Abstract
A quantitative procedure for the robustness and progressive collapse assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) frames under blast load scenarios is presented. This procedure is supported by multilevel numerical models, including nonlinear numerical analyses of the structural response of both local (i.e., response of the single structural element to the blast load) and global levels (i.e., response of the structural system to the blast-induced damage). Furthermore, the procedure is applied to a 2D RC frame structure. The novelty of the proposed procedure is that the global robustness is evaluated by the so-called “damage-presumption approach” where the considered damages are defined both in typology and extension depending on the blast scenario occurring at the local level. The dedicated local response analysis of a specified blast scenario leads to the proper definition of the so-called “blast-scenario dependent robustness curves”.
Highlights
Vibration 2021, 4, 722–742. https:// the events of progressive collapse have a very low probability of occurrence, the consequences usually have a very high impact on society [1]
Progressive collapse can be triggered by many factors such as blast loading from explosives or gas leakage, design errors, vehicle impact, construction errors, debris impact, and other extreme loadings such as fire and earthquake [2,3]
A comprehensive definition of structural robustness is reported in Eurocode 1 (EN 1991-1-7, 2006) [7] as “the ability of a structure to resist events such as fires, explosions, impacts or the consequences of human error, without being damaged in a disproportionate way compared to the original cause”, that explicitly refers to the kind of actions that are relevant to the robustness
Summary
The events of progressive collapse have a very low probability of occurrence, the consequences usually have a very high impact on society [1]. Progressive collapse can be triggered by many factors such as blast loading from explosives or gas leakage, design errors, vehicle impact, construction errors, debris impact, and other extreme loadings such as fire and earthquake [2,3]. The interest in blast-induced damage started after an important event, which was the partial collapse of the Ronan Point tower in the UK in 1968 [5]. In this context it is important to introduce robustness as a crucial structural performance requirement. A comprehensive definition of structural robustness is reported in Eurocode 1
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