Economics of Seismic Design for New Buildings

This paper presents data on the cost of increasing the seismic design level of buildings, for new construction, for five different concepts of lateral resistance. Damage is shown to be a function of both drift and acceleration. The structure is broken down into key elements for purposes of identifying drift and acceleration components, and damage ratios are estimated for these components as a function of levels of drift and acceleration. Each design level is analyzed for a series of loadings, and a damage matrix is formulated to relate damage, based on a summation of all components' individual damage, and the applied loading level. An economic analysis is performed to evaluate the cost of seismic lateral resistance design levels, the present worth of expected damage, and the probability of site acceleration levels. The economic analysis for the conditions of this problem suggests a range of ground motion having a return time of 60–100 yr before it is cost‐effective. The results are limited to the type of low‐rise construction studied, and are shown to be a function of the type of seismic lateral resistance concept used.