Progressive Collapse Response of Reinforced Concrete Buildings Designed According to Turkish Earthquake Code

Abstract

In this study, the progressive collapse response of reinforced concrete buildings designed for the 'government buildings' occupancy class was investigated numerically. For this purpose, two reinforced concrete framed buildings were initially designed according to the Turkish Earthquake Code published in 2018. Later, those buildings' progressive collapse responses were evaluated using the Alternate Path direct design approach defined in the GSA-2016 and UFC 4-023-03 guidelines. Three different column removal scenarios were employed independently by applying the nonlinear dynamic analysis method. Nonlinear fiber hinges were used to simulate the plasticity of the structural load-bearing members. As a result of this study, it is deduced that a limited local collapse disproportioned to the initial failure was observed on the investigated buildings. In addition to the conventional seismic design methods, the buildings designed according to the Turkish Earthquake Code should also be assessed with respect to the explicit design approaches against unforeseeable extreme events to reduce their progressive collapse risk.