versity of Michigan, Arbor, USA Matsuoka, Corp., Narita, Japan Kanda, 1 Introduction What are the most important issues in the repair and retrofit of concrete structures? Identification and modeling of mechanisms leading to the loss of functions of the repair…
versity of Michigan, Arbor, USA Matsuoka, Corp., Narita, Japan Kanda, 1 Introduction What are the most important issues in the repair and retrofit of concrete structures? Identification and modeling of mechanisms leading to the loss of functions of the repair and retrofit must be given the highest priority. Through the identification and modeling of the dominant mechanisms, the parameters for the strength and loading related to the repair/retrofit are in- . traduced. In the engineering practice, the judgement is always required whether repair/retrofit should be carried out or not, which method should be adopted, how far the repair or retrofit should be carried out. Engineers must make the judgement so that the repaired or retrofitted structures have, for example, a load carrying capacity larger than the required value, and at the same time the cost for the repair or retrofit is minimized. Since the total cost for the repair or retrofit of infrastructures is enormous, a reli- able tool for the evaluation of cost performance of the repair or retrofit is necessary for engineers to make such a decision. One of the most important research directions related to the repair/retrofit of concrete structures is the development of analytical methods which can predict the structural per- formance, such as the load carrying capacity, the repaired or retrofitted structures. The analytical method should be based on the mechanism governing the failure of the repair or retrofit.