Effect of soil-structure interaction on seismic damage of mid-rise reinforced concrete structures retrofitted by FRP composites

The current study explores the soil-structure interaction (SSI) effect on the potential seismic damage of mid-rise non-seismically designed reinforced concrete frames retrofitted by Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP). An 8-storey reinforced concrete frame poorly-confined due to transverse reinforcement deficiency is selected and then retrofitted by FRP wraps to provide external confinement. The poorly-confined and FRP retrofitted frames with/without SSI are modelled using hysteretic nonlinear elements. Inelastic time history and damage analyses are performed for these frames subjected to different seismic intensities. The results show that the FRP confinement significantly reduces one or two damage levels for the poorly-confined frame. More importantly, the SSI effect is found to increase the potential seismic damage of the retrofitted frame, reducing the effectiveness of FRP retrofitting. This finding, which is contrary to the conventionally beneficial concept of SSI governing for decades in structural and earthquake engineering, is worth taking into account in designing and evaluating retrofitted structures.