The application of scaling in progressive collapse studies

Investigating the progressive collapse of reinforced concrete structures presents significant challenges. Large-scale tests, essential for accurate representation, are costly, time-consuming, and exceed the capacity of modern laboratories. To mitigate reliance on such tests, researchers often use geometrically scaled-down structures or sub-assemblies without systematically scaling down materials like concrete and reinforcement. This approach introduces uncertainty regarding the predictability of the actual behaviour of full-scale structures. Therefore, this paper investigates the applicability of scaling laws in fully scaling both geometry and material properties of reinforced concrete sub-assemblies in column-removal scenarios under pseudo-static loading. The research process involved systematic design and experimental testing of scaled-down test specimens. The experimental results of these specimens were then validated against prototype test results. The findings demonstrate that scaling laws can be effectively applied to study progressive collapse behaviour under column-removal scenarios. Furthermore, these findings offer evidence that the scaling laws can be effectively used to interpret experimental results obtained from scaled-down test specimens that exhibit partial deviations from the established scaling laws. With further validation under dynamic loading, this approach could reduce the need for costly large-scale tests and accelerate research on the progressive collapse behaviour of reinforced concrete structures.