Structural reliability for structural engineers evaluating and strengthening a tall building

SUMMARY This paper addresses the topic of evaluating and strengthening a tall building in the Los Angeles region. Failure is characterized by the reliability index in terms that can be readily understood by structural engineers with only a basic knowledge of probability theory. The presented formulation requires the structural engineer to believe that the assumption of a normal or log-normal probability density function for capacity and demand is acceptable for the evaluation and strengthening of a tall building in the Los Angeles region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.