Disclosed is a seismic reinforcement structure and a seismic retrofitting method, including: a first bracket including a horizontal part extending in contact with the bottom surface of the building, and a vertical part formed in connection with the horizontal part and extending in contact with the wall surface of the building; a second bracket including a horizontal part extending in contact with the ceiling of the building, and a vertical part formed in connection with the horizontal part and extending in contact with the wall surface of the building; and a connecting support rod having a vertically long shape and vertically connecting the horizontal part of the first bracket and the second bracket, wherein the relative position to the bottom of the whole building is fixed, thereby preventing the building from collapsing.

A shearwall is disclosed for use in lightweight or other constructions to transmit lateral shear forces and dissipate energy on the construction. In examples, the shearwall includes a central panel formed of wood, and side plates formed of steel. The side plates may be affixed at lower corners of first and second opposed surfaces of the central panel. Each side plate may include a fastening plate for affixing the side plate to the central panel, and a restraint plate which fits within a reduced area section of the central panel between the first and second surfaces.

A method of retrofitting a pre-Northridge type steel beam-to-column connection, includes welding the web of the beam to a flange of the column and slotting the beam web in the region of the connection and near the beam flanges. Stress relief holes are made into the web of the beam and slots are cut into the web of the beam. A top backup bar is welded to the flange of the column and a bottom backup bar is removed from the flange weld to the column. The method includes back gouging the flange of the column at a position of the removed backup bar and welding a bottom flange of the beam to the flange of the column.

A damper for reinforcing earthquake resistance according to the present invention includes a first supporting part mounted in a building structure, a second supporting part mounted on a support structure movably disposed to be separated from the building structure, and disposed to face the first supporting part, and a damper part connecting the first supporting part with the second supporting part and absorbing energy generated by an earthquake.

A polymer-modified hybrid-fibers cementitious composition has a one-day compressive strength of at least approximately 17 MPa, a 28-day tensile strength of at least approximately 3.8 MPa, an ultimate tensile strain of approximately 3% to approximately 9%, and a 7-day bond strength of at least approximately 2.3 MPa. A binder of ordinary Portland cement, fly ash, and silica fume is provided. Other components include limestone powder, sand, superplasticizer, and water. The composition further includes one or more of styrene butadiene rubber or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer in an amount ranging between approximately 2% and approximately 8% by mass of binder. Fiber additives include steel fibers in an amount ranging between approximately 0.3% and approximately 3.0% by volume of the cementitious composition and polymer fibers in an amount less than approximately 1.0% by volume of the cementitious composition. Chamfers made of the composition are positioned at beam-column joints.

A seismic wave damping system, and a corresponding method, includes elements, embedded within a host medium, the elements defining a seismic damping structure, and the elements being arranged to form a border of a protection zone. The seismic damping structure is configured to attenuate power of a seismic wave, traveling from a distal medium to the host medium, that is incident at the protection zone. The seismic damping structure is characterized by a resonance frequency. The system further includes an anti-resonance damping structure positioned within the protection zone and configured to dampen a residual wave propagating within the protection zone at the resonance frequency. Embodiment systems offer synergistic advantages because resonance frequencies of seismic wave damping structures may be predicted by calculation and an anti-resonance damping structure may be built to attenuate waves of primarily only specific resonance frequencies supported by the seismic wave damping structure.

A ground level platform upon which is secured a liquid storage tank, the platform providing a dampening frame, an upper plate, a lower plate and a plurality of ground cleats attaching to aligned lower tank brackets, each paired and aligned ground cleat and lower tank bracket attached by a torsion tightened threaded bolt, the ground level platform absorbing and deterring vibration from earthquakes from damaging the secured liquid storage tank.

A reinforcement structure includes compound trusses placed horizontally symmetrically, and each compound truss is constituted by a first truss and a second truss. Each first truss has: a vertical side; a first inclined side extending obliquely downward from an upper end of the vertical side; and a second inclined side connecting between the vertical side and a lower end of the first inclined side. Each second truss shares the first inclined side with the first truss and has: a horizontal side extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical side; and a second inclined side connecting between a tip end of the horizontal side and the lower end of the first inclined side. Each compound truss is coupled to the construction in a state where the vertical side is along an inner side surface of the construction and the horizontal side is along a ceiling surface of the construction.

A building structure including a plurality of elements extending from a ground surface with at least a first of the elements connected to a second of the elements by a coupling member, the coupling member including a damping element for damping vibrations in the building structure and a means for limiting the deformation of the damping element when the relative movement exceeds a maximum displacement at which damage occurs to the damping element.

Axial buckling restrained braces are provided. In various embodiments, a device comprises a plurality of cylindrical sleeves arranged parallel to each other. Each of the plurality of sleeves has an interior surface defining an interior region. A plastically deformable rod is arranged within the interior region of each of the plurality of sleeves. The plastically deformable rod is adapted to assume a helical shape upon compression.