Repairability of building structures vulnerable to earthquake hazards in terms of life cycle economic loss

Life cycle economic loss of reinforced concrete structures is studied using a simple model considering a process of the accumulation of structural damage and repairing cost of the buildings vulnerable to earthquake hazards by a sequence of moderate and major earthquakes. A damage index is defined as expected cost necessary for the recovery of the original function of a building. A nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom system is used to evaluate the displacement response history and damage accumulation. The effects of choice of life cycle earthquake input history, strength and ductility of structures on the damage index are investigated to demonstrate how the model will be used and will be applied in evaluating of repairability of building structure in advance to the construction of the building.