# Structural Seismic Design and Evaluation
###### Abstract  
Significant damage to structures, induced by the occurrence of strong earthquakes, has been observed in recent decades. This has led researchers worldwide to address several issues concerning structural seismic design and evaluation (SSDE) for different types of structures, including steel and concrete buildings. In fact, the scope of the term SSDE is extremely extensive, meaning that the following discussion will cover only a small part of this large issue. Topics of interest include (a) the evaluation of the reliability of concrete and steel structures with energy-dissipating devices, (b) seismic performance and risk analyses of structures, (c) deterministic and probabilistic methods of dynamic analysis in structural engineering, (d) the seismic behavior and modeling of nonstructural elements, and (e) the seismic performance of new structural systems. During the last four decades, based on the results of investigations, important steps have been taken within the field of _SSDE_, including the emergence of new analysis and design procedures. A change associated with this is the considerable shift from traditional elastic to inelastic analyses in the profession. There is no doubt that the most accurate analysis method is the step-by-step nonlinear seismic procedure, provided that the dynamic characteristics of the structure, as well as the loading, unloading, and reloading processes onto the structural members, are adequately represented. Among the many important efforts relating to the analysis and seismic design of structures, we can mention new smart materials, innovative connections and structural members, energy dissipation devices, and structural systems. The aim of the remainder of this paper is to discuss the results of specific investigations focusing on the improvement of SSDE. 4 March 20  
5- and 10-story structures, demonstrating that they meet the desired seismic performance levels. This method can be applied to other structural systems with braces to enhance their seismic resistance. Some studies have evaluated the economic benefits of incorporating innovative structural systems to improve the seismic resilience of communities. For example, [PERSON] et al. [3] compared the seismic performance of mid-rise steel buildings with three lateral force-resisting systems: moment-resisting frames (MRF), buckling-restrained braced frames, and re-centering non-buckling braced frames. Using incremental dynamic analyses (IDA), vulnerability functions were derived, and economic loss performance pyramids were established. The results highlighted the advantages and limitations of each system in reducing economic losses due to seismic events. [PERSON] et al. [4] analyzed 12,016 reinforced concrete buildings to develop vulnerability, fragility, and loss curves, along with an Expected Annual Loss (EAL) assessment. Using data from damage observations from the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, the methodology incorporated undamaged and non-surveyed buildings based on typological distributions in reference municipalities. The results showed that the completed database improves the reliability of seismic risk assessments, although EAL assessments are minimally affected by the choice of reference municipality. Important contributions in the same area can be found in other studies [5; 6; 7]. Another current topic of great interest is the use of alternative methodologies for seismic design. One such relatively recent approach is performance-based seismic design (PBSD), which has been the focus of numerous recent studies and incorporated into several building codes around the world. A significant number of studies have focused on the implementation of this methodology in the seismic design and evaluation of various types of structures, highlighting the advantages of these alternative seismic design approaches [8; 9]. [PERSON] et al. [10] proposed a framework to optimize seismic upgrade strategies for buildings, considering both structural and nonstructural components.