Application of Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) in Improving the Seismic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Buildings

ABSTRACT Ductility is commonly employed in the concrete structures' design in seismic regions to decrease design efforts and as a type of energy absorption. One of the most serious flaws in steel reinforced concrete constructions is the accumulating plastic deformation under extreme loads. Permanent plastic deformation of steel rebars is one of the most common causes of RC construction failure following severe earthquakes. It can potentially put people's lives at risk if a significant aftershock occurs. As a result, various recent researches have concentrated on employing re-centering mechanisms or materials to improve the post-earthquake performance of buildings. Superelastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) have become more appealing as a reinforcing material in concrete structures due to their excellent deformation capacity and ductility. Owing to differences in mechanical characteristics between SMA and conventional steel, using SMA as concrete reinforcement significantly influence the behaviour of buildings under seismic loads. This paper provides a seismic analysis of a reinforced concrete (RC) building equipped by SMA rebars instead of steel rebars. The results show that with the same base shear values, the residual displacements in SMA equipped RC building models were much lower than the corresponding steel rebar equipped RC building models. Therefore, the SMA equipped RC buildings could experience much lower damage levels in comparison to conventional steel rebar RC buildings.

Keywords:

_SMA rebar , Steel rebar , Seismic behavior , Reinforced concrete building , Residual displacement