A honeycomb panel-based protective device for steel parking structure against transverse impact

Abstract

With escalating demand for urban parking structures, the columns within these structures are more susceptible to hazards resulting from vehicle collisions compared to other public buildings. Moreover, it is crucial to emphasize the significant increase in the risk of collapse in parking structures subjected to vehicle collisions, primarily owing to their heightened dynamic response and low required bearing capacity. Consequently, to prevent vehicles from directly crashing on the columns, besides providing an alternate load path, urgent implementation of protective measures utilizing energy-absorbing materials is necessary for parking structures. This study proposes a honeycomb panel-based (HP) protective device for steel parking structures aimed at absorbing energy and mitigating damage resulting from vehicle collisions. A simplified multi-scale simulation, considering reasonable material models and boundary conditions, is employed to study the performance of parking structures under transverse impact. The deformation patterns, impact loads, transverse deflections, internal energies, and horizontal reactions are compared for the parking structures with and without the HP protective devices. Innovatively, a classical progressive collapse loading scheme is employed to simulate the vertical residual resistance of the beam-column substructure after the transverse impact. Finally, a comprehensive investigation is conducted on the effects of critical parameters of HP protective device. The results demonstrate that a properly designed HP protective device can significantly enhance the resistance of parking structures to transverse impact, thereby effectively mitigating the risk of progressive collapse in such structures after impact.