Progressive Collapse Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Building Structures

This study investigates the progressive collapse (PC) behavior of three reinforced concrete (RC) structure using the Applied Element Method (AEM), focusing on corner and intermediate edge column removal. The research evaluates AEM’s effectiveness in capturing structural failure mechanisms and its reliability in progressive collapse analysis. A 3×3-bay RC frame with varying story heights (4, 7, and 10 stories) was analyzed in Extreme Loading for Structures (ELS) software. Six different scenarios were examined by varying the number of stories and the removed column locations. The numerical models incorporated TBEC 2018-compliant lap splice extensions, mesh refinement at plastic hinge locations, and slab adjustments. Two progressive collapse scenarios were considered: (1) sudden removal of a corner column and (2) removal of an intermediate edge column. The displacement response at the upper end of the removed section was monitored over 3 seconds, accounting for vibration damping. For this robust structural example, numerical results revealed that taller buildings exhibited greater transient and residual displacements, with the 10-story case reaching up to twice the displacement of the 4-story case. Moreover, intermediate edge column removal consistently led to higher displacement values than corner column removal, especially in taller structures. The results highlight the influence of column location and story height on collapse progression.