Abstract
Since reinforced concrete (RC) buildings have long service life, cutout openings are generally needed in their load-bearing walls as a sustainable solution in order to meet new requirements of their users. However, the cutout openings decrease the load-bearing capacity of the walls, which may result in the failure of the buildings. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of making a door opening in a load-bearing RC wall of an existing building in Gävle in Sweden. The wall studied in the current paper rests on two individual supports at its two ends; thus, it is considered as a deep beam. However, it is called an examined wall (EW) here. The StruSoft FEM-Design software is used in this study to model, analyze, and design the building based on the Eurocodes and Swedish national annex. The potential need for the EW to be strengthened when the cutout opening is made is also evaluated. It is concluded that strengthening the EW with cutout opening is needed. Different strengthening solutions are proposed for the EW. Moreover, the situation of the EW with the solutions is assessed with regard to the utilization ratio, deflection, and weight. Consequently, it is demonstrated that the proposed strengthening solutions function well for the EW.
Highlights
Long service life of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings can mean the buildings are still of good quality when the society has other demands on their use and configuration
Since a cutout opening was needed to be made in a load-bearing RC wall of an existing building, which behaved as a deep beam, this paper assessed its possibility with different conditions
When the opening was made in the examined wall (EW), the utilization ratio of the wall became 223%, which elaborated the need for strengthening the EW
Summary
Long service life of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings can mean the buildings are still of good quality when the society has other demands on their use and configuration. An alternative to demolishing these buildings is to renovate them. Renovation is a more sustainable alternative to demolishing and building new, and it is sustainability that many actors strive for in the today’s society. A few changes are enough for the buildings to be usable again; these can be, among other things, moving and tearing down walls or making openings of various kinds. Sometimes, making openings is enough and can be feasible for the walls. This implies that cutout openings must be created to meet the needs of the society, as it is not sustainable to demolish and rebuild
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