Optimal design base shear forces for reinforced concrete buildings considering seismic reliability and life-cycle costs

The objective of this study is to propose a novel estimation procedure for optimal design base shear forces for reinforced concrete (RC) buildings while considering the seismic reliability and life-cycle costs (LCCs) incurred by life-cycle earthquake events. By simulating life-cycle earthquake events within a specified period and using nonlinear dynamic analysis, including earthquake occurrences and their peak ground accelerations (PGAs), this study also derives the damage states of an RC building considering the effect of the cumulative damage. Additionally, besides life-cycle earthquake events, a simplified model is developed to modify the structural properties of a structure without seismic repair after earthquakes. Given the uncertainty of the occurrence time and PGAs of earthquake events, the seismic reliability, and expected current values of LCCs are calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. Although the case study addresses only an RC building with five stories in Taipei, optimal design base shear forces for low-rise RC buildings calculated via the same procedure can be derived and utilized when making decisions on the seismic level of a building based on safety and economic considerations. Therefore, the proposed method can help both owners and investors to identify LCCs of RC buildings due to seismic structural damage within a specified service life.