Innovative strategies for seismic retrofitting of steel and composite frames

This paper reviews briefly traditional rehabilitation methods and provides a detailed discussion of design issues along with the advantages and the disadvantages of innovative strategies for seismic retrofitting of steel and composite structures. Special emphasis is placed on base isolation and supplemental damping devices. The viability and cost-effectiveness of these strategies are assessed on the basis of multiple limit states within the framework of performance-based design. A number of parameters which govern the selection of the intervention devices are investigated