8th ASCE Specialty Conference on Probabilistic Mechanics and Structural Reliability PMC2000-146 Kang and Wen 1 MINIMUM LIFE-CYCLE COST DESIGN CRITERIA UNDER MULTIPLE LOADS

A methodology is developed for the determination of structural design criteria based on minimum expected life-cycle cost. Feasibility of application of the methodology to design for earthquake and wind load is also shown. A simple parametric study of a structure under two hazards is carried out to illustrate the dependence of the optimal design on the failure consequence and other design structural parameters. The method of analysis is then demonstrated by examples of a 9-story steel office building under earthquake and wind. The results show that uniform reliability against different loads does not lead to an optimal design. Under such circumstances, minimum expected cost design criteria can be used to develop rational design criteria