Progressive Collapse Risk and Robustness of Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings

The potential for progressive collapse of low-rise RC framed structures is evaluated in this paper. The analyses are based on the linear static procedure and acceptance criteria specified in GSA 2003 Guidelines. The main parameters of the program are the building height (three and six storeys), seismicity of the area, and the type of damage scenarios used in the analysis. The results revealed that the progressive collapse potential decreases as the number of storeys increases and, for the first time in the technical literature, demonstrates in a quantitative manner, differentiated with respect to the number of storeys, the positive effect of seismic design and detailing on the progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete framed structures.