Assessment and Rehabilitation Solutions for an Industrial Hall Affected by Extreme Actions

Abstract

The original structure of the industrial hall consisted of longitudinal reinforced concrete frames with columns and beams and 133 timber roof trusses (33.5 m span each), which were supported on longitudinal beams. Owing to the extreme action of snow, many trusses in the timber roof crashed down and fell onto the auxiliary structure. This led to the occurrence of a 200 mm distance between two elements in the bottom flange connection area, a 150 mm displacement in the upper part of the reinforced concrete (RC) columns, and many transversal cracks. The main causes that led to the collapse of the timber roof trusses were the high level of stress applied on the structure by snow loads in December 2018, as compared with the provisions of the Romanian code, the fact that the structure was designed for a rigid transversal frame instead of a deformable structure, and the insufficient dimensions of the cleats used on the bottom flange. The rehabilitation solution chosen consisted in lifting the timber roof trusses, after their crashing down, to near their initial level. The degraded structure was strengthened by: (1) consolidating each timber roof truss using a steel tension rod at the bottom flange of the truss, with the timber truss anchored at both ends by being inclined and perforated; and (2) for the RC columns, the strengthening solution was based on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) lamellas and wraps.