This study focuses on the structural capacity evaluation of an existing R/C offices and retail shops building, erected in the early '90s. The building has 4 above the ground floors, including a mezzanine, and a basement. The building has no apparent cracks or damages. The structural bearing consists of frames in a typical, for the period of construction, form. All the slabs are solid apart from one which is of sandwitch type.
The method followed is described hereafter.
The building's designs were found along with the calculation notes and the geotechnical study.
A new check of the geometrical dimensions of the members and their place, has been carried out in order to update the structural grid.
Non destructive test in order to estimate the concrete and steel material properties have been performed including:
- Schmidt hammer tests
- Steel reinforcement detection and evaluation with scanner tests (magnetic methods)
- Determination of carbonisation depth
- Pull off tests
- Ultra sound velocity tests
- Core drilling tests
Finally a capacity check was performed in order to evaluate the safety of the building, bearing in mind all the necessary data from above, along with the loads of the equipment that were installed on the roof.