were compared with experimental findings. The validation of the analytical model enabled further parametric investigations, examining the influence of the FC-SWR diameter, modulus of elasticity, and steel reinforcement ratio on flexural performance.

This study investigated a strengthening strategy for reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams in the negative-moment region using polymer cement mortar (PCM) systems. Monotonic loading tests were conducted on beams retrofitted with PCM, incorporating steel reinforcements of either 13 mm or 16 mm in diameter. The flexural performance of the strengthened specimens was assessed under three-point bending, with a focus on load–deflection behavior, crack patterns, and failure modes. Key structural parameters governing the structural response were analyzed. The findings indicated that incorporating PCM markedly improved the flexural capacity of RC T-beams, with increases in the ultimate load of 55% and 99% for the two reinforcement configurations. Although the beam strengthened with 16 mm steel bars exhibited reduced ductility, its energy absorption was 29% higher compared to its 13 mm counterpart. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model was also developed in ABAQUS 6.14, and its predictions closely matched the experimental observations.

Prestressed concrete structures are facing serviceability challenges due to rising live loads, material degradation, and seismic demands. Retrofitting with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) offers a cost-effective alternative to full replacement. This study presents a finite element (FE) modeling framework to simulate the seismic performance of prestressed concrete T-beams retrofitted in the negative moment region using near-surface-mounted (NSM) CFRP rods and sheets. The model incorporates nonlinear material behavior and cohesive interaction at the CFRP–concrete interface and is validated against experimental benchmarks, with ultimate load prediction errors of 4.41% for RC T-beams, 0.49% for prestressed I-beams, and 1.30% for prestressed slabs. A parametric investigation was conducted to examine the influence of CFRP embedment depth and initial prestressing level under three seismic conditions. The results showed that fully embedded CFRP rods consistently improved the beams’ ultimate load capacity, with gains of up to 10.84%, 16.84%, and 14.91% under cyclic loading, near-fault ground motion, and far-field ground motion, respectively. Half-embedded CFRP rods also prove effective and offer comparable improvements where full-depth installation is impractical. The cyclic load–displacement histories, the time–load histories under near-fault and far-field excitations, stiffness degradation, and damage contour analysis further confirm that the synergy between full-depth CFRP retrofitting and optimized prestressing enhances structural resilience and energy dissipation under seismic excitation.