Examining The Impact Of The Knowledge Factor On Structural Retrofitting Cost

Abstract

The retrofitting of existing structures is one of the most challenging problems in the field of engineering. Retrofitting is one of the most important steps in assuring the safety of an existing structure. The major challenge in earthquake-vulnerable buildings which occurs at the time of retrofitting is the amount of available information in obtaining sufficient records of buildings such as architectural and structural drawings, foundation details, design calculations, geotechnical reports, material properties and records of at least natural period of the buildings in order to evaluate the current condition of the building structures.

According to Indian Standards, the quantity of information accessible at the retrofitting stage is expressed by knowledge factor K. The knowledge factor is a very sensitive metric, and material strength is directly related to it. Residential structures were examined by taking into account all of the various knowledge factors provided by the Indian Standard code in order to discover the link between structural retrofitting cost and knowledge factor. When the knowledge factor was reduced from 1 to 0.7, there was no significant increase in structural element failure, but when the knowledge factor was reduced from 0.7 to 0.5, a sharp curve was detected.

To summarise the financial effect, numerous retrofit alternatives are developed to meet varying seismic safety requirements. The structural retrofit costs are estimated and summed to assess the impact. The research examines the effect of knowledge factor on the structural retrofitting cost and it was found the structural retrofitting cost skyrocketed with the decrease in the knowledge factor.