Experimental and Computational Study of Reinforced Concrete Assemblies under a Column Removal Scenario: Fid-Bau Portal

Experimental and Computational Study of Reinforced Concrete Assemblies under a Column Removal Scenario

H. S. Lew / Y. Bao / F. Sadek / J. A. Main / S. Pujol

This report presents an experimental and computational study of two reinforced concrete beam-column assemblies, each comprising three columns and two beams. The two beam-column assemblies represent portions of the structural framing system of two ten-story reinforced concrete frame buildings, which were designed as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology research program aimed at mitigating disproportionate structural collapse. One building was designed for Seismic Design Category C (SDC C) and the other for Seismic Design Category D (SDC D). The beam-column assemblies were taken from the exterior moment-resisting frames of these buildings. The assembly from the SDC C building was part of an intermediate moment frame (IMF) and the assembly from the SDC D building was part of a special moment frame (SMF). The full-scale test assemblies were subjected to monotonically increasing vertical displacement of the center column to simulate a column removal scenario. The test was terminated when a collapse mechanism of each assembly was developed and the vertical load carrying capacity of the assembly was depleted. The primary test specimen response characteristics were measured. These included vertical and horizontal displacements at specific locations, rotations at beam ends, and strains in reinforcing bars at various locations.