PSI - Issue 78

Federico Gusella et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 113–119

118

Figure 2. Target discount for evaluating the optimal cost of the D structure versus the loss ratio related to the cost for replacing the damage elements ( , vs r D ), with T =50 years. b) Target discount for evaluating the optimal cost of the D structure versus the building nominal life ( , vs T ), with r D =0.5. (in all samples k o,D =0.00018, k D =2.65, k o,LD =0.00023, k LD =2.78, , =2.22 , , =2.05 , β =0.6. Because the expected annual loss increases with q D , the target discount ( d i,TARGET ) reduces as q D increases. Moreover, the target discount of the D structure ( d i,TARGET ) reduces as the cost for replacing dissipative elements increases (greater values of r D ). Figure 2 b) shows the relationship d i,TARGET vs T , assuming a constant value of r D =0.5, and highlights that d i,TARGET must reduce with an increasing value of the building nominal life. 3. Conclusions Society has responsibilities in addition to life safety, including protection against excessive damage that may have far reaching consequences for society; simultaneously, the capacity design approach proposed in current codes allows a reduction of the seismic force, accepting damage in seismic events. Therefore, an easy procedure, to use in common practice, is needed to prove this design concept to be the most economical solution. A closed form equation is developed to identify the recommended initial cost for a building designed as dissipative to be considered economically advantageous respect on to be designed as low-dissipative. In addition, the framework is adopted to explore the effect on the target price for dissipative structures due to the seismic behavior factor, the building nominal life and the cost for repairing dissipative structural members (fuses). The cost-benefit analysis confirms the greater impact on the target price given by the cost for retrofitting fuses, suggesting the need to equip earthquake resistant dissipative structures by easily replaceable and low-cost dissipative members. The proposed procedure, developed within the context of Loss-Based Earthquake Engineering, provides reliable quantitative information to assist practitioners in identifying the most economically advantageous design concept, overcoming the necessity of conducting time-consuming non-linear numerical analyses.