Abstract
Improvements in structural analysis and knowledge of materials over the last decades have led engineers to build structures that are structurally more efficient than in the past. This leads increasingly to extending the constituent materials to the limit of their operational envelope. The result is that modern structures don’t have the strength reserve that was inherent in older structures engineered by empirical knowledge and instinct, and hence attention must be given for the way in which they will perform when subjected to abnormal loads.
From an analytical point of view, a progressive collapse is a structural failure that is initiated by localized structural damage and subsequently develops, as a chain reaction, into a failure that involves a major portion of the structural system. The residual structure is forced to seek alternative load paths in order to redistribute the load applied to it. As a result, other elements may fail causing further load redistribution. This process might continue until the structure can find equilibrium by finding stable alternative load paths.
The subject of this paper is the numerical analysis of reinforced concrete frame structures and the damage assessment of partially collapsed structures.
KEYWORDS: abnormal loads, robustness of structures, damage assessment, disproportionate failure, progressive collapse.
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