Robustness of steel building structures following a column loss

peer reviewe

Complete analytical procedure to assess the response of a frame submitted to a column loss

The present paper gives a global overview on recent developments performed at the University of Liege on structural robustness of buildings for the specific scenario ‘‘loss of a column’’. In particular, a complete analytical method to assess the response of a 2D frame losing statically one of its columns is presented in details. This method is based on the development of alternative load paths in the damaged structure and takes into account the couplings between the different parts of the structure which are differently affected by the column loss. Also, the validation of the developed method through comparison to experimental and numerical evidences is presented

How to check analytically the robustness of a building submitted to a column loss - A premiere

peer reviewedRecent events such as natural catastrophes or terrorism attacks have highlighted the necessity to ensure the structural integrity of buildings under an exceptional event. According to Eurocodes and some other national design codes, the structural integrity of civil engineering structures should be guaranteed through appropriate measures and one way to guarantee it is to ensure an appropriate robustness of the structure, which may be defined as the ability of a structure to remain globally stable in case of exceptional event leading to local damages. However, although global design approaches are provided in modern codes and standards, no easy-to-apply practical guidelines are provided. The present paper reflects recent researches realised at the University of Liege with the scope of proposing such practical guidelines for the activation of alternative load path in the structure, design strategy generally leading to the most economical solutions

Gap analysis on robustness of tubular structures

Recent events such as natural catastrophes (tsunami, hurricane, …) or terrorism attacks have highlighted the necessity of ensuring the structural integrity of buildings under exceptional events with the objective to save the life of the occupants and of the safety services (fireman, ambulance man, …) and also to avoid collateral damages to the adjoining buildings. The partial collapse of the Ronan Point Tower in 1968 in UK is considered as the starting point of the interest in the structural integrity of buildings but more recent catastrophes in the last decade such as the terrorist attack of the World Trade Center towers in 2001 or the earthquake/tsunami in Fukushima in 2011 have increased the interest of the engineering community and also of the population in this topic. According to different national and international design codes, the structural integrity of civil engineering structures should be ensured through appropriate measures but, in most of the cases, no precise practical guidelines on how to achieve this goal are provided. In the present report, some definitions are first given. Existing codes and standards are then reviewed and main conclusions are drawn on their adequacy to the present needs of practitioners. From this analysis, general and specific research needs within CIDECT are identified. These ones are detailed in two dedicated sections respectively on buildings and trusses. A summary table draws the main conclusions in terms of future required CIDECT investments. Finally some references to literature are listed

Complete analytical procedure to assess the response of a frame submitted to a column loss

peer reviewedThe present paper gives a global overview on recent developments performed at the University of Liege on structural robustness of buildings for the specific scenario ‘‘loss of a column’’. In particular, a complete analytical method to assess the response of a 2D frame losing statically one of its columns is presented in details. This method is based on the development of alternative load paths in the damaged structure and takes into account the couplings between the different parts of the structure which are differently affected by the column loss. Also, the validation of the developed method through comparison to experimental and numerical evidences is presented

Robustness of car parks against localised fire

Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel Steel RTD Project carried out with a financial grant of the Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Stee

Robusimpact - Design report of the specimens for all the experimental analyses - Deliverable 4.1

The present report focuses on the design of the experimental analysis that are going to be performed within the ROBUSTIMPACT project (Grant Agreement Number: RFSR-CT-2012-00029). The project focuses on the behavior of composite steel and concrete framed buildings against accidental actions. Within the project, several experimental analyses are going to be performed spanning from the local to the global behavior

Design report of the specimens for all the experimental analyses - Deliverable D.4.1 - Robustimpact

The present report focuses on the design of the experimental analysis that are going to be performed within the ROBUSTIMPACT project (Grant Agreement Number: RFSR-CT-2012-00029). The project focuses on the behavior of composite steel and concrete framed buildings against accidental actions. Within the project, several experimental analyses are going to be performed spanning from the local to the global behavior. The report is divided in 4 parts, each one describing the preliminary work of each partner of the project. In particular: Part A reports the work performed by USTUTT (University of Stuttgart) including the design of four experimental tests on composite joints and two experimental tests on composite frames. In particular, the composite joints will be investigated in order to better understand the behavior in terms of activation of catenary actions. The tests on composite frames are performed investigating the influence of the high speed loading and strain rate effects on the deformation capacity of these structures. Part B reports the work performed by ULg (University of Liege) including the design of 44 experimental impact tests on beam-to-column joints and column base joints. With these tests will be possible to investigate the response of different joint components under impact loading for different level of energy. Part C reports the work performed by UTRE (Università degli Studi di Trento) including the design of the case study reference structures and the design of the experimental tests. In particular, two 3D full scale tests will be performed by simulating to total loss of the impacted column in order to investigate the redundancy of the 3D slab system in terms of activation of membrane effects. Part D reports the work performed by RWTH (University of Aachen) including the design of six crash tests on columns that are going to be performed in order to investigate the residual strength of the damaged member after the impact. The aim is to determine the response of the member during the impact as well as the dynamic interaction of the member with the surrounding structure