An integrated method for sustainable performance-based optimal seismic design of RC frames with non-prismatic beams

In the performance-based optimal seismic design, one attempts to obtain structural design variables to meet the minimum objective function satisfying the strength-based and performance-based constraints. A limited number of studies have been conducted on the performance-based optimal seismic design of reinforced concrete frames. On the other hand, due to the importance of environmental impacts, further study is necessary for the design of RC buildings with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions. In this study, a computational procedure is developed for performance-based optimal seismic design of RC frames with prismatic and non-prismatic beams. The objective functions consist of minimizing the cost and CO2 emissions. Nonlinear pushover analysis is performed for analysis of the structures. The described procedure is applied to 4-story reinforced concrete frames and the relationship between optimal cost and optimal CO2 emissions is studied for frames with prismatic beams and frames with non-prismatic beams.