Simplified Life Cycle Cost Estimation of Low-Rise Steel Buildings Using Fundamental Period

In the current study, a simplified seismic life cycle cost (LCC) estimation procedure is proposed utilizing the mean values of the structure’s main input variables. The main input variables of the building are used for constructing a relationship between the structural fundamental period (T) and an average estimation of the LCC (LCCavg). Using the actual building properties related to damage probability, the T–LCCavg relationship is used to obtain the final LCC (LCCfin). The equivalent single degree of freedom (ESDOF) model and SAC-FEMA framework are utilized for damage probability calculation. The dispersion measure in demand is approximately calculated based on the mean plus one standard deviation of the seismic hazard response spectrum, and, then, verified through nonlinear time history (NLTH) analyses of the original structure. Five and three-story steel buildings are used as case studies for verification of the proposed method. The analysis results indicate that the proposed procedure provides reasonable LCC estimations for low-rise buildings dominated by the fundamental mode of vibration.