Seismic performance and cost‐effectiveness of high‐rise buildings with increasing concrete strength

The relationship between the seismic performance and economics of high‐rise buildings when designed to different material strengths is investigated in this paper. To represent the modern high‐rise construction, five 60‐story reinforced concrete buildings with varying concrete strengths, ranging from 45 MPa to 110 MPa, are designed and detailed to fine accuracy keeping almost equal periods of vibration. Detailed fiber‐based simulation models are developed to assess the relative seismic performance of the reference structures using incremental dynamic analyses and fragility functions. It is concluded that a considerable saving in construction cost and gain in useable area are attained with increasing concrete strength. The safety margins of high‐strength concrete in tall structures may exceed those of normal‐strength concrete buildings, particularly at high ground motion intensity levels. The recommendations of this systematic study may help designers to arrive at cost‐effective designs for high‐rise buildings in earthquake‐prone regions without jeopardizing safety at different performance levels. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.