Seismic life-cycle cost assessment of steel frames equipped with steel panel walls

Abstract The steel panel wall (SPW) has been proposed for strengthening mid-rise and high-rise steel frame buildings. Compared with the steel plate shear wall (SPSW), the SPW is connected to the beam with only high-strength bolts to avoid high flexural and axial demands in the boundary columns due to tension field action. The bolt-connected SPW can be easily installed and disassembled and can be used in seismic retrofit or repair. The SPW can be freely placed into the steel frame to support architectural demands. In evaluating the SPW for reducing the damage cost of steel frame buildings, the life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) approach is used to assess the final cost of the structure over the lifetime considering both increased initial cost and reduced damage/repair cost. In this paper, a seismic life-cycle cost (SLCC) assessment method is proposed for steel frames equipped with steel panel wall (SPWF) structures. Cost-based seismic fragility analysis is presented in this method to consider the uncertainty between failure probability and damage cost, and various types of uncertainty are included. Numerical investigations are performed to examine the efficiency and feasibility of the proposed method. Finally, a preliminary method is presented for simplification of the relationship between the SLCC and structural parameter, and the aim of the method is the use of a simple function instead of complicated and large computing tasks. This idea offers a new method for future engineering practice and structural optimization.