Experimental and Numerical Evaluation of Progressive Collapse Behavior in Scaled RC Beam-Column Subassemblage

An experimental test was carried out on a 3/10 scale subassemblage in order to investigate the progressive collapse behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Investigation of alternative load paths and resistance mechanisms in scaled subassemblage and differences between the results of full-scale and scaled specimens are the main goals of this research. Main characteristics of specimen response including load-displacement curve, mechanism of formation and development of cracks, and failure mode of the scaled specimen had good agreement with the full-scale specimen. In order to provide a reliable numerical model for progressive collapse analysis of RC beam-column subassemblages, a macromodel was also developed. First, numerical model was validated with experimental tests in the literature. Then, experimental results in this study were compared with validated numerical results. It is shown that the proposed macromodel can provide a precise estimation of collapse behavior of RC subassemblages under the middle column removal scenario. In addition, for further evaluation, using the validated numerical model, parametric study of new subassemblages with different details, geometric and boundary conditions, was also done.