Progressive collapse resisting mechanisms of reinforced concrete structures

Reinforced concrete buildings may be vulnerable to progressive collapse due to lack of sufficient continuous reinforcement. The design of structures against progressive collapse has not been an integral part of structural design. However, some guidelines have detailing requirements to reduce the likelihood of progressive collapse. It is difficult to predict the structural behaviour of building members during progressive collapse because the dynamic nature of the event and the limited experimental tests conducted to understand the nature of progressive collapse. The behaviour of RC beams under compressive and tensile membrane actions is not yet fully understood. In order to investigate and quantify the structural resisting mechanisms of reinforced concrete (RC) structures against progressive collapse, two large-scale specimens have been tested under quasi-static loading. Non-linear response is then converted into the dynamic response (Pseudo-Static response) using the energy equilibrium approach proposed by Izzuddin et al. (2008).