Experimental Collapse of a Lightly Reinforced Concrete Frame Subjected to High Intensity Ground Motions

Abstract eng:
Post earthquake reconnaissance studies show that the primary cause of collapse in older non-seismically detailed reinforced concrete buildings is the loss of vertical-load-carrying capacity in building components leading to cascading vertical collapse. In cast-in-place beam-column frames, the most common cause of collapse is the failure of columns, beam-column joints, or both. Once axial failure occurs in one or more components, vertical loads arising from both gravity and inertial effects are transferred to adjacent framing components. The ability of the frame to continue to support vertical loads depends on both the capacity of the framing system to transfer these loads to adjacent components and the capacity of the adjacent components to support the additional load. When one of these conditions is deficient, progressive failure of the building can ensue. Presented here are the results of a series of dynamic tests performed on a one-third-scale, three-story, three-bay concrete frame. This large experiment was aimed at investigating the structural framing effects on local column failures and conversely the effects of localized column failures on the frame’s global collapse vulnerability. The test frame was subjected to three high-intensity ground motion records before it suffered complete collapse. The gradual loss of column shear and axial load carrying capacities throughout the tests has given significant insight into the progressive collapse behavior of this type of frame.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket