Progressive collapse resistance of steel-framed structures with composite floor systems

Progressive collapse research intends to evaluate and quantify the resistance of structural systems against local failures independent of how such failures may initiate. The present research program pertains to the simulation and analysis of a structural gravity frame with composite floor system under column loss scenarios. The ultimate goal of this research is to evaluate and possibly identify any potential deficiencies in the current progressive collapse guidelines. This thesis presents the construction, testing, and results of a test performed on a steel-concrete composite structure with shear connections under a perimeter column removal. The structure was designed based on typical design guidelines. After the column removal, the specimen was subjected to increasing uniform load and was found to resist the full progressive collapse design load without major failures. In addition, computational work pertaining to the composite floor system behavior and the interaction among the beams, the slab, and the shear connectors was conducted. The purpose of this work was to identify possible deficiencies in the current simulation techniques for composite structure modeling under progressive collapse scenarios. After the analyses were conducted, it was found that the majority of current simulation techniques are adequate for modeling composite floor systems, with the use of nonlinear springs being the most accurate and computationally efficient.