Seismic response and life‐cycle cost of reinforced concrete special structural wall buildings in Dubai, UAE

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper is to quantify the effect of Dubai's diverse seismicity estimates on the seismic response of reinforced concrete shear wall buildings. In this regard, three 12‐story office buildings are designed and detailed in accordance with common practices and building codes utilized in Dubai. The buildings are designed for three possible seismic hazard estimates of Dubai (i.e., high, moderate, and low) with specially detailed shear walls. The seismic response is evaluated based on FEMA P695 methodology and fragility analysis. The methodology is based on nonlinear pseudo‐static pushover and incremental dynamic analyses (IDA). Pushover analysis is performed and its results are compared against design levels. IDA is performed using the set of 22 far‐field ground motion records recommended by FEMA P695. The results of this research confirm that designing for the conservative seismicity estimate significantly enhances the seismic response of the buildings. The building designed for the highest seismicity showed a favorable structural response, while the moderate seismicity design had a reasonable response. For the lowest seismicity design, results showed a poor seismic performance. Furthermore, the resulting enhancements in the seismic response reduce potential earthquake damages and collapse probabilities. Therefore, the marginal increase in initial investment is outweighed by the reduction in the buildings’ life‐cycle (repair and downtime) cost.