Numerical analysis of robustness of steel frames under the effects of progressive collapse

A finite element (FE) modelling study on the progressive collapse of steel frames under a sudden column removal scenario is presented. The FE models were developed with refined shell elements using the general purpose FE software package ABAQUS. Using the numerical simulations, the dynamic amplification factor in the progressive collapse of the steel frames was assessed. The validated FE models were further applied to identify the collapse modes of planar steel frames and evaluate the influences of a range of mechanical and geometrical parameters on the progressive collapse and the robustness. The results showed that, for a column-instability induced progressive collapse mode, the influences of the damping are larger than the influences of the strain rate of material on the robustness. However, for the connection-failure induced progressive collapse mode, the influences of the strain rate are larger than the damping. The type of the steel frame and the location of the column removal were both found to play animportant role in influencing the critical load and the robustness of steel frames

Keywords:

Progressive collapse , , Steel frame , Abaqus , Finite element method ,