Numerical prediction of progressive collapse of buildings due to extreme loading is still a challenging task. However, increased computational power makes it nowadays possible to analyze not only small-scale connections and mid-size building elements, but also full buildings with considerable height and complexity. The present paper compares the results of Finite Element Method (FEM) and Applied Element Method (AEM) simulations to experimental results when performing blast or earthquake analysis on those three scales. The aim is to highlight which level of physical detail and complexity is required to predict progressive collapse numerically, and which level of accuracy can be expected. For the full scale level, the progressive collapse of the Pyne Gould Corporation Building in Christchurch, New Zealand, was simulated and compared to the final collapse shape. It is shown that the FEM is able to predict the structural response of small scale models well, but fails to achieve realistic collapsed shapes in case of the large structure, whereas the AEM shows convincing results in all cases.
Extreme events (i.e. terrorist attacks, vehicle impacts, explosions, etc.) often cause local damage to building structures and pose a serious threat when one or more vertical load-bearing components fail, leading to the progressive collapse of the entire structure or a large part of it. Since the beginning of the 21st century there has been growing interest in the risks associated with extreme events, especially after the attacks on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995 and on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. The accent is now on achieving resilient buildings that can remain operational after such an event, especially when they form part of critical infrastructures, are occupied by a large number of people, or are open to the public. This paper presents an ambitious review that describes all the main advances that have taken place since the beginning of the 21st century in the field of progressive collapse and robustness of buildings.
This paper focuses on the collapse analysis of a planar RC frame. This research is based on an experimental study presented in the literature. The analyses are conducted using a dedicated software based on the Applied Element Method. This numerical method is able to...
The effectiveness of different framing systems for three seismically designed steel frame structures subjected to blast loading is investigated. The three faming systems considered are: a moment resisting frame (MRF), a concentrically braced frame (CBF) and an...
Structural identification continues to develop an expanding role within performance-based civil engineering by offering a means to construct high-fidelity analytical models of in-service structures calibrated to experimental field measurements. Although continued...
