In Nicaragua the seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete building are important to development for existing buildings. The Seismic Code RNC - 07 does not include detailed guideline to evaluate structures, for this reason the Japanese method of evaluation is used to determinate the seismic indices of the structure. As a case of study, the National Technological Institute is evaluated to understand the Japanese Seismic Evaluation Standard. The first and second level screening methods are applied to find the seismic capacity of the structure. The results demonstrate the structure in the longitudinal direction is weak against laterals loads and the columns do not have enough strength. The seismic rehabilitation of the structure is implemented in longitudinal direction of the building. A Steels braces system is selected as a retrofit technique and provide the necessary strength to the structure. Using the software Stera_3D the behavior of the structure before and after the rehabilitation are analyzed. This study helps to understand the seismic evaluation, which is a very useful tool to protect the schools buildings in the country. Future prospects are to incorporate a Seismic Evaluation Guideline to the seismic code and analyze more RC structures in Nicaragua.
Keywords: Seismic Evaluation, Rehabilitation, Retrofit Technique, Stera_3D, Seismic Code.