Ricerc@Sapienza

In the last decade innovative damage-control technologies have been developed to improve the seismic performance of structural and non-structural components. A cost/performance-based evaluation is demanded to select the most efficient high-performance whilst cost-affordable integrated building system, capable of sustaining design level earthquakes with limited damage, minor downtime and reduced socio-economic losses.The paper initially provides an overview on low-damage solutions developed in recent years for structural and non-structural elements. Then, a cost/performance-based evaluation is applied to a five-storey reinforced concrete building to define the best structural/non-structural building system. Three damage-resistant solutions are studied: a low-damage buildingconsisting of hybrid post-tensioned dissipative connections with traditional non-structural elements; a monolithic structure with low-damage non-structural components; an integrated structural/non-structural low-damage system. The research focuses on either vertical (facades, heavy and/or light partitions) and horizontal (ceilings) non-structural elements.Numerical investigations (Ruaumoko 2D) are performed to determine pushover curves while the expected building response is evaluated within an Acceleration-displacement Response Spectrum domain for different demand intensity levels. Damage states and fragility curves are developed from numerical or experimental data for each component. Ultimately, loss assessment analyses are carried out using the tool PACT from FEMA P-58.The loss estimation results show how the application of an integrated structural/non-structural low-damage system highly reduces the expected annual losses, providing a saving of approximately 100-400 U.S. dollars per square meter in 50 years. Notwithstanding the benefits in the use of damage-resistant structural elements, low-damage non-structural components produce a considerable reduction of repair costs, especially for heavy infill walls.