The Importance of Structural Configuration in the Seismic Performance and Reliability of Buildings

The optimal performance of buildings strongly depends on their structural configuration, as it influences the structural response to expected loads during life service. For instance, structural arrangements oriented to reduce torsional effects increase performance and, in turn, mitigate vulnerability to seismic events. However, several structural analyses should be performed to ensure that these structural arrangements are robust This can be computationally expensive depending on the type of analysis. The objective of this research is twofold. The first objective is to compare the dynamic response of two reinforced concrete buildings that are almost identical in height and floor area but whose structural elements are placed differently. The dynamic response of both structures was calculated via nonlinear dynamic analysis (NLDA) by considering a large set of ground motion records. Second, NLDA results were compared with those stemming from a spectral-based methodology. The comparison is made on the basis of the fragility and damage functions given different return periods. The results show that an adequate spatial distribution of structural elements reduces materials and increases safety and stability, since the expected damage is lower. Likewise, it is observed that the results based on reduced-order procedures accurately represent those obtained from NLDA while entailing a significantly lower computational cost.