Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures
This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of seismic resilience and sustainability between steel and reinforced concrete structures. With growing demand for environmentally responsible and disaster-resilient infrastructure, evaluating the life cycle performance of construction materia...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1613 |
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| author | Hasan Mostafaei Morteza Ashoori Barmchi Hadi Bahmani |
| author_facet | Hasan Mostafaei Morteza Ashoori Barmchi Hadi Bahmani |
| author_sort | Hasan Mostafaei |
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| description | This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of seismic resilience and sustainability between steel and reinforced concrete structures. With growing demand for environmentally responsible and disaster-resilient infrastructure, evaluating the life cycle performance of construction materials has become critical. Three building typologies—10-, 20-, and 30-story residential structures—are analyzed using a life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) to assess environmental, economic, and seismic performance. The results reveal that reinforced concrete structures tend to exert greater environmental impacts, particularly in categories such as carcinogenic emissions, ecotoxicity, and acidification, primarily due to cement production. Steel structures, while associated with higher energy consumption and mineral resource depletion, demonstrated superior seismic performance across all building heights, characterized by a greater level of ductility and collapse capacity. For instance, the 30-story reinforced concrete structure generated approximately 6.93 million kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq, compared to 6.79 million kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq for its steel counterpart. Steel structures, while associated with higher energy consumption and mineral resource depletion, demonstrated superior seismic performance across all building heights, sustaining up to a 15% greater spectral acceleration before collapse. Additionally, the LCC analysis showed that reinforced concrete is more cost-effective in high-rise construction, especially during the construction stage. These findings offer valuable insights for engineers and decision makers aiming to balance sustainability and structural performance in urban development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-de0c6b4100434d508dd390aa25cd3da3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-de0c6b4100434d508dd390aa25cd3da32025-08-20T02:33:31ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-05-011510161310.3390/buildings15101613Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced StructuresHasan Mostafaei0Morteza Ashoori Barmchi1Hadi Bahmani2School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, AustraliaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht 41996-13776, IranDepartment of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), Isfahan 84156-83111, IranThis study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of seismic resilience and sustainability between steel and reinforced concrete structures. With growing demand for environmentally responsible and disaster-resilient infrastructure, evaluating the life cycle performance of construction materials has become critical. Three building typologies—10-, 20-, and 30-story residential structures—are analyzed using a life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) to assess environmental, economic, and seismic performance. The results reveal that reinforced concrete structures tend to exert greater environmental impacts, particularly in categories such as carcinogenic emissions, ecotoxicity, and acidification, primarily due to cement production. Steel structures, while associated with higher energy consumption and mineral resource depletion, demonstrated superior seismic performance across all building heights, characterized by a greater level of ductility and collapse capacity. For instance, the 30-story reinforced concrete structure generated approximately 6.93 million kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq, compared to 6.79 million kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq for its steel counterpart. Steel structures, while associated with higher energy consumption and mineral resource depletion, demonstrated superior seismic performance across all building heights, sustaining up to a 15% greater spectral acceleration before collapse. Additionally, the LCC analysis showed that reinforced concrete is more cost-effective in high-rise construction, especially during the construction stage. These findings offer valuable insights for engineers and decision makers aiming to balance sustainability and structural performance in urban development.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1613life cycle assessment (LCA)reinforced concrete (RC) framessteel framessustainable constructionseismic behavior |
| spellingShingle | Hasan Mostafaei Morteza Ashoori Barmchi Hadi Bahmani Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures Buildings life cycle assessment (LCA) reinforced concrete (RC) frames steel frames sustainable construction seismic behavior |
| title | Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures |
| title_full | Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures |
| title_fullStr | Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures |
| title_short | Seismic Resilience and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of Steel and Reinforced Structures |
| title_sort | seismic resilience and sustainability a comparative analysis of steel and reinforced structures |
| topic | life cycle assessment (LCA) reinforced concrete (RC) frames steel frames sustainable construction seismic behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1613 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hasanmostafaei seismicresilienceandsustainabilityacomparativeanalysisofsteelandreinforcedstructures AT mortezaashooribarmchi seismicresilienceandsustainabilityacomparativeanalysisofsteelandreinforcedstructures AT hadibahmani seismicresilienceandsustainabilityacomparativeanalysisofsteelandreinforcedstructures |