Impact of lateral force-resisting system and design/construction practices on seismic performance and cost of tall buildings in Dubai, UAE

The local design and construction practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), together with Dubai’s unique rate of development, warrant special attention to the selection of Lateral Force-Resisting Systems (LFRS). This research proposes four different feasible solutions for the selection of the LFRS for tall buildings and quantifies the impact of these selections on seismic performance and cost. The systems considered are: Steel Special Moment-Resisting Frame (SMRF), Concrete SMRF, Steel Dual System (SMRF with Special Steel Plates Shear Wall, SPSW), and Concrete Dual System (SMRF with Special Concrete Shear Wall, SCSW). The LFRS selection is driven by seismic setup as well as the adopted design and construction practices in Dubai. It is found that the concrete design alternatives are consistently less expensive than their steel counterparts. The steel dual system is expected to have the least damage based on its relatively lesser interstory drifts. However, this preferred performance comes at a higher initial construction cost. Conversely, the steel SMRF system is expected to have the most damage and associated repair cost due to its excessive flexibility. The two concrete alternatives are expected to have relatively moderate damage and repair costs in addition to their lesser initial construction cost.