Experimental Studies on a Novel Structural Detailing of RC Frames to Resist Earthquake and Progressive Collapse

Abstract

<p>Conventional structural design methods mainly concern the demands of individual hazards, while a multi-hazard oriented design method is in great need in the ever-complex multi-hazard building environment. Earthquake and progressive collapse, which are the two most critical encountered threats of reinforced concrete (RC) frames, are considered in this study. Previous study indicates that the newly added reinforcement in progressive collapse design may weaken the structural seismic resistance due to “strong-beam-weak-column” failure mode. To resolve such confliction, a novel structural detailing is proposed. Both cyclic and progressive collapse tests are conducted to validate the performance of the newly proposed reinforcement arrangement. The experimental results showed that the proposed RC frame structural detailing can maintain satisfying progressive collapse resistance and efficiently mitigate the column and joint damage under cyclic load.</p>