Numerical Analysis of Structural Progressive Collapse to Blast Loads

After the progressive collapse of Ronan Point apartment in UK in 1968, intensive research effort had been spent on developing guidelines for design of new or strengthening the existing structures to prevent progressive collapse. However, only very few building design codes provide some rather general guidance, no detailed design requirement is given. Progressive collapse of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City and the World Trade Centre (WTC) sparked again tremendous research interest on progressive collapse of structures. Recently, US Department of Defence (DoD) and US General Service Administration (GSA) issued guidelines for structure progressive collapse analysis. These two guidelines are most commonly used, but their accuracy is not known. This paper presents numerical analysis of progressive collapse of an example frame structure to blast loads. The DoD and GSA procedures are also used to analyse the same example structure. Numerical results are compared and discussed. The accuracy and the applicability of the two design guidelines are evaluated.

Methods for Progressive Collapse Analysis of Building Structures Under Blast and Impact Loads

Progressive collapse of building structures under blast and impact loads has attracted great attention all over the world. Progressive collapse analysis is essential for an economic and safe design of building structures against progressive collapse to blast and impact loads. Because of the catastrophic nature of progressive collapse and the potentially high cost of constructing or retrofitting buildings to resist it, it is imperative that the progressive collapse analysis methods be reliable. For engineers, their methodology to carry out progressive collapse evaluation need not only be accurate and concise, but also be easily used and works fast. Thus, many researchers have been spending lots of effort in developing reliable, efficient and straightforward progressive collapse analysis methods recently. In the present paper, current progressive collapse analysis methods available in the literature are reviewed. Their suitability, applicability and reliability are discussed. Our recent proposed new method for progressive collapse analysis of reinforced concrete frames under blast loads is also introduced.

Numerical Simulation for Progressive Collapse of Continuous Girder Bridge Subjected to Ship Impact

The three-stage simulation method based on LS-DYNA was introduced in this study to simulate the progressive collapse of a continuous girder bridge after a ship-bridge collision. The pile-soil dynamic interaction and the initial stress and deformation of the whole bridge before the collision were considered. By analyzing the damage, deformation, stress distribution and collapse process of the whole bridge, the results show that the displacement response of the cap beam lags behind the pile cap. The response order of the whole bridge's components depends on their distances from the collision region. The plastic deformation of soil around piles has a positive effect on delaying the further increase in the displacement of piles. The impacted pier's losing stability and its superstructure's excessive deformation are the main reasons leading to the progressive collapse of the continuous girder bridge.

Progressive collapse resisting capacity of reinforced concrete load bearing wall structures

Reinforced concrete(RC) load bearing wall is widely used in high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Due to the number of walls in plan and reduction in lateral force portion, this system is not only stronger against earthquakes, but also more economical. The effect of progressive collapse caused by removal of load bearing elements, in various positions in plan and stories of the RC load bearing wall system was evaluated by nonlinear dynamic and static analyses. For this purpose, three-dimensional model of 10-story structure was selected. The analysis results indicated stability, strength and stiffness of the RC load-bearing wall system against progressive collapse. It was observed that the most critical condition for removal of load bearing walls was the instantaneous removal of the surrounding walls located at the corners of the building where the sections of the load bearing elements were changed. In this case, the maximum vertical displacement was limited to 6.3 mm and the structure failed after applying the load of 10 times the axial load bored by removed elements. Comparison between the results of the nonlinear dynamic and static analyses demonstrated that the "load factor" parameter was a reasonable criterion to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of the structure.

Progressive Collapse Analysis of an FPSO Vessel Hull Girder Under Vertical Bending Considering Different Corrosion Models

Nowadays,with the increasing operational life of ships,the aging effects on their structural behavior need to be investigated precisely.With the corrosive marine environment taken into consideration,one of the important effects of aging that must be studied is thickness degradation.In this paper,with the use of previously proposed equivalent thickness formulations for corroded plates,the progressive collapse analysis software HULLST is enhanced,and then,the effects of different corrosion models of uniform,random,pitting,and tanker pattern types on the ultimate and residual strengths of a floating production,storage,and offloading vessel hull girder are evaluated for the ages of 0 to 25 years.Results reveal that the uniform corrosion and random corrosion models have close outcomes.The value of relative reduction in the ultimate strength of ship hull girder(compared with the intact condition)ranges roughly from 6%for the age of 5 years to 17%for the age of 25 years in the hogging mode.The relative reduction in the ultimate strength ranges from 4%to 16%in the sagging mode.Pitting corrosion and tanker pattern(random)corrosion models lead to higher relative reductions in ultimate strength.The pitting corrosion model leads to a 16%–32%relative reduction in the ultimate strength for the ages of 5–25 years of the ship in either hogging or sagging.The tanker pattern(random)corrosion model leads to a 6%–37%relative reduction in the ultimate strength in the hogging mode and 3%–31%in the sagging mode at ship ages of 5 to 25 years.

Analysis of the Progressive Collapse of Buildings underHigh Temperatures Using Successive ApproximationTechnique

This paper presents an investigation of the disproportionate collapse of multi-store steel buildings in a natural fire situation due to the progressive failure of their columns.For this purpose,it is intended to evaluate the effects of the redistribution of stress and vertical displacements of columns with the evolution of the temperature addressing,also,the impacts of the localized faults of these structural elements.In addition,another objective of this paper is the development of a practical analysis approach,which is called by successive approximations.As a methodology,advanced computational techniques were developed to predict the structural behavior of the building as the temperature reduces the strength and stiffness of its structural elements.For the parametric study,the overall response of the building was investigated through fire simulations in many columns.The results showed that the phenomenon of redistribution of stresses that occur during the heating period is essentially due to the reduction in the modulus of elasticity of the steel.In addition,the study pointed out that the use of advanced computational techniques through the use of successive approximations technique is an excellent alternative to study the progressive collapse of buildings subject to high temperatures.

Progressive Collapse Resistance Analysis of Secondary Shielding Installation Platform for A-type Tank

As a key supporting equipment for the construction of LNG carriers,the installation platform undertakes the support and guarantee of LNG carrier tank internal construction.This paper takes the secondary shielding installation platform of A-type tank as the object of study,the study firstly considers the semi-rigidity of the nodes and the material nonlinearity based on finite element software,and then the residual structure is calculated using static nonlinear method after single truss,two trusses and three trusses are invalid simultaneously.The research results show that the truss with higher components importance coefficient has greater impact on the residual structure when the truss is invalid;After the 2 trusses of installation platform become invalid completely,the further progressive collapse will not occur;When A1-HJ,A2-HJ and A2-HJ are dismantled at the same time,it will lead to the local progressive damage,which can cause the collapse of large-scale structures.The research findings can support the design and use of the installation platform.

A Review on Progressive Collapse Designing Based on UFC Regulation

Progressive collapse is a relatively rare event which happens due to unusual loading on a structure that lacks adequate continuity,ductility and indeterminacy which causes local collapse in that structure and then extends it to other structural parts.The US department of defense published UFC4-023-03 regulation regarding the building design against progressive collapse.This regulation,based on the ASCE 7-05 standard,introduces two general approaches to building design against progressive collapse,including direct design and indirect design approaches.In this study,a variety of structural design methods for progressive collapse have been investigated.Moreover,their strengths and weaknesses have been mentioned.In general,the results of this study show that design based on alternative path(AP)method is more economical than other methods.Moreover,application of AP method is much more commonly accepted by researchers and designers.

A Contribution to Analysis of Collapse of High-Rise Building Inspired by the Collapses of WTC1 and WTC2: Derivation of Simple Formulas for Collapse Upper Speed and Acceleration

The paper is a contribution to the technical discussion concerning the collapses of the WTC buildings. It returns to the problem of the dynamics of the collapses;it does not concern the reason why the buildings started collapsing, but investigates the dynamics of the collapse itself. It works with the same assumptions as the official NIST report [1], i.e. that the falling mass hits the motionless mass beneath;the supporting columns loose stability and the mass of the pertinent floor starts to fall together with the falling mass. The aim was to derive the theoretical upper limit of the speed of the collapse, supposing that influence of the columns which resist the fall, is neglected. The differential equation of the fall was obtained using two independent laws of mechanics, with the identical result. Its solution can be found from a very simple explicit formula. The theoretical upper limit acceleration of the fall obtained by such formula is one third of the gravitational acceleration, which is faster than it was observed in the case of the collapses of WTC1 and WTC2. This leads to the conclusion that the mechanism of the collapse must be different from the assumed and the falling mass must not hit the motionless mass bellow it, but rather a mass which had started to fall before the impact of the falling mass occurred.

Control of Progressive Collapse of the Structure Using Shear Wall

The vulnerability of reinforced concrete(RC)building systems to progres­sive collapse has turned out to be a challenging trouble for professional structural engineers so as to prevent total failure on account of nearby dam­age.The goal of this paper is to enhance the knowledge of such buildings’behavior underneath several scenarios of misplaced columns at different floor stages,and their capacity for progressive collapse.The homes had been analyzed following the guidelines for progressive collapse evalua­tion and design organized by means of the general services administration guidelines(GSA).The progressive collapse of a ten story structure sub­jected to a simplest gravity load is taken into consideration and the column has been eliminated at one place and the spread damage is evaluated.The progressive collapse study has been carried out by way of removing the column at a diagnosed crucial locations(at corner,middle and at interi­or)as in line with GSA guidelines.Static analysis is done using analysis program ETABS.For each case,the consequences were taken in terms of demand capacity ratio(DCR)at critical section,and as a result the structure has been assessed for it’s susceptible to progressive collapse.The availabil­ity of shear wall is made on the component wherein collapse occurred and DCR values are mentioned.After imparting the shear wall to the structure,the progressive collapse of the structure because of accidental load may be controlled in order that the GSA guidelines recommended DCR value would be within the range.

Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Response and Collapse for Steel Frame Structures Subjected to Blast Load

The progressive collapse of steel frame structures under the blast load was investigated using LS-DYNA. The multi-material Eulerian and Lagrangian coupling algorithm was adopted. A flu-id-structure coupling finite element model was established which consists of Lagrange element for simulating steel frame structures and concrete ground, multiple ALE element for simulating air and TNT explosive material. Numerical simulations of the blast pressure wave propagation, struc-tural dynamic responses and deformation, and progressive collapse of a five-story steel frame structure in the event of an explosion near above ground were performed. The numerical analysis showed that the Lagrangian and Eulerian coupling algorithm gave good simulations of the shock wave propagation in the mediums and blast load effects on the structure. The columns subjected to blast load may collapse by shear yielding rather than by flexural deformation. The columns and joints of steel beam to column in the front steel frame structure generated enormous plastic defor-mation subjected to intensive blast waves, and columns lost carrying capacity, subsequently lead-ing to the collapse of the whole structure. The approach coupling influence between struc-tural deformation and fluid load well simulated the progressive collapse process of structures, and provided an effective tool for analyzing the collapse mechanism of the steel frame structure under blast load.

A Two-step Approach to Progressive Collapse Analysis of Building Structures under Blast Loading

Structural collapse under blast loads is a very complex process. For several decades, the engineering profession has considered some approaches to analyze the essential physics of collapse phenomena. Recently, the interest in this topic has risen to an apex since the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. A two-step analysis approach to capture the characteristics of structural collapse during explosions is proposed. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the performance of the presented approach.

Investigation on a mitigation scheme to resist the progressive collapse of reinforced concrete buildings

This study presents the investigation of the approach which was presented by Thaer M.Saeed Alrudaini to provide the alternate load path to redistribute residual loads and preventing from the potential progressive collapse of RC buildings.It was proposed to transfer the residual loads upwards above the failed column of RC buildings by vertical cables hanged at the top to a hat steel braced frame seated on top of the building which in turn redistributes the residual loads to the adjacent columns.In this study a ten-storey regular structural building has been considered to investigate progressive collapse potential.Structural design is based on ACI 318-08 concrete building code for special RC frames and the nonlinear dynamic analysis is carried out using SAP2000 software,following UFC4-023-03 document.Nine independent failure scenarios are adopted in the investigation,including six external removal cases in different floors and three removal cases in the first floor.A new detail is proposed by using barrel and wedge to improve residual forces transfer to the cables after removal of the columns.Simulation results show that progressive collapse of building that resulted from potential failure of columns located in floors can be efficiently resisted by using this method.

Study of the mechanics of progressive collapse of FPB isolated beam-pier substructures

The horizontal stiffness of the isolated layer is reduced substantially by a friction pendulum bearing(FPB)toprotectthe structure from potential damages caused by earthquakes.However,horizontal stiffness is essential to progressive collapse resistance of structures.This paper presents a simplified model to assess the progressive collapse response of beam-pier substructure isolated by FPB.Progressive collapse resistance by flexural action of the beam and additional resistance owing to the horizontal restraining force was achieved.The influences of the equivalent radius and friction coefficient of the FPB,the applied axial force on the FPB,and span-depth ratio of the beam on the additional resistance were investigated.Simulations were conducted to verify the proposed model.The results show that progressive collapse resistance provided by horizontal restraining can be reduced as large as 46%and 88%during compressive arching action(CAA)and catenary action(CA),respectively.The equivalent radius of the FPB shows limited effect on the progressive collapse response of FPB isolated structures,but friction coefficient and applied axial force,as well as depth ratio of the beam,show significant influences on the additional progressive collapse resistance capacity.Finite element method(FEM)results are in good agreement with the result obtained by the proposed method.

A preliminary analysis and discussion of the condominium building collapse in surfside,Florida,US,June 24,2021

On June 24,2021,a 40-year-old reinforced concrete flat plate structure building in Miami suffered a sudden partial collapse.This study analyzed the overall performance and key components of the collapsed building based on the building design codes(ACI-318 and GB 50010).Punching shear and post-punching performances of typical slabcolumn joints are also studied through the refined finite element analysis.The collapse process was simulated and visualized using a physics engine.By way of these analyses,weak design points of the collapsed building are highlighted.The differences between the reinforcement detailing of the collapsed building and the requirements of the current Chinese code are discussed,together with a comparison of the punching shear and post-punching performances.The simulated collapse procedure and debris distribution are compared with the actual collapse scenes.

Proposal of a probabilistic assessment of structural collapse concomitantly subject to earthquake and gas explosion

In recent decades, many public buildings, located in seismic-prone residential areas, had to grapple with abnormal loads against which the structures were unguarded. In this piece of research, an ordinary three dimensional reinforced concrete building is selected as case study. The building is located in an earthquake-prone region; however, it is designed according to seismic building codes. Yet, it is not shielded against abnormal loads, such as blasts. It is assumed that the building suffers a blast load, due to mechanical/thermal installation failure during or after intense seismic oscillations. These two critical incidents are regarded codependent and compatible. So the researchers developed scenarios and tried to assess different probabilities for each scenario and carried out an analysis to ensure if progressive collapse had set in or not. In the first step, two analysis models were used for each scenario; a non-linear dynamic time history analysis and a blast local dynamic analysis. In the second step, having the structural destructions of the first step in view, a pushdown analysis was carried out to determine the severity of progressive collapse and assess building robustness. Finally, the annual probability of structural collapse under simultaneous earthquake and blast loads was estimated and offered.

Deep reinforcement learning-based critical element identification and demolition planning of frame structures

This paper proposes a framework for critical element identification and demolition planning of frame structures.Innovative quantitative indices considering the severity of the ultimate collapse scenario are proposed using reinforcement learning and graph embedding.The action is defined as removing an element,and the state is described by integrating the joint and element features into a comprehensive feature vector for each element.By establishing the policy network,the agent outputs the Q value for each action after observing the state.Through numerical examples,it is confirmed that the trained agent can provide an accurate estimation of the Q values,and handle problems with different action spaces owing to utilization of graph embedding.Besides,different behaviors can be learned by varying hyperparameters in the reward function.By comparing the proposed method and the conventional sensitivity index-based methods,it is demonstrated that the computational cost is considerably reduced because the reinforcement learning model is trained offline.Besides,it is proved that the Q values produced by the reinforcement learning agent can make up for the deficiencies of existing indices,and can be directly used as the quantitative index for the decision-making for determining the most expected collapse scenario,i.e.,the sequence of element removals.