In earthquake-prone regions such as the Himalayas, ensuring existing buildings satisfy modern building codes (such as NBC 105:2020) is an engineering imperative. Traditional reinforcement often requires invasive column dismantling; however, modern composite materials have revolutionized structural retrofitting.
The Role of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP)
CFRP sheets possess tensile strengths far exceeding structural steel while remaining lightweight and non-corrosive. By wrapping critical column-beam joints and shear spans, engineers can increase shear resistance and confinement ductility without adding excessive dead load to the existing foundations.
Micro-Concrete Jacketing
Where severe degradation has occurred, high-flow non-shrink micro-concrete jacketing combined with high-yield deformed bars restores axial load capacity, ensuring life-safety compliance for decades to come.
