Efficient Progressive Collapse Analysis for Robustness Evaluation and Enhancement of Steel-Concrete Composite Buildings

Abstract

Currently many methods for progressive collapse analysis tend to be too sophisticated for robustness evaluation of building system with regards to disproportionate collapse. These methods not only are computationally demanding, but also require intensive pre and post-processing effort. Therefore, these methods are inappropriate for decision making in the design process. At the other end of the spectrum, overly simplistic methods are used which, however, do not model the progressive collapse well. Motivated by the need for realistic and yet reasonably fast analysis, an efficient progressive collapse analysis (ePCA) method is proposed, accounting for column buckling, semi-rigid connection and membrane action of slab. The accuracy of ePCA is validated by comparing with experimental results from the literature, at both on component level and system level. Application of ePCA on a three-dimensional building system reveals how robustness can be improved by incorporating additional strength, ductility and redundancy to the structural system. This includes specifying stronger connection, additional slab reinforcement and incorporating innovative truss system. The computational efficiency of this method enables incorporation of robustness design into building systems in the early stage of design process.